The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

hidden lives of those who, amid the days of Roman pride and tyranny, walked humbly
and in secret with their God. It is very comforting and encouraging to realize how fully
Christ could appreciate their stand for Him, even though in a measure defective, and how
openly He will in the day of His manifestation acknowledge them as His own.
"Like the devil-coats put upon their victims by the Inquisition of old, how many
falsehoods have besmirched the memories often of those who in the day of manifestation
will receive their crown of righteousness from the Lord the righteous Judge! Of how many
Naboths has Jezebel suborned her witnesses that they have [been told that they]
'blasphemed God and the king,' because they would not surrender their inheritance for a
price! Here is the record, that they are not forgotten, those nameless ones, or of dishonored
names: 'works and love and faith,' how tested! 'and service,' amid what discouragement!
'and thy patience,' marked and emphasized in the language used--that long endurance!
"And then comes, last of all, that sweet witness of real Divine energy, which does not flag
as what is merely human does--'and thy last works to be more than the first.' Not simply
the same as the first--that would be much to say, as it would seem, amid all the opposition,
continuous, unrelenting, of all that held power on earth. But here it is 'more than the first,'
for the works recorded are fruits of the life eternal, which, implanted within us, is a
growth, a living energy, which, thank God! can burst all bands and defy all imprisonment.
We have all remarked how the might of a living tree will break up and burst through the
stones around its roots, as it forces its way up into the light of heaven. How much more
will the energy of that eternal life . . . which the Spirit of God [the Spirit of Truth] sustains,
develop itself in the face of whatever hindrances. 'They go from strength to strength' is
said of God's pilgrims through the valley of Baca; for it is Christ's strength perfected in
human weakness."
As we become familiar with the history of those dark days, we are enabled to discover that
there was, in the long line of these patient witnesses covering many centuries, a growth in
courage as the days Went on. As they come more into the light, they take a bolder and
more open stand against Rome; the coming Reformation under Luther and others had its
precursors--Wycliffe, Huss, as illustrations; the torch of truth, as it is laid down by one
generation of the Lord's followers, is taken up by another; and gradually testimony
against, and separation from the apostate Church, becomes more decided. This is a great
point, this spirit of separation--one of the greatest in character development; for we
discover that what the Lord has against these saints of His, is declared to be their tolerance
of the woman Jezebel without making any protest against her teachings.
The professing Church during these long centuries was hopelessly apostate, and it would
very naturally seem useless on the part of the Lord's followers to testify against its false
claims. Nevertheless, their full duty would require a public testimony of the Truth, that
those deceived might also escape Rome's bondage. It was during the giving of such a
testimony, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, that the great Reformation
established itself. True it was, that it was only the simple foundation truths of the Gospel
that were proclaimed; but these needed first to be brought to light before the full measure