seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

CLOSE OF THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY-THE REVELATION

THROUGH JOHN.

The period of apostolic ministry continued until near the close of the first century of our era, approximately sixty to seventy years from the time of the Lord's ascension. In the course of that epoch the Church experienced both prosperity and vicissitude. At first the organized body increased in membership and influence in a manner regarded as phenomenal, if not miraculous. The apostles and the many other ministers who labored under their direction in graded positions of authority strove so effectively to spread the word of God, that Paul writing approximately thirty years after the ascension affirmed that the gospel had already been carried to every nation, or, to use his words, "preached to every creature under heaven". Through the agency of the Holy Ghost Christ continued to direct the affairs of His Church on the earth; and His mortal representatives, the apostles, traveled and taught, healed the afflicted, rebuked evil spirits, and raised the dead to a renewal of life."

We are without record of any direct or personal appearance of Christ to mortals between the manifestations to Paul and the revelation to John on the isle of Patmos. Tradition confirms John's implication that he had been banished thither

o 1 Cor. 15:3-9.

Note 5. end of chapter.

q Col. 1:23; see verse 6; also The Great Apostasy 1:20, 21. r Acts 9:36-43.

MANIFESTATIONS TO JOHN THE REVELATOR.

717

"for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." He avers that what he wrote, now known as the book of Revelation, is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." The apostle gives a vivid description of the glorified Christ as seen by him; and of the Lord's words he made record as follows: "Fear not; I am the first and the last : I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."" John was commanded to write to each of the seven churches, or branches of the Church of Christ, then existing in Asia, administering reproof, admonition and encouragement, as the condition of each required.

The final ministry of John marked the close of the apostolic administration in the Primitive Church. His fellow apostles had gone to their rest, most of them having entered through the gates of martyrdom, and although it was his special privilege to tarry in the flesh until the Lord's advent in glory," he was not to continue his service as an acknowledged minister, known to and accepted by the Church. Even while many of the apostles lived and labored, the seed of apostasy had taken root in the Church and had grown with the rankness of pernicious weeds. This condition had been predicted, both by Old Testament prophets and by the Lord Jesus. The apostles also spake in plain prediction of the growth of the apostasy all too grievously apparent to them as then in progress. Personal manifestations of the Lord Jesus to mortals appear to have ceased with the passing of

s Rev. 1:9; see Note 6, end of chapter.

t Rev. 1:1; read the whole chapter.

1 Rev. 1:10-20.

Page 694 herein.

w Isa. 24:1-6; Amos 8:11, 12.

x Matt. 24:4, 5, 10-13, 23-26

y Acts 20:17-31, particularly 29, 30; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 7, 8: 2 Peter 2:1-3, read the entire chapter and observe its application to conditions in the world today: Jude 3, 4, 17-19; Rev. 13:4, 6-9; 14:6, 7. See The Great Apostasy, chapter 2.

the apostles of old, and were not again witnessed until the dawn of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 38.

1. Presiding Authority and Common Consent.—“Another instance of official action in choosing and setting apart men to special office in the Church arose soon after the ordination of Matthias. It appears that one feature of the Church organization in early apostolic days was a common ownership of material things, distribution being made according to need. As the members increased, it was found impracticable for the apostles to devote the necessary attention and time to these temporal matters, so they called upon the members to select seven men of honest report, whom the apostles would appoint to take special charge of these affairs. These men were set apart by prayer and by the laying on of hands. The instance is instructive as showing that the apostles realized their possession of authority to direct in the affairs of the Church, and that they observed with strictness the principle of common consent in the administration of their high office. They exercized their priestly powers in the spirit of love, and with due regard to the rights of the people over whom they were placed to preside."-The author, The Great Apostasy, 1:19.

2. Pentecost.-The name means "fiftieth" and was applied to the Jewish feast that was celebrated fifty days after the second day of unleavened bread, or the Passover day. It is also known as "the feast of weeks" (Exo. 34:22; Deut. 16:10), because according to the Hebrew style, it fell seven weeks, or a week of weeks, after the Passover; as "the feast of harvest" (Exo, 23:16); and as "the day of the first-fruits" (Numb. 28:26). Pentecost was one of the great feasts in Israel, and was of mandatory observance. Special sacrifices were appointed for the day, as was also an offering suitable to the harvest season, comprizing two leavened loaves made of the new wheat; these were to be waved before the altar and then given to the priests (Lev. 23:15-20). Because of the unprecedented events that characterized the first Pentecost after our Lord's ascension, the name has become current in Christian literature as expressive of any great spiritual awakening or unusual manifestation of divine grace.

3. Having All Things in Common.-No condition recorded of the early apostolic ministry expresses more forcefully the unity and devotion of the Church in those days than does the fact of the members establishing a system of common ownership of property (Acts 2:44, 45; 4:32-37; 6:1-4). One result of this community of interest in temporal things was a marked unity in spiritual matters; they "were of one heart and of one soul". Lacking nothing, they lived in contentment and godliOver thirty centuries earlier the people of Enoch had Soiced in a similar condition of oneness, and their attainments

e-s.

NOTES.

719 in spiritual excellence were so effective that "the Lord came and dwelt with his people; And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." (P. of G. P., Moses 7:16-18.) The Nephite disciples grew in holiness, as "they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another." (B. of M., 3 Nephi 25:19; see also 4 Nephi 1:2-3.) A system of unity in material affairs has been revealed to the Church in this current dispensation, (Doc. and Cov. 82:17, 18; 51:10-13, 18; 104:70-77), to the blessings of which the people may attain as they learn to replace selfish concern by altruism, and individual advantage by devotion to the general welfare.--See The Articles of Faith, xxiv:13-15.

4. Saul's Conversion.-The sudden change of heart by which an ardent persecutor of the saints was so transformed as to become a true disciple, is to the average mind a miracle. Saul of Tarsus was a devoted student and observer of the law, a strict Pharisee. We find no intimation that he ever met or saw Jesus during the Lord's life in the flesh; and his contact with the Christian movement appears to have been brought about through disputation with Stephen. In determining what he would call right and what wrong the young enthusiast was guided too much by mind and too little by heart. His learning, which should have been his servant, was instead his master. He was a leading spirit in the cruel persecution of the first converts to Christianity; yet none can doubt his belief that even in such he was rendering service to Jehovah (compare John 16:2). His unusual energy and superb ability were misdirected. As soon as he realized the error of his course, he turned about, without counting risk, cost, or the certainty of persecution and probable martyrdom. His repentance was as genuine as had been his persecuting zeal. All through his ministry he was tortured by the past (Acts 22:4, 19, 20; 1 Cor. 15:9; 2 Cor. 12:7; Gal. 1:13); yet he found a measure of relief in the knowledge that he had acted in good conscience (Acts 26:9-11). It was "hard for him to kick against the pricks" (revised version "goad", Acts 9:5; 26:14) of tradition, training, and education; yet he hesitated not. He was a chosen instrument for the work of the Lord (Acts 9:15); and promptly he responded to the Master's will. Whatever of error Saul of Tarsus had committed through youthful zeal, Paul the apostle gave his all-his time, talent, and life-to expiate. He was preeminently the Lord's apostle to the Gentiles; and this opening of the doors to others than Jews was the main contention between himself and Stephen. In accordance with the divine and fateful purpose, Paul was called to do the work, in opposition to which he had been a participant in the martyrdom of Stephen. At the Lord's word of direction Paul was ready to preach Christ to the Gentiles; only by a miracle could the Jewish exclusiveness of Peter and the Church generally be overcome (Acts 10; and 11:1-18).

5. Rapid Growth of the Primitive Church.-Eusebius, who wrote in the early part of the fourth century, speaking of the

first decade after the Savior's ascension, says: "Thus, then, under a celestial influence and cooperation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of His inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor, churches were rapidly abounding and filled with members from every people. Those who, in consequence of the delusions that had descended to them from their ancestors, had been fettered by the ancient disease of idolatrous superstition, were now liberated by the power of Christ, through the teachings and miracles of His messengers."-(Eusebius, Eccles. Hist., Book 1, ch. 3.)

6. Patmos.-A small island in the Icarian section of the Aegean Sea. Dr. John R. Sterrett writes of it in the Standard Bible Dictionary as follows: "A volcanic island of the Sporades group, now nearly treeless. It is characterized by an indented coast and has a safe harbor. By the Romans it was made a place of exile for the lower class of criminals. John, the author of 'Revelation' was banished thither by Domitian, 94 A. D. According to tradition he lived there at hard labor for eighteen months."