Father, by the Spirit, to the family, as to the things which concern them within the family. The Father[1] is not spoken of in it, save in one place, as the Lamb's Father, or we, save as kings and priests to His Father; never as in intercourse with the children as His children. This difference, and the corresponding characters of the operation of the Spirit, I find constantly maintained in the Scriptures.
Accordingly we find (with much additional light, indeed, for the sphere is much wider, and the foundation of Divine conduct on a much fuller and more widely extended base) that the position and imagery of the Revelations are all Jewish in character, though not Jewish in place. Neglect of this last point has misled many whose views have been contracted, and who have not in this, I believe, been led by the Spirit of God.
It is not the Father we have here (at least not, in that character), but the temple and temple circumstances: He that was, and is, and He that
- ↑ This is true also of the Hebrews, where sacrifice and priest hood are spoken of, which constitute relationship with God. Here it is supremacy (whatever be the circumstances) which is His character, not with the children, but over all things, over all creation, and ever the throne of Him that was, and is, and is to come.
