The Last of the Twelve

John lived to be very old. He witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the ruin of the stately temple. The last survivor of the disciples who had been intimately connected with the Saviour, his message had great influence in setting forth the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world….

The rulers of the Jews were filled with bitter hatred against John for his unwavering fidelity to the cause of Christ. They declared that their efforts against the Christians would avail nothing so long as John’s testimony kept ringing in the ears of the people. In order that the miracles and teachings of Jesus might be forgotten, the voice of the bold witness must be silenced.

John was accordingly summoned to Rome to be tried for his faith. Here before the authorities the apostle’s doctrines were misstated. False witnesses accused him of teaching seditious heresies…. John answered for himself in a clear and convincing manner…. But the more convincing his testimony, the deeper was the hatred of his opposers. The emperor Domitian was filled with rage. He could neither dispute the reasoning of Christ’s faithful advocate, nor match the power that attended his utterance of truth; yet he determined that he would silence his voice.

John was cast into a caldron of boiling oil; but the Lord preserved the life of His faithful servant, even as He preserved the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. As the words were spoken, Thus perish all who believe in that deceiver, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, John declared, My Master patiently submitted to all that Satan and his angels could devise to humiliate and torture Him. He gave His life to save the world. I am honored in being permitted to suffer for His sake. I am a weak, sinful man. Christ was holy, harmless, undefiled. He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. These words had their influence, and John was removed from the caldron by the very men who had cast him in.37Ibid., 569, 570.
Conflict and Courage p. 361
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Prayer Request
—-Please pray for Johannah. She is having trouble with her heart. Rose
—-Please pray for my newborn granddaughter. She is still in the hospital. Caroline
—-Please pray for P who has an uncontrollable temper. Buck
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Dear Friends,

I hated high school Literature class. I didn’t like some of the assignments, but mostly it was because of the teacher who was as mean a teacher as as any teacher could possibly be. Most of the “great works” we had to read and explain are long forgotten. I learned them just long enough to get a good grade on the test and then they were gone.

One poem by Robert Burns, however, stuck in my memory. I, like most of us, couldn’t recite it word for word, but its most famous line has been quoted over and over. “O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us It wad frae monie a blunder free us An’ foolish notion What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us An’ ev’n Devotion.” Sometimes we view ourselves in a false light and think we are much more important than we actually are. If we truly saw ourselves as we really are, it would keep us from many blunders in life. If we got a glimpse of our true condition, how different we would act, speak, and even think.

We are not the only ones who have a false opinion of ourselves. Until Isaiah saw our Dear Saviour, he felt self-sufficient. Until he got a view of God’s holiness and glory, he felt righteous. He tells us about his change in self concept and how it came about., “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isa 6:1-8 Suddenly Isaiah saw himself as he really was. He then realized his need for God’s forgiveness, for cleansing from sin. And that forgiveness was freely given. How good and merciful, loving and kind our Great Creator is! He purges our sins! He takes away our iniquities!

Job also had felt righteous until he saw the Great Judge of the Universe. Then he exclaimed, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5, 6 Daniel, too, when before a heavenly being, retained no strength. “And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.” Dan 10:7, 8

May we view ourselves as we are in the light of God’s Word is my prayer.

Rose