Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.—Matt. xvi. 24.
These words of Jesus contain more of true life than is, as a rule, ascribed to them. In fact, mortal man cannot comprehend the true meaning of the thought advanced by the Master. Jesus was trying to awaken the sinner, that his dream of life might vanish, and he see the nothingness of himself; for the belief of mortal life but hides the true life. "When the wicked rise, a man is hidden." Prov. xxviii. 12. It is the revelation of Truth that shows us error. In the book of Revelation we see more of the seeming power of evil than in almost any other part of the Scriptures; but with it we see also, the destruction of its claim of power. Was it because John was farther from God that he saw so much evil, or had he seen so much Truth, and drawn so near the infinite Mind, that error appeared to him in its most terrible forms? Was he not shown, in a truly scientific way, the nothingness of its claims? Surely he had much to deny! Through scientific understanding of God, we too are able to deny even Satan, the Red Dragon, and destroy his seeming power.
