Scripture Paradoxes:
THEIR TRUE EXPLANATION
by
Rev. Dr. Bayley
Minister of Argyle Square Church, King's Cross, London
1868
PARADOX I:
The
Heaven And Earth Which Endure, And Those Which Change
Of old
hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work
of Thy hands. They shall perish. — Psalm
102: 25, 26.
COMPARED WITH
Who laid
the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. — Psalm
104: 5.
EVERY patient student of science knows that nature is constantly
presenting PARADOXES. Nature has few straight lines. There are
complications, and what appears to superficial minds to be contradictions,
everywhere.
How small the sun appears, yet how vast it is! How
large the earth seems, yet in comparison with the universe how small it
really is. How fixed do we conceive the rocks on which we build to be,
yet are they as parts of the earth, in most rapid motion. Solid things
are usually regarded as heavier than liquid, yet ice is lighter than
water. Cold commonly makes objects shrink into less compass, yet frozen
water expands and will burst rocks and even cannon. So, throughout every
domain of nature and of life, there are found paradoxes apparently
inconsistent with law, yet they are not really so. Patient study shows
that the apparent contradiction points to some deeper law, some wider,
grander view of things, and when this larger generalization is obtained
the seeming perplexity disappears.
This characteristic of the works of God prevails
also in the Word of God. Things there, as in nature, are not always what
they seem; and probably for the same reason the difficulties in nature
excite enquiry, call forth exertion, and make man a far nobler being than
he would be if his whole life were one of ease and smoothness. The
wrestler, whose muscles have been trained in thousands of vigorous
efforts, obtains a body well prepared to do its work in life. Is it
not worthy of the wisdom of God to require the mental exertion, the
spiritual labor from us all, which will fit us to grasp sublimer truths than those which lie upon the surface? The gems of earth
are seldom found lying exposed to the careless traveler. The noblest ones
lie deep. Goodly pearls must be sought. Of our Lord it is said,
Without
a parable spake He not; and they who dwell in the outsides of things, who
expect to run and read with hasty observation, and yet to acquire the
spirit and life of Divine Wisdom will assuredly be disappointed. They
will miss the pearl of great price. The law is as true now as when it was
uttered by the Savior, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of God, but not to them which are without.
Let us then, while we study the Paradoxes of the
Bible, the seeming contradictions which are presented on the surface of
Divine Wisdom, pray to Him who is the way, the truth, and the life, to
warm our hearts with a devoted love of truth, and to open our eyes, that
we may behold wondrous things in His law, (Ps. 119:18,) which discloses
the Divine and gracious lessons of everlasting life.
The first
PARADOX upon which we
venture to ask your consideration is the statement in the Psalm we have
quoted, that the earth and the heavens
SHALL PERISH—a statement
several times made in the Scriptures—compared with declarations equally
positive and really more numerous, that the earth and the heavens
SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER.
We have selected this instance of apparent contradiction in the Sacred
Volume, because the subjects dependent on a right understanding of it are
numerous and important, and are especially so at the present time, when
many are expecting the kingdom of God to come with outward observation.
We would earnestly deprecate the course pursued by many diligent readers
of the Bible, who are aware that statements of an opposite kind exist in
the Sacred Volume, but are content, as they read, to notice with favor the
declarations which echo the sentiments, right or wrong, in which they have
been educated, and suffer the others to make no impression on their minds.
The Word of God is doubtless correct, but if we
understand its teaching, so as not to know what to do with one-half of its
declarations, we have certainly not yet embraced the whole counsel of God. He who only sees one side of an object, has no
clear and satisfactory notion even of that side.
If we would be faithful to our Divine Teacher, we
must listen devoutly to all He has to say, and especially consider what
appears contrary to our previous prepossessions. We are in no danger of
giving too little weight to them; there is great likelihood of our giving
too much. Let us, in the spirit of loving trust in the Lord, accept all
His counsel on the subject before us, and doubtless, we shall find that He
will, as ever, guide the meek in judgment: the meek will He teach His way.
It is not altogether unworthy of notice, that this
passage is the first in the Bible which seems to declare that the outward
universe will some time perish. There are others in pages of the Old
Testament, and also in the New, but this is the first. Half the Bible had
been given before any such expression is to be found. The passages which
announce destruction of the universe are not numerous anywhere, but they are very distinct. The Lord says, Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.—Matt. 24:35. Again,
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened,
and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.—Matt. 24:29.
The Apostle Peter furnishes a very positive
declaration; But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night: in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation
and godliness. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to His promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.—2
Pet. 3:10-13. John also, in the book of the Revelation, says, I saw a new
heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth, were
passed away; and there was no more sea.—Rev. 21:1.
Were these declarations alone, and unqualified by
expressions which manifestly modify them, every faithful believer in the
Bible would undoubtedly accept them as teaching that our magnificent
universe would at some period absolutely perish, leaving not a wreck
behind.
But they are not alone; they are paralleled and
accompanied by declarations very numerous and of the most definite
character, that the EARTH, the
SUN, the MOON, the
STARS, in fact, all
GOD’S UNIVERSE having been created by Infinite Wisdom to accomplish the
ends of Infinite Love, will never cease to be. Let us notice the most
positive of these—He built His sanctuary like high palaces, like the
EARTH
which He hath established FOR EVER.—Ps. 78:69.
Who laid the foundations
of the EARTH, that it should not be removed
FOR EVER.—Ps. 104:5.
The
WORLD also is established that it cannot be
MOVED.—Ps. 93:1.
Say among
the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the
WORLD also shall be established
that it cannot be MOVED: He shall judge the people righteously.—Ps.
96:10. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but
the EARTH abideth
FOR EVER.—Eccles. 1:4.
Of the sun, moon, and stars, we read,
They shall
fear Thee as long as the SUN and
MOON endure, throughout
ALL
GENERATIONS.—Ps. 72:5. His name shall endure
FOR EVER: His name shall be
continued as long as the sun.—ver. 17. Praise ye Him, sun and moon:
praise ye Him, all ye stars of light. Let them praise the name of the
Lord: for He commanded, and they were created, He hath established them
FOR EVER AND EVER: He hath made a decree which
SHALL NOT PASS.—Ps. 148:3,
5, 6. These and many other declarations, in the most emphatic manner
declare the Divine intention, that the Universe shall not cease to exist,
but continue to answer the great purpose of Divine Love in its creation,
and furnish continual generations of immortal beings who shall people with
innumerable myriads, the ever-increasing abodes of bliss. There is also a
large class of prophetic passages which teaches that the designs of Divine
Providence will eventually be accomplished; and through the gradual
improvements which seem to us so slow in their operation, will yet issue
in the full universal diffusion of knowledge, wisdom, justice, and peace
over all the earth. And this blessed result once fully brought
about shall last FOR EVER.
But how could this be realized if the sun, moon,
and stars, and earth were to be dissolved and pass away, especially were
to do this soon? No such state of universal love and light has yet been
experienced among the nations of the earth, and if the material earth and
heavens were shortly to be annihilated, such prophecies, and there are
many of them, would be incapable of fulfillment. That part of the Word of
God, and it is a large and important portion, would utterly have failed;
yet our Lord says, not one jot or tittle shall pass from His Word until
all be fulfilled.
A glance at some of the prophetic declarations of
the kind we mean will repay our careful notice. It is too frequently the
case that Christians never suspect their early impressions, that according
to the Scriptures the world is to become worse until Divine patience can
tolerate it no longer, and then it will be delivered to judgment and
destruction. But let us examine the prophecies of Scripture for
ourselves, and we shall find the very reverse of this to be true. They
teach indeed that after the early triumphs of Christianity there will be a
falling away. The love of many would wax cold, and iniquity would abound.—Matt. 24:12. There would come a time when there would be very
little true faith in the earth.—Luke 18:8. But, after that, there would be a new
opening of Divine things, that knowledge of the Lord would be revealed
afresh, ignorance be banished, and intelligence diffused. His kingdom
would be brought nearer to men, and His will would be done on earth,
through all its kingdoms, as it is done in heaven. Let any one peruse the
sixtieth and following chapters of Isaiah, or those of the greater part of
Zechariah, or the leading prophecies of Daniel, or the two last chapters
of the Revelations, and ask himself if the magnificent things there
predicted have been realized as to a hundredth part, or could possibly
ever be so if the end of the universe were near.
We are speaking not of a few isolated passages, but
of whole chapters. We will notice some few parts, however, which will
distinctly place this truth before us—It shall come to pass in the last
days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top
of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations
shall flow unto it. And, many people shall go and say, Come ye, and
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths;
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke
many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their
spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword, against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.—Isa. 2:2-4. Again, they shall not hurt nor
destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.—11:9.
How could these passages, which show us an
enlightened and regenerated state of all the nations of the earth be
fulfilled, if ere long the outward universe were to be burnt, dissolved,
and disappear? And if this world were brought to the enlightenment and
happiness these prophecies foretell, and the Lord’s kingdom were really
come, why then should the earth be destroyed? Let us examine some few
similar declarations. In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom which shall NEVER BE DESTROYED: and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand FOR EVER.—Dan2:44. Once more in
Daniel: I saw in the night, visions, and behold, one like unto the son of
Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and
they brought Him near before Him. And there was given, Him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom; that all people, nations, and languages, should
serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.—7:13, 14.
No such universal dominion has yet been given to
our Lord who is at once both Ancient of days and Son of Man, and when it
is given, and all worship Him, then it is never to be taken away.
The Prophet Zechariah proclaims the same thing.
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be
one Lord, and His name One.—14:9. Again, may we not ask from the
thoughtful Christian, has this ever been? It is not to be? And when it
has come to pass, will not His truth be fulfilling its purpose for too
gloriously to be then burnt and cast away?
In the New Testament similar declarations are
made. The time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in parables,
but I will shew you plainly of the Father.—John 16:25. I have many things
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.—John 16:12. The seventh
angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and
He shall reign FOR EVER AND EVER.—Rev. 11:15. And with death taken in the
meaning of the Apostle Paul who said, to be carnally minded is death, how
glorious a passage is that in the twenty-first of Revelations—Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and
God shall be with them, and be their God, and there shall be no more death
(carnal-mindedness), neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be
any more pain; for the former things are passed away.—ver. 3, 4. And the
nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the
kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.
Again, let us ask ourselves how is all this to be
accomplished if the earth is to perish, and the universe as a whole is to
be burnt and pass away? We might indefinitely pursue similar inquiries,
but we trust enough has been said, combined with the numerous declarations
respecting the perpetual duration of the universe which we have presented
from the Scriptures themselves, to induce the enquiry, in what way can the
Scripture testimony be reconciled? How can the Paradox that the heavens
and the earth shall perish, and yet the heavens and earth shall endure, be
harmonized together?
We must harmonize Scripture by Scripture. If we
read the Psalms and the Prophets carefully, we shall see that earth is
used not with reference to the material earth, but to society—to the
Church upon earth. The heavens mean the inner principles and states of
the Church; and the earth or world its outer manifestations, the
institutions and life to which it gives rise. Heaven and earth are then
equivalent to a dispensation. A former heaven and earth, which pass
away mean a dispensation, which has accomplished its end, and being
corrupted is removed; new heavens and earth which are created mean a New
Dispensation, which Divine providence has brought into being. The
Jewish Dispensation was the Jewish heavens and earth. It made the
commandments of God of none effect by its traditions; and when the Lord
came, its end was accomplished, and the Christian heavens and earth, or
the Christian Dispensation was formed.
This interpretation is so clearly suggested, we may
indeed say almost stated, that there will be no difficulty in its
admission by the thoughtful student of Divine things. The Scriptures
press it upon the mind, and it is wonderful it has so long been
overlooked. Read the third verse of the seventh-fifth Psalm—the earth,
and all the inhabitants are dissolved; I bear up the pillars of it.—Ps.
75:3. These words would not be intelligible at all, except we regard the
earth and its inhabitants as meaning the Jewish Church and its members.
These are spoken of by David as in dissolution, because no doubt the Psalm
was written at a time of general dissoluteness and decay, probably when
Saul was persecuting David to death, and the whole land was a prey to
wickedness. A perishing earth is used as corresponding to a perishing
Church; in Psalm eighty-two, it is written, They know not, neither will
they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the
earth are out of course.—ver. 5. Nor can we conceive of any other earth
than the Church, when we read, Truth shall spring out of the earth: and
righteousness shall look down from heaven, (Ps. 85:11); or when the
Prophet Jeremiah describes the state of things He so pathetically laments
in those remarkable words: For My people is foolish, they have not known
me; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are
wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the
earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they
had no light.—6:22, 23. Here we have manifestly the disorder and evil of
the people described by the disorder of the earth, the darkness of their
minds by the darkness of the heavens. In Isaiah, many striking examples
of this language are given. We will select one or two. The
prophet is describing the complete decay of virtue and religion among the
people, and these are the words He employs: The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away,
the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled
under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws,
changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant; therefore hath the
curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men
left.—24:4-6. And a little longer down in the chapter he says in words to
which those of the Apostle Peter are the exact parallels. The earth is
utterly broken down, the earth is CLEAN DISSOLVED, the earth is moved
exceedingly.—ver. 19.
In these statements of the
Prophet Isaiah, we have
not only the image of the dissolved earth as the representative of the
dissolved Church, but also the prevalence of fire is asserted as in
Peter. The inhabitants of the earth are BURNED, and few men left.
The inhabitants of the earth are burned, when the
overthrow of religion leaves men a prey to their selfish and violent
passions. What burns like hate? How often do malice and revenge like
slumbering firs keep up hidden flames in wicked hearts, until some sudden
occasion makes them burst out with volcano-like energy, scattering
destruction on all sides. The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and
few men left.
The destruction of one Church, however, by gradual
decay, consummated at last by more or less of violent animosities and the
prevalence of direful lusts, is always followed by the establishment of
another, and this formation of a New Church is described by the same
prophet in the following terms: I have put My words into thy mouth, and I
have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the
heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say onto Zion, thou art
My people.—51:16.
What can be clearer from both these descriptions, than that the
destruction and removal of one dispensation of religion, and the
institution of another, is expressed in the Divine Word by a former heaven
and earth passing away, and a new heaven and earth being introduced.
There is another striking instance of this in the same prophecy of Isaiah,
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not
be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice
forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a
rejoicing, and her people a joy.—65:17, 18. Here the change from
the shadows of the Jewish religion to the spiritual realities of the
Christian is described by a change from an old creation to a new one.
The Apostle Paul describes it in essentially the same manner: If any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature: or, as expressed in the
margin, a NEW CREATION.
Old things are passed away; behold,
ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW.—2 Cor. 5:17.
There is a very clear and manifest illustration of
the Divine rule of using the outward universe as a grand symbol of the
universe of mind in the prophecy in Joel 2:27-32, and its fulfillment
related in the Acts of the Apostles 2:16-20.
The words of the prophet are a prediction of the
coming of the Lord, the Redeemer, into the world; and the consequent end
of the Jewish Church, and the commencement of the Christian; and he thus
expresses himself, And yet shall know that I am in the minds of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and My people shall never
be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My
spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and
also upon the servants, and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour
out My spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth,
blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day
of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in
Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant
whom the Lord shall call. In the succeeding chapter, and at the
fifteenth verse, but relating to the same time as stated at the beginning
of the chapter, it is declared, The sun and the moon shall be
darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
Now, this language is precisely similar to that
used by our Lord Himself, in Matt. 24:29, 30, respecting what has been
commonly understood to be the end of the world; the sun and moon are
darkened in both, the stars in the one case withdraw their shining, and in
the other fall from heaven. But every reflecting person will perceive
that the resemblance between the two is so close, that whatever is the
meaning of the one prophecy, similar must be the meaning of the other.
But of the prophecy of Joel, the Apostle Peter declares that at the day of
Pentecost it was fulfilled. This, he said
IS THAT WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE
PROPHET JOEL, and then he quotes the whole.
And, when by the sun we understand the LOVE of the
Lord, the Sun of Righteousness (Isa. 60:20, Mal. 1:4); by the moon, the
Lord’s Wisdom accommodated to our mental nights, (Isa. 60:20, Rev. 12:1);
by the stars, the bright lights of heavenly knowledge, which are al
darkened when selfishness, folly, and superstition take the place of love,
light, and the true science of Divine things, which is ever the case where
a Church has been grossly corrupted, then we can clearly perceive that
what Joel foretold was fulfilled when the Apostle Peter declared it to be
so.
From our Lord’s parables, it is evident that by the
kingdom heaven He meant His Church and kingdom upon earth as to its inward
state and principles, which is His heaven upon earth; hence He said, The
kingdom of heaven (the heavens) is like unto a man who sowed seed in his
field.—Matt. 13:24. The kingdom of heaven (the heavens) is like to a
grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.—ver. 31.
The kingdom of heaven (the heavens) is like unto heaven.—ver. 33.
The
kingdom of heaven (the heavens) is like unto treasure hid in a field.—ver.
44. The kingdom of heaven (the heavens) is like unto a merchantman
seeking goodly pearls.—ver. 45. The kingdom of heaven (the heavens) is
like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind.—ver.
47.
The Church, then, constitutes the Lord’s heavens
among men; the state and everything of social life form the world among
men. These come and go, as great changes take place in the human mind, By
the Word of the Lord are the heavens made, and all the host; of them by
the breath of His mouth.—Ps. 33:6. Heaven and earth pass away, but
the Word of the Lord does not pass away; and from that Word new heavens
and earth are formed.
In the earliest ages, among our first parents and
their descendants, the Adamic heavens and earth were formed in six great
spiritual stages or days; these continued down to the flood, one great
cycle of dispensation; then came the Noetic heavens and earth, continuing
for many ages, and through many changes, over many nations, and ending in
darkness and idolatry all over the East, and probably much farther into
western lands than is commonly supposed. This was followed by the Jewish
heavens and earth, the shadow only of Divine things, the pattern of the
true; and these continued until the Great Savior came to bring in once
more the great spiritual truths of Christianity, and to declare the
kingdom of God is within you.—Luke 17:21.
These were all in their times the systems of which
the Lord had laid the foundations, and their heavens were the work of His
hands; they were the garments, the clothing of His Eternal Spirit; yet of
all of them it could be said, THEY SHALL PERISH. They all waxed old like
a garment, and then as a vesture Divine Providence changed them, and they
were changed. But He, the Eternal Creator and Ruler, remains the same—His
years have no end.
We have now all the elements for clearly
reconciling our apparent PARADOX. The heavens and earth that do not pass
away, but are established for ever and ever, are what may be called
strictly God’s heavens and earth; those which are God’s work independent
of man, the heavens of angels, the starry heavens and God’s earth as the
groundwork of mans training-place for everlasting bliss; these will
endure, world without end.
But the heavens, or the Church, which God forms
through man, and the world formed out of the principles of the Church,
these have changed; these will change until they issue in the grand
CHURCH
OF THE FUTURE: a Church of universal science, light, love, justice, and
peace, with the Lord Jesus Christ as its glorious Head and Center, with a
Bible seen to be all spiritual wisdom and beauty, and a life in church and
state altogether in harmony with the Divine Will.
In short, then, we may say, Mans world changes,
God’s universe remains. May we not exclaim with the poet, — God’s world
is worthy better men.
When the end of the world is contemplated, it is
not the end of God’s glorious universe of innumerable systems and suns at
which astronomy stands aghast, but the end of the present old world of
ignorance, slavery, superstition, selfishness, and sin; and the
introduction of education for all, scientific aid, mutual help, universal
kindness, and the universal reign of love. The Scriptures proclaim this,
the hearts of good men yearn for it, and Providence is manifestly preparing
the way. We look, said the Apostle Peter, for new heavens and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness; not wherein dwelleth new sun, moon,
stars, and soil. The prophecies announcing the close of the Divine
operations of providence in such a kingdom of universal knowledge,
intelligence, affection, and virtue, all manifestly radiating from the
Lord Jesus, as its center, are very numerous and very clear.
We will notice a few.
But thou, Daniel, shut up
the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run
to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.—Dan. 12:4. There the
glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams: wherein
shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king;
He will save us. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people
that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.—Isa. 33:21, 22, 24.
There shall be one king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one
Lord, and His name one.—Zech. 14:9. And there shall be no more curse: but
the THRONE of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and HIS servants shall
serve HIM. And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their
foreheads. And there shall be no night there: and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light: and they
shall reign for ever and ever.—Rev. 22:3, 4, 5. I, Jesus have sent Mine
angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and
the offspring of David, and the bright and the morning star. And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely.—Rev.
22:16, 17.
The earnest and attentive reader cannot fail to
observe in these cheering declarations the promise of an age, a new golden
age on the earth, of abundant knowledge—an age of an immense increase of
spiritual intelligence meant by the broad rivers and streams of the
abolition of sin as the curse of mankind, and of that self-government by
which men reign over themselves and the powers of nature.
They, themselves, shall be under the one great
King, the one Lord, the Lord Jesus, who will reign over all the earth by
the universal light of truth shining from Himself.
Nor can the observant mind omit to notice that
these changes are now dawning upon us. In all the dispensations of the
past, the old ages have gradually subsided and dissolved into the new and
rising one, which Divine Providence has by degrees introduced to mankind.
Like darkness fading into day, so error, gradually disappears before the
light of truth.
What an advance has been made in new and better
things during the past fifty years! How has science increased that power
of locomotion by which men can run to and fro, as Daniel said, and
knowledge be increased! The dark corners of the earth are now penetrated
by holy light in a way which is marvelous in our eyes. How do books
multiply! How wondrously they are cheapened and brought to every hand!
And we may safely say that their quality is equally improved with their
quantity. Mark, also, the rapid increase of benevolent institutions. How
nobly now does wealth pour out of its abundance to supply the helps which
charity craves for sorrow. But greatest, and best of all, there is
everywhere acquiring strength, and increasing immensely, though checkered
by selfishness and ignorance, the remnants of past error and neglect, the
appreciation of man as man: the dignity of humanity in all its forms, the
dignity of labor as well as of literature, of work as well as of mind.
Humanity is evidently emerging once more from chaos and darkness, to
order, wisdom, and peace. Let us hail the sacred morning of a new day,
and labor for the realization, however distant that realization may seem
to be, of the era in which there shall be neither idler nor slave. Then,
none shall be ignorant of the great lights of eternal truth and justice,
and all from the highest to the lowest livingly know that righteousness
can bless the world, and make it like heaven.
Then will the kingdoms of
THIS WORLD become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall
reign for ever and ever.
LESSONS
(select lesson to review)
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