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RANSOM
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--The
Restitution Guaranteed by the Ransom --Not Everlasting Life, but a Trial for it, Secured by the Ransom --The Conditions and Advantages of the Trial --Christ's Sacrifice Necessary --How the Race Could be and Was Redeemed by the Death of One --Faith and Works Still Necessary --The Wages of Willful Sin Certain --Will there be Room on the Earth for the Resurrected Millions? --Restitution versus Evolution |
| Restitution
– the logical result of the ransom.  |
From the outline of God's revealed plan, as thus far sketched,
it is evident that his design for mankind is a restitution or
restoration to the perfection and glory lost in Eden. The strongest,
and the conclusive, evidence on this subject is most clearly seen
when the extent and nature of the ransom are fully appreciated.
The restitution foretold by the apostles
and prophets must follow the ransom as the just and logical
sequence. According to God's arrangement in providing a ransom,
all mankind, unless they willfully resist the saving power of
the Great Deliverer, must be delivered from the original penalty,
"the of corruption," death, else the ransom
does not avail for all. |
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| Christ
gave himself a ransom for all – so that he might bless all.
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Paul's reasoning on the subject is most clear and emphatic. He
says (Romans 14:9), "For to this end Christ died and lived
again, that he might be Lord [ruler, controller] of both the dead
and the living." That is to say, the object of our Lord's
death and resurrection was not merely to bless and rule over and
restore the living of mankind, but to give him authority over,
or full control of, the dead as well as the living, insuring the
benefits of his ransom as much to the one as to the other.*
He "gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price] for all," in order that he might bless all, and give to every man an individual trial for life. To claim that he gave "ransom for all," and yet to claim that only a mere handful of the ransomed ones will ever receive any benefit from it, is absurd; for it would imply either that God accepted the ransom-price and then unjustly refused to grant the release of the redeemed, or else that the Lord, after redeeming all, was either unable or unwilling to carry out the original benevolent design.
The unchangeableness of the divine plans, no less than the perfection
of the divine justice and love, repels and contradicts such
a thought, and gives us assurance that the original and benevolent
plan, of which the "ransom for all" was the
basis, will be fully carried out in God's "due time,"
and will bring to faithful believers the blessing of release
from the Adamic condemnation and an opportunity to return to
the rights and liberties of sons of God, as enjoyed before sin
and the curse. |
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| The
ransom guarantees every man an opportunity for life.
Prior experience |
Let the actual benefits and results of the ransom be clearly seen,
and all objections to its being of universal application must
vanish. The "ransom for all" given by "the
man Christ Jesus" does not give or guarantee everlasting
life or blessing to any man; but it does guarantee to every man
another opportunity or trial for life everlasting.
The first trial of man, which resulted in the loss of the blessings at first conferred, is really turned into a blessing of experience to the loyal-hearted, by reason of the ransom which God has provided. But the fact that men are ransomed from the first penalty does not guarantee that they may not, when individually tried for everlasting life, fail to render the obedience without which none will be permitted to live everlastingly. Man, by reason of present experience with sin and its bitter penalty, will be fully forewarned; and when, as a result of the ransom, he is granted another, an individual trial, under the eye and control of him who so loved him as to give his life for him, and who would not that any should perish, but that all should turn to God and live, we may be sure that only the willfully disobedient will receive the penalty of the second trial. That penalty will be the second death, from which there will be no ransom, no release, because there would be no object for another ransom or a further trial. All will have fully seen and tasted
both good and evil; all will have witnessed and experienced
the goodness and love of God; all will have had a full, fair,
individual trial for life, under most favorable conditions.
More could not be asked, and more will not be given. That trial
will decide forever who would be righteous and holy under a
thousand trials; and it will determine also who would be unjust,
and unholy and filthy still, under a thousand trials. |
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The
Adamic trial - |
It would be useless to grant another trial for life under exactly
the same circumstances; but though the circumstances of the tried
ones will be different, more favorable, the terms or conditions
of their individual trial for life will be the same as in the
Adamic trial.
The law of God will remain the same--it changes not. It will still say, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die"; and the condition of man will be no more favorable, so far as surroundings are concerned, than the conditions and surroundings in Eden; but the great difference will be the increased knowledge. The experience with evil, contrasted
with the experience with good, which will accrue to each during
the trial of the coming age, will constitute the advantage by
reason of which the results of the second trial will differ
so widely from the results of the first, and on account of which
divine Wisdom and Love provided the "ransom for all,"
and thus guaranteed to all the blessing of a new trial. No more
favorable trial, no more favorable law, no more favorable conditions
or circumstances, can in any way be conceived of as reasons
for another ransom or a further trial for any beyond the Millennial
age. |
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| The
ransom releases the sinner from the first condemnation. |
The ransom given does not excuse sin in any; it does not propose
to count sinners as saints, and usher them thus into everlasting
bliss. It merely releases the accepting sinner from the first
condemnation and its results, both direct and indirect, and places
him again on trial for life, in which trial his own willful obedience
or willful disobedience will decide whether he may or may not
have life everlasting. |
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| The
fall has not injured all of Adam’s children alike.
|
Nor should it be assumed, as so many seem disposed to assume,
that all those who live in a state of civilization, and see or
possess a Bible, have thus a full opportunity or trial for life.
It must be remembered that the fall has not injured all of Adam's
children alike.
Some have come into the world so weak
and depraved as to be easily blinded by the god of this world,
Satan, and led captive by besetting and surrounding sin; and
all are more or less under this influence, so that, even when
they would do good, evil is present and more powerful through
surroundings, etc., and the good which they would do is almost
impossible, while the evil which they would not do is almost
unavoidable. |
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| Very
few enjoy the benefits of the ransom now, but eventually all will.
|
Small indeed is the number of those who in the present time truly
and experimentally learn of the liberty wherewith Christ makes
free those who accept of his ransom, and put themselves under
his control for future guidance. Yet only these few, the Church,
called out and tried beforehand for the special purpose of being
co-workers with God in blessing the world--witnessing now, and
ruling, blessing and judging the world in its age of trial--yet
enjoy to any extent the benefits of the ransom, or are now
on trial for life.
These few have reckoned to them (and they receive by faith) all the blessings of restitution which will be provided for the world during the coming age. These, though not perfect, not restored to Adam's condition actually, are treated in such a manner as to compensate for the difference. Through faith in Christ they are reckoned perfect, and hence are restored to perfection and to divine favor, as though no longer sinners. Their imperfections and unavoidable weaknesses, being offset by the ransom, are not imputed to them, but are covered by the Redeemer's perfection. Hence the Church's trial, because of her reckoned standing in Christ, is as fair as that which the world will have in its time of trial. The world will all be brought to a
full knowledge of the truth, and each one, as he accepts of
its provisions and conditions, will be treated no longer as
a sinner, but as a son, for whom all the blessings of restitution
are intended. |
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| The
trials of the Church and of the world are different.
|
One difference between the experiences of the world under trial
and the experiences of the Church during her trial will be that
the obedient of the world will begin at once to receive the blessings
of restitution by a gradual removal of their weaknesses--mental
and physical; whereas the Gospel Church, consecrated to the Lord's
service even unto death, goes down into death and gets her perfection
instantaneously in the first resurrection.
Another difference between the two
trials is in the more favorable surroundings of the next age
as compared with this, in that then society, government, etc.,
will be favorable to righteousness, rewarding faith and obedience,
and punishing sin; whereas now, under the prince of this world,
the Church's trial is under circumstances unfavorable to righteousness,
faith, etc. But this, we have seen, is to be compensated for
in the prize of the glory and honor of the divine nature offered
to the Church, in addition to the gift of everlasting life. |
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| Extinction
of life is the penalty of sin.
|
Adam's death was sure, though it was reached by nine hundred and
thirty years of dying. Since he was himself dying, all his children
were born in the same dying condition and without right to life;
and, like their parents, they all die after a more or less lingering
process. It should be remembered, however, that it is not the
pain and suffering in dying, but death--the extinction of life--in
which the dying culminates, that is the penalty of sin.
The suffering is only incidental to it, and the penalty falls on many with but little or no suffering. It should further be remembered that when Adam forfeited life, he forfeited it forever; and not one of his posterity has ever been able to expiate his guilt or to regain the lost inheritance. All the race are either dead or dying. And if they could not expiate their guilt before death, they certainly could not do it when dead--when not in existence. The penalty of sin was not simply
to die, with the privilege and right thereafter of returning
to life. In the penalty pronounced there was no intimation of
release. Genesis 2:17 The restitution, therefore, is an act
of free grace or favor on God's part. And as soon as the penalty
had been incurred, even while it was being pronounced, the free
favor of God was intimated, which, when realized, will so fully
declare his love. |
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| The
promise is still sure – all shall be blessed in the times of restitution.
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Had it not been for the gleam of hope, afforded by the statement
that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, the
race would have been in utter despair; but this promise indicated
that God had some plan for their benefit. When to Abraham God
swore that in his seed all the families of the earth should be
blessed, it implied a resurrection or restitution of all; for
many were then dead, and others have since died, unblessed.
Nevertheless, the promise is still sure: all shall be blessed when the times of restitution or refreshing shall come. Acts 3:19 Moreover, since blessing indicates favor, and since God's favor was withdrawn and his curse came instead because of sin, this promise of a future blessing implied the removal of the curse, and consequently a return of his favor. It also implied either that God would relent, change his decree and clear the guilty race, or else that he had some plan by which it could be redeemed, by having man's penalty paid by another. God did not leave Abraham in doubt
as to which was his plan, but showed, by various typical sacrifices
which all who approached him had to bring, that he could not
and did not relent, nor excuse the sin; and that the only way
to blot it out and abolish its penalty would be by a sufficiency
of sacrifice to meet that penalty. This was shown to Abraham
in a very significant type: Abraham's son, in whom the promised
blessing centered, had first to be a sacrifice before he could
bless, and Abraham received him from the dead in a figure. Hebrews
11:19 |
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| Abraham’s
son, Isaac, typified Christ Jesus.
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In that figure Isaac typified the true seed, Christ Jesus, who
died to redeem men, in order that the redeemed might all receive
the promised blessing. Had Abraham thought that the Lord would
excuse and clear the guilty, he would have felt that God was changeable,
and therefore could not have had full confidence in the promise
made to him.
He might have reasoned, If God has changed his mind once, why may he not change it again? If he relents concerning the curse of death, may he not again relent concerning the promised favor and blessing? But God leaves us in no such uncertainty. He gives us ample assurance of both his justice and his unchangeableness. He could not clear the guilty, even though he loved them so much that
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| Jesus
gave a full satisfaction for all men. |
As the entire race was in Adam when he was condemned, and lost
life through him, so when Jesus "gave himself a ransom
for all" his death involved the possibility of an unborn
race in his loins.
A full satisfaction, or corresponding
price, for all men was thus put into the hands of Justice--to
be applied "in due time," and he who thus bought
all has full authority to restore all who come unto God
by him. |
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The proposition is a plain one: As many as have shared death on account of Adam's sin will have life-privileges offered to them by our Lord Jesus, who died for them and sacrificially became Adam's substitute before the broken law, and thus "gave himself a ransom for all." He died, "the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." 1 Peter 3:18 It should never be overlooked, however, that all of God's provisions for our race recognize the human will as a factor in the securing of the divine favors so abundantly provided. Some have overlooked this feature in examining the text just quoted--Romans 5:18,19. The Apostle's statement, however, is that, as the sentence of condemnation extended to all the seed of Adam, even so, through the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Father's plan, by the sacrifice of himself on our behalf, a free gift is extended to all--a gift of forgiveness, which, if accepted, will constitute a justification or basis for life everlasting.
And "as by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one many shall be [not
were] made righteous." If the ransom alone,
without our acceptance of it, made us righteous, then it would
have read, by the obedience of one many were made righteous. |
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But though the ransom-price has been given by the Redeemer only
a few during the Gospel age have been made righteous--justified--
"through faith in his blood." But since Christ is
the propitiation (satisfaction) for the sins of the whole world,
all men may on this account be absolved and released from the
penalty of Adam's sin by him--under the New Covenant. |
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| Our
penalty is paid for us through Christ.
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There is no unrighteousness with God; hence "If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
As he would have been unjust to have allowed us to escape the
pronounced penalty before satisfaction was rendered, so also he
here gives us to understand that it would be unjust were he to
forbid our restitution, since by his own arrangement our penalty
has been paid for us. The same unswerving justice that once condemned
man to death now stands pledged for the release of all who, confessing
their sins, apply for life through Christ.
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The completeness of the ransom is the very strongest possible
argument for the restitution of all mankind who will accept it
on the proffered terms. Revelation 22:17 The very character of
God for justice and honor stands pledged to it; every promise
which he has made implies it; and every typical sacrifice pointed
to the great and sufficient sacrifice–
Since death is the penalty or wages of sin, when the sin is canceled the wages must in due time cease. Any other view would be both unreasonable and unjust. The fact that no recovery from the Adamic loss is yet accomplished, though nearly two thousand years have elapsed since our Lord died, is no more an argument against restitution than is the fact that four thousand years elapsed before his death a proof that God had not planned the redemption before the foundation of the world.
Both the two thousand years since and the four thousand years
before the death of Christ were appointed times for other parts
of the work, preparatory to "the times of restitution
of all things." |
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| Some
have been blinded in part, and some completely, by Satan.
Each for himself
will have |
Let no one hastily suppose that there is in this view anything
in conflict with the teaching of the Scriptures that faith toward
God, repentance for sin and reformation of character are indispensable
to salvation. This feature will be treated more at length hereafter,
but we now suggest that only the few have ever had a sufficiency
of light to produce full faith, repentance and reformation.
Some have been blinded in part, and some completely, by the god of this world, and they must be recovered from blindness as well as from death, that they, each for himself, may have a full chance to prove, by obedience or disobedience, their worthiness or unworthiness of life everlasting. Then those who prove themselves unworthy of life will die again--the second death--from which there will be no redemption, and consequently no resurrection. The death which comes on account of
Adam's sin, and all the imperfections which follow in its wake,
will be removed because of the redemption which is in Christ
Jesus; but the death which comes as a result of individual,
willful apostasy is final. This sin hath never forgiveness,
and its penalty, the second death, will be everlasting--
not everlasting dying, but everlasting death--a death unbroken
by a resurrection. |
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The redemption
through Christ |
The philosophy of the plan of redemption will be treated in a
succeeding volume. Here we merely establish the fact that the
redemption through Christ Jesus is to be as far-reaching in its
blessed results and opportunities as was the sin of Adam in its
blight and ruin--that all who were condemned and who suffered
on account of the one may as surely, "in due time,"
be set free from all those ills on account of the other. However,
none can appreciate this Scriptural argument who do not admit
the Scriptural statement that death-- extinction of being--is
the wages of sin.
Those who think of death as life in torment not only disregard the meaning of the words death and life, which are opposites, but involve themselves in two absurdities. It is absurd to suppose that God would perpetuate Adam's existence forever in torment for any kind of a sin which he could commit, but especially for the comparatively small offence of eating forbidden fruit. Then, again, if our Lord Jesus redeemed
mankind, died in our stead, became our ransom, went into death
that we might be set free from it, is it not evident that the
death which he suffered for the unjust was of exactly the same
kind as that to which all mankind were condemned? Is he, then,
suffering eternal torture for our sins? If not, then so surely
as he died for our sins, the punishment for our sins
was death, and not life in any sense or condition. |
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| The
doctrine of eternal torture is inconsistent with the Scriptures and the understanding of the Ransom. |
But, strange to say, finding that the theory of eternal torture
is inconsistent with the statements that "the Lord hath
laid upon him the iniquity of us all," and that Christ
"died for our sins," and seeing that one or the
other must be dropped as inconsistent, some are so wedded to the
idea of eternal torture, and so prize it as a sweet morsel, that
they hold to it regardless of the Scriptures, and deliberately
deny that Jesus paid the world's ransom-price, though this truth
is taught on every leaf of the Bible. |
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Is Restitution Practicable? Some have supposed that if the billions of the dead were resurrected, there would not be room for them on the earth; and that if there should be room for them, the earth would not be capable of sustaining so large a population. It is even claimed by some that the earth is one vast graveyard, and that if all the dead were awakened they would trample one upon another for want of room.
This is an important point. How strange it would be if we should
find that while the Bible declares a resurrection for all men,
yet, by actual measurement, they could not find a footing on
the earth! Now let us see: figure it out and you will find this
an unfounded fear. You will find that there is an abundance
of room for the "restitution of all," as "God
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets." |
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| If
all the dead were resurrected, would there be enough room on the earth?
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Let us assume that it is six thousand years since the creation
of man, and that there are fourteen hundred millions of people
now living on the earth. Our race began with one pair, but let
us make a very liberal estimate and suppose that there were as
many at the beginning as there are now; and, further, that there
never were fewer than that number at any time, though actually
the flood reduced the population to eight persons.
Again, let us be liberal, and estimate three generations to a century, or thirty-three years to a generation, though, according to Genesis 5, there were but eleven generations from Adam to the flood, a period of one thousand six hundred and fifty-six years, or about one hundred and fifty years to each generation. Now let us see: six thousand years
are sixty centuries; three generations to each century would
give us one hundred and eighty generations since Adam; and fourteen
hundred millions to a generation would give two hundred and
fifty-two billions (252,000,000,000) as the total number of
our race from creation to the present time, according to this
liberal estimate, which is probably more than twice the actual
number. |
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Where shall we find room enough for this great multitude? Let
us measure the land, and see. The State of Texas, United States,
contains two hundred and thirty-seven thousand square miles.
There are twenty-seven million eight hundred and seventy-eight thousand four hundred square feet in a mile, and, therefore, six trillion six hundred and seven billion one hundred and eighty million eight hundred thousand (6,607,180,800,000) square feet in Texas. Allowing ten square feet as the surface
covered by each dead body, we find that Texas, as a cemetery,
would at this rate hold six hundred and sixty billion seven
hundred and eighteen million and eighty thousand (660,718,080,000)
bodies, or nearly three times as many as our exaggerated estimate
of the numbers of our race who have lived on the earth. |
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A person standing occupies about one and two-thirds square feet
of space. At this rate the present population of the earth (one
billion four hundred million persons) could stand on an area of
eighty-six square miles--an area much less than that of the city
of London or of Philadelphia. And the island of Ireland (area,
thirty-two thousand square miles) would furnish standing room
for more than twice the number of people who have ever lived on
the earth, even at our exaggerated estimate. |
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There is not much difficulty, then, in settling this objection.
And when we call to mind the prophecy of Isaiah 35:1-6, that the
earth shall yield her increase; that the desert shall rejoice
and blossom as the rose; that in the wilderness shall waters break
out, and streams in the desert, we see that God indicates that
he has foreseen all the necessities of his plan, and will make
ample provision for the needs of his creatures in what will seem
a very natural way. |
| Was
primeval man lacking in intelligence?
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Restitution Versus Evolution
It may be objected by some that the testimony of the Scriptures
concerning human restitution to a former estate is out of harmony
with the teachings of science and philosophy, which, with apparent
reason, point us to the superior intelligence of this twentieth
century, and claim this as conclusive evidence that primeval
man must have been, in comparison, very lacking in intelligence,
which they claim is the result of development. From this standpoint,
a restitution to a former estate would be far from desirable,
and certainly the reverse of a blessing. |
| Did
Adam fall upward? |
At first sight such reasoning appears plausible, and many seem
inclined to accept it as truth without careful examination, saying,
with a celebrated Brooklyn preacher, If Adam fell at all his fall
was upward, and the more and faster we fall from his original
state the better for us and for all concerned. |
 |
Thus philosophy, even in the pulpit, would make the Word of God
of no effect, and if possible convince us that the apostles were
fools when they declared that death and every trouble came by
the first man's disobedience, and that these could be removed
and man restored to divine favor and life only by means of a ransom.
Romans 5:10,12,17-19,21; 8:19-22; Acts 3:19-21; Revelation 21:3-5
But let us not hastily conclude that
this philosophy is impregnable; for should we be obliged to
discard the doctrines of the apostles relative to the origin
of sin and death, and of restitution to an original perfection,
we should, in honesty, be obliged to reject their testimony
entirely and on every subject, as uninspired and consequently
without special weight or authority. Let us, then, in the light
of facts, briefly examine this growingly popular view and see
how deep is its philosophy. |
|
Says an advocate and representative of this theory: "Man
was first in a stage of existence in which his animal nature predominated,
and the almost purely physical ruled him; then he slowly grew
from one state to another until now, when the average man has
attained to a condition in which, it might be said, he is coming
under the rule of the brain.
Hence this age may be regarded and
designated as the Brain Age. Brain pushes the great enterprises
of the day. Brain takes the reins of government; and the elements
of the earth, air and water are being brought under subjection.
Man is putting his hand on all physical forces, and slowly but
surely attaining such power over the domain of nature as gives
evidence that ultimately he may exclaim, in the language of
Alexander Selkirk, 'I am monarch of all I survey.'" |
| Scientific
research is not infallible. |
The fact that at first glance a theory appears reasonable should
not lead us hastily to accept it, and to attempt to twist the
Bible into harmony with it. In a thousand ways we have proved
the Bible, and know beyond peradventure that it contains a superhuman
wisdom which makes its statements unerring. We should remember,
too, that while scientific research is to be commended, and its
suggestions considered, yet its conclusions are by no means infallible.
And what wonder that it has proven
its own theories false a thousand times, when we remember that
the true scientist is merely a student attempting, under many
unfavorable circumstances, and struggling against almost insurmountable
difficulties, to learn from the great Book of Nature the history
and destiny of man and his home. |
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We would not, then, either oppose or hinder scientific investigation;
but in hearing suggestions from students of the Book of Nature,
let us carefully compare their deductions, which have so often
proved in part or wholly erroneous, with the Book of Divine Revelation,
and prove or disprove the teachings of scientists by "the
law and the testimony. If they speak not according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20
An accurate knowledge of both books
will prove them to be harmonious; but until we have such knowledge,
God's Revelation must take precedence, and must be the standard
among the , by which the supposed findings of fallible fellowmen
shall be judged. |
| The
Brain Age learns from past ages.
|
But while holding to this principle, let us see whether there
is not some other reasonable solution of the increased knowledge
and skill and power of man than the theory of Evolution--that
though originally developed from a very low order of being, man
has now reached the superior or "Brain Age." Perhaps
after all we shall find that the inventions and conveniences,
the general education and wider diffusion and increase of knowledge,
are not attributable to a greater brain capacity, but to more
favorable circumstances for the use of brains.
That the brain capacity today is greater than in by-gone ages, we deny; while we freely admit that, owing to advantageous circumstances, the use of what brain capacity men have today is more general than at any former period, and hence makes a much larger showing. In the study of painting and sculpture, do not the students of this "Brain Age" go back to the great masters of the past? Do they not by so doing acknowledge a brain power and originality of design as well as a skill of workmanship worthy of imitation? Does not the present "Brain Age"
draw largely upon the original designs of the past ages for
its architecture? Do not the orators and logicians of this "Brain
Age" study and copy the methods and syllogisms of Plato,
Aristotle, Demosthenes and others of the past? Might not many
of the public speakers of today well covet the tongue of a Demosthenes
or an Apollos, and much more the clear reasoning power of the
Apostle Paul? |
| Logic
and law of past ages is the embodiment of marvelous wisdom. |
To go still further back: while we might well refer to the rhetorical
powers of several of the prophets, and to the sublime poetic paintings
interspersed throughout the Psalms, we refer these "Brain
Age" philosophers to the wisdom and logic, no less than to
the fine moral sensibilities, of Job and his comforters.
And what shall we say of Moses, "learned
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians"? The laws given through
him have been the foundation for the laws of all civilized nations,
and are still recognized as the embodiment of marvelous wisdom. |
| Ancient
manufacturing methods defy duplication. |
The exhuming of ancient buried cities reveals a knowledge of the
arts and sciences in ages past which is surprising some of the
philosophers of this so-called "Brain Age." The ancient
methods of embalming the dead, of tempering copper, of making
elastic glass and Damascus steel, are among the achievements of
the remote past which the brain of the present age, with all its
advantages, is unable either to comprehend or to duplicate. |
The
amazing
|
Going back four thousand years to about Abraham's time, we find
the Great Pyramid of Egypt--an object of wonder and amazement
to the most learned scientists of today. Its construction is in
exact accord with the most advanced attainments of this "Brain
Age" in the sciences of Mathematics and Astronomy. It teaches,
positively, truths which can today be only approximated by the
use of modern instruments.
So striking and clear are its teachings that some of the foremost astronomers of the world have unhesitatingly pronounced it to be of divine origin. And even if our "Brain Age" evolutionists should admit that it is of divine arrangement, and that its wisdom is superhuman, they must still admit that it is of human construction. And the fact that in that remote day
any set of men had the mental capacity to work out such a divine
arrangement as very few men today would be capable of doing
with a model before them, and with all modern scientific appliances
at hand, proves that our "Brain Age" develops more
self-conceit than circumstances and facts warrant. |
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The mental capacity of today is not greater than that of the past.
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If, then, we have proven that the mental capacity of today is not greater than that of past ages, but probably less, how shall we account for the increase of general knowledge, modern inventions, etc.? We trust we shall be able to show this reasonably and in harmony with Scripture. The inventions and discoveries which are now proving so valuable, and which are considered proof that this is the "Brain Age," are really very modern--nearly all having come within the past century, and among the most important are those of the last threescore years; for instance, the application of steam and electricity--in telegraphy, railroading and steamboating, and to the machinery of the various mechanical industries. If, then, these be evidences of increased brain power, the "Brain Age" must be only beginning, and the logical deduction is that another century will witness every form of miracle as an everyday occurrence; and at the same ratio of increase, where would it eventuate?
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| Only
a small number of men are of great brain power or genius.
Discoveries |
But let us look again: Are all men inventors? How very few there
are whose inventions are really useful and practical, compared
with the number who appreciate and use an invention when put into
their hand! Nor do we speak disparagingly of that very useful
and highly-esteemed class of public servants when we say that
the smaller number of them are men of great brain-power.
Some of the most brainy men in the world, and the deepest reasoners, are not mechanical inventors. And some inventors are intellectually so sluggish that all wonder how they ever stumbled into the discoveries they made. The great principles (electricity,
steam power, etc.), which many men in many years work out, apply
and improve upon, time and again, were generally discovered
apparently by the merest accident, without the exercise of great
brain power, and comparatively unsought. |
The invention
Modern inventions
indicate sharper perception and |
From a human standpoint we can account for modern inventions thus:
The invention of printing, in A.D. 1440, may be considered the
starting point. With the printing of books came records of the
thoughts and discoveries of thinkers and observers, which, without
this invention, would never have been known to their successors.
With books came a more general education and, finally, common schools. Schools and colleges do not increase human capacity, but they do make mental exercise more general, and hence help to develop the capacity already possessed. As knowledge becomes more general and books more common, the generations possessing these have a decided advantage over previous generations; not only in that there are now a thousand thinkers to one formerly, to sharpen and stimulate each other with suggestions, but also in that each of the later generations has, through books, the combined experience of the past in addition to its own. Education and the laudable ambition which accompanies it, enterprise, and a desire to achieve distinction and a competency, aided by the record and descriptions of inventions in the daily press, have stimulated and brightened man's perceptive powers, and put each upon the alert to discover or to invent, if possible, something for the good and convenience of society. Hence we suggest that modern invention, looked at from a purely human standpoint, teaches, not an increase of brain capacity, but a sharpened perception from natural causes.
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"Many shall run "Knowledge shall "A time of trouble |
And now we come to the Scriptures to see what they teach on the
subject; for while we believe, as suggested above, that invention
and the increase of knowledge, etc., among men are the results
of natural causes, yet we believe that these natural causes
were all planned and ordered by Jehovah God long ago, and that
in due time they have come to pass--by his overruling providence,
whereby he "worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will." Ephesians 1:11
According to the plan revealed in his Word, God purposed to permit sin and misery to misrule and oppress the world for six thousand years, and then in the seventh millennium to restore all things, and to extirpate evil--destroying it and its consequences by Jesus Christ, whom he hath afore ordained to do this work. Hence, as the six thousand years of the reign of evil began to draw to a close, God permitted circumstances to favor discoveries, in the study of both his Book of Revelation and his Book of Nature, as well as in the preparation of mechanical and chemical appliances useful in the blessing and uplifting of mankind during the Millennial age, now about to be introduced. That this was God's plan is clearly indicated by the prophetic statement:
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| Mankind will have a full appreciation of the curse. |
To some it may appear strange that God did not so arrange that
the present inventions and blessings should sooner have come to
man to alleviate the curse. It should be remembered, however,
that God's plan has been to give mankind a full appreciation of
the curse, in order that when the blessing comes upon all they
may forever have decided upon the unprofitableness of sin.
Furthermore, God foresaw and has foretold what the world does not yet realize, namely, that his choicest blessings would lead to and be productive of greater evils if bestowed upon those whose hearts are not in accord with the righteous laws of the universe. Ultimately it will be seen that God's
present permission of increased blessings is a practical lesson
on this subject, which may serve as an example of this principle
to all eternity--to angels as well as to restored men. How this
can be, we merely suggest: |
| Their
selfishness now holds sway over all.
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First: So long as mankind is in the present fallen or depraved
condition, without stringent laws and penalties and a government
strong enough to enforce them, the selfish propensities will hold
more or less sway over all. And with the unequal individual capacities
of men considered, it cannot possibly happen otherwise than that
the result of the invention of labor-saving machinery must, after
the flurry and stimulus occasioned by the manufacture of machinery,
tend to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer.
The manifest tendency is toward monopoly
and self- aggrandizement, which places the advantage directly
in the hands of those whose capacity and natural advantages
are already the most favorable. |
| Idleness
is injurious.
"Day of Preparation"
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Secondly: If it were possible to legislate so as to divide the
present wealth and its daily increase evenly among all classes,
which is not possible, still, without human perfection or a supernatural
government to regulate human affairs, the results would be even
more injurious than the present condition. If the advantages of
labor-saving machinery and all modern appliances were evenly divided,
the result would, ere long, be a great decrease of hours of labor
and a great increase of leisure. Idleness is a most injurious
thing to fallen beings.
Had it not been for the necessity of labor and sweat of face, the deterioration of our race would have been much more rapid than it has been. Idleness is the mother of vice; and mental, moral and physical degradation are sure to follow. Hence the wisdom and goodness of God in withholding these blessings until it was due time for their introduction as a preparation for the Millennial reign of blessing. Under the control of the supernatural government of the Kingdom of God, not only will all blessings be equitably divided among men, but the leisure will be so ordered and directed by the same supernatural government that its results will produce virtue and tend upward toward perfection, mental, moral and physical. The present multiplication of inventions
and other blessings of increasing knowledge is permitted in
this "day of preparation" to come about in so natural
a way that men flatter themselves that it is because this is
the "Brain Age"; but it will be permitted in great
measure to work out in a manner very much to the disappointment,
no doubt, of these wise philosophers. It is the very increase
of these blessings that is already beginning to bring upon the
world the time of trouble, which will be such as never has been
since there was a nation. |
| The
increase of knowledge is producing the predicted time of trouble.
|
The prophet Daniel, as quoted above, links together the increase
of knowledge and the time of trouble. The knowledge causes the
trouble, because of the depravity of the race. The increase of
knowledge has not only given the world wonderful labor-saving
machinery and conveniences, but it has also led to an increase
of medical skill whereby thousands of lives are prolonged, and
it has so enlightened mankind that human butchery, war, is becoming
less popular, and thus, too, other thousands are spared to multiply
still further the race, which is increasing more rapidly today,
perhaps, than at any other period of history.
Thus, while mankind is multiplying
rapidly, the necessity for his labor is decreasing correspondingly;
and the "Brain Age" philosophers have a problem before
them to provide for the employment and sustenance of this large
and rapidly increasing class whose services, for the most part
supplanted by machinery, can be dispensed with, but whose necessities
and wants know no bounds. The solution of this problem, these
philosophers must ultimately admit, is beyond their brain capacity. |
| Selfishness
and self-preservation. |
Selfishness will continue to control the wealthy, who hold the
power and advantage, and will blind them to common sense as well
as to justice; while a similar selfishness, combined with the
instinct of self-preservation and an increased knowledge
of their rights, will nerve some and inflame others of the poorer
classes, and the result of these blessings will, for a
time, prove terrible--a time of trouble, truly, such as was not
since there was a nation--and this, because man in a depraved
condition cannot properly use these blessings unguided and uncontrolled.
Not until the Millennial reign shall
have rewritten the law of God in the restored human heart will
men be capable of using full liberty without injury or danger. |
| The
day of trouble will end in due time. |
The day of trouble will end in due time, when he who spake to
the raging Sea of Galilee will likewise, with authority, command
the raging sea of human passion, saying, "Peace! Be still!"
When the Prince of Peace shall "stand up" in
authority, a great calm will be the result.
Then the raging and clashing elements
shall recognize the authority of "Jehovah's Anointed,"
"the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together"; and in the reign of the Christ
thus begun "shall all the families of the earth be blessed." |
| Men
will see God’s compassion and love.
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Then men will see that what they attributed to evolution or natural
development and the smartness of the "Brain Age" was,
instead, the flashings of Jehovah's lightnings (Psalms 77:18)
in "the day of his preparation" for the blessing
of mankind. But as yet only the saints can see, and only the wise
in heavenly wisdom can understand this; for "The secret
of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them
his covenant." Psalms 25:14
Thanks be to God, that while general
knowledge has been increased, he has also arranged that his
children need "not be unfruitful in the knowledge of the
Lord" and in the appreciation of his plans. And by this
appreciation of his Word and plans we are enabled to discern
and to withstand the vain philosophies and foolish traditions
of men which contradict the Word of God. |
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The Bible account of man's creation is that God created him perfect
and upright, an earthly image of himself; that man sought out
various inventions and defiled himself (Genesis 1:27; Romans 5:12;
Ecclesiastes 7:29); that, all being sinners, the race was unable
to help itself, and none could by any means redeem his brother
or give to God a ransom for him (Psalms 49:7,15); that God in
compassion and love had made provision for this; that, accordingly,
the Son of God became a man, and gave man's ransom-price; that,
as a reward for this sacrifice, and in order to the completion
of the great work of atonement, he was highly exalted, even to
the divine nature; and that in due time he will bring to pass
a restitution of the race to the original perfection and to every
blessing then possessed.
These things are clearly taught in
the Scriptures, from beginning to end, and are in direct opposition
to the Evolution theory; or, rather, such "babblings
of science, falsely so called," are in violent and
irreconcilable conflict with the Word of God. |
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Then on your soil shall |
The sultry sands shall tenfold harvests yield. And a new Eden deck the thorny field. E'en now we see, wide- waving o'er the land, The mighty angel lifts his golden wand. |
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Courts the bright vision of descending power, Tells every gate and measures every tower; And chides the tardy seals that yet detain Thy Lion, Judah, from his destined reign. |
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