| On page 91 of The Divine Plan of the Ages,
the writer presents these beautiful thoughts: "Close your eyes for a moment to the
scenes of misery and woe, degradation and sorrow that yet prevail on account of sin, and
picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect earth. Not a stain of sin mars
the harmony and peace of a perfect society; not a bitter thought, not an unkind look or
word; love, welling up from every heart, meets a kindred response in every heart, and
benevolence marks every act. There sickness shall be no more; not an ache nor a pain, nor
any evidence of decay -- not even the fear of such things. Think of all the pictures of
comparative health and beauty of form and feature that you have ever seen, and know that
perfect humanity will be of surpassing loveliness. The inward purity and mental and moral
perfection will stamp and glorify every radiant countenance. Such will earth's society be;
and weeping bereaved ones will have their tears all wiped away, when thus they realize the
resurrection work complete (Rev. 21:4). "And this is the change in human society only. We call to mind that the earth also, which was 'made to be inhabited' by such a race of beings, is to be a fit abode for them, as represented in the Edenic paradise, in which the representative man was at first placed. Paradise shall be restored. The earth shall no more bring forth thorns and briars, and require the sweat of man's face to yield his bread, but the 'earth shall [easily and naturally] yield her increase'. 'The desert shall blossom as the rose'." In the above beautiful picture, a glorious future is forecast. It is significant, however, that the writer, while vividly portraying the joy and happiness that shall come, and the things that shall be done away with, omits the most significant of all. "Death shall be abolished" (2 Tim. 1:10). Joy could not be eternal nor universal if some were holden in death (call it "Adamic" death or "Second Death"). The picture of the future is greatly enhanced if we get into it all the details that the Scriptures give; and one that is necessary to make the presentation perfect is the fact that death shall be abolished, and the operation of evil shall be banished, and a completely reconciled universe presented to God that He may and shall become ALL IN ALL |
[Return To Contents]
|