p. 1 | The Object of Creation by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 30, 1872

The Object of Creation.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.

(Concluded.)

We will now notice a few out of a great number of passages, pointing to the restoration of the earth. Gen. 13:14, 15: “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” In other words, Abram was to look in every direction, and all the lands which he could see, God promised to him, and to his seed forever. Again, “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Gen. 17:8. Here all this land was again promised to Abram and to his seed for an everlasting possession.

Well, was not this promise fulfilled long ago? Did not the Israelites, Abram’s seed, long possess the land of Canaan, and thus receive the fulfillment of that promise? We will listen to what the martyr Stephen said of Abram, and of this promise. Acts 7:4, 5: “Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.”

This testimony is too direct to be mistaken. As late as Stephen’s time, the promise had never been fulfilled. Neither Abraham nor his seed had possessed the land, yet God had promised that he should. We all know that he has not had it since that time. Listen to what Paul says concerning this seed of Abraham: “Now to Abraham and to his seed were the promises made.” Gal. 3:16. Well, that is the very thing that we have been reading about. Listen further: “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many;” that is, when he said to Abraham, “to thy seed,” he did not put it in the plural number, seeds, as meaning all the literal descendants of Abraham. This is not what God meant. “But,” continues Paul, “as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ.”

Then that seed which was spoken of is Christ. So when God said of Abraham, “To thee and to thy seed will I give all these countries,” he meant, “to thee and to Christ will I give them.” And Paul further shows that the promise embraces the whole world. Rom. 4:19: “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”

In that promise to Abraham every Christian has an interest. Hear Paul still further: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:29. Reader, are you a Christian? If so, you are Christ’s. Then what follows? Paul says, If you are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to that promise. So we see that every Christian has an interest in that promise to Abraham concerning the land of Canaan, or rather, of the whole world.

Now we know that neither Abraham, nor Christ, nor Christians have ever possessed that land. Abraham was a pilgrim and stranger in it, Heb. 11:8, 13; and Christ had not where to lay his head, Matt. 8:20; and millions of Christians have had no more. So it must be still future when Abraham, and Christ, and all Christians shall have the promised land for an everlasting possession. Then will be fulfilled Ps. 2:7–9: “I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

In harmony with the above scripture is the declaration of the prophet, that to the Messiah should be given the throne of David, and he should rule over his kingdom forever. Isa. 9:7: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

The angel, in announcing the birth of Jesus, says of him: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33. Christ, then, is to possess the throne of David and rule over his kingdom forever. We well know that David’s throne was never in Heaven, but was upon the earth. Hence the throne of Christ is to be on this earth, and it is to stay here forever. Hence we read again in Rev. 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” The sounding of the seventh angel brings us to the close of time and the setting of the Judgment, as all admit. Right there the kingdoms of this world are given to Christ to reign over them—not simply a thousand years, but forever and ever. Texts almost without number directly teaching this doctrine might be quoted; but we forbear.

That this earth is to become the final abode of the redeemed saints, is taught in the clearest and most emphatic manner. Says Jesus, “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5. Says the prophet Daniel: “But the Judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Daniel 7:26, 27. It is a kingdom under the whole heavens, which the saints are to possess. It is to be an everlasting kingdom; there shall be no end to it. This shall be their inheritance.

The reader must bear in mind that the earth which the saints will inherit is not to be in the condition in which we now see it. It is to be a new, or rather, a renewed, earth. Sin shall depart, and the curse be wiped off. The fires of the great day of God will purify this old earth from all its corruptions, and utterly destroy all the corrupt masses of wicked men. Peter makes this subject very plain (2 Pet. 3:5–13). He states how the earth was once cleansed from its pollution and wickedness by the flood of waters: “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” Verses 5, 6. We know that this was a literal earth, cleansed with literal water, and that the wicked were literally destroyed. Thus it was cleansed once, but it is to be cleansed again—this time in a more thorough manner and more effectually. All wicked men will meet their end in this final destruction. Peter says, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Verse 7. The other time it was cleansed by water, but the next time, it will be by fire at the day of Judgment. Then he proceeds to explain minutely how this will be done, how the fire will affect the earth: “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.” Verses 10–13.

When that burning day shall come, the heavens, that is the atmospheric heavens, the air, will be on fire. The elements and the earth itself will melt with fervent heat. So intense and terrible will that fire be that it will melt and dissolve the solid earth. The granite rocks and solid mountains will melt, and run down like wax. From pole to pole, from one side of the earth to the other, will be nothing but one vast body of liquid fire. In this fire, Peter says, the works that are in the earth will be burned up. These works referred to, we understand to include all wicked men, the physical pollutions of the earth, as thorns and thistles, and every trail of the old serpent. Malachi speaks thus of this burning day: “For behold the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Chap. 4:1. Peter says that the day of the Lord will come, in which the heavens and the earth shall burn. Malachi says, Behold the day cometh which shall burn as an oven. When God shall burn this earth, that will certainly be a day that shall burn like an oven. Peter says that the works in the earth shall be burned up. Malachi says that all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be burned up, root and branch, in that fire.

When God shall thus melt this earth, we understand that it will form the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8) into which the wicked are to be cast. This fire will utterly and radically purify this old earth; and from this fire will come forth a glorious new earth, henceforth to be the eternal abode of the saints. After clearly stating this terrible purifying process, Peter says, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” This new earth is not to be another earth so far as actual material is concerned. It is new only in the sense that a converted man is a new creature, i. e., renewed and purified. Peter says that it is according to his promise. We find this promise very plainly stated in Isa. 65:17–25. “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.” “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock, and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” Verses 17, 18, 25. Thus we see that this promise contemplates an actual earth—a restored earth, wherein will be the same things, animals and all, which God has placed upon the earth.

But, says one, shall we have animals in the new earth? Most certainly; why not? Did not God make them there in the beginning, before the fall? and is there not to be a restoration of all things? If so, will not these be restored? Listen to the prophet again: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. 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.” Isa. 11:6–9.

What a glorious scene that will be when gentleness, harmony, and peace, shall reign, not only among men, but in the brute creation. These will not be spiritual lions, and wolves, and lambs, and children, who are to thus dwell together in harmony. No; they will be just such real ones as God made in Eden. Neither will man be simply an immaterial, ghostly essence to flit from cloud to cloud, like a butterfly among flowers, without any definite object. No; he will be a real, material man, composed of flesh and bones as actually as was Adam when he came from the hand of God. That this will be so after the resurrection, is easily shown:

1. The earth is man’s proper place in the universe. God made man to occupy this place and no other, and he is every way adapted to it. The new earth will be a material earth, covered with grass, and trees producing delicious fruit, on which man will feed. Hence, man must be a material man to fill such a place.

2. The resurrected saints are to be like Jesus after his resurrection. John says, “When he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2. Paul says, “We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” Phil. 3:20, 21.

Now let us see what kind of body Christ had after his resurrection: “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before them.” Luke

24:36–43.

Nothing could be plainer than this. Jesus declares that he had flesh and bones, and told his disciples to handle him and see; and to still further convince them, he ate material food before them. Peter says that the apostles “did eat and drink with him after he arose from the dead.” Acts 10:41. But did he go to Heaven with this same body? Paul declares that he did. Eph. 4:9, 10: “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” The same body that went into the earth at its burial went to Heaven at its ascension. Peter puts this beyond all dispute when he says “that God had sworn with an oath to him [David] that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” Acts 2:30, 31.

The Christ, then, who in the future is to sit on the throne of David must have flesh, must be David’s son according to the flesh. Will, then, the king who reigns have flesh and bones, and all his saints be immaterial spirits around him? No. For both Paul and John say that the saints will be like him. Isaiah says that these very bodies shall be raised to life. “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out her dead.” Isa. 26:19. Good old Job believed that he should have flesh, and be as real a man after his resurrection as he was before. Listen to him: “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Job 19:25–27. This certainly is plain enough. Many texts might be quoted, but we will not weary the reader.

From all this mass of testimony, it seems to us that the final destiny of man and this earth is very plain. God’s original purpose concerning it can readily be seen, and that that purpose will ultimately be accomplished and carried out to a glorious consummation, we think we have plainly shown. These dark days of sin and suffering are only temporary. They will soon pass away. The clouds will be dispersed. The sun will rise again. The glory of God will once more fill this earth. Eden shall bloom here again. The tree of life shall once more yield its immortal fruit. Pollution and death shall vanish away. Even the brute creation, the fowls in the air, the fishes in the sea, the cattle upon a thousand hills, shall again appear with all their original beauty and harmlessness. Then man, tried and proved faithful, resurrected and made immortal, freed from physical and moral deformity, once more crowned with the glory of God, shall tread these beautiful shores with gladness of heart and songs of praise to the great and glorious God.

Dear reader, that day draws on apace. A few more aches and pains, a few more crosses, and conflicts with sin, a few more nights of sorrow, and that glorious day will come. Cheer up, hope in God, be strong for the right, and ever keep the prize in view.