THE EARTH WILL BE PURIFIED BY FIRE.
The earth itself, once pure, has in a certain sense become impure by sin, and needs to be cleansed from its contaminating influence. Water is a purifying element, and so is fire. We have the strongest proof from both sacred and profane history that this earth was once purified from sin by a flood of waters. Even barbarous nations and those inhabiting the far distant islands of the ocean have a tradition of the great flood which once came upon the earth. Hence there can be no doubt in regard to the reality of that great event. Yet there are some who doubt this fact in the world's history. There certainly were infidels and scoffers in the time of Noah, who witnessed the building of the ark, and no doubt ridiculed Noah and called him a fanatic. They never were converted to a belief in his preaching till the flood came upon them. Just so it is with our modern infidels and scoffers while the truth in regard to Christ's second coming and the destruction of the world by fire is being proclaimed. Instead of heeding the warning voice, and fleeing to the ark of safety, they cry out, fanaticism, and say that “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation,” and that the world will yet stand thousands of years. Many of these infidels do not believe in any Creator, therefore they seem to think there is no power to destroy. Many are not aware of the hidden forces of nature, and that there are in the system of nature certain laws and conditions which forcibly indicate a general conflagration. To illustrate this point, we quote from Dick's works, Vol. 2, page 135, as follows:— “For should the Creator send forth his almighty fiat, ‘Let the nitrogen of the atmosphere be completely separated from the oxygen, and let the oxygen exert its native energies without control wherever it extends;’—from what we know of nature, we are warranted in concluding that instantly a universal conflagration would commence throughout all the kingdoms of nature—not only wood, coal, sulphur and all other combustible substances, but even the hardest rocks and stones, and all the metals, fossils, and minerals, and water itself (which is a compound of two inflammable substances,) would blaze with a rapidity which would carry destruction through the whole expanse of the terraqueous globe, and change its present aspect into that of a new world; at the same time, all the other laws of nature might still operate as they have hitherto done since the creation of the world. I do not mean positively to assert that this is the agent which the Almighty will certainly employ to accomplish this terrible catastrophe, though I think it highly probable, since Infinite Power is possessed of numerous resources for accomplishing its objects, which lie beyond the sphere of99our knowledge and comprehension. But I have brought forward this fact to show with what infinite ease this event may be accomplished when Almighty Power is interposed.” “By means of the knowledge we have acquired of the constitution of the atmosphere, and by the aid of chemical apparatus, we can perform experiments on a small scale, similar in kind though infinitely inferior in degree, to the awful event under consideration. And, therefore, we can easily conceive that He who formed the expansive atmosphere which surrounds us, and who knows the native energy of its constituent principles, may, by a simple volition, make that invisible fluid, in a few moments, the cause of the destruction of the present constitution of our world, and, at the same time, the means of this subsequent renovation. For as fire does not annihilate, but only change the forms of matter, this globe on which we now tread, and which bears the marks of ruin and disruption in several parts of its structure, may come forth from the flames of a general conflagration, purified from all its physical evils, adorned with new beauties and sublimities, and rendered a fit habitation for pure intelligences. For though the heavens, or the atmosphere, ‘shall be dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat,’ ‘yet,’ says the apostle Peter, ‘we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’” The preceding thoughts of Dr. Dick in respect to the future renovation of the earth, accord well with the Bible, and should weigh with every candid, thoughtful mind. Peter says, “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.” 2 Pet. 3:10. The prophet Isaiah, alluding to the overthrow of the earth, says: “For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.” Isa. 34:8, 9. The heavens of which Peter speaks, refer to the atmospheric firmament or expanse over our heads, in which in the final conflagration there will be terrific explosions, and also in the earth, when the Almighty uses the forces of nature to accomplish his purpose. From the text quoted (and we might quote many more) it will be seen that every element will burn in the purifying process. By referring to Mal. 4:1, it will be seen that the living wicked are then destroyed. “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.” But it is not until death and hell are cast into the lake of fire that the earth is perfectly purified and the last vestige of sin wiped out. See Rev. 20. The following from the Girard News, a Kansas paper of Dec. 13, 1878, shows that the burning of this world is probable and “fearfully possible:”— “The coming destruction of the world by fire was treated of in a sermon delivered by the Rev. L. B. Hughes of Philadelphia. In quoting from heathen tradition to prove that the ancients believed that this earth would end with a conflagration, Mr. Hughes referred to Biblical revelations on this subject, and urged that modern science has made such disclosures respecting the internal structure of the earth as to leave no doubt as to the possibility of its being consumed by fire. ‘We know,’ said the preacher, ‘that the interior of the earth is a melted mass of burning material; that the habitable world, the part we occupy, is but a mere crust or shell over these deep, hot fires; that earthquakes are caused by the vapors engendered by the heated mass when water comes in contact with it, and that volcanoes are but vent holes through which these internal flames make their way to the surface. “Whether these fires will everywhere burn to the surface and so produce a general conflagration, science has not determined; but no one can doubt that the simple command of God would be enough to send the all-consuming flames over the earth, even as he once willed the waters over every mountain and valley. The possibility and probability of all this happening may be inferred from the fact that such changes are taking place in other worlds. During the last two or three centuries upward of thirteen fixed stars have disappeared. One of these was on fire for sixteen months, the brilliancy being so great as to be visible to the naked eye at midday. Finally it was lost to sight. There was one world burned up. Why can't another? It is believed that the conflagration may at any time take place. “The burning of our globe is a disaster which may be quickly accomplished and effected in conformity with the laws which now operate in its constitution. We are in immediate contact with an element which of itself would be sufficient to produce the flame-spreading scene. This element is the atmosphere which we are every moment breathing. He who knows its wonderful nature and latent powers, with a simple single volition, in an instant, could make this invisible fluid the cause of the all-consuming fire. Shall we not say, then, that the burning of the world is fearfully possible?” WM. PENNIMAN.