Age of the World by W. M. H.

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Mar 21, 1878

Age of the World.

By W. M. H.

Reader, in what age of the world do you think we are living? In its infancy? Middle age? or in the time when it, like a field of corn fully ripe is ready for the harvest? The earth itself shows signs of old age.

Herodotus (B. c. 446), p. 59, says: “But the soil is so particularly well adapted for corn, that it never produces less than 200 fold. In seasons which are remarkably favorable, it will sometimes rise to 300. The ears of their wheat as well as their barley, are four digits in size.”

In Jews’ “Letters to Voltaire,” pp. 260, 262, we find the following:—

“In many distributions of land, made, not only under the kings of Rome, but 400 years after its foundation, about 300 B. c. every citizen or planter got but two acres of ground.” These planters’ families, they say, “averaged six persons.” Now 160 acres is considered a small farm for a family of six persons. There has been a wonderful decline in the productiveness of the soil in the United States within the past few years. Many farms in New England, that were once considered rich are now left without cultivation.

Forty years ago the State of New York was a great wheat producing region, to-day it is almost a failure for that purpose; then we come to Ohio and Illinois. The prairies of Illinois it was thought twenty-five years ago never would fail to produce large crops of wheat, but the failure has come. Minnesota and Iowa are already showing signs of decline in producing this cereal. The same is true even in the new and rich valleys of California.

Is not the testimony of Isa. 51:6, fulfilled? “The earth shall wax old like a garment.” We find the same decline in the production of vegetables and fruits. G. W. Southwick, of Indiana, in the N. Y. Tribune, November 17, 1868, says: “This is the oldest settled part of the State. And formerly we used to have abundance of all kinds of fruit, apples included, but for the last few years, apples have almost uniformly failed.”

The celebrated Solon Robinson said: “All through the Eastern States, many have taken great pains, have fertilized and cultivated, and even planted new orchards; but so far from finding a remedy, the trees have died. Everywhere our apple trees are decaying, and they seem doomed.” The Tribune speaks of “new and unheard-of diseases in the pear trees,” and asks, “What has become of nice apples?” Joel’s prophecy found in Joel 1:12, seems to point to this state of things. “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered, because joy is withered away from the sons of men.”

If these things continue, with the wonderful increase of destructive insects how long can man exist upon the earth? But we find the human race themselves rapidly drawing to extinction. We know by history that human life is now on an average, much shorter than it was a few generations past. Compare the boys and girls of the rising generation with those that lived one hundred years ago, and we cannot fail to see a great falling away in physical strength and vital power. Evidently the human race is running out. According to Gen. 5, the average of life was about 900 years for several generations after the creation; now the average is a little over thirty years. At this rate only a few hundred years more and man would be extinct from the earth. Will this be the case? or will some great change soon take place? Most thinkers upon this subject look for some change. What will it be? Can it be the second advent of Christ? W. M. H.