What Christ's Coming Means to the Earth
By C. P. Bollman
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. Isa. 45:18. THAT God's original purpose concerning this earth will be carried out, and that it will finally become the home of the redeemed race, holy in character and loyal to their Creator, none can doubt who believes the testimony of divine inspiration. But this side of the time when the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, it must pass through the purging fires of the day of God. The curse of sin rests heavily not only upon man, the actual sinner, but upon the earth itself, the home of man. To Adam the Lord said, "Because thou hast . . . eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 'Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.'" Gen. 3:17, 18. The apostle tells us that not only man but "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now," awaiting "the redemption of the purchased possession." Rom. 8:22; Eph. 1:14. As our characters must be transformed, and our vile bodies be changed and fashioned after His glorious body (see Phil. 3:21), so must this earth be renovated and made new before it can be "filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab. 2:14. There are two burning days, or times, spoken of in the Scriptures, each of which contributes something toward the cleansing of the earth from the human guilt which now rests so heavily upon it; one of these is at the beginning of the day of the Lord, and the other at its close. In the first of these times of burning, the surface of the earth is broken up, and the world is depopulated, leaving it a dreary waste without human inhabitant. The second burning day visits with the second death all the wicked, they having been raised from the dead, and melts the earth with "fervent heat," thus purifying it alike from the last trace of sin and from the presence of sinners. We learn from Rev. 20:4-6 that the day of the Lord covers approximately a thousand years, for there is an interval of one thousand years between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked. (See Rev. 20:5.) There is the same interval approximately between the first and the second burning day. Of that which befalls the earth at the beginning of the thousand years that separates the two resurrections, the prophet Isaiah says: "It is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences 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. 34:8-10. Of the same time another prophet says: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end." Jer. 4:23-27. In Dan. 2:34, 35 we are told that in the end of this world all earthly kingdoms become "like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors," and the wind carries them away, that no place is found for them. This probably refers more to the governments and people than to the territory which these kingdoms occupy. We know, however, from other texts, that at this time the earth itself will be more or less broken and burned. The prophet Joel tells us that "the earth shall quake; . . . the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." Joel 2:10. The apostle Peter says that "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 Peter 3:10. But the same apostle adds, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Verse 13. These texts reveal the fact that the coming of the Lord, or in other words, the day of the Lord, not only brings utter destruction to the earth, but at its close it likewise brings complete restoration to its Eden glory and perfection. When the earth came fresh from the hand of the Creator, He "saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." Gen. 1:31. "Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever," says the preacher; "nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it." Eccl. 3:14. The Earth Not to Be Destroyed
God formed the earth not for destruction, but that it might be the abode of a race of beings loyal to Him and to the principles of His government. Satan attempted to defeat the divine plan by compassing the fall of man. But Christ redeemed not only man but the earth also, and will finally restore it to its original purity and beauty, and make it the eternal home of the redeemed race. As it was once given to the first Adam, so it will again be given to the second Adam. "And Thou, O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4:8. We have read the assurance given us through the apostle Peter that "according to His promise" this will certainly be even so. Our Saviour, quoting from the 37th Psalm, said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." The psalmist adds this assurance,—that they shall "dwell therein forever." A Vision of the New Earth
In the vision given him upon the isle of Patmos, the beloved John saw the earth as it will appear when purged from sin and sinners, and given again to man redeemed from the curse. Relating his vision, the seer of Patmos says: I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. . . . And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. . . . And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. . . . And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Human language is impotent to add to this God-given description of the glory and beauty of the renewed earth and of its capital city. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." We speak of the realms of the blest,
That city so bright and so fair,
And oft are its glories confessed;
But what must it be to be there! But let it be borne in mind that it is prepared only "for them that love Him;" all others perish in the purging fires of the great day.