WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THIS EARTH?
By A. O. Tait
Will this earth cease to be inhabited? "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." This plainly affirms that if the earth should cease to be inhabited, its creation would have been in vain. 2. For what was the earth formed? "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 unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings, and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 4:1-3. The earth was formed, then, to be inhabited by the righteous. 3. What is God's appointed time for this cleansing of the earth? "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; 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." 2 Peter 3:5-7. Then this sin-cursed earth, with its load of unrepentant sinners is being "reserved" for its cleansing baptism of fire at the judgment day. 4. How completely will these judgment-day fires cleanse the old earth from its curse of sin? "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?" 2 Peter 3:10-12. Everything pertaining to the old earth and its heavens or atmosphere shall be melted, dissolved, by the great purifying agent of fire.7 5. What are we to look for, coming out of this melted earth? "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth; wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. 6. What is the promise to the meek? "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37:11. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5. These texts make no such statement as that the meek do now inherit the earth, but the promise is that they "shall" inherit it. Observe that when the meek do inherit the earth, they "shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." In these times of war and strife of every kind it can not be said that there is the delightsome abundance of peace. But it is the promised inheritance of the followers of Him who said "I am meek and lowly in heart." 7. What vision was given John concerning the new earth? "And 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 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:1-4. Thus do the foregoing scriptures in unmistakable language declare that God will cleanse and redeem this earth from the pollutions of sin, and make it the eternal home of the righteous. [The other Bible Readings in this series are as follows: No. 1, "Is Sinful Man Immortal?" No. 2, "What of the Dead?" No. 3, "The Resurrection of the Dead a Necessity."]