The Appearing of the Kingdom of Christ in the New Earth
By Asa Oscar Tait
We have the promise that "evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37: 9-11. And one of the opening utterances of the Master in His Sermon on the Mount was, "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5: 5. The earth is the promised inheritance of the followers of Christ. But it has been temporarily polluted by sin, and so, as seen in the preceding article, it will pass thru its baptism of fire to cleanse it and make it a fitting abode for the righteous. A text from Revelation and another from the epistle of Peter throw additional and corroborative light upon the subject: "And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them." Rev. 20: 7-9. The words from Peter on the same subject read: "For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished; but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3: 5-7. The foregoing scriptures taken together are perfectly plain in their statements. They show that it is the Lord's plan to have the righteous inhabit this earth. They show that the earth in its present condition is being reserved for its baptism of fire at the time that ungodly men are to be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle, the disease-laden germ, and every other thing that has cursed this earth because of sin, will all be swept away in the ocean of fire. And when sinners, together with all the effects of sin upon the earth, are burned away, there will come forth, under the masterful power of the Infinite, a new earth, embellished in all the beauty of immortal perfection. For we read following the description quoted from the prophet, in the article preceding this in which he tells of the fire that comes down to devour the hosts of Satan as they encompass the saints, that his view shifts and he says:7 "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His peoples, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God; and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. And He that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He saith, Write; for these words are faithful and true." Rev. 21: 1-5. What a grand climax this is! The great "day of the Lord," with all its sublime events, has swept away every vestige of sin; the tyranny that has wrought oppression; the violence that has spread terrors; the desolations of wars that have filled heart and home with sadness and wo; the pain-racking sickness; and all the rest of the multitude of evils that have distressed and saddened the hearts of men are forever gone. And unfolded before the redeemed of the Lord is "a new heaven and a new earth." The most beautiful spot that artistic taste has ever developed on this sin-laden earth is but a very feeble conception of the unsullied beauty that shall adorn all that wide domain of the immortal sons of God. In this brief article only a few of the many statements and promises of God concerning the new earth home that He will give His people could be noticed. But it is hoped that enough has been said to set every heart who reads this athrill with an unconquerable desire to be among those that will enter into the possession of our Father's estate. For when that great climax is reached, eternal joy will be upon every head. Mark it! that joy will not be for a brief, passing moment to be followed by days and nights of disappointment and pain, but age upon age will roll on and on and on to swell deeper and higher and stronger the immeasurable emotions of satisfying joy that is vibrant in every soul.