p. 1 | PLAIN TRUTHS

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 23, 1857

PLAIN TRUTHS.

CHRISTIANS derive their ideas of Truth from two sources. First: Scripture—Second: Tradition. Truth may be obtained by either of these means, just as water may be obtained from the spring where it bubbles up in its freshness—or from the aqueduct along which it is carried to our doors. Scripture is the fountain—Tradition is the aqueduct—both have water—both should have equally good water, as it is from one source. But while the spring is always good, the aqueduct sometimes becomes defiled. So Scripture is always true, and Tradition is sometimes true, also, but not always. Scripture is the perfect standard, and Tradition is right as far as it agrees with Scripture, and no farther.

Most men get their faith below the fountain—so it becomes sometimes somewhat impure—hence it appears various in form—or in taste and color, and the only way to tell whose bucket has pure water in it, is to go at once, and compare it with the fountain. And even then men will sometimes contend that though the water looks like that in the fountain, yet it could not have come from there, or some one else would have known it before—and then the only way to convince them is to go to the fountain head, and trace the stream directly down, and thus show not only that the Scripture teaches certain doctrines, but also that the Church for ages past have believed them, and rejoiced in them. To do this work fully would require volumes: It has been done to some extent by various persons, particularly in a work entitled "The Voice of the Church," and I shall now do it very briefly in these few pages. I shall first advance such propositions as seem to be true: I shall then sustain them by the Word of God, and shall finally, where it seems needed, quote from noted and well-known writers, showing that they held the same opinions. Among other things, I find in the Scriptures the following

PLAIN TRUTHS.

I. This world was originally created by God very good, with all that it contained.

PROOF. Gen. i, 31. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. Ps. civ, 24. O Lord, how manifold are thy works: in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Eccl. iii, 11. He hath made everything beautiful in his time. Job xxxviii, 4-7. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

II. The world and its creatures were in consequence of man's transgression subjected to the curse, and to a state of sorrow and vanity.

PROOF. Gen. iii, 17-19. 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 unto thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return. Eccl. i, 2-8. Vanity of vanities saith the Preacher, all is vanity. . . . All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. Eccl. ii, 17, 22, 23. Therefore I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath labored under the sun? For all his days are sorrow, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This also is vanity. Rom. viii, 22, 23. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, and not only they, but we ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

III. There is yet to be a very glorious condition of affairs on earth, when sin shall cease, and sorrow shall have an end, and the glory of God shall be revealed.

PROOF. Num. xiv, 21. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Ps. lxxii, 18, 19. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. Isa. xi, 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isa. xl, 5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Isa. lv, 12, 13. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar, shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

IV. This world will never be converted to God by the preaching of the gospel before the coming of Jesus Christ; but will continue perverse and ungodly, persecuting the people of God till Christ shall come again the second time.

PROOF. 2 Tim. iii, 1, 12, 13. This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come.—Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Pet. iii, 3. There shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts. Matt. xiii, 24-30, 36-43. Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the Devil; the harvest is the end of the world, [age,] and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world, [age.] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them that do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

PROOF FROM THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH.

Hermes says, This world is as the winter to the righteous men, because they are not known, but dwell among sinners; but the world to come is as summer to them.

Justin Martyr, A. D. 150, said, The princes of this world . . . will not cease from killing and persecuting those that call on the name of Christ, till he shall come again, and destroy them all, and render to every man according to his deserts.

Tertullian says, Truth wonders not at her own condition. She knows that she is a sojourner upon earth; that she must find enemies among strangers; that her origin, her home, her hopes, her dignities are placed in heaven.

Said Chrysostom, The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. Attend with care to what is said. He said not when it hath been believed by all men, but when it hath been preached to all. For this cause he also said, 'for a witness' to the nations, to show that he doth not wait for all men to believe, and then for him to come; since the phrase, 'for a witness' hath this meaning—for accusation, for reproof, for condemnation of them that have not believed.

Calvin on Matt. xxiv, 30, says, There is no reason why any person should expect the conversion of the world, for at length, [when it will be too late and will yield them no advantage,] they shall look on him whom they have pierced.

Luther, on John x, 11-16, says, Some in explaining this passage say, that before the latter days all the world shall become Christians. This is a falsehood forged by Satan, that he might darken sound doctrine, that we might not rightly understand it. Beware, therefore of this delusion.

Said Zuingle, We cannot make a heaven upon earth,—and Christ has taught us that we must let the tares grow up along with the wheat.

David Pareus, 1590, said, It is a thing never to be looked for, that the whole earth shall become Christian; since the enemies of the church, together with anti-Christ, shall not cease but at the last coming of Christ.

John Knox, A. D. 1550, speaks of Christ's coming 'To reform the face of the whole earth, which never was, nor yet shall be, till that righteous King and Judge appears for the restoration of all things.'

Dr. A. Clarke says, Probably no such time shall ever appear, in which evil shall be wholly banished from the earth, till after the day of judgment when the earth having been burnt up, a new heaven and a new earth shall be produced out of the ruins of the old, by the mighty power of God—righteousness alone shall dwell in them.—Notes on Rev. xx, 2.

Matthew Henry says, As long as the world stands there will still be in it such a mixture as we now see there is of good and bad. We long to see all wheat and no tares in God's field; all corn and no chaff in God's floor; but it will not be till the time of ingathering, till the winnowing-day comes; both must grow together until the harvest. There is no remedy but that wicked people will do wickedly; and such people there are and will be in the world till the end of time.

Increase Mather says, And when we pray, 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' we pray for the day of judgment; for then, and not till then, will the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Cotton Mather says, For when our Lord shall come, he will find the world almost void of true and living faith, [especially of faith in his coming,] and when he shall descend with his angels, what else will he find almost, but the whole church, as it were, a dead carcass, miserably putrefied with the spirit, and manners, and endearments of this world. . . . They indulge themselves in a vain dream, not to say, insane, who think, pray, and hope, contrary to the whole sacred Scripture and sound reason, that the promised happiness of the church on earth will be before the Lord Jesus shall appear in his kingdom. They who expect the rest promised for the Church of God, to be found anywhere but in the new earth, and they who expect any happy times for the Church in a world that hath death and sin in it, these do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the kingdom of God.

Whitefield says, As it was formerly, so it is now, and so it will be to the end of time; he that is born after the flesh, the natural man, does and will persecute him that is born after the Spirit, the regenerate man. Notwithstanding some may live in more peaceful times of the Church than others, yet all Christians in all ages will suffer persecution. The enmity of the serpent, . . . will continue to rage and show itself in a greater or less degree to the end of time.

V. This world is destined to be melted and purified by fire, which shall consume the works of man.

PROOF. Deut. xxxii, 22. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and it shall burn to the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. Isa. lxiv, 1, 2. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! Mal. iv, 1. 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. 2 Pet. iii, 7, 10-12. But the heavens and 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. 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.

PROOF FROM THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH.

Cotton Mather says, But this word of God is in my mind like burning fire shut up in my bones; nor can I any longer forbear, but must again and again denounce this doom to the earth, sufficiently prepared for the fire, a sorceress condemned to the flames, yea, though some Nero should command me to be burned in the flames, I will not cease to preach and foretell, with an earnest voice, the dissolution, renewal, and purification of the world by fire.

Dr. A. Clarke thus remarks, The present earth, though destined to be burned up, will not be destroyed, but renewed, and refined, and purged from all moral and material imperfections, and made the endless abode of happy spirits. But this state is certainly to be expected after the day of judgment.

VI. This globe is to be restored, renewed, or regenerated, and made glorious by the power of God.

PROOF. Isa. xxxv, 1, 2. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Isa. lxv, 17-19. For, behold I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Matt. xix, 28. Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Isa. li, 16. I have covered thee in the shadow of my hands, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. Isa. lxvi, 22. For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. Acts iii, 19, 21. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Heb. ii, 5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world, [oikumene, habitable earth] to come, whereof we speak. 2 Pet. iii. 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? Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Rev. xxi, 1, 5. 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 he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new.

PROOF FROM THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH.

Methodius, bishop of Tyre, A. D. 270 says, It is to be expected that at the conflagration, the creation shall suffer a vehement commotion, as if it were about to die; whereby it shall be renovated, and not perish; to the end that we, then also renovated, may dwell in the renewed world free from sorrow. Thus it is said in Ps. civ, 'Thou wilt send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and Thou wilt renew the face of the earth.' For seeing that after this world there shall be an earth, of necessity there must be inhabitants; and these shall die no more, but be as angels, irreversibly in an incorruptible state, doing all most excellent things.

Said Jerome, God will make new heavens and a new earth, not other heavens and another earth, but the former ones changed into better.

Said Gregory the Great, Others are not to be created, but these same renewed. Eccl. iii, 14. They will pass as to their present figure or appearance, but as to their substance, they will remain forever.

The Council of Nice, A. D. 325, says, We expect new heavens and a new earth, according to the Holy Scriptures, at the appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And then, as Daniel says, 'The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom,' and there shall be a pure earth, holy, a land of the living, and not of the dead, which David foreseeing by the eye of faith, said, 'I believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,' the land of the meek and humble. Christ says, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,' and the prophet says, 'the feet of the meek and humble shall tread upon it.'

Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, A. D. 350, says, Adam received the doom, 'cursed be the ground; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee.' . . . For this cause Jesus wears the thorns that he might cancel the doom; for this cause also was he buried in the earth, that the cursed earth might receive, instead of the curse the blessing. Our Lord Jesus Christ then comes from thence with glory, at the end of this world in the last day. For this world shall have an end, and this created world shall be made new; for since corruption, and theft, and adultery, and every sort of sins have been poured forth over the earth, and blood has been mingled with blood in the world, therefore that this wondrous dwelling-place may not remain filled with iniquity, this world shall pass away, that that fairer world may be made manifest.

Said Augustine bishop of Hippo, A. D. 390, By the change of things the world will not entirely perish or be annihilated. Its form or external appearance, will be changed, but not its substance. The figure of this world will pass away by the general conflagration. The qualities of the corruptible elements of which our world is composed, which were proportioned to our corruptible bodies, will be entirely destroyed by fire; and the substance of those elements will acquire new qualities which will be suitable to our immortal bodies, and thus the world by being more perfect, will be proportioned to the then improved state of the human body.

Says the martyr John Bradford, writing from his dungeon, A. D. 1550, Now every creature travaileth and groaneth with us; but we being restored, they also shall be restored: there shall be new heavens, new earth, and all things new.

John Calvin says, I expect with Paul a reparation of all the evils caused by sin, for which he represents the creatures as groaning and travailing. . . . strictly speaking, Christ will come, not for the destruction of the world, but for the purposes of salvation.

Says Dr. Thos. Goodwin, A. D. 1650, God doth take the same world that was Adams, and make it new and glorious. . . . Read the prophets and you shall find promises of strange and wonderful things, of glorious times, and that here upon earth.

Says Milton, The world shall burn, and from her ashes spring, New Heaven and earth, wherein the just shall dwell; And after all their tribulations long See golden days fruitful of golden deeds.

Says Baxter, I believe there will be a new heaven and earth, on which will dwell righteousness.

Says Bunyan, None ever saw this world as it was in its first creation but Adam and his wife, neither will any see it until the manifestation of the children of God; that is, until the redemption or resurrection of the saints. But then it shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Says Doddridge, Let this illustrious day come, even with all its horrors. We shall go from the ruins of a dissolving world, to the new heavens and new earth, wherein righteousness forever dwells.

Says Charles Wesley on Isa. lxv, 17: Come, Divine effectual power, Fallen nature to restore; Wait we for Thy presence here, Long to see Thy throne appear. Bid the new creation rise, Bring us back our Paradise. Now our universe create, Fair beyond its first estate, When Thine eyes with pleasure viewed, When Thy lips pronounced it good; Ruined now by sin and curst, Speak it fairer than at first. (To be Continued.)