Signs of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 32. (8/18/1887)

Signs of the Times

Aug 18, 1887

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 18, 1887

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

THE CHRISTIAN'S PRIVILEGE.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

"I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."

THE apostle prayed for the church at Ephesus, that God would grant them "according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." The spiritual strength here spoken of is something that we may each obtain; but how shall we get it? Perhaps we are in darkness, feeling weak and discouraged and that God does not love us. If so, we are not to give way to feeling; feeling has nothing whatever to do with the matter. We are to take the word of God as it reads, the words of Christ as he has spoken them.

Hear these words of our Saviour: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock." It is the privilege of every one of us to build upon the Eternal Rock; then we shall not dishonor God, nor by our words and actions scatter away from Christ. There are some who do this, and Jesus is ashamed to call them brethren.

We may come to our Saviour in the hour of trial, and plead: "I am in poverty and need, and I must have thy blessing. I come to thee; for thou hast told me to come. Thou hast invited all who are weary and heavy laden to come unto thee, and thou hast promised them rest. Thou hast said, 'Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.'" And when he has given you rest, do not grieve his Spirit by talking darkness and unbelief. Talk faith; but, above all things, hold daily communion with Jesus.

Satan will tell you that you do not feel any better than you did before you went to Jesus with your troubles. But here the question arises again, What has feeling to do with it? The Lord says: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Again we read: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will" grudgingly pardon. Is that it? No, indeed! This is the way it reads: "For he will abundantly pardon." When you have thrown yourself upon the mercy of God, and taken him at his word, and yet the enemy comes, and suggests your faults and failings, and tells you that you are no better than before you sought the Lord, you can point to Jesus, and repeat his promises, and tell what he has done for you.

The apostle continues: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." While this divine fullness has been placed within our reach, how easily we are satisfied. We have accustomed ourselves to think that it is enough to have a knowledge of the truth without its sanctifying power. Just a little sip at the fountain of life quenches our thirst. We do not come again and again to drink. But this is not in accordance with the mind of God. Our souls should be continually athirst for the water of life. Our hearts should ever go out after Christ, longing for communion with him. It is hungering and thirsting after righteousness that will bring us the full measure of his grace.

Enoch "walked with God;" but how did he gain this sweet intimacy? It was by having thoughts of God continually before him. As he went out and as he came in, his meditations were upon the goodness, the perfection, and the loveliness of the divine character. And as he was thus engaged, he became changed into the glorious image of his Lord; for it is by beholding that we become changed.

We have something more to do than merely to attend church services. Prayers and testimonies in the social meeting will not answer, when we never say a word for Jesus outside the meeting-house. We are to reflect the character of Jesus. Everywhere, whether in the church, at our homes, or in social intercourse with our neighbors, we should let the lovely image of Jesus appear. This we cannot do unless we are filled with his fullness. If we would become better acquainted with Jesus, we should love him for his goodness and excellence and we should desire to become so assimilated to his divine character that all would know that we had been with Jesus, and learned of him.

It is by carrying out in our lives the pure principles of the gospel of Christ that we honor and glorify our Father who is in Heaven. When we are doing this, we are reflecting Heaven-given light upon the dark world around us. Sinners will be constrained to confess that we are not the children of darkness, but the children of light. How shall they know this? By the fruits we bear. Men may have their names upon the church-book; but that does not make them children of light. They may hold honorable positions and receive the praise of men; but that does not make them children of light. They may shut themselves in monasteries, and clothe themselves in garments of sanctity, and yet not be the children of light. All this will not help them to shun or to overcome temptation. There must be a deep work of grace, —the love of God in the heart, and this love is expressed by obedience.

It is Christ dwelling in the soul that gives us spiritual power, and makes us channels of light. The more light we have, the more we can impart to others around us. The more closely we live to Jesus, the clearer views shall we have of his loveliness. As we behold him in his purity, we discern more clearly our own faults of character. We yearn after him, and for that fullness that is in him, and that shines out in the perfection

of his heavenly character; and by beholding we become changed into his image.

How was it with our Saviour? He represented his Father in every act of his life, and in like manner the people of God are expected to represent Christ. Are we representing him in cross-bearing, in self-denial, in patience, and in labor for perishing souls? Let us think soberly and candidly about this matter. If we are not really deceiving ourselves, are we not, by our unbelief, daily depriving ourselves of the riches of his grace?

We should not allow the worldliness all about us to control our actions, but should be steadfast in the faith and strong in the word of God. Every day we are sowing some kind of seed. If we sow the seeds of unbelief, we shall reap unbelief; if we sow pride, we shall reap pride; if we sow stubbornness, we shall reap stubbornness; 'for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'

We do not want to be covered over with the mildew and slime of the world. We are to remain in this world but a little while. We are pilgrims and strangers here, and are on our way to a better country, even a heavenly; and we want to become acquainted with that land to which we are going. Our conversation should not be exclusively of the world and worldly things; but our tongues should be trained to talk of the Christian's reward, and our eyes to discern the glory of that better country. It should be our daily work to gain a fitness for those mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for us.

Our hearts may be filled with all the fullness of God; but there is something for us to do. We must not pet our faults and sins, but put them away, and make haste to set our hearts in order. When this is done, let us take the key of faith, and unlock the storehouse of God's rich blessings. Does he want us to entertain doubt and darkness? Does he want us to be destitute of his Spirit? No, indeed. There is an infinite fullness to draw from; and we have the promise of our divine Lord, 'According to your faith be it unto you.' We may win the crown of life, a place at God's right hand, and as we enter the pearly gates, hear the words, sweeter than any music, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'

Basel, Switzerland.

"HIS CARE."

By Christian Advocate

God holds the key of all unknown, And I am glad; If other hands should hold the key, Or if he trusted it to me, I might be sad.

What if to-morrow's cares were here Without its rest? I had rather he unlock the day, And as the hours swing open, say, "My will is best."

The very dimness of my sight Makes me secure, For groping in my misty way, I feel his hand—I hear him say, "My help is sure."

I cannot read his future plan, But this I know, I have the smiling of his face, And all the refuge of his grace, While here below.

Enough; this covers all my want, And so I rest; For what I cannot he can see, And in his care I sure shall be Forever blest.

—Christian Advocate.

GOD IS OUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH.

God is the strength of his people, and in every age of the world they have found him a strong tower into which they can flee for safety. The strength of God's people does not lie in their own efforts or their own ability, neither does it lie in numbers, nor in any earthly advantage. These things are of great value in their place; but when we make them our dependence and our strength, they become only a snare. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." We can never be weak when God is with us. We can never possess real strength when we are separated from him, although surrounded by earthly support.

The people of God combine the elements of strength and weakness in a remarkable manner; they have the strength of God made perfect in their own weakness. They are mighty in God when he is their strength. But none can have this divine strength until they have learned their dependence upon him. Self must die before Christ can live in us. Our first business, therefore, in everything which we undertake for God, is to humble ourselves before him. He will go forth with us to the battle if we make him our refuge and strength.

But God will not do the part he has left for us to do. We must do this with carefulness, as though everything depended upon our faithfulness. We must seek God for help, as only those seek him who realize that without him they perish. God is our only source of strength, and he will be the help of his people; and yet if we cherish sin in our hearts it separates us from him and our weakness will be seen. It is in vain that we dare to trust God while cherishing sin in our souls.—Present Truth.

"THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL."

By W. N. Glenn

JESUS said of his church, that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The expression is found in Matt. 16:18, and the word "hell" is from the Greek hades, meaning the grave, or place of the dead. I take occasion to refer to the subject because I have heard from the pulpit the idea that the gates of hell represent the means of persecution, torture, and destruction used against the church in this life. Special emphasis was laid upon the hurling of the gates of hell against the church during the awful persecutions of the Dark Ages. If this idea is correct, then the gates of hell did prevail against many thousands of the true church.

But who ever heard of a gate being used as an offensive weapon? It could not be an appropriate figure of anything of that kind. A gate is always a means of defense or resistance, and no fair idea of the character of the grave would represent its gates or entrances as very strongly resisting those who come against them from the outside. The history of the human race proves that the gates of the grave open very readily from the outside. It requires no infinite power to enter the confines of death. And it is not a very comforting assurance to the church, that these gates will not prevail against it in this sense.

At what time, then, could such a figure appropriately apply? and to what time could the Christian look with any comfort for the fulfillment of the promise that the gates of hades should not prevail against him? When the Lord of glory laid down his life there was no resistance of the gates of hell; but when he came forth a victor over death, the power of God was required to open the way—"the exceeding greatness of his power . . . which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." Eph. 1:19, 20. And the assurance made by the Saviour to his disciples is reiterated by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: "And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power." 1 Cor. 6:14.

The gates of hades cannot prevail against the church because her Lord has the keys. After his ascension to Heaven, he said to his servant John, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Rev. 1:18. And in the sixty-eighth psalm it is written, "He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death." And again we are told that "if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." 1 Thess. 4:14.

The gates of hades are set for the defenses of death, and they never become an object of resistance to the church only as against its resurrection to life. They were no barrier to the entrance of Moses to the grave, but there was resistance to his resurrection. Jude 9. Yet they could not prevail, as was evidenced by the appearance of Moses "in glory" on the mount of transfiguration. Matt. 17:1-4.

It is when the Lord comes to redeem his people from the grave, by a resurrection, that the gates of hades cannot prevail against the church. If there be no resurrection, then the gates of hell will prevail. "If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. . . . Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." 1 Cor. 15:13-18. But there will be a resurrection; "for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." John 5:28, 29. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. . . . Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:16-18. Then will be the grand final triumph of the church over death and the grave. "When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:54, 55.

W. N. GLENN.

DOES MAN POSSESS INHERENT IMMORTALITY.

By A. A. Phelps

A CAREFUL, prayerful, and scriptural investigation of the subject has compelled us to renounce the popular theory—which we once believed and preached—of man's inherent immortality. We will give a few reasons for rejecting this doctrine:—

1. It has an unfavorable origin. Satan—the great falsifier—first announced it in the garden of Eden. God had assured man that disobedience would certainly eventuate in death. The serpent flatly contradicted this by saying, "Ye shall not surely die." If God told the truth, Satan told a lie; for the two statements are antagonistic. For ages after this first Satanic victory, the doctrine of man's immortality slumbered in silence. At length it was imbibed by certain heathen philosophers, who coupled with it the pre-existence of souls, and the transmigration of souls. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, first advocated the immortality of the soul. It became, at length, quite common among heathen nations. The Jewish people, during their seventy years' captivity in Babylon, became somewhat corrupted by this and other heathen dogmas. Some of the heathen, who were converted to Christianity, retained their old belief in man's essential immortality. Thus the leaven continued to work, until the church of Christ, degenerating into the Romish church of the Dark Ages, became thoroughly saturated with a sentiment which mystifies the Bible and dishonors Jesus.

2. It is inconsistent with the Bible account of man's creation. "The Lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Not a single word, not the faintest intimation, about an invisible, intangible, imponderable, immaterial, indivisible, indestructible, immortal, conscious entity, called "the soul," without length, breadth, or thickness, and capable of living forever independent of the body.

3. It clashes with the scriptural record of man's fall. The penalty for transgression was first announced in these words: "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Hebrew: "Dying: thou shalt die." Arabic: "Thou shalt deserve to die." Targum of Jonathan: "Thou shalt be subject to death." Greek of Symmachus and also the Syriac: "Thou shalt be mortal"—that is, liable to die. Did Adam understand the penalty to include

eternal misery? And yet, if there was any possibility of such a doom, was not every attribute of God pledged to make it known? What was the fact? God drove fallen man from the garden, and guarded the "tree of life" with cherubim and a flaming sword, "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." The hand of love pushed him away, and thus cut off all possibility of his becoming immortal in misery. Adam lived 930 years in toil and sorrow, and died.

4. The penalty of sin, to be executed upon every impenitent sinner, forbids the supposition of his immortality. Every child of Adam has a distinct probation, and is accountable to God for his probationary career. The Adamic death comes to all as a common calamity; but the "second death" will be visited upon man for his personal sins. Whoever accepts Christ escapes the distinctive penalty; but whoever rejects him, must bare his own bosom to the stroke which fell upon the innocent Jesus. That penalty stroke will involve "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish," terminating in utter destruction. About two hundred passages teach that sinners will be ultimately exterminated—"burnt up root and branch." This could not be, if they were inherently immortal.

5. The Bible doctrine of death disproves the theory of natural immortality. According to the Scriptures, life and death are the exact opposites. If life means continued conscious existence, death means the cessation of it. "The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything." Death is called a land of "darkness" and "forgetfulness," where there is "no remembrance" and even the "thoughts perish." It is such a state of blank unconsciousness that there is "no work nor device" performed, and "no knowledge nor wisdom" possessed, by its quiet sleepers. Without a resurrection, even they that are "fallen asleep in Christ are perished." See Job 14: 7–21; Ps. 115:17; 146:4; Eccl. 3:19, 20; 9:4–10; 1 Cor. 15:12–22; Rev. 20:13. With this Bible statement of unconsciousness in death, philosophy and fact perfectly agree. Surgery and Scripture unite in proving that the brain is just as really the organ of thought as the eye is the organ of vision. Hence, when the brain loses its vitality, the tide of conscious life ceases to flow.

6. Immortality is nowhere in the Scriptures ascribed to man. In our common version the term "immortal" occurs only once, and is there ascribed to God. 1 Tim. 1:17. The term "immortality" occurs five times, but is not once applied to man in his present condition. See Rom. 2:7; 1 Tim. 6:16; 2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Cor. 15:53, 54. We learn here that "God only hath immortality," and hence no other being ever received it as a natural birthright. But "as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." Being thus constituted the "Resurrection and the Life," Jesus Christ has "brought immortality to light," by showing how and when it can be obtained. We are to "seek" for this priceless boon. If we secure a right to it by a vital connection with Christ, we shall "put on immortality" in the resurrection morning. We are mortal now, as all human experience testifies. Whether we shall ever be anything more, depends upon our compliance with gospel conditions.

7. The doctrine of inherent immortality supersedes the necessity of a resurrection. The Bible attaches great importance to the resurrection of the dead, for upon this alone it predicts a future life. Current theology largely ignores this glorious doctrine of inspiration. If the "real man" is more fully alive after death than before, there is no need of a resurrection. If the body is only a clog to the spirit, why have any more to do with this cumbrous clay, when once the prison doors are open and the fetters fairly broken? Many see the point and are giving up all faith in any resurrection except what takes place at death, when "the spirit assumes a spirit body" and soars away to the spirit land!

8. It reduces the scenes of the Judgment-day to a solemn farce. Why send men to a heaven of happiness or a hell of misery at death, and then rally them from their respective abodes, and judge them, thousands of years afterwards? Is not this like trying a man after he is hung? Does the Bible sanction any such procedure? Never! Jesus declares that rewards and punishments are meted out when he comes to judge the world. "Then shall he reward every man according to his works." The wicked are "reserved until the day of Judgment to be punished. If the destinies of men can be adjusted at death, there is no need of a solemn Judgment-day, such as the word of God so fully reveals. No part of retribution takes place before the great day of destiny, when Jesus ascends his majestic throne!

9. It is subversive of the doctrine of Christ’s personal coming. If the Scriptures teach anything plainly and positively, they teach that Jesus Christ is coming literally and personally the second time, to raise the dead, judge the world, destroy the wicked, crown the saints, purify the earth, and establish an everlasting kingdom. And yet the doctrine of immortalsonism renders the second advent of Christ entirely unnecessary. If men are rewarded and punished at death, there is no need of Christ’s coming as Judge. If the saints are to live forever in Heaven, there is no necessity for Christ to fit up a "new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." The reason why there is no more stress laid on the personal coming of Christ, is the fact that popular theology is constructed on such a basis that the second appearing of the Son of God can be entirely dispensed with. Is it not time to pause and see whether theology and Scripture have not parted company?

10. It is the fruitful source of error. The doctrine of inherent immortality is the foundation of the worst religious developments that have ever cursed the world. Swedenborgianism, Shakerism, Spiritualism, Mohammedanism, Mormonism, Purgatory, and Mariolatry, are based upon this doctrine as a fundamental plank in their platform. This statement will hardly be questioned by those who have taken any pains to investigate the matter. Spiritualism lays great stress on inherent immortality. In this growing system we see the ripened fruits of the very seed which current theology has scattered with so liberal a hand; and we shall see more of it as time rolls on. Eternal torment is another result of the doctrine; for if man is immortal, the sinner must be eternally miserable, unless the doctrine of universal salvation is true. The latter is often a rebound from the former. If the doctrine in question is false, then all these systems are proved to be without foundation. "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." All who accept Jesus as their Life-giver will live forever in Paradise restored. All who reject him will be accounted as useless rubbish, fit only to be "burned up" and cleared out of the way. Thus God’s universe will one day be divested of every unholy element, and purity, harmony, and love will be the grand consummation! May we be among those who shall swell the everlasting song of victory through the blood of the Lamb!—A. A. Phelps, A. M., in Bible Banner.

DISGUISED INFIDELITY.

By R. F. Cottrell

As a hypocritical professor of religion is worse than though he made no profession, so infidelity, under a profession of faith in the word of God, is worse in its influence than an open rejection of that word. Avowed infidelity would be feared and avoided by many a mind that would listen to the insidious attacks upon revelation from one who professes to believe it.

To illustrate the idea I will say that I once heard from a professed preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ three lectures, in which he attempted to prove that Adam was not the first man of the human race, but that men had existed upon the earth hundreds of thousands of years before him, and that he was born of parents, as others are at the present day. He ridiculed the idea that "God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul;" and that God took a rib from Adam, and of it made a woman, and brought her to the man. He did not believe any such absurdity. But did he not believe the book? Oh, yes! but all this was allegorical; it meant that man was then raised to a higher state of development than he had enjoyed during the previous hundreds of thousands of years of his existence. He thanked God for the book of Genesis; but if there was anything in it that conflicted with the sure light of geological science, it was no revelation to him—he did not believe it. He also thanked God for giving to the world such a man as Charles Darwin, a devout believer in God, who had done so much for the advancement of science among mankind. One would think from the encomium of the speaker that the man who holds that man was evolved or developed from the monkey, was truly one of the greatest benefactors of mankind.

Most Christian readers will wonder that such infidelity should be held forth by a professed believer in the Bible and a preacher of salvation through Christ. But let me tell you that all who favor the mystical mode of interpreting the Scriptures are accomplices in this work of helping in the progress of infidelity; and are in a degree responsible for the prevailing and increasing skepticism of our times. The Bible is a revelation to mankind, or it is not. If it is, its plain statements of facts, its promises and its threatenings, are to be taken at par—they mean what they say. But if these things are to be allegorized, spiritualized, rationalized, and mysticized, the Bible is not a revelation, but a riddle. All have an equal right to guess at its meaning; and, as a consequence, there may be as many creeds as there are persons. To make such a book a revelation, another one is necessary to tell us what this one means.

You may wonder that anyone should allegorize the plain statements concerning the creation of man, as described above, so as to deny that man was formed of dust, while we see him turning to dust again; but if you make the threatening of death, in case of man’s disobedience, to mean eternal life in torment, or something besides what God defined it to be—a returning again to the dust out of which he was taken—you are in a like position, and are aiding in the work of destroying faith and building up infidelity. And this remark applies to every interpretation which takes the license of setting aside a commandment of God, or an ordinance of the gospel.

The fault of factions and false doctrines is not in the Bible, but in this huge license of interpretation. This is the pillar and support of infidelity. If the Bible be thus assailed by its professed friends, what shall we not expect from its open enemies? R. F. COTTRELL.

Obedience Better Than Sacrifice

“OBEDIENCE is better than sacrifice.”

THE GENERAL CONFLAGRATION.

By Thomas Dick

WE are informed in the sacred oracles that a period is approaching when "the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Science has ascertained certain facts in the constitution of nature, which lead us to form some conception of the manner in which this awful catastrophe may probably be effected, and also of the ease with which it may be accomplished when the destined period shall have arrived. The atmosphere, or the air we breathe, is a compound substance, composed of two very different and opposite principles, termed oxygen and nitrogen. The oxygen, which forms about a fifth part of the atmosphere, is now ascertained to be the principle of flame; a lighted taper immersed in this gas burns with a brilliancy too great for the eye to bear, and even a rod of iron or steel is made to blaze under its energy.

The modern infidel, like the scoffers of old, scouts the idea of the dissolution of the world, and of the restitution of the universe, because "all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation," "not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God," and not considering the principles and facts in the system of nature, which indicate the possibility of such an event. But from the fact now stated, we may learn how easily this effect may be accomplished, even in conformity with those laws which now operate in the constitution of our globe. For should the Creator issue forth his almighty fiat—"Let the nitrogen of the atmosphere be completely separated from the oxygen, and let the oxygen exert its native energies wherever it extends"—from what we know of its nature we are warranted to conclude that instantly a universal conflagration would commence throughout all the kingdoms of nature—not only wood, coals, sulphur, bitumun, and other combustible substances, but even the hardest rocks and stones, and all the metals, fossils, and minerals, and water itself, which is a compound of two inflammable substances, would blaze with a rapidity which would carry destruction through the whole expanse of the terraqueous globe, and change its present aspect into that of a new world. At the same time all the other laws of nature might still operate as they have hitherto done since the creation of the world.

I do not mean positively to assert that this is the agent which the Almighty will certainly employ for accomplishing this terrible catastrophe (though we think it highly probable), since Infinite Power is possessed of numerous resources for accomplishing its objects, which lie beyond the sphere of our knowledge and comprehension. But I have brought forward this fact to show with what infinite ease this event might be accomplished when Almighty Power is interposed. By means of the knowledge we have acquired of the constitution of the atmosphere, and by the aid of chemical apparatus, we can perform experiments on a small scale, similar in kind, though infinitely inferior in degree, to the awful event under consideration. And, therefore, we can easily conceive that He who formed the expansive atmosphere which surrounds us, and who knows the native energy of its constituent principles, may, by a simple volition, make that invisible fluid, in a few moments, the cause of the destruction of the present constitution of our world, and, at the same time, the means of its subsequent renovation. For, as fire does not annihilate, but only changes, the forms of matter, this globe on which we now tread, and which bears the marks of ruin and disruption in several parts of its structure, may come forth from the flames of the general conflagration, purified from all its physical evils, adorned with new beauties and sublimities, and rendered a fit habitation for pure intelligences, either of our own species or of another order. For, though the "heavens," or the atmosphere, "shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," "nevertheless," says the apostle Peter, "we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."—Thos. Dick, LL.D.

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