Earth's Redemption.

'CHAPTER XII.

REDEMPTION.—CONTINUED

The recovery of man from the effects of the fall of Adam, and of the sins incident to our fallen condition, is by forgiveness of sin and the resurrection of the dead. These means of divine grace have been quite fully noticed. But the work of grace is not completed in these, even as the curse of the transgression did not fall on man alone. Having been made of the dust of the ground, he was closely allied to the earth over which he was given dominion, and the earth was cursed for his sake. It is not necessary here to inquire into all the reasons why the earth was cursed for man’s sake; it is sufficient to our present purpose to accept the fact as revealed in the word of God. To carry out the original counsel or purpose of the Creator, the work of redemption must include more than the recovery of man from sin and death; it must include the restoration of the earth. The curse must be removed, and the earth be restored to that state of freedom from evil in which it was when God pronounced everything “very good.”

Without the redemption of the earth, creation would never be entirely recovered from the foul blot brought upon it by sin. Satan would triumph thus far, that a reproach and a stain would not only be cast upon the work of the Creator, but it would be perpetuated; the evil would be immortalized. Or, to prevent that, the work itself would have to be destroyed. Destruction is but an act of justice where it falls upon an intelligent probationer, who chooses his own destiny, and refuses to fulfill the will of his Maker, and the object of his being. God can consistently permit evil, both moral and physical, for a season, in order that an intelligent agent may develop his character, with the provision for a Judgment wherein justice and truth shall be fully and certainly vindicated. And he may consistently destroy the willful transgressor of the divine law. But to destroy the work of his own hands, which had no volition in suffering the curse, would be a final victory for the enemy. To permit evil without reference to a Judgment, to perpetuate and immortalize it in the universe, would be

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an eternal reproach on the plan and work of the Creator. It would forever mar the beauty and purity of his work; forever prevent the carrying out of his original purpose, unless sin and  misery were in his original purpose, which we cannot admit. It would not vindicate justice, because the eternity of evil bears no relation to the penalty of transgression originally announced. God’s counsel shall stand. Whatever he may temporarily permit for the purposes of probation and of judgment, we cannot suppose that his original purpose will be finally thwarted, so that that which originated in the will of Satan and in rebellion, shall eternally prevail, and obscure that which  originated solely in the will and mind of Jehovah. But, reasonable as is our proposition, we are not left to reason out the conclusion. The revelation of the mind of God in respect to man and to his inheritance is clearly made, and we therefore proceed to examine the Scriptures in regard to

2. THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER