'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
- 201 - J.
H. Waggoner
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
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