No. 391
So surely as “all the holy prophets since the world began” have declared the coming Millennium to be “times of restitution of all things spoken,” so surely the Evolution theory is in violent antagonism to the utterances of God through all the holy prophets. For restitution, so far from being a blessing to the race, would be a crime against it, if the Evolution theory be correct. If by blind force or other evolutionary processes, man has been climbing up by tedious endeavors and laborious efforts, from protoplasm to oyster, and from oyster to fish, and from fish to reptile, and from reptile to monkey, and from monkey to lowest man, and from lowest man to what we are then it would be a fearful injury to the race for God to restore it to what Adam was, or possibly to force the restitution further – back to protoplasm. There is no middle ground on this question; and the sooner God’s people decide positively in accord with His Word the better it will be for them, and the more sure they will be of not falling into some of the no‑ransom and evolutionary theories now afloat and seeking to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. Let God be true, though it prove every Evolutionist a liar. (Rom. 3:4)
We cannot here go into the details of Adam’s creation, to discuss his organism, or body, his spirit, or breath of life, and how these united constituted him a living being, or soul. This has already been presented in a different connection.
Their fruitfulness in posterity was evidently in no manner connected with the transgression, as some have assumed, but was a part of the Divine blessing. The only relationship of the fall and its curse, or penalty, in this respect was, as stated, an increase of the mother’s conceptions and sorrows, corresponding to the man’s labor and sweat of face. These have borne the more heavily in proportion as the race has become degenerate and weak, mentally and physically. The object of the fruitfulness will have been attained when a sufficient progeny has been born ultimately to fill (not replenish) the earth. True, an immense number have already been born – possibly twenty thousand millions – and are now asleep in the great prison‑house of death; but these are none too many; for the present land surface of earth, if all made fit for man, as it ultimately will be, would hold two or three times this number, without taking into consideration the possibility of other continents being raised from the depths of the seas as the present ones were in the past.
Scientists of a skeptical turn of mind have for a long time been seeking to prove that man was on the earth long before the period assigned in Genesis, and every bone found in the lower clays or gravels is scrutinized with a view to making the scientist a world‑wide reputation as the man who has given the lie to the Word of God. We have already referred to the unreliability of such evidences, [1] as the finding of arrow‑heads amongst the gravel of an early period. In some cases at least these have been proven to have been the work of modern Indians, who had shaped them near the spot where they found the suitable flint‑stones.
At a meeting of the Victoria Philosophical Institute not very long ago it was stated that “a careful analysis had been undertaken by Professor Stokes, FRS, Sir J. R. Bennett, Vice‑Pres. RS, Professor Beale, FRS, and others, of the various theories of Evolution, and it was reported that, as yet, no scientific evidence had been met with giving countenance to the theory that man had been evolved from a lower order of animals; and Professor Virchow had declared that there was a complete absence of any fossil type of a lower stage in the development of man; and that any positive advance in the province of prehistoric anthropology has actually removed us further from proofs of such connection, namely, with the rest of the animal kingdom. In this, Professor Barraude, the great paleontologist, had concurred, declaring that in none of his investigations had he found any one fossil species develop into another. In fact, it would seem that no scientific man had yet discovered a link between man and the ape, between fish and frog, or between the vertebrate and the invertebrate animals; further, there was no evidence of any one species, fossil or other, losing its peculiar characteristics to acquire new ones belonging to other species; for instance, however similar the dog to the wolf, there was no connecting link, and among extinct species the same was the case; there was no gradual passage from one to another. Moreover, the first animals that existed on the earth were by no means to be considered as inferior or degraded.”
We quote briefly from Sir J. W. Dawson, LL.D., FRS, from his summary of his recent findings respecting “The Meeting Place of Geology and History.” He says:
“We have found no link of derivation connecting man with the lower animals which preceded him. He appears before us as a new departure in creation, without any direct relation to the instinctive life or the lower animals. The earliest men are no less men than their descendants, and up to the extent of their means, inventors, innovators, and introducers of new modes of life, just as much as they. We have not even been able yet to trace man back to the harmless golden age [of Paradise]. As we find him in the caves and gravels he is already a fallen man, out of harmony with his environment and the foe of his fellow creatures, contriving against them instruments of destruction more fatal than those furnished by nature to the carnivorous wild beasts... Man, as to his body, is confessedly an animal, of the earth earthy. He is also a member of the province vertebrata, and the class mammalia; but in that class he constitutes not only a direct species and genus, but even a distinct family, or order. In other words, he is the sole species of his genus, and of his family, or order. He is thus separated by a great gap from all the animals nearest to him; and even if we admit the doctrine, as yet unproved, of the derivation of one species from another in the case of lower animals, we are unable to supply the ‘missing links’ which would be required to connect man with any group of inferior animals...
“No fact of science is more certainly established than the recency of man in geological time. Not only do we find no trace of his remains in the older geological formations, but we find no remains of the animals nearest to him; and the conditions of the world in those periods seem to unfit it for the residence of man. If, following the usual geological system, we divide the whole history of the earth into four great periods, extending from the oldest rocks known to us, the eozoic, or archaean, up to the modern, we find remains of man, or of his works, only in the latest of the four, and in the latter part of this. In point of fact, there is no indisputable proof of the presence of man until we reach the early modern period... There is but one species of man, though many races and varieties; and these races, or varieties, seem to have developed themselves at a very early time, and have shown a remarkable fixity in their later discovery... The history in Genesis has anticipated modern history. This ancient book is in every way trustworthy, and as remote as possible from the myths and legends of ancient heathenism.”
Prof. Pasteur, the great bacteriologist, was an outspoken opponent of Darwinism; and expressed himself as follows: “Posterity will one day laugh at the foolishness of the modern materialistic philosophers. The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the works of the Creator. I pray while I am engaged in my work in the laboratory.”
Virchow, the Russian savant, though not a professed Christian, was similarly opposed to the Darwinian theory of the development of organic beings from inorganic, and declared: “Any attempt to find the transition from animal to man has ended in a total failure. The middle link has not been found and will not be found. Man is not descended from the ape. It has been proved beyond a doubt that during the past five thousand years there has been no noticeable change in mankind.”
Other naturalists have also raised their voices against the Darwinian views. In view of these facts how foolish appear the occasional essays of “Doctors” or “Professors” who feign learning by discussing “missing links” or suggesting that the little toes of human feet are becoming useless and will soon be “dropped by nature” as “monkey tails have already been dropped.” Have we not mummies well preserved nearly four thousand years old? Have we not life‑sized, nude statuary nearly as old? Are tails shown on any of these? Are their little toes anywise different from ours of today? Is not the whole tendency of all nature downward? With plants and the lower animals is not man’s wisdom and aid necessary to the maintenance of highest types? And with men is not the grace of God necessary to his uplift, and to hinder gross degeneracy such as we see in “Darkest Africa”? And is not this in accord with Scripture? (Rom. 1:21,24,28)
It is appropriate that the Lord’s people keep well in mind the caution bestowed on Timothy by the Apostle Paul: “O Timothy... avoid profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so‑called.” (1 Tim. 6:20) To see any truth clearly we must look from the standpoint of the Divine revelation. We must “See light in His light.” Then looking abroad through nature under the guidance of nature’s God, the effect will be to expand both heart and intellect, and to fill us with admiration and adoration as we catch panoramic glimpses of the glory, majesty and power of our Almighty Creator.
Evening and morning, Day Six, at its close, 42,000 years after “work” began, found the earth ready for man to subdue it, yet still, as a whole, unfit for him. Knowing in advance of His creature’s disobedience (and of His entire plan connected with His sentence of death, His redemption and the ultimate recovery from sin and death of all rightly exercised by their experiences), God did not wait the creation of man until the earth would all be ready for him, but merely prepared a Paradise, a garden in Eden, perfecting it in every way for the brief trial of the perfect pair, leaving to mankind, as convict laborers, the work of “subduing” the earth and at the same time gaining thereby valuable lessons and experiences.
THE SEVENTH EPOCH‑DAY OF THE CREATIVE WEEK
“And on the Seventh day God ended the work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”
Noting the upward, progressional sequence of the six days, and keeping in memory the fact that the number seven of itself implies completion and perfection, we naturally would expect the Seventh Epoch‑day to be more marvelous than its predecessors. And so we find it: only that its important part is for a time – until the “due time” – shut to our mental eyes of understanding by the general statement that God rested on the seventh day from all His work. How strange that He should rest the creative work at a point where it seemed just ready for completion, as though a workman should prepare all the materials for a structure and then desist from further activities without accomplishing his original intentions!
But the whole matter opens grandly before us when we perceive that Jehovah God rested His work of creation, ceased to prosecute it, because in His wisdom He foresaw that His designs could best be executed by another means. God saw best to permit His creature Adam to exercise his free will and fall under temptation into sin and its legitimate penalty, death ‑ including a long period, 6,000 years of dying and battling, as a convict, with evil environment. God saw best to permit him thus as a convict to do a part of the subduing of the earth; that to bring it as a whole toward its foretold Paradisaic condition would be profitable to man under the circumstances; that it would be expedient that man realize the principles underlying Divine righteousness and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and be thus prepared for the grace to be brought to the world in due time.
However, one of the chief reasons for Jehovah’s cessation of the creative work undoubtedly was that it might be accomplished by another ‑ by His Only Begotten ‑ in a manner that would not only glorify the Son, but glorify the Father also, by displaying the perfections of the Divine attributes as no other course could do. This was by the giving of His Son to be man’s redeemer – an exhibition not only of Divine Justice, which could by no means violate the decree that “the wages of sin is death,” but which simultaneously illustrated Divine Love – compassion for His fallen creatures to the extent of the death of His Son on man’s behalf. Divine Wisdom and Power will also ultimately be exhibited in every feature of the arrangement when completed.
It may be suggested that for the Father to desist from the perfecting of the creative plan in order that the Son might do this work during the Millennium, by processes of restitution, would be no different from the previous creative operations, all of which were of the Father and by the Son – without whom was not anything made that was made. But we answer, No. The relationship of the Son to the work of restitution with which this Seventh Epoch‑Day will close and bring terrestrial perfection, will be wholly different from any of His previous works. In all the previous creations the Son simply acted for Jehovah, using powers and energies not in any sense His own; but in this grand work to come He will be using a power and authority that are His own – which cost Him 34 years of humiliation, culminating in His crucifixion. By that transaction, which the Father’s wisdom and love planned for Him, He buys the world, buys Father Adam and all his progeny, and his estate, the earth, with all his title to it as its monarch “in the likeness of God.” The Father delighted to honor the “First Begotten,” and therefore planned it thus, and rested, or ceased from creative processes, that the Son might thus honor Him and be honored by Him.
God rested, not in the sense of recuperating from weariness, but in the sense of ceasing to create. He beheld the ruin and fall of His noblest earthly creation through sin, yet put forth no power to stay the course of the death sentence and started no restitutional procedures. Indeed, by the law which He imposed, He precluded any opportunity for His exercise of mercy and clemency toward Adam and his race, except through a ransomer. The penalty being death, and that without limit, everlasting death, “everlasting destruction,” and it being impossible for God to lie, impossible for the Supreme Judge of the universe to reverse His own righteous decree, it was thus rendered impossible for the Creator to become directly the restorer of the race, or in any sense or degree to continue His creative work in the condemned man or in his estate, the earth.
Thus did Jehovah God manifest His confidence in His own great plan of the ages, and in His Only Begotten Son to whom He has committed its full execution. This confidence of the Father in the Son is used by the Apostle as an illustration of how our faith should so grasp the Anointed One that we also can trust every interest and concern to Him, as respects ourselves and our dear friends and the world of mankind in general: the Apostle’s declaration is, “We who have believed do enter into rest... He that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” Believers, like God, have perfect confidence in Christ’s ability and willingness to carry out all of Jehovah’s great projects in respect to our race, and therefore rest, not from physical weariness, but from concern, from anxiety, from any desire to take the matter out of Christ’s charge, or to attempt to secure the result by any other means.
If our Creator’s resting, or desisting from coming promptly to the relief of His fallen creatures, has in any degree the appearance of indifference or neglect, it was not really so, but merely the outworking of the wisest and best means for man’s assistance – through a Mediator. If it is suggested that the restitution work should have commenced sooner, we reply that the period of the reign of Sin and Death, 6,000 years, has been none too long for the bringing forth by births of a race sufficient in number to “fill the earth”; none too long to give all a lesson in the “exceeding sinfulness of sin” and the severe wages it pays; none too long to let men try their own devices for their own uplift and note their futility. Our Lord’s First Advent to provide the ransom price for the world so that He would have a just, equitable right to come again to bless, uplift and restore all who will accept His grace, although it was more than 4,000 years after the blight of sin and death entered, is, nevertheless, declared in Scripture to have been in God’s due time: “In due time God sent forth his Son.” Indeed, we see that it would not even then have been due time, except for the Divine purpose to call and gather and polish and make ready the elect Church to share with the Redeemer in the great Millennial work of blessing the world; God foreseeing that it would require this entire Gospel Age for this election, sent His Son for the redemptive work just long enough in advance to accomplish it.
THE PERIOD OF DIVINE CESSATION, OR REST, FROM CREATIVE AND ENERGIZINGACTIVITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE EARTH
How long is it since Jehovah ceased, or rested in, His creative work? We reply that it is now a little more than six thousand years. How long will His rest, or cessation, continue? We answer that it will continue throughout the Millennium, the thousand years of the reign of the great Mediator, effecting “the restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:21) Will the confidence of Jehovah in the outworking of His plan, which led Him thus to rest it all in the care of Jesus prove to have been fully justified? Will the conclusion be satisfactory? Jehovah God, who knows the end from the beginning, assures us that it will, and that the Son, at whose cost the plan is being executed, “shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied.” (Is. 53:11) Yea, all believers who are resting by faith in their Redeemer’s work – past and to come – may have full assurance of faith that “eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath in reservation for those who love him,” specially for the Church; but also the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of love and mercy and restitutional blessings, for all those of the non‑elect world, who in their Millennial day of grace shall heartily accept the wonderful Divine provisions on the Divine terms.
Six thousand years past and one thousand years future, seven thousand years of Jehovah’s “rest,” will carry us to the time when the Son’s Millennial reign shall cease because of having accomplished its design – the restitution of the willing and obedient of mankind to the Divine image, and the subjugation of the earth under man, as his estate, his kingdom. Then the Mediatorial throne and reign having served their purpose, and all corrupters of the earth having been destroyed, “the Son shall deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father,” by delivering it to mankind for whom it was originally designed, as it is written. (Matt. 25:31,34) “Then shall the King say unto them... Come, ye blessed [approved] of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” mundane creation. (1 Cor. 15:25‑28)
It is the length of this Seventh Epoch‑Day, so distinctly marked by history and prophecy, that furnishes us the clue to the length of all the other epoch‑days of the creative Week. And the whole period of seven times seven thousand years, or forty‑nine thousand years, when complete, will lead up to and introduce the great Fiftieth, which we have already noted as prominent in the Scriptures, as marking grand climaxes in the Divine Plan; Israel’s day Sabbaths culminating in 7x7=49, leading to and introducing the fiftieth, or Pentecost, with its rest of faith; their year Sabbaths 7x7=49, introducing the fiftieth, or Jubilee, year; the still larger cycle of 50x50, marking the Millennium as Earth’s great Jubilee. And now, finally, we find the Sabbath, or seven day system, on a still larger scale measuring earth’s creation, from its inception to its perfection, to be 7 times 7,000 years – 49,000 years, ushering in the grand epoch when there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more pain and no more dying, because God’s work of creation shall then have been completed so far as this earth is concerned. No wonder that that date should be marked as a Jubilee date!
The angelic sons of God “shouted for joy” (Job 38:7) in the dawn of earth’s creative week, and after witnessing step after step in the development, finally saw man, its king, made in the Divine image. Then came the fall by disobedience into sin and death, and the frightful experiences of fallen angels who kept not their primary estate, and man’s selfish and bloody history under the reign of Sin and Death. Then successively follow the redemption, the selection of the Anointed One (Head and Body) through sacrifice, and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom with its wonderful restitution of all things spoken by God through the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. No wonder indeed that there should be a Jubilation in heaven and in earth when all of Jehovah’s intelligent creatures shall thus behold the lengths, heights and breadths and depths, not only of God’s Love, but also of His Justice and Wisdom and Power.
Surely the New Song can then be sung by all of God’s creatures, both in heaven and in earth, saying,
“Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God, Almighty!
Just and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages!
Who shall not reverence thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
For thou only art bountiful.
For all peoples shall come and worship before thee,
Because thy righteous doings are made manifest.” (Rev. 15:3,4)
“Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens: God himself, that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it. He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.” (Is. 45:18)
“And every creature which is in heaven and on earth... and such as are in the sea. .. heard I saying, ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb, forever and forever.”‘ (Rev. 5:13)
Since writing the foregoing we find the following on the subject from the pen of Prof. G. Frederick Wright, DD, LL.D., under date of Nov. 19th, 1902, on the Genesis account of creation.
THE GENESIS RECORD
“The first chapter of Genesis, which treats of the creation of the world, is a most remarkable document. It is remarkable as much for the skill with which it avoids possible conflict with scientific discovery as for its effectiveness from a literary point of view. Measured by the influence it has had, there is scarcely any other piece of literature that can be compared with it. Its evident object is to discredit polytheism and to emphasize the unity of the Godhead. This it does by denying a plurality of gods, both in general and in detail, and by affirming that it is the one eternal God of Israel who has made the heavens and the earth and all the objects in it which idolators are in the habit of worshiping.
“The sublimity of this chapter is seen in the fact that everywhere apart from the influence of it polytheism and idolatry prevail. The unity of God and His worship as the sole Creator of all things are maintained only by those nations which have accepted this chapter as a true and Divine revelation.
COMPATIBLE WITH SCIENCE
“At the same time the advancement of science has served rather to enhance than to detract from our admiration of this remarkable portion of the grand book of Divine revelation. Within its ample folds there is opportunity for every real discovery of science to find shelter. With such remarkable wisdom has the language of this chapter been chosen to avoid conflict with modern science that so great a geologist as Prof. J. D. Dana of Yale College asserted with great emphasis that it was impossible to account for it except on the theory of Divine inspiration.
“In the opening verse it shuts off controversy concerning the age of the earth, and indeed of the solar system, by the simple statement that the heaven and the earth were created in the ‘beginning,’ without any assertion how long ago that beginning was. But that the solar system had a beginning is proved by modern science with such clearness that the boldest evolutionist cannot gainsay it. The modern doctrine of the conservation of energy proves that the present order of things has not always existed. The sun is cooling off. Its heat is rapidly radiating and wasting itself in empty space. In short, the solar system is running down, and it is as clear as noonday that the process cannot have been going on forever. Even the nebular hypothesis implies a beginning, and no wit of man ever devised a better statement of that fact than is found in the opening verse of the Bible.
CREATION WAS GRADUAL
“This whole first chapter of Genesis is based upon the principle of progress in this method of creation. The universe was not brought into existence instantaneously. It was not complete at the outset. In the beginning we have merely the physical forces out of which the grand structure is to be made by a gradually unfolding, or if one prefers to say so, an ‘evolutionary’ process. [As already indicated, it is only in respect to man’s creation that the Evolution theory conflicts with the Bible; and only to attack this point does that theory exist or find advocates.] This is equally true whatever view one may take of the word ‘day’ (Hebrew ‘yom’). Why should an Almighty Creator need six days, even if only twenty‑four hours long, to create the world in? The answer is that the Creator not only possesses almighty power, but has infinite wisdom, and has seen fit to choose a method of creation which involves first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
“That there is a Divine plan of evolution, appears on the face of this whole chapter. The creation is begun by bringing into existence the simplest forms of matter, and continued by imposing upon them those activities of force and energy which produce light. This is followed by the segregation of the matter which forms the earth, and the separation of land from water, and of the water upon the earth from that which is held in suspension in the air. If anyone wishes to carp over the word ‘firmament,’ and insists upon its bald literal meaning, he is forbidden to do so by the subsequent statement (Gen. 1:20) that the birds are made to fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. The medium which held up the water in the clouds was one through which the birds could fly.
CREATION OF VEGETATION
“At the third stage the land was covered with vegetation, which is the simplest form of life, but which, when once introduced, carries with it the whole developing series of vegetable products. So comprehensive is the language in which the creation of plants is announced that it leaves ample room for the theory of spontaneous generation, which is yet one of the mooted questions in biology. In the light of this how remarkable are the words ‘and God said, Let the earth bring forth grass... and the earth brought forth grass.’
“The same remarkable form of expression occurs in introducing the fifth day of progress, where we read (Gen. 1:20): ‘And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.’ ... And again, introducing the sixth day’s work the same phrase is used (Gen. 1:24) ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind.’... If one should insist on interpreting this language according to the mere letter he would have what neither science nor theology would accept.
A SPECIAL CREATOR
“When it comes to the creation of man a very different expression is used. It is said that God made man in His own image and breathed into him the breath of life. How much this may signify with reference to the mode of man’s creation is not necessary to consider at this point. But the expression fitly corresponds to the exalted dignity which belongs to man when compared to the rest of the animal creation. The most noteworthy characteristics of man are brought to light both in this and in the subsequent account of the beginning of his career. Not only is man said to be made in the image of God, but he is fitted to rule over the beasts of the field and has the gift of language, through which he can bestow names upon them. Furthermore, he is a being free of will, who knows the difference between right and wrong – in short, is in possession of a moral nature which places him in a class by himself.
“That so many things should have been told us about the creation, with nothing which is absurd and fantastic, and so little which creates any difficulty in harmonizing it with modern science, is the clearest evidence which we can have that it was given by Divine inspiration. Not even Milton, with all his learning and with the advantage of this account before him, could curb his imagination sufficiently to keep from making a travesty of his whole conception of the creation of the animal kingdom. What but the hand of inspiration could have so curbed and guided the writer of the first chapter of Genesis?
MAN CREATED, NOT EVOLED
“There is a vast difference between the size and development in the brain in man and that in the lower members of the order ‘primates.’
“Physiologically and psychologically man differs even more widely from the lower members of his order. He has the power of grammatical speech. He can arrange his thoughts in sentences, which can be represented by arbitrary marks on paper or some other substance. Man has an ear for harmony in music, which no animal has. This involves a delicacy of structure in the organs of hearing of a most marvelous character. Among his mental qualities, that of scientific or inductive reasoning is most remarkable when contrasted with the mental capacities of the animal creation.
“In his great work on ‘Mental Evolution,’ Romanes thinks he finds in the lower animals all the rudiments of man’s mental capacity, but they are so clearly rudimental that they leave the gap between man and the animal nearly as great as ever. By collecting all the manifestations of intelligence in animals he finds that they all together manifest as much intelligence as a child does when it is 15 months old. But this intelligence is not in any single species, one species being advanced to that degree in one line, and another, in another...
REASON VERSUS INSTINCT
“Keen as the dog’s sense of smell may be, it is of no help in teaching him geology. Nor is the eagle’s acuteness of vision of any assistance to him in studying astronomy. In vain would one conduct a dog over the world to learn the extent of the ice cap during the glacial period, for he has no powers of thought through which he could connect the boulders in the United States with their parent ledges in Canada, or the scratched stones on the plains of Russia with the Scandinavian mountains from whose ledges they were wrenched by the moving ice. Such inferences are entirely beyond canine capacity...
CAPACITY FOR RELIGION
“In nothing does this superiority of the human mind appear more striking than in its capacity to gain religious idea through literature. There are, indeed, wonderful exhibitions of learned pigs, which, by some process, can be taught to select a few letters on blocks so as to spell out some simple words. But no animal can be taught to talk intelligibly. To this statement the parrot even is not an exception, since its words are merely a repetition of sounds unintelligible even to himself. Much less can an animal be taught to read or to listen intelligently to an oration or a sermon.
“On the other hand, the Bible, which is a book of the most varied literature, containing the highest flights of poetry and eloquence ever written, and presenting the sublimes” conceptions of God and the future life that have ever been entertained, has been translated into almost every language under heaven, and has found in those languages the appropriate figures of speech through which effectively to present its ideas...
“It is thus, when viewed from the highest intellectual point of view, that man’s uniqueness in the animal creation is best seen. Intellectually, he stands by himself. The scientific name for the genus to which man belongs is ‘homo,’ but the species is ‘homo sapiens,’ that is, a human frame with human wisdom attached...
“Alfred Russell Wallace, who independently discovered the principle of natural selection, and published it at the same time with Darwin, instanced various physical peculiarities in man which could not have originated by natural selection alone, but which irresistibly pointed to the agency of a superior directing power.
CLOTHES AND TOOLS
“Among these he cites the absence in man of any natural protective covering. Man alone of all animals wears clothes. He weaves the fibers of plants into a blanket or deprives other animals of their skins, and uses them to throw over his own naked back as a shelter from the inclemency of the weather. The birds have feathers, sheep have a fleece, other animals have fur admirably adapted for their protection. Man alone is without such protection, except as he obtains it by the use of his own intelligence. Until we pause to think of it, we scarcely realize how much intelligence is involved in man’s efforts to secure clothing. Even in so simple a matter as that of securing the skin of another animal for a robe, he is compelled as a preliminary to be the inventor of tools. No animal was ever yet skinned without the use of some sort of a knife.
“This brings us to another good definition of man, as a tool‑using animal. The nearest approach to the use of tools by animals is found in the elephant and the monkey. An elephant has been known to seize a brush with his trunk and by thus lengthening it enabling himself to brush objects off from otherwise inaccessible portions of his body. A monkey has been known to use a stick in prying open a door. But no animal has ever been known to fashion a tool: whereas there is no tribe of men so low in intelligence that it does not fashion most curious and complicated tools.
“The canoes of the lowest races are most ingeniously formed, and most perfectly adapted to their needs. The chipped flint implement involves the cherishing of a farsighted design and the exercise of great skill in carving it out. The ingenious methods by which savage nations secure fire at will, by friction, would do credit to civilized man; while the use of the bow and sling and of the boomerang shows inventive capacity of a very high order with which the animal creation has nothing to compare.
CAPACITY FOR MUSIC
“Wallace furthermore adduces the human voice as a development far in excess of anything that can be produced by natural selection. Monkeys have no music in their souls and no capacity for music in their vocal organs; whereas even the lowest races of man have both. The “folk‑songs” are the great source to which our leading musical composers go for their themes. The late Theodore F. Seward, in commenting upon the Negro plantation songs which he transcribed, says that in their harmony and progression they all conform to the scientific rules of musical composition. However much of advantage this musical capacity may be to fully developed man, we cannot conceive of its having been any advantage to an animal in the low stage of development in which we find the ape. The musical voice that attracts the ape has only the faintest resemblance to that which is attractive to either man or woman.
“Again, the size of the human brain is out of all proportion to the mental needs of the highest animal creation below man, and without man’s intelligence would be an encumbrance rather than a help. The two, therefore, must have sprung into existence simultaneously in order to have presented an advantage which natural selection could seize hold of and preserve and develop.
“It is difficult to see how it could have been an advantage to an ape to have the thumb of his hind limb turn into a big toe which can no longer be used for grasping things, but is useful only as he walks in an upright position. It is difficult to see what advantage could come to an ape in having his forelimbs shortened, as they would have to be if they were transformed into the arms of a man. It is difficult also to see how it should have been of any advantage to an ape to experience those changes in the adjustment of the hip bone and of the neck which would prevent his walking at all on all fours, and limit him to walking on two legs and in an upright position.
“In all these respects the difficulty in our understanding the origin of man from natural selection is increased if we are compelled to suppose that it was a very gradual process, and that these changes leading on to the perfection of the human organization began in an imperceptible, or almost imperceptible, degree; for such incipient changes could have been of no advantage. To be of advantage they must have been considerable, and the mental and physical changes must have been correlated in accordance with some law of pre‑established harmony.
“The mystery of the origin of man has not been in the least degree diminished by the Darwinian hypothesis, or by any light which evolutionary theories have thrown upon it. It is acknowledged by all that geologically, he is the most recent of the species which have been added to the population of the earth; while mentally, he towers so far above the lower animals that he is for that very reason, if for no other, classified by himself. The mystery is how he came into possession of this high degree of mental power with a bodily frame and a physiological constitution so completely adapted to its exercise. Those who say that it was exhaled in some way from the lower orders of intellectual beings, will encounter philosophical difficulties tenfold greater than do those who accept the simple statement of the Bible, that his soul is the Divine inbreathing – the very image of God.” (Pastor Russell – Studies In The Scriptures, Volume 6, Chapter One)
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QUESTION OF GENERAL INTEREST
QUESTION: – In John 3:16,17 it is stated that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son... that the world through Him might be saved.” But in 1 John 2:15 we are told, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Skeptics seize upon these texts as one instance where the Bible contradicts itself. What is the correct thought on these texts?
ANSWER: – The Bible is harmonious with itself. If this were not true – even in a single instance – it could not be regarded as “the Word of Truth.” In both these texts the word “love” is from the Greek agapao; but the word “world” is from the Greek kosmos. Agapao in both texts carries the thought of duty love; but the word kosmos has two different meanings – just as many of our English words have two or three different meanings. In the first text the kosmos means the inhabitants of the earth; whereas, in the second text it carries the thought of the present social order or arrangement.
In the Bible we are told to love our neighbors as ourselves, but nowhere are we told to love the present social order. It was the present social order that crucified our Lord; and it was the present social order that has shed “the blood of the prophets and of saints,” and it has been condemned to destruction “by fire,” the fire being a figurative expression used to denote complete annihilation.
In 2 Peter 3:10 we are told that “the earth (another expression for the present social order) and the works that are therein (the selfish and depraved acts of men) shall be burned up.” The whole chapter from which we have quoted one small text is written in highly figurative language, but much confusion has resulted by men attempting to accept these figurative statements as literal. If they were literal, it would indeed be a sore and unexplainable contradiction of many other Bible statements ‑ such as “The earth (the planet on which we live) abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1:4) This “burning” began in 1874 in a broad sense; but it actually began in a narrow violent way in 1914 with the outbreak of the World War; and has been steadily progressing since 1914 – so much so that it is now apparent to many persons of sharp discernment. As one outstanding instance, we quote President Woodrow Wilson, who said concerning the great war, “The world is on fire.” Thus it becomes apparent that God has arranged for the salvation of the people living in this present social order, although He has condemned the social order itself to destruction.
It is our thought that the Jehovah’s Witnesses would be well advised to ponder this point in their present proclamations, because they are heralding just the reverse of what the Scriptures teach on the subject – also it is just the reverse of the error which they taught for 1925, Millions Now Living Will Never Die. These people change their teachings just as easily and just as readily as the chameleon changes his color. They reverse themselves when their predictions fail; and their “dedicated” adherents close their eyes, open their mouths, and swallow any new delirium that they present to them. For the past few years they have been very vociferous in their declaration that the large majority of earth’s inhabitants now living WILL DIE – be annihilated in Armageddon when the present kosmos is overthrown. They now have about two million “saved” persons in their organization, and it is only those who accept them that will survive Armageddon. While the Bible does teach that large numbers of the human family will perish in Armageddon, nowhere does it teach that such death means their eternal annihilation, but the Bible does teach clearly and emphatically the eternal annihilation of the present kosmos – the present social order.
The Witnesses’ present teaching is indeed a far cry from what they were teaching some fifty years ago, at which time they placed great stress upon Zech. 13:8,9: “It shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” When they were using this text, they tried to give it a very literal explanation; namely, one‑third of earth’s population would survive Armageddon, which would mean by present reckoning that over one billion living through 1925 would live right on through Armageddon, and into the Kingdom, which is how they arrived at their slogan “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” – after the year 1925. Of course, time itself made them look quite ridiculous, so they were forced to come up with some new hocus‑pocus. Now only their “dedicated” devotees will live on into the Kingdom; all others will be annihilated by that seething caldron. Thus through fear they have persuaded many to join them – just as did the Roman Catholic Church in the Dark Ages gather numbers to avoid the fate of eternal torment. As so many of their devotees have died since 1975 they have been forced to change their teachings. They now teach that their faithful devotees who have died before Armageddon will also be rulers in the Kingdom with those who live through Armageddon on into the Kingdom.
When the lawyer asked Jesus which is the great commandment (Matt. 22:37‑40) He answered him in this manner: The first “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind... and the second, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” From this it is very clear that the requirements of the Law given through Moses are a duty, and many of the Jews tried to keep it, but could not do so because of their fallen condition. And in this connection it should be noted that when “the restitution of all things” (Acts 3:19‑23) is fully established under the Kingdom reign, perfect duty love will be required of all who gain life under that arrangement ‑ a “new heavens [new spiritual powers] and a new earth [a new social arrangement] wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13) Just the opposite of that condition prevails now, which is the reason for its “burning,” which will proceed to a completion in the future.
As stated foregoing, the word “love” in both texts in the question is from the Greek agapeo, which conveys the thought of duty love. There are a number of other texts which contain the word love, but are translated from different Greek words. One of these is the Greek agape, which carries the thought of a sacrificial love, and has been in operation specifically since Pentecost; but it has not been required of the world in general during this Gospel Age, nor will it be required in the next Age when “the restitution of all things” becomes operative. The only ones required to practice sacrificial love during this Age have been those who have accepted Jesus in the full sense determined by His words: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24) But this has been an invitation – and not a command.
Such persons as the foregoing have been a very small minority, and they have not loved the world as it refers to the present social order. This is graphically typified by the acts of the Prophet Elijah in his attempts to reform the Jews ‑ especially so as respects Ahab and Jezebel. He there typed the Gospel‑Age Christians who have attempted to reform the present social order, and have failed badly in their efforts. However, the reformers have shown great love for the people, the inhabitants, of this “present evil world,” and have done much good for them in their ministries.
The Jews under the Law were not required to practice agape love; in fact, they knew little or nothing about it. This is clearly stated by Jesus (Matt. 5:43,44): “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate shine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
The foregoing, however, applies only to those who have come into the Christian family; it is not now required of the “world” (the inhabitants of earth), nor will it ever be required of them in the next world. [Sacrificial love will not be necessary in the Kingdom as “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” – Isa. 11:9] Much confusion has resulted as Christians all during the Age – since shortly after the demise of the Apostles – attempted to apply these words to every one now, which error came about through the loss of the Truth on the two salvations – the “common salvation” (Jude 3), and the “great salvation” (Heb. 2:3). The “common salvation” is not available during the Gospel Age; and the “great salvation” will not be available in the next Age. Any attempt to mix the two salvations is certain to result in rank confusion.
Love for our enemies was not required under the Law Covenant, such love being sacrificial love ‑ from the Greek agape. Our Lord was the One who brought this agape love into focus – just as He also “brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” (2 Tim. 1:10) Had “the ancients” in Old Testament times been instructed in agape love, David and Samson would not have prayed for the death of their enemies.
The inhabitants of this world who will receive restitution in the world just ahead are not now required to practice agape (sacrificial) love in this Age – nor will they be required to do so in the next Age, or at any time in the future. However, we would stress in conclusion that a proper understanding and analysis of love in the two texts is not the real crux of the problem; it is rather the two meanings of the word “world” (kosmos) that make them readily understandable. All who “follow in His steps” also love the world (its inhabitants). (Brother Hoefle, Reprint No. 250, April, 1976)
“IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”
BROTHER DICKEY A. DEPUE finished his course on March 3, 1988. He was 89 years old on February 12, 1988. He was a good Bible student and well grounded in the Truth. He was our good friend and co‑worker, and has been with us since the inception of our movement in August 1956. He was faithful in all his commitments and was an “example of the believers.”
We believe he will be rewarded in honor and service with the Ancient Worthies described in Hebrews, chapter 11, and will be one of the princes(Psa. 45:16) in the Kingdom. He had the faith of Abraham and demonstrated his faith by his works just as did the Ancient Worthies. We will miss him and sorrow for him but not as others which have no hope. We rejoice that his pain and suffering are over. He is now “asleep in Jesus,” awaiting the “better resurrection.” (Heb. 11:40) Such faithful brethren cannot be replaced
[1] We are not ignorant of the theory of a pre‑Adamite man and the attempt thus to account for the different races of the human family. But we stick to the Bible as God’s revelation and, hence, superior to all human conjectures. It declares the solidarity of the human family in no uncertain terms, saying: “God made of one blood all nations of men.” (Acts 17:26) And again that Adam was “the first man.” (1 Cor. 15:45,47) Again the story of the deluge is most explicit to the effect that only eight human beings were saved in the ark, and they, as Noah’s family, descended from Adam. The variety of human types, or races, must be accounted for along the lines of climate, customs, food, etc., and especially along the lines of the seclusion of the various peoples in various quarters from each other, by which peculiarities became fixed. This is illustrated by the fact that Europeans living for a long time amongst the people of India or China gain a measure of resemblance to their neighbors, while their children, born in those lands, bear a still stronger resemblance in skin and features – affected no doubt by the mother’s surroundings during the period of gestation. An illustration of such assimilation is furnished by the Chinese of one district, who identify themselves with the Israelites scattered by the troubles which closed the Jewish Age – about AD 70. These Jews have become so thoroughly Chinese as to be undistinguishable as Jews – the hardiest of races.