Its Climate, free, alike from the noxious vapors and melting heats of the torrid zone, and the chilling blasts of the polar regions, was delightfully varied by the moderate changes of heat and cold which only tended to crown the varied year with the greater variety of productions. Streams of life, and odors of healthful sweets came floating on every breeze. Thus earth, so lately a vast scene of emptiness and desolation, burst from its solitude arrayed in its robes of splendor; and where silence had reigned through the vast expanse, innumerable sounds now reverberated on the air, and melting strains of music re-echoing in the distant groves, stole upon the ears of admiring angels, and proclaimed the gladsome news of a new world of animated life and joy.
Thus all was prepared and finished, and creation complete. All save the great masterpiece, the head and governor, who was destined to rule or preside over this new kingdom. This personage, designed as the noblest of all the works of Deity, was formed of earth by the immediate hand of God; being fashioned in the express likeness and image of the Father and the Son, while the breath of the Almighty breathed into his nostrils,—quickened him with life and animation. Thus formed of noble principles, and bearing in his godlike features the emblems of authority and dominion, he was placed on the throne of power, in the midst of the paradise of God, and to him was committed power, and glory, and dominion, and the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven. From the bosom of this noble being, or rather from his side emanated woman. She being composed or fashioned from his bone and from his flesh, and undergoing another process of refinement in her formation, she became more exquisitely fine, beautiful and delightsome; combining in her person and features the noble and majestic expression of manhood, with the soft and gentle, the modest and retiring graces of angelic sweetness and purity, as if destined to grace the dignity of manhood,—to heighten the charms of domestic life,—to delight the heart of her lord, and to share with him the enjoyments of life, as well as to nourish and sustain the embryo, and rear the tender offspring of her species, and thus fill the earth with myriads of happy and intelligent beings. O reader, contemplate with me the beauty, the glory, the excellence, the perfection of the works of creation as they rolled from the hand of omnipotent power and wisdom, and were pronounced good—very good, by him whose hand had formed them, and whose eye surveyed them at a single glance. Tell me, O man, which of all these works was formed for decay? and which in themselves possessed the seeds of mortality, the principles of dissolution and destruction? Tell me, was there any curse, or poison, or death inherent in or appertaining to any department of existing matter? Tell me, were any of these works so calculated in their physical construction as to be incapable of eternal duration? Was there any death, or sorrow, pain or sickness, sighing, groaning, tears or weeping? Was there any thing to hurt or destroy in all the holy mountain? The answer to all these questions is plain, positive and definite, if the sacred writings may be relied on as decisive evidence. We are informed in scripture that sin entered into the world, and Death by sin. That by one man came death, and that the devil had the power of death. We are also informed that the ground was cursed for man's sake, and its productions materially changed. In short, the great head and ruler, with his fair consort were subjected to many curses and troubles while in life, and with them all the productions of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, together with the earth itself were subjected to the dominion of the curse. Thus creation felt the blow to its utmost verge, and has groaned in pain for deliverance until now. From all these declarations of holy writ, and from many other proofs which might easily be adduced, we feel ourselves safe in saying that Sin is the sole cause of decay, or death. If there had been no sin, there would have been no death, no dissolution, no disorganization, no decay, no sorrow and groaning, tears or weeping; neither would there have been any pain, but creation would have continued in the same state to an endless duration. O sin, what hast thou done! Thou hast hurled man from his blissful domain, and hast reduced him from a throne of power and dominion to a state of servitude, where sunk in sorrow and misery, he groans out a wretched existence, which terminates in painful dissolution, and he mingles with his mother earth and is forgotten and lost amid the general ruin.
Thou hast converted a garden of delicious fruits and blooming flowers into a gloomy forest of thorns and thistles. Thou hast transformed a world of life, joy and happiness into the abodes of wretchedness and misery, where sighing, groaning, tears and weeping are mingled in almost every cup. By thee the earth has been filled with violence and oppression; and man, moved by hatred, envy, avarice or ambition, has often embrued his hands in the blood of his fellow man, by which the fairest portions of the earth have been made desolate,—the abodes of domestic happiness turned to sorrow and loneliness,—the happy wife and tender offspring have become widows and orphans,—the bride has been left to mourn in irretrievable anguish, and the virgin to drop a silent tear over the ruined fragments of departed loveliness. By thee the world has been deluged with a flood of waters, and unnumbered millions swept at once from the stage of action and mingled in the common ruin, unwept and unlamented save by the tears of heaven, or by the eight solitary inhabitants of the ark who alone escaped to tell the news. By thy ravages empires have fallen to ruin, and cities become heaps. The fruitful plains of Shinar, and the splendid palaces of Babylon have been doomed to perpetual waste and and irretrievable desolation, never to be inhabited; not even as a temporary residence for the wandering Arab.(And the Arabian shall not pitch tent there. See Isaiah XIII, 20.) By thee the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the flourishing country about them, once extremely fertile, and watered as the garden of Eden, have been desolated by fire, and perhaps overwhelmed by a sea of stagnant waters. By thee the land of Edom, once a flourishing empire, possessing a productive and well cultivated soil, and every where adorned with flourishing villages, and splendid cities, has become desolate, without inhabitants; and the Lord has cast upon it the stones of emptiness, and the line of confusion. It has lain waste from generation to generation, as a haunt for wild beasts of the desert, a court for owls, and a place for the cormorant and bittern. On account of thee, the city of Jerusalem has long lain in ruins, the land of Judea is desolate, and their holy and beautiful house where their fathers praised Jehovah is burned with fire; while the Jews have long remained in exile among the nations, in fulfilment of that awful imprecation "his blood be upon us and our children." By thy power the once mighty empires of Greece and Rome have been shaken to the centre, and have fallen to rise no more; and before thy desolating blast, almost innumerable provinces lay in ruin. The waste deserts of burning sand—the sunken and stagnant lakes and miry swamps—the innumerable rockey barrens and mountainous steeps—the desolate and dreary wastes of the polar regions—these all present but so many monuments to thy memory—they speak in language not to be misunderstood, that sin has been there, with its dreadful train of curses, under which they groan in pain to be delivered.
The solid rocks have burst asunder at thy withering touch; they have been rent in twain, and hurled from their firm foundations by thy mighty power: and they lay scattered in broken fragments and ruined heaps as monuments of agonizing nature; and as a testimony of the heaving sighs, the convulsive quakings, and dreadful groanings of the earth itself, while by wicked hands the great Messiah was slain. And what shall I say more? for the time would fail me to innumerate the evils of intemperance, dissipation, debauchery, pride, luxury, idleness, extravagance, avarice and ambition, hatred and envy, priestcraft and persecution, with all their attendant train of troubles, miseries, pains, diseases and deaths; which have all contributed to reduce mankind to a state of wretchedness and sorrow indescribable. The noble and majestic features of manhood have often been transformed by these vices into the frightful and disgusting image of demoniac furies,—the angelic beauties of earth's fairest daughters as often transformed by vice into objects of mingled pity and contempt: but cease my soul, no longer dwell on these awful scenes; my heart is faint, my soul is sick, my spirit grieves within me; and mine eyes are suffused with tears while contemplating upon the scenes of wretchedness and misery which sin has produced in our world. O misery, how hast thou triumphed! O death, how many are thy victories! thrones, and dominions—principalities and powers—kingdoms and empires have sunk beneath thine all conquering arm,—their kings and their nobles, their princes and their lords,—their orators and statesmen, beneath the blast of thy breath have found one common grave.
The dignity of age,—the playful innocence of youth, or the charms of beauty cannot save from thy cruel grasp, thou hast swallowed up the nations as water, and thou art an hungered still,—thou hast drunk rivers of blood, and hast bathed in oceans of tears, and thy thirst is still raging with unabating fury. Whither,—ah! whither shall I turn for comfort? in what secret chamber shall I hide myself to elude thy swift pursuit? If I would heap up gold as dust I cannot bribe thee. If I would fortify my habitation with the munitions of rocks, thine arrows would pierce them as the spider's web, and find their way to my heart. If I would soar on high as the eagle, or fly to the most secret haunts of the desert, or hide myself in the gloomy thicket with the solitary bird of night; or retire with the bat, to the inmost recesses of the cavern, yet thy footsteps would pursue me, and thy vigilance would search me out. No arguments of the wise—no talents of the eloquent can prevail with thee. The tears of the widow, the cries of the fatherless; or the broken hearted anguish of the lover cannot move thee to pity: thou mockest at the groans and tears of humanity, thou scornest the pure affections of love and tenderness; and thou delightest to tear asunder the silken cords of conjugal affection, and all the tender ties of love and endearment which twine around the virtuous heart, and which serve to cement society, and to administer joy and happiness in every department of life. What mighty power shall check thy grand career, and set bounds o'er which thou canst not pass? Whose mighty voice shall command, saying "thus far, no farther shalt thou go, and here let thy proud waves be stayed?" What almighty conqueror shall lead thee captive—shall burst thy chains—throw open the doors of thy gloomy cells, and set the unnumbered millions of thy prisoners free?—who shall bind up the broken hearted—comfort the mourners—dry the tears of sorrow—open the prison to them that are bound—set the captives free—make an end of sin and oppression—bring in everlasting righteousness—swallow up death in victory—restore creation to its primitive beauty, glory, excellence, and perfection; "and destroy him who has the power of death, that is the Devil, and deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage?" but hark—
On the plains of Judea me thinks I hear
The melting strains of the lonely shepherd's
Midnight song, as it echoes among the hills
And vales, and dies away in the distance.
Its heavenly melody betokens
A theme of joy such as the sons of earth
Have seldom heard,—some heavenly theme as if
The choirs of angels—mingling their music
With the sons of earth, conspired to celebrate
Some new event—some jubilee of rest—
Some grand release from servitude and woe.
But see—ah see! the opening heavens around
Them shine; a glorious train of angels bright,
Ascending, fill the air:—it is indeed
A more than mortal theme. But hark again—
Me thinks I understand the words,—they
Celebrate the birth of king Messiah,
The mighty prince who soon shall conquer death
With all his legions, and reign triumphant
Over all, as king of kings, and Lord of lords.
Their chorus ends with peace on earth, good will
To men. O monster death I now behold
Thy conqueror! Jesus of Nazareth—
The babe of Bethlehem—the son of God.
He comes to earth, and takes upon him flesh and blood,—even the seed of Abraham; and this for the express purpose of conquering sin and death, and restoring a lost and fallen world to its former perfection that it may be capable of eternal life and happiness.
"As in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Now let the reader endeavour in particular to understand the precise object of the mission of Jesus Christ into our world; and what was to be accomplished by his death and resurrection. We have already endeavoured to show the effect of Adam's transgression in a physical as well as moral point of view; we have seen that sin materially affected the earth itself as well as all its animal and vegetable productions. Now the object of a Saviour to bleed and die as a sacrifice and atonement for sin, was not only to redeem man in a moral sense, from his lost and fallen state, but it was also to restore the physical world from all the effects of the fall; to purify the elements; and to present the earth in spotless purity before the throne of God, clothed in celestial glory, as a fit inheritance for the ransomed throng who are destined to inherit it in eternity. If the question be asked for what Christ died? the answer is, first, he died for all of Adam's race. Secondly, for all the animal and vegetable productions of the earth, as far as they were affected by the fall of man. The lion, the wolf; the leopard and the bear; and even the serpent, will finally feel and enjoy the effects of this great restoration, precisely in the same degree in which they were affected by the fall. Thirdly, Christ died for the earth itself, to redeem it from all the effects of the fall, that it might be cleansed from sin and have eternal life. Now this atonement which was made by Jesus Christ was universal, so far as it relates to the effects of Adam's transgression: and this without any conditions on the part of the creature. All that was lost, or in the least affected by the fall of man, will finally be restored by Jesus Christ,—the whole creation will be delivered from its dreadful curse, and all mankind redeemed from death, and all the dreadful effects of the transgression of their first parents; and this without any conditions of faith and repentance; or any act on the part of the creature; for precisely what is lost in Adam's transgression without our agency, is restored by Jesus Christ without our agency. Thus all will be raised from the dead, and the body and the spirit will be reunited; the whole will become immortal, no more to be separated, or to undergo dissolution. This salvation being universal, I am a universalist in this respect,—this salvation being a universal restoration from the fall, I am a restorationer,—this salvation being without works, or without any conditions except the atonement of Jesus Christ, I am in this respect a believer in free grace alone, without works; this salvation, redeeming all infants from original sin, without any change of heart, newbirth, or baptism, and the infant, not being capable of actual transgression, and needing no salvation from any personal sin, is therefore in a state of salvation, and not of depravity; and therefore of such is the kingdom of God: and in their infancy they need no ordinances, or gospel to save them, for they are already saved through the atonement, therefore the gospel and its ordinances are only for those who have come to years of understanding. But while on the subject of redemption, I must not pass without noticing another and very different part of the subject, viz—After all men are redeemed from the fall and raised from the dead, their spirits and bodies being reunited and the whole becoming eternal no more to see corruption, they are to be judged according to their own individual deeds done in the body; not according to Adam's transgression; nor according to sovereign, unconditional grace. Here ends, universalism; here ends calvinism; here ends salvation without works—here is introduced the necessity of a salvation from actual sin,—from individual transgression, from which no man can be redeemed short of the blood of Jesus Christ applied to each individual transgressor; and which can only be applied on the conditions of faith, repentance, and obedience to the gospel. Now all who neglect to fulfill the conditions of the gospel, will be condemned at the judgment day, not for Adam's fall, but for their own sins. But as our subject is more particularly confined to the salvation and durability of the physical world, the renovation and regeneration of matter, and the restoration of the elements, to a state of eternal and unchangeable purity, we must leave the further prosecution of these often contested points of theology to be pursued in their usual channel, and come directly to the merits of the great subject which we have undertaken. Let us now examine, more closely the physical structure and properties of the resurrected, immortal body; endeavour to ascertain in positive, definite terms, whether it does really consist of flesh and bones,—of matter as well as spirit: and if so, endeavour to learn something of its place of residence or final destiny. Christ being the first fruits from the dead, and the only person whose history after their resurrection has come down to us; and he being the great head and pattern of the resurrection, we shall endeavour to ascertain all the particulars which will serve to throw light on the subject, as to the physical nature of his body, both before and after he arose from the dead. His mother was a virgin, a chosen vessel of the Lord, who conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost and brought forth a child, who was composed of flesh and blood; and in his physical organization differing nothing in any respect from other children of the seed of Abraham. Like other children in their infant state, he no doubt received his nourishment from the breasts of his mother; like all others, he was helpless and dependent for care and protection on his parents, who by the command of God fled into Egypt in order to preserve him from the cruel sword of Herod, who feared a rival in the person of the babe of Bethlehem: like all others he grew in stature by means of the food received into the stomach, and its strength diffused through the physical system; and when grown to manhood his system was composed of the same earthly particles, or the same elements which constitute the human system in general. He was every way subject to the infirmities, passions, pleasures, pains, griefs, sorrows and temptations which are common to the constitution of man; hence we find him sorrowing, weeping, mourning, rejoicing, lamenting, grieving, as well as suffering hunger, thirst, fatigue, temptation, etc, and we also find him possessed of the most refined sensibilities of natural affection, and susceptibilities for close and intimate friendship. This is abundantly illustrated in his close and intimate friendship with Lazarus of Bethany, and his kind-hearted and benevolent sisters, Martha and Mary. He wept with the tears of fond affection over the grave of his departed friend Lazarus, and mingled his tears with the sorrowful and disconsolate sisters, as if to sympathize with them and help to bear their grief, insomuch that the Jews exclaimed, "behold how he loved him." Another striking example of this natural affection is illustrated in his close intimacy with his beloved disciple John. This apostle was his most intimate friend who leaned on his breast at supper; and who was employed to ask questions on subjects in which the others felt a delicacy: he is frequently called "that disciple whom Jesus loved." Now we must think that Jesus loved them all as disciples and followers of the Lamb; but as to natural affection John was his peculiar favorite; to him he committed his sorrowing and disconsolate mother, as he was about to expire on the cross, and from that time, Mary, the mother of Jesus, became a member of John's family. "He took her home to his own house." Jesus having taken affectionate leave of his sorrowing friends, at length yielded up the ghost, and his disembodied spirit took its rest in paradise; while his lifeless corpse was carefully wrapped in linen and laid in a sepulchre; but for fear of some imposition being practised by his disconsolate and sorrowing disciples, the door of the sepulchre was secured with a great stone, and sealed with the initials of kingly authority, besides a strong guard of Roman soldiers who watched around the door by day and by night. But early on the morning of the third day, an angel descended, at the glory of whose presence the soldiers fell back as dead men. The seal was broken, the great stone rolled away, the door of the sepulchre was opened, and his body re-animated by the returning spirit, awoke from its slumbers and came forth in triumph from the mansions of the dead. Now when his friends and disciples came to the sepulchre and found not his body but saw his grave clothes lying useless, they were troubled, supposing that he had been moved to some other place; but the angel of the Lord said unto them: "He is not here, but is risen," and called them to come and see the place where he had lain. Now let us bear in mind, that it was the same corporeal system—the same flesh and bones, which had yielded up the ghost on the cross, and which had been wrapped in linen and laid in the tomb, that now came forth from the dead, to die no more. Now in order to assist his disciples in understanding this subject, that they might know the difference between disembodied spirits and resurrected bodies, he not only eat and drank with them, but called upon them to handle him and see; for said he, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." On another occasion, he exhibited his wounded side and hands, and called upon Thomas to put his finger into the prints of the nails, and to thrust his hand into his side, where once the spear had pierced; and finally, after being seen of them forty days, he led them out as far as Bethany, and there he was taken up into heaven from their presence, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Now let us inquire, what was the physical difference between the mortal body of Jesus Christ and his resurrected body? They are both the same flesh, the same bones, the same joints, the same sinews, the same skin, the same hair, the same likeness, or physical features, and the same element, or matter; but the former was quickened by the principles of the natural life, which was the blood, and the latter is quickened solely by the spirit, and not by blood, and therefore is not subject unto death, but lives forevermore. With this glorious body he ascended to the Father, and with this glorious body he will come again to earth to reign with his people. This view of the resurrection is clearly exemplified in the persons of Enoch and Elijah, who never tasted death, but were changed instantaneously from mortal to immortal, and were caught up into the heavens, both body and spirit. This change upon their physical systems was equivalent to death and the resurrection. It was the same as if they had slept in the grave for thousands of years, and then been raised and restored to eternal life. When Elijah, for instance, was taken into the chariot of fire, and carried from the presence of Elisha, he did not drop his body, but only his mantle; for if he had dropped his body, the sons of the prophets would have attended to his burial, instead of ranging the mountains in search of him. This same subject is made equally plain in the writings of Job, who declares, saying: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand in the latter day upon earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." The Jewish prophets also understood this matter in its clearest light. Isaiah declares, "Thy dead men shall live,—together with my dead body shall they rise." Daniel speaks plainly of the awaking of them that sleep in the dust. Ezekiel illustrates the subject very clearly in his vision of the dry bones. (See Ezekiel xxxvii.) He not only mentions their being raised from the dead, but the bones, the sinews, the flesh, the skin, and the spirit by which they will be re-animated, are all brought to view in a clear, plain, and positive manner. The writings of the Apostles abound with clear elucidations of the physical nature of the resurrection: for on this one point, depended the whole foundation of the christian system. Hence Paul argues, that if there is no resurrection, then Christ is not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then their preaching was vain; and their faith and joy was vain; they were yet in their sins, and the apostles were false witnesses; and they were of all men most miserable. But there is one view which Paul takes of the subject, that will serve to carry out our present theory in a most conclusive manner. It is this: in opening to his disciples the mysteries of the second advent of the Messiah, and the great restitution of all things spoken by the prophets, he declares, that the saints would not all sleep, (in death,) but that they which were alive and remained until the coming of Christ, should be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so should be forever with him. Here then, is demonstration, that tens of thousands of the saints,—indeed all the saints who live at a certain period of time will be translated after the pattern of Enoch and Elijah, and their spirits and bodies never be separated by death! Such then is the resurrection; and such the lively views which inspired the prophets, apostles and saints of former times, and having this hope they could with propriety say, "O death, where is thy sting; O grave, where is thy victory?" O, the deep-rooted blindness of early tradition and superstition, how art thou interwoven with all our powers of intellect! and how hast thou benumbed and blunted every faculty of our understanding. From early youth the principles have been instilled into our minds that all must die and moulder to corruption—that Enoch and Elijah were the only persons who were, or ever would be translated without seeing death; when in fact, tens of thousands, as I said before, arc yet to arrive by faith to this inconceivable fullness and consummation of eternal life and happiness without tasting death, and without even a momentary separation of soul and body; the transition from mortality to immortality being instantaneous. And yet, strange as it may seem, none will ever attain to this blessing except such as firmly believe in and expect it, for, like all other blessings, it is only to be obtained by faith and prayer. But how shall we believe in, and seek for a blessing of which we have no idea? or how shall we believe in that which we have not heard, and how shall we hear without a teacher?
From all these considerations it appears evident that these principles must necessarily be revived so as to become a conspicuous part of modern theology. They must be taught to the people, and the people must believe them; insomuch that every saint on earth will be looking for the great day of the Lord, and expecting to be caught up to meet him in the air; for if the great day of the Lord should come at a time when these principles were neither taught nor believed, surely there would be none prepared for translation: consequently there would be no saints to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air; and if so, the words of the Lord by Paul would become of none effect. I have made the above remarks in order to impress deeply upon the minds of our modern teachers and learners the importance of arousing from the slumber of ages on this subject, and of ceasing to teach and impress upon the youthful mind the gloomy thoughts of death, and the melancholy forebodings of a long slumber in the grave, in order to inspire them with solemn fear and dread, and thus move them to the duties of religion and morality. Experience has proved, in innumerable instances, that this course is insufficient to restrain vice, and to lead to the practice of virtue and religion. The wayward and buoyant spirits of youth feel weighed down and oppressed, when oft reminded of such gloomy and melancholy subjects. All the more cheerful faculties of the soul are thus paralyzed, or more or less obstructed in their operations; the fine toned energies of the mind cease to act with their accustomed vigor, the charms of nature seem clothed in mourning and sackcloth. We conceive a distaste for the duties as well as the enjoyments of life. Courage, fortitude, ambition, and all the stimulants which move man to act well his part in human society, are impaired and weakened in their operations, and the mind, thus soured and sickened, finds itself sinking under deep melancholy and settled gloom, which soon becomes insupportable. He at length sinks in despair,—becomes insane, or groans under various diseases brought upon his physical system by the anguish of his mind; or, with a desperate effort, tears himself from friends and society, and from all the social duties and enjoyments of life, to lead a life of solitude within the walls of a convent, or in the gloomy caverns of the monk. But more frequently the youthful mind when laboring under these gloomy impressions, makes a desperate effort to free itself from its dreadful burthen, by plunging into all the allurements of vice and dissipation; endeavoring by these means to drive from them the memory all these gloomy impressions, and to lose sight of, or cease to realize, the sure and certain approach of death.