be spoken to them any more. This is the earth that was shaken, for so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." The heavens and earth that are to be shaken the next time are the constitution and kingdom of Israel, under the old covenant; the ruling classes called heavens; and those whom they rule over, called the earth. The kingdom which comes in its stead is the kingdom of God under the covenant which cannot be shaken and will remain.

One of the notable examples of wresting such Scriptures as these and sayings of like import is found in the writings of one Dr. Dick, whose writings, notwithstanding his perversions and misapplications of Scripture, are nevertheless in great repute in the religious world of the present day. He sets out to interpret Paul's words, when he says (Heb. 11:3), "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." And he wanders off in an elaborate astronomical treatise about the myriads of worlds that roll in the fathomless depths of the natural heavens. This poor man seems never to have learned that the Holy Scriptures are not a treatise on astronomy and things brought to view in the distant heavens by a telescope; but, on the contrary, they refer to, and treat of, worlds of a very different nature, worlds which are manifested among the children of men upon the earth which they inhabit, called ages, and it is by faith that we understand that these worlds were framed by the word of God, because we believe the account that God has given us of their origin and destiny. For instance, Peter speaks of the heavens and earth that were before the flood and adds, "The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." Here we have the beginning and end of one world. Paul also said that if Christ were like

the high priests under the law, who entered into the holy place every year with the blood of others, "then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:25-26).

Upon this statement of the Apostle, we inquire, In the end of what world did Christ die? Jacob answers that question and said (Gen. 49: 10), “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come." After Shiloh came, the sceptre soon after departed from Judah and the kingdom of Judah came to an end, which terminated the Mosaic world, the foundation of which was laid at Mount Sinai. Again, Paul says (Heb. 2:5), "Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak." The world to come of which Paul and the other apostles spake is called by Isaiah, Peter, and John, "The new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." Thus I have enlarged upon the figurative language of the Old and New Testament Scriptures in order that Peter's words by comparison may be interpreted in harmony with other Scriptures, and not in such a manner as to render void and of none effect the greater portion of the notable prophecies of the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

INTERPRETATION OF PETER'S WORDS

With what has been said, the interpretation of the hard sayings of Peter should become comparatively easy. He says, "By the word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." A world therefore, consisting of heavens and earth, was destroyed by the flood. Now if we were to interpret this Scripture after the manner that men in our day interpret what he further says about the destruction of another system of heavens and earth which obtained in his day, we should have to conclude that the sun, moon, stars, firmament and the earth itself were destroyed, and perished in the flood, and therefore that in the days of Noah there was a new creation of all these things to make a world such as has been since, and now is. What then were the heavens and earth, or what constituted the world that was destroyed by the flood, seeing no damage was done to the sun, moon, and stars, or the natural earth? We answer, Just what God said he would destroy (Gen. 6:7): "And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." Here the Lord gives us an enumeration of the elements of the antediluvian world which was destroyed by water, which comprehends the vagabond posterity of Cain, and the children of Seth, called "Sons of God," but who corrupted God's way upon the earth. These, with all their institutions, inventions, the fruits of their labors and the works of their hands, make up the heavens and earth which were destroyed by the flood.

From what has been already said, there should be no difficulty now of properly applying Peter's words, for he himself said that he and his brother Paul spake of the same things, and as the heavens and earth that Paul treated of were the Mosaic heavens and earth, the ones that Peter spoke of were the same. A few comparisons we think will make this clear. Peter says (II Pet. 3), "The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein, shall be burned up." As he advises us to be mindful of the words spoken before by the holy prophets, let us consider some of their sayings about these matters. Isaiah in chapter 24 speaks of the judgment upon the house of Israel, because they have "transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant; therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants are burned and few men left." The prophet Jeremiah also, looking upon the desolations of the kingdom of Israel after God's wrath had been poured out upon them, describes it as follows (4:23-25): "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heaven were fled." Again the Lord says (9:7), because of their deceitful and treacherous ways, "Behold I will melt them, and try them." Ezekiel also testifies (22:17-22), The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it, so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave

you there and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you." Such language needs no comment.

Isaiah very forcibly describes these things in chapter 4 of his writings, saying, "In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit. of burning." This is a prophecy of the same things spoken of by Peter and Paul, and presents a most graphic and forcible picture of the way in which the Lord will pluck away, and consume the wicked out of the midst of his people by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning, leaving only a remnant, whose names were written among the living in Jerusalem, who will after the judgment be the recipients of the choice blessings spoken of above, and of whom it is said in another place, "Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I the Lord will hasten it in his time" (Isa. 60: 21-22).

One more illustration, and we will close this branch of our subject. The promise of a new heaven and a new earth that Peter speaks of is found in the sixty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, and by comparing these scriptures carefully there need be left no doubt in the mind of an honest and intelligent person as to the correctness of this view of the Old and New Testament Scriptures which treat of this subject. Isaiah here speaks of the old heavens and the old earth, and the new heavens and new earth that come in its place. He describes the means by which the old order of things, under the old covenant, pass away, and portrays the evil character of those who composed the old heavens and earth, and says of their wickedness (verse 6), "Behold, it is written before me; I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom " (verse 9). But notwithstanding all these things, the Lord says that he will not destroy them all, but "I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there." Then, turning to the transgressors, he says (verse 11), "But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering for that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. (Verse 15) And ye shall leave your name for a

curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servant by another name. (Verse 17) For, behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth: and the former (old heavens and old earth) shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."

Now to show that the natural heavens and earth are still in existence and not burned up when these things take place, we have only to read on, for he says (verse 18), "Be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: (verse 21) and they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." This condition of things will continue for a thousand years under the reign of Christ and his brethren, the saints.

This long detour have I made from the main subject of this treatise, in order, if possible, to remove out of the way certain enormous interpretations and views of the Holy Scriptures, for so long as they becloud the mind, it is impossible to comprehend and understand the great and mighty events in human history which cluster about the second coming of Christ, and the resurrection of the heirs of the kingdom of God, and the ushering in of the golden age of our world, when as Isaiah says (33:6), "Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times." And as Mount Zion in Jerusalem is the place from whence this veil which covers the nations is to be rent asunder and destroyed, we have thought it prudent to make especial mention of some of the glorious things spoken of the city of the great king.

OF WHAT DOES THE VEIL CONSIST?

We come now to consider the main question. The Prophet (Isa. 25:7) says this covering is cast over all people, and this veil is spread over all nations. This language indicates and shows that there is something of great importance that is concealed from the nations and hid from all the world. and will remain so until the time spoken of by the prophet. This veil covers their kings, their queens, their princes, their wise men, and especially their priests and religious teachers and religious orders and societies, who constitute the pillars and strength of the darkness of this world.

But of what does this veil and this covering consist? As we have said before, the key to this is found in the next sentence which says (verse 8), "He will swallow up death in victory." The true meaning of this divine oracle we could never have known but by the hand of inspired men. Paul, the man of God has made it plain in his first letter to the Corinthians, where he sums up his argument on the resurrection of life and says (15:54), “So 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 (Isa. 25:8), Death is swallowed up in victory."

From these premises it is evident that the face of the covering cast over all people and the veil which is spread over all nations consists in ignorance of the way of life and the true doctrine of immortality, for so Paul also says in his letter to the Ephesians (4:18) that the Gentiles are alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. Again (2:11, 12), he says to them, "Remember that

in time past ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." This life and immortality of God is not inherent in man, and comes not from man, or through man, for there is nothing in man himself that entitles him to inherit immortality, as Paul says (I Cor. 15:50), "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." The full meaning of this passage is found in the next sentence, "Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." Now as there is nothing in corruption that entitles it to inherit incorruption, so there is nothing in flesh and blood, or the natural man, which entitles him to immortality, or, in other words, a man will not be saved simply because he is a man. Eternal life is the gift of God to the righteous only. Paul in writing to the Church at Rome, who had believed the gospel and rendered the obedience of faith, says, "To them who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honor and immortality, God will render eternal life" (2:7). Immortality, therefore, is set before men as an object to be attained on certain well defined conditions, and those who comply not with these conditions will surely fail of the grace of God and everlasting life.

THE NATURAL MAN

The natural man, viewed apart from any revelation from God, and viewed also as having repudiated the revelation that God has given to men, who has fallen back upon his own resources to follow and be guided only by what he terms "the light from within and the dictates of his own conscience," which is much better and more truthfully expressed in the Scriptures, "walking every one after the imagination of his evil heart" (Jer. 16: 12) — the natural man may be summed up as follows: He comes forth out of the earth (indirectly now); he is made of the ground, which he cannot deny; he fills as an hireling his day, which is of very short duration, and dies and returns to his native earth, and to him his death is truly a "leap in the dark."

While he lives in this natural world, he sees nothing but the things of "this evil world," and although he may have naturally a vivid imagination and may study the things of the world until he becomes quite polished and learned in the elements of the world, yet he is like the partridge which ranges the mountain, or like the wild beast who ranges the forest, so the natural man ranges up and down in this world, and he knows nothing but the things of this world which come in contact with his bodily senses, which are his informants, such as his senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, and finally thinking—for the natural man in order to lay in his stock of earthly knowledge, has eyes to see, ears to hear, nose to smell, palate to taste, flesh to feel, and a brain to think for a man can no more think without brains, than he can see without eyes, or hear without ears, for the brain is the thinking substance of the body, and although it is one complete whole, yet it is divided into organs each of which, as the psychologists are able to show, has its own proper function to perform, insomuch that if you remove any one organ from the brain, you thereby remove from the mind the function that that organ performs. Consequently, if you remove and destroy them all, you thereby destroy the whole thinking machinery, when thought would in