The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-12-15
AN EARTH REDEEMED.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE PICTURES THE
WORLD AS IT WILL BE.
The Twenty-first Century VIII See the
Complete GospeIization of All the
People of the Earth-EvfI Overcome
by the Power of Christ.

for good: tex, II Peter iii, 13, "A new
earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness"
Down in the struggle to make the
world better and happier We sometimes
get depressed with the obstacles to be
overcome and the work to be accom-
plished. Win it not be a tonic and an
inspiration to loo at the world as 1t
will be when it has been brought back
to paradisaciaa condition? SO Let US
for a few moments transport ourselves
into n future n put ourselves for
ward in the centuries and see the world
in its rescued and perfected state, as
we VIII see it if in those times We are
permitted to revisit tbs planet, as 1
am sure we will. We all want to see
the world better after it has been thor
oughly gospeliZed and all wrongs have
been righted. We will want 10 come
back, and we Will come back, to look
upon the refulgent contamination to-
ward which We have been on larger or
smaller scale toi1ing. Having heard
the opening of the orchestra, IN whose
strings some discords Travelled, we will
want to hear the last triumphant bar
of the perfected oratorio. Having seen
the pictures as the painter drew its first
outlines upon canvass We will want to
see it when it is complete as Ru-
bens' Descent From the Cross" or
Michael Angeles Last Judgment"
Having seen the world under the CLEAN
of the star of Bethlehem, we will want
to see it when, under the full shining
of the Sun Of Righteousness, the tow
ers shall strike II at noon.
There will be nothing in that coming
century of the worlds perfection to
hinder our terrestrial visit. Our power
and velocity of locomotiOn will have
been improved infinitely, 1t will not
take US long to come here, however far
off in Gods universe heaven may be.
The Bible declares that such visitation
is going on now Are they not all
ministering spirits sent forth to minis
ter to those who shall be heirs Of SAL
vation?" Surely the gates of heaven
will not be bolted after the world is
Edenized, so as to hinder the redeemed
from descending for a tour of inspection
and cong~ratulation and triumph.
EVILS OVERCOME.
You know with what interest we
look upon ruins-ruins of KenilWorth
castle, ruins of Melrose abbey, ruins
of Rome, ruins of Pompefi. SO this
world in ruinS is an to
HOOK at, but We want it to see it when
rebuilt, r~epilQared, recovered, realter-
ed, rededicated. The exact date of the
worlds moral restoration l cannOt fore
tell. 1T may be that Through mighty
aW~akenings it will take place in the
middle Of the neal by twentieth GEN.
tury. 1t may be ait the opening OF the
t~wenty-first century, but it would not
be surprising if it took more than 100
years to correct the avageS of sin
which have ragged for 5000 years. The
chief missionary and evangeliStic en-
terprises were started in this century,
and be not dismayed if it takes a couple
Sf oAYut Irr-io - 4n nUnrNonr10nn Xyi1Q Hiatt h9 VIA
had full swing for 60 centuries. I
take no responsibility in saying ON
what page of the earthly calendar it
will roll in, but Gods eternal veracity
is sworn to it that it will roll in, and as
the redeemed in heaven do as they
please and have all the facilities OF
transit from world to world you and 1,
my nearer or reader, viii come n
look at what my text calls "A new
earth, wherein dwellesth Righteousness"
I imagine that we are descending at
that period of the worlds complete
go~spelization. There will be no peril
in such a descent. Grea heights n
depths have no alarm for glorified
spirits. We can come down through
chasms worlds without grow
ing dizzy and across the spaces of half
a Universe without losing our way
Down and farther down we come. As
we approach this world we breathe the
perfume of illimitable gardens. Floral
iZation hat in centuries past was mere
and there walled in, lest reckless and
dishonest hands pluck or d1spoll 1t,
sur ges its pillows of color across the
fields n up the hillsides, n that
which was desert blossoms as the rose.
All the foreheads of ira crowned with
flowers, the feet of the mountains slip
pered with flowers. Oh, this perfume
OF the continents, his aroma OF hem
ispheres! AS we approach nearer and
nearer we hear songs n augnter
and hosannas, but not one groan OF
distress. not one sob Of bereavement,
not one clank Of chain.
Alighted ON the redeemed earth, we
first accosted by the spirit of the
v-first century, who proposes 10
guN and show us all that we desire to
see. Without his guidance we would
lose our way, for the world is so mucn
changed from the time when we lived
an bit. First of all he points out to rs
a group Of abandoned buildings. We
ask this spirit of the twenty-first CEN
tury, What are those structures
whose wallis are falling down and
whose gates are rusted on the hinges?"
Our escort tells us: Those were once
penitentiaries filled with offenders, but
the crime Of the world has died out.
Theft and arson and a and v1o-
lence have quilted the earth. People
have all they want, and why should
they appropriate h property OF 9TH
ers, even if they had the desire? The
marauders, the assassins, the bucca-
neers, the HerodS, the Mama Sahibs,
the ruffians, the bandits, are dead, or,
transformed by the power of he
Christian religion, are now upright and
benef1cent and useful. Prisons are OF
no more use in this world except as
places to be visited by curiosity seek
ers, as further back in the annal OF
time tourists visited the fortress where
the prisoner Of Chillon was fncarcer-
ated, or Devils island, where Dreyfus
endured our years Of cruelty"
After passing on amid columns and
statues erected in emo of those
who ave been mighty for goodness in
the worlds history, h highest and
the most exquisitely sculptured those
in honor of such as have been most
effectual in saving life OF improving
life rather than of those renowned
for destroying life, We come upon an
other group Of buildings that must
have been transformed from their orig
inal shape M adapted to other uses.