The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-04-19
Are We at the End
of the World ?
(By D. E. Davis, Knob Lick. MOI

when shall these things be! II. e.
the destruction of the temple, etc.
and what shall be the sign of thy
coming Greek, parousia-presence),
and of the end of the world ?"-Matt.
24:3.
The condition of the world for the
past three years and over (the great
distress of nations, the strikes, the
riots, etc. have been such as TO cause
men and women to inquire, what is
the cause? and what will be the end
of these things? Some are inquiring,
Are we at the end of the world =?
Therefore, we propose to treat the
subject from the scriptural standpoint,
believing they fully point out the
present situation, and its glorious out
come.
We would not like to have you ac-
ccpt anything we have to say on the
subject unless you find it fully sup
ported by the scriptures, prove all
things and hold fast that which is
good" (1st Thes. 5:21)-that which
you find in full accord with the Bible.
In order to more fully appreciate
the subject of "the end of the world
we believe it necessary to first take a
brief view of the Divine Plan of the
Ages, and lead up step by step to our
subject, thereby enabling US to locate
ourselves on the stream of time, and
to see for a fact that we have reached
the end of the world.
We find from the scriptures that
Gods plan with reference to mankind
spans three great epochs of time,
reaching from the creation of Adam
into the illimitable future. The first
of these lasted from Adam to the
food, a period of 1856 years. The
second, from the flood down to the sec
ond advent of Christ, a period of over
1000 years. The third, from the sec
ond advent of Christ onward.
These epochs are called in the scrip
lures by the King James translators,
worlds. But the word world today
has come to have a different thought
to that of the original scriptures.
When the scriptures were written the
word world meant the order or char
acter of a certain period of time. We
read in End Peter 3:6, THAT the
world that then was, being overlooked
with water, persisted" What world :?
We reply, the world, or order of things
which existed from Adam down to the
flood, and which terminated with the
great delugc, which destroyed not onr
" the whole social order of that time,
but also the whole world of mankind,
with the exception Of Noah and his
r. T,1O IA Al,Iyl ~
thus that world came to an END, not
the literal earth ceased there, but the
order of things.
But some may inquire, What was
the order of things that existed be-
fore the flood? We reply that the
scriptures show US, that during the
period God permitted some of the an,
gels to have general supervision of
mankind After God had created man
perfect, and in His own moral image
and likeness, He placed them in the
garden of Eden on trial, and told them
they might have free access to all the
life sustaining trees of the garden,
with the exception of one. He said,
"But of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil. thou shalt not eat of it, for
in the day that thou eatest thereof, dy-
ing thou shalt die" teen. 2:16, ~.
We find that our first parents dis
obeyed this command of the Creator
and came under the just penalty of
death, and was driven forth from the
garden of Eden and began to wither
and die. Gen. 1922, 24.)
No doubt when the angelic sons of
God saw the condition into which man
had fallen, desired to do something
for him. Their interest in mankind is
manifested in their singing and shout
ing for JOY over the works Of crea-
ton Job 38:7).
God, in His wisdom, forsaw an op.
perfume time not only to test the 10y
atty and faithfulness of His angelic
sons, but also to prove to both angels
and men that without "a Ransom
| Il Tim. 2:5, Ga corresponding
price-it would be impossible to re
cover the race. Hence God permitted
some of the angels to materialize il
human form and to appear among
men for their uplift.
But we find that those angels mis-
used their powers. "Thc sons of Goo
saw the daughters Of men that the!
we're fair, and took TO them wives Of
all they chose-there were giants il
( the earth in those days-when thu
sons of God came in unto the daugh
tiers of men and they bare children tt
them, the same became mighty men
which were of old, men of renown.
| (Gen. 6:2-4)
Thus those angelic "sons of God
there became the heads or fathers Of
new race, contrary to Gods will
Therefore, st. Jude says, "The angel.
which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, he hath re,
served in everlasting chains, undel
darkness, unto the judgment of The
great (millennial) day." dude 6;
Peter ga; 1 Cor. 6:3). Those anegls
leaving their Gown habitation" be
came very wicked and we read thai
"The earth was filled with violence
| (Gen. glib
Thus God took them away as HI
saw good, and brought that WORLD
to an end by the great deluge, ant
carrying Noah and his family through
the flood, He began on this side what
is termed in the scriptures by st
/ nj ATTN. IC.