of the current era will be immediately followed by a general conflagration, "wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Hence we learn that the earth shall be refined and rendered more beautiful, it may be for the future dwelling-place of saints: "When the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God." It is, therefore, evident that man, in his present state, has not and never can reach his ultimatum. For "flesh and blood

He must be trans

cannot inherit the kingdom of God." formed; his "corruptible must put on incorruption, and his mortality must put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death shall be swallowed up in victory." This shall take place at the end of the current era, when the affairs of this mundane system shall be wound up. For "the angel shall set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth, and swear by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there shall be time no longer." And now shall commence another era, an eighth dispensation, which will be eternal. That day will be succeeded by no night, for "there is no night there." Then the church of Christ will be complete; all its parts will have come together; all the jewels will be made up; and all the precious wheat will be stored up in the heavenly garner. None will be wading through affliction, nor grappling with sin and sorrow. And when all the foes of

"

God are cast down and sealed up in the prison house for ever, never more to hurt or destroy in all the earth; when Jesus shall put down all rule and authority, and shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father;" then one universal shout of joy shall burst forth from human and angelic voices, saying, "Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused us before our God day and night: therefore, rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them." "Then

66

shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." They shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads." "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are all passed away." And then shall the evening and the morning be the seventh day.

OUR object in this chapter is to give a summary of the facts stated and arguments employed in the preceding chapters. The reader must have been impressed with the perfect agreement existing between Geology and Genesis, as they stand related to the creation of the world. The writer does not aspire to the title of Geologist; he has only entered the precincts of that great temple of science; yet even there he has seen sufficient to impress him with the fact, that Geology is the best illustrated commentary on the Mosaic account of creation. And if there be such perfect agreement between the two records, the account given in the opening statement of Genesis should be taught geologically, and taught to our local preachers and sabbathschool teachers, and even to our children. While on the

other hand, if there be no agreement of Genesis with the well-established parts of Geology, that science becomes a weapon in the hands of infidels to wage war against the Christian religion. What hope is there that they will receive the Bible as Divinely inspired, if its first pages stand opposed to the facts of science? The profoundly interesting facts that have been collected from the buried archives of past ages, give cause for deep thankfulness to God; but even here there is a drawback, in the fierce contentions that occur between the advocates of science

and Scripture. We cannot in this short chapter mete out the exact amount of blame due to each of the contending parties. Undoubtedly men of science have been hasty in their conclusions, and wanting in consideration for the most cherished convictions of theologians and scriptarians; while they in turn have been assailed with dogmatism, implying utter ignorance of the facts of science. Surely the time has come when this polemic strife shall cease to the ends of the earth. These chapters profess to point out the unity existing between the Twin Records. We do not exhaust the subject; only lift the latch, and invite the readers to walk in and see if these things are so. Here be it observed, that we maintain the historical integrity of the first chapter of Genesis; if that portion of Scripture be fiction, as some theorists maintain, then we cannot escape the conclusion that, though the Bible may contain many excellent truths, it is nevertheless no standard of faith.

The question that now meets us is this: Does the Bible give a true history of creation? or can we read the Mosaic cosmogony in the light of science? If not, the issue will be most fearful. It answers no purpose to say that our interpretations of the account given of creation are hoary with age; while the science of Geology is only yet in its infancy. This reasoning is very fallacious. Truth does not depend on age for correctness. Countless ages will never make a falsehood true; nor will it ever turn truth into a lie. The supporters of the Ptolemaic system of astronomy had age on their side in favour of the dogma of a stationary earth when they opposed the new theory of Copernicus; yet nature was true then, as Scripture is now,

though the interpreters and comments were misleading the people; so that antiquated notions of Scripture may not be true after all. It is much better to come to the Bible with an unprejudiced mind, and in this case let science act on the opening statement of Scripture, the part that history acts in regard to prophecy: one becomes the exponent of the other. They are twin sisters marching arm in arm over the sands of time, each carrying the great book of creation, inviting men to read and understand its pages. It is true Geology is the younger sister, but she is no less true in proclaiming the Divine plan and order of creation. Genesis, near four thousand years, first raised her lofty voice, proclaiming with impressive tone the Divine origin of the universe. In modern times Geology has arisen from the caves and rocks of earth to second and detail the whole creative drama. As she speaks to us, she unfolds the wondrous leaves of her petrified and stony volumes, in which are portraits, models, or skeletons of all the various creatures that ever lived upon the globe; beginning with the lowly zoophites, molluscs, and crustaceans, and ending with man, God's last and best piece of workmanship. The two are, therefore, not at variance; they are one," And what God has joined together let no man put asunder." If the reader will carefully examine the foregoing chapters he will see no more difference existing between Genesis and Geology, than there is between a carte-de-visite of small dimensions and a life-size oil painting. Genesis gives the small portrait, while Geology gives the full-sized picture. Carrying our minds backwards far into the distant ages of the past, we arrive at an absolute creation of the matter of which the universe