Discourse III
Before entering upon the subject of our discourse for this evening. we will
briefly recapitulate what we found in the two preceding discourses. We have
been looking at the teachings of God’s Wold: endeavoring to dismiss From our
lninds all preconceived opinions and prejudices, natural or acquired. We have
been endeavoring to find what the Word of God teaches, because we know that
God is true and His Word interprets itself. We found that the world’s history is
divided into three epochs, or dispensations. (Point.)
The First Dispensation is entirely in the past. It reached from the creation to
the flood, and is called by St. Peter “the world that was.” The next, the Second
Dispensation, we found to be mainly in the past, and now nearing its close, and
called “the world that now is.” We called attention to the significance of the
word “world,” its common use causing considerable confusion of thought, so
that when we speak of the end of the world, the ordinary thought is that the
earth upon which we are living will be demoyed. But we found that one world
had passed away, and we are on the same earth.
We will not go into details on this subject; we merely touch upon it here to
refresh your ininds. This Dispensation, in the close, or Harvest, of which we
are now living. is called “the present evil world”-not because it is entirely evil,
not because it has no good in it, but because evil has predominated. We know
there have been many good people, though they were few in comparison with
the multitudes of evilly-disposed persons. We also found that the Scriptures
tell us (point) that there is to be a “world to come.” or “world without end.”
We found that the first world (point) ended with a flood,
that this second world (point) is to end with fire, a Time of
Trouble into which we have already entered, and which is
to be a Time of Trouble such as never was since there was be a “a nation.”
This Time of Trouble is to have a purging
a purifying effect, consuming the dross-fire fitly representing destruction.
Hear the Apostle Peter-“The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are
a purging,
therein shall be burned up … Nevertheless we look for a new heavens and a
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”-2 Pet. 3: 10-13
We saw that the First Dispensation was left in the hands of angels, and that
their administration proved a failure. We saw that during the Second Dispensation