Page 282 - Through New Eyes

N I N E T E E N

THE COURSE

OF HISTORY

As we come to the end of this study, let us step back and take
a larger view of history (illustrated in Diagram 19.1). One thing
that stands out is that each stage of history is more glorious than
the previous one. There is definite growth and maturation in
history; and though the wicked also grow and mature, their de-
velopment is in the direction of degradation, not of glorification.
The Bible clearly shows a progression for the righteous, and only
a retrogression for the wicked.

The Growth of the Kingdom in the Bible
Before the Flood the whole world was corrupt, and there
were only eight righteous souls to enter Noah’s Ark. In the Patri-
archal era, the Kingdom only existed by way of anticipation,
since the Patriarchs did not possess the land. They dug their
water out of the ground. In the Mosaic era, the Kingdom did
hold the land, though with difficulty. A laver of water was posi-
tioned above ground in the Tabernacle, and the land drank its
rain from heaven (Deuteronomy 11: 11). In the Davidic era, the
internal enemies of Israel were subdued permanently, and the
Kingdom became much more glorious. A huge sea of water
stood in the Temple Courtyard. In the Restoration, Israel began
to bear witness to all the nations of the earth, and the Kingdom
began invisibly to spread and influence the world. A river flowed
out of the Temple. Finally, in the New Covenant, the Kingdom
was fully internationalized, and the four-fold river of Eden was
restored, only this time flowing out of heaven itself.
Such a vision of the growth and gradual influence of God’s
Kingdom was once the common coin of Christendom, though in
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