Among 19th Century writers teaching a restored paradise earth was Mary Martha
Sherwood. 1775-1851

Mary Sherwood was a well known and widely read 19th Century children's author. She was born at Stanford-on-Teme near Worcester in 1775 to George Butt, a clergyman, and educated at home and at the Abbey School, the school which Jane and Cassandra Austen had attended. Mary recalled a happy childhood and that her father was very kind to her. From six until age 13 he had insisted that she wear "a sort of iron collar with back boards over the shoulders to correct a slouch." She recalled attending balls and social events. She enjoyed reading, and started writing in her childhood.

Her father died unexpectedly in 1795, and she and her family moved to a "somewhat uncomfortable house" on High Street in Bridgnorth. Mary suffered both from her father's death and from separation from her cousin Henry Sherwood. While in Bridgnorth, she became a very zealous Christian. She has drawn criticism in recent years for expressing the macabre in her stories, and for her plainly
expressed beliefs. Yet, in most respects she was no different than many 19th Century child's writers.

Mary and her sister Lucy began to teach at local Sunday schools and to write moral tales for children. One of the first of these was Mary's History of Susan Gray (1802) was intended for the instruction of village women and girls. The story contrasts Susan Gray, who resists every temptation, and Charlotte Owen, who follows the path to death and damnation. Charlotte's squalid death is used to show the fate of all who compromise Christian principles. Mary quotes the Bible often to make her points. A biographer says "Mary was probably the most intense and didactic of all the children's writers during the nineteenth century, stressing always the inherent sinfulness of man." In Britain, many of her books were published by Houlston and Son
of Market Square in Wellington, one of England's most prolific publishers
of evangelical books and tracts. Houlston were also publishers for Patrick Bronte and for Lucy Cameron, Mary's sister.

When Henry Sherwood returned from military service in the West Indies in
1803, they married. Mary accompanied her husband to India where she was a
very active teacher and evagelist. While there she wrote Little Henry
and His Bearer (1814) which was one of her most popular works. It has
been described as "a classic of missionary work" It was based on her own experiences in India, and translated widely. They returned to England in 1816 and lived at Lower Wick, a village near Worcester.

She wrote numerous child's stories, including History of the Fairchild
Family (1818), and The History of Henry Milner (1822-37) and Lady of the Manor (1825-1829) which consisted of a number of small volumes of "conversations on the subject of confirmation, intended for the use of the middle and higher ranks of young females." Because of her reputation as an evangelical writer she was invited to meet William Wilberforce and Elizabeth Fry. In 1820, she edited Sarah Fielding's Governess, essentially rewriting the book. She removed fairy stories from it as un-Biblical.

"Sherwood, in spite of a prodigiously active life of benevolence and domesticity, wrote almost to her dying day; and, with the little stories 'written up' to stock illustrations for various publishers, she has well over three hundred books to her credit. Practically, all of them of any importance introduce her strongly marked religious views."–Cambridge History, Vol 11.

Mrs. Sherwood's relationship to Watch Tower history lies in her strongly
held beliefs in a restored paradise earth. Only one book of hers seems to
have strong relevance to the development of 19th Century thought on the restoration of Edenic paradise to the earth. It is entitled The Millennium: Or, Twelve Stories, Designed to Explain to Young Bible Readers, the Scripture Prophecies Concerning the Glory of the Latter Days. An American edition was published in New York and in Boston in 1829. Her books were so widely read, that its solid view of a restored paradise helped reinforce a view
regularly expressed by a number of religious teachers in the era.

In a subsequent post, I will present extracts from her book. Interested
researchers can find copies of this book at: 1. Hamilton College Library,
New York; 2. Roanoke College, Virginia; 3. Bringham Young University, Utah.
To view a photo of the title page and front illustration go to
http://community.webshots.com/ and search "Restitution" .

Bibliography:

Dickins, John: An Illustrated Literary Guide to Shropshire, Shropshire
Libraries, 1987.

Notes on J. A. Seiss and His Role in Watch Tower History

Joseph Augustus Seiss (sees) was born in Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland,
18 March, 1823. His ancestors, whose original name was Suess, emigrated from
the Alsatian mountains and settled near Reading, Pennsylvania His grandfather
moved to the Moravian settlement of Graceham, Maryland

His father wanted him to be a field-laborer, and, because of his studious
habits, called him "dreamer Joseph." His mother, however, encouraged him
in his studies. At sixteen he was confirmed as a member of the Moravian church.
Shortly afterwards, he decided to enter the ministry. His father actively
dicouraged the decision, and the Moravian church did not encourage him. However,
with the help of some Lutheran clergymen, in 1839 he was enrolled in Pennsylvania
College at Gettysburg. He left after a few months, pursuing his theological
studies on his own.

In 1842 he was licensed to preach by the synod of Virginia, and in 1844
he was ordained to the Lutheran ministry. In 1858, after first serving in
Virginia and Maryland, he became pastor of St. John's English Lutheran church
in Philadelphia. He was known as an eloquent pulpit orator. A biography written
during his life time said: "His style is clear, ornate, attractive, and
forcible." He first published when twenty-two years, and in his lifetime
was a well known and read author. He authored more than a hundred pamphlets
and books, some of which were republished in England and translated into
German. A bibliography of his published works (Philadelphia, 1887) runs to
fifty-seven pages.

Seiss was a student of prophecy, writing numerous works on prophetic subject
and editing the journal Prophetic Times from 1863 to 1875. Seiss was
known to Russell, who read both his magazine (see Zion's Watch Tower of
May 1883, wherein he quotes from it) and many of his books. Barbour and Seiss
battled it out in the pages of their respective magazines in 1875. Neither
liked the other. (Almost no one in the Advent movement like Barbour.) It
appears that Russell and Seiss actually met, though this is uncertain at
this time. That research is still being done.

Several of Seiss's works influenced Russell. Two were especially influential.
Russell repeatedly refers to Seiss's Miracle in Stone, a book on the
great pyramid's role in prophecy. More influential was Seiss's Last
Times, first published in 1856, and revised and enlarged in 1863. A new
edition was published in the 1870s with revisions to a footnote. Russell
acknowledged his debt to Seiss in  To Readers of the Herald of the
Morning (Supplement to Zion's Watch Tower, Volume 1, Number 1),
quoting at some length from Seiss's Last Times on the subject of "Restitution."
It was from Seiss's book that Russell had come to an understanding of invisible
presence to which he held until 1881.

Prior to 1881 Russell and the others broadly associated with the Restitution
movement held to a two-stage second advent. Christ, they believed, came first
invisibly, becoming visible for specific judgments. Further research on the
word "parousia" led those associated with Zion's Watch Tower to believe that
Jesus never physically manifested himself to humans. The were led to this
conclusion through a study of the Greek verb "to see." Their conclusions
were first clearly stated in Food for Thinking Christians in 1881.

Other places that Russell refers to Seiss or his writings include: Bible
Student's Monthly (vol. 5. #11); Thy Kingdom Come (several times
in the chapter on the pyramid); The Watch Tower, April 1, 1907 (reprints
page 3968) where Seiss's Last Times is quoted at some length on a
restored earthly paradise; The Watch Tower of August 1, 1905; September
1, 1905. Though not mentioned directly, Russell's comments on Daniel found
in some issues of Zion's Watch Tower in the early 1880s were meant as a response
to a commentary on Daniel newly published by Seiss. 

In the 1920s some controversy was raised among "Bible Students" by the
reminder that many of the things Russell taught had been derived from Seiss'
Last Times. A more reasonable spirit prevailed after 1927, when many
came to see that there were many faithful servants who collectively make
up the Faithful and Wise Servant. Seiss also pointed to 1914, though on a
different basis than Barbour, Russell, and others. He is briefly mentioned
in the Proclaimers book.

One of the most significant aspects of this book is the extensive
bibliography. If you wish to know who influenced the thinking of Russell
and others looking for the return of Christ, this is one of the prime sources.
Over the years, I've collected many of the references mentioned in the
bibliography. Copies of some of these are in the Society's archive. This
book is rare. While there is a modern abridged reprint that omits key elements,
the last edition that can be called "original" was printed in 1900.

Then too from the account above given, which many of the brethren here can corroborate, does it indeed look as though "our dear young brother Russell came into these views, and a small interest in the paper so recently?" Is it true that "this young man came into the views advocated by the Herald, no longer ago than Nov. 1876?" Again, is it true that Bro. B. "advocated all the advanced truths and all the prophetic arguments?" And did the "young brother learn all these beautiful truths by hearing repeated courses of lectures by Bro. B.?" Let us see what are these beautiful advanced truths? Is it the time of Christ's coming? No, there is no beauty in time, it is only a thing of dread, unless the glorious object of His coming is recognized. Bro. B. can scarcely be considered the one, who brought this most glorious and most beautiful truth to our attention, for, while he believed a bonfire to be the end of the world, and that probation ended with it, Bros. Geo. Storrs, Henry Dunn and others were preaching and writing of "the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets." [Acts 3:21,] and that "In the ages to come, God would show the exceeding riches of his grace." (Eph. 2:7.) Again, of what value would it be to know the time if we know nothing of the manner of Christ's coming? But while Bro. B. was looking for and preaching outward demonstrations, others saw and taught the two stages of the second advent, viz: Coming unobservedly for His bride and his appearing, when "we also shall appear with Him in glory." Lest some should suppose these statements unwarranted by facts, let me here give extracts from writings on the subject by Rev. Jos. Seiss. "The Last Times" a work published by him in 1856, says of:

"THE DAY OF THE LORD" (PP. 150-151.)

"There shall be upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves thereof roaring, great popular and revolutionary disturbances; men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." These words describe scenes of the judgement, which are to be witnessed before the visible manifestations of Christ, scenes which will glide in upon the world without the least suspicion on the part of men generally, that they are the beginning of the great judgement. Yes, "every eye shall see him" but not necessarily at the same time, and only when he shall come "with all his saints with him," and all his saints cannot be with him until after the pious dead are raised and the pious living be translated. The day of judgement shall come "as a thief in the night." He will be here, gathering and removing His elect before the world shall have become aware of it. Referring to

THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS (PP. 206-209.)

"The Jews shall return to their ancient home. Jehovah Elohim shall come down again more glorious than when of old, he dwelt in cloud and flame in the Holy of Holies, even Jesus in His own glorified humanity and they shall say: "Lo, this is our God! we have waited for him and he will save us. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Jerusalem's light shall then have come, and the glory of the Lord have risen upon her and she shall arise and shine. But Jerusalem below, radiant in all its untold glory shall be but a type and earthly picture of the higher and sublimer Jerusalem that is above.--[The Church.] Concerning the

OFFICE OF THE GLORIFIED CHURCH. (PP. 221.)

"Much of the great plan of redemption yet remains unfulfilled and this Church of the first born is exalted to its high place, not only for its own glory and the Savior's praise, but as another great link in the chain of agencies, and administrations by which the entire world is to be restored to the high sphere for which it was destined. When this elect Church shall have been completed and its members come to be Priests and Kings with Christ in the glorious Messianic kingdom, the same general calling which they now fill will continue.

These sublime princedoms of the eternal empire are a part of God's great plan to let forth His love, wisdom and blessing upon earth's generations. Blessed shall it then be for the world, when once the saints shall be installed with their promised dominion and set with Christ upon His throne. And again, concerning

SPIRITUAL BODIES. (PP. 220.)

"That the glorified saints will to some extent mingle with those who live in the body and at times unveil their radiance to them, I think there is reason to believe. If they are to govern, direct and minister to those in the flesh, it is natural to suppose they will also be visible at least occasionally.

Angels in the performance of similar offices have often been manifested to living men, and why should it not be so with Christ's servants in the wonderful administrations of his glorious kingdom. Glorified or spiritual bodies are perhaps in their nature insensible to our earthly senses. Christ after His resurrection, was not visible, except at certain times when he manifested himself. The angels are invisible and yet we have many instances in which they were revealed to the view of mortals.

And in that new world in which the glorified saints are to be enthroned and commissioned as the ministers of Christ to execute his orders and administer his government over the nations, we may reasonably expect that they will often appear and converse with those who live in the flesh, and that intercourse between them and those in the body, will be as real familiar and blessed as that which Adam enjoyed with heavenly beings in Paradise."

At the time the above was written Bro. Barbour was entirely uninterested in these matters, a gold miner in Australia, and even since his return to the United States, and his interest in the second coming of Christ, his preaching and teaching has, until quite recently, opposed rather than favored these doctrines.

From whence came all these beautiful and advanced truths to young Bro. Russell and others of the flock? Surely not from Bro. Barbour, nor, we may add, from any man. These precious truths are given freely to all in Christ by the Lord, the Holy Spirit being our teacher and the only one, for "The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you all things, and is truth." (1 John 2:27.) Truth and knowledge are the food upon which God's children feed, and He himself has made perfect arrangements for their supply, as it is written, "Light is sown for the righteous." (Psa. 97:11.)
He supplies the light to the "Pathway of the just that shines more and more unto the perfect day," and as the Master promised so we have had "The spirit of truth to guide us into all truth, and He has shown us things to come." (Jno. 16:13.)

But while the spirit guides, human instrumentality is often employed by the spirit. Men are only the "earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us." (2 Cor. 4:7.) The vessel is nothing, the treasure has the value. All God's children are to some extent vessels, some with greater capacity than others. O that we might all be very humble as treasure bearers.

"Broken and emptied vessels,

For the Master's use made meet.

Rather be nothing,
nothing--

To Him let their voices be raised,

He is the fountain of blessing,

He only is most to be praised."

Truth when due, is due to the household, and it is of little consequence either to the Spirit, who has it to communicate, or the Church for whom it is intended, whether it come by one vessel or another. If Luther had refused to carry the message given him for the Church, some one else would have carried it. And what he brought was not his, it was the Church's, and each member of the Church was as much the owner as Luther.

THE EARTH ABIDETH FOREVER, BUT AGES AND EPOCHS PASS AWAY

BY REV. JOS. A. SEISS, D.D.

"There is a notion bred from the morbid imagination of the Middle Ages, which has given birth to many a wild, poetic dream, which has much influenced the translators of our English Bible [which has unduly tainted religious oratory, song and even sober theology], and which still lingers in the 'Popular Mind' [as if it were an article of the settled Christian creed], that the time is coming when everything that is, 'except spiritual natures' shall utterly cease to be, the earth consume and disappear, the whole solar and sidereal system collapse and the entire physical universe vanish into nothingness. How this can be, how it is to be harmonized with the promises and revealed purposes of God, .... there is not the least effort to show. The thing is magniloquently asserted, and that is 'quite enough for some people's faith', though 'sense,' 'reason' and 'Revelation' be alike outraged. There is indeed to be an 'end of the world.' The Bible often refers to it. But men mistake when they suppose the world spoken of in such passages to be the earth 'as a planet.'

Four (4) different [Greek] words have our translators rendered 'world.' 1, Ge, which means the earth proper, the ground, this material orb which we inhabit; 2, Kosmos, which means the ornamentation, beauty, the existing order of things, but not the substance of the earth as a terraqueous globe; 3, Oikouene, the habitable, the inhabited earth, and 4, Aion, which is used more than one hundred times in the New Testament, but always with reference to time, duration, eras, dispensations, --a stage or state marking any particular period, long or short, past, present or future,--the course of things in any given instance, rather than the earth .... on which it is realized. It may be earth or heaven, time or eternity .... it is all the same as to the meaning of the word 'aion' which denotes simply the time-measure and characteristics of that particular period or state to which it is applied. And this is the word used in all those passages which speak of 'the end of the world.' It is not the end of the earth, but the end of a particular time, age, or order of things, with the underlying thought of other orders of things and perpetual continuity in other ages. Aeons end, times change, .... but there is no instance in all the Word of God which assigns an absolute termination to the existence of the earth, as one of the planets, or any other of the great sisterhood of material orbs. .... It will not be another earth, but the same earth under another condition of things. It is now laboring under the curse, but then the curse will have been lifted off. At present it is hardly habitable,--no one being able to live in it any longer than a few brief years; but then men shall dwell in it forever without knowing what death is.

"It is now the home of rebellion and injustice; it will then be the home of righteousness.

"THE CHURCH OF TODAY."

BY REV. JOSEPH A. SEISS, D.D., LATE LUTHERAN MINISTER IN PHILADELPHIA, PA.

There is nothing in the history of the world hitherto, and especially nothing in the present status of its affairs, to favor the doctrine of our Modern Millennialists, or to make us think it likely, if at all possible, that the Church in this dispensation, by any human activities or improvements, will ever be able to bring about a condition of universal conversion, righteousness and peace, such as some say will and must come "before" Christ comes. As no preaching of the Gospel, or efforts of evangelical workers, the holiest and most efficient in all these many centuries, have succeeded in making converts and saints of the entire population of any city or locality on this earth, it would seem to be sheer folly to expect these agencies and endeavors to do for the whole earth what they have never done for any part of it, however small. In all the ages .... whithersoever it has come it has taken out a people for the Lord, who will live and shine with him in immortal glory ... whilst .... the majority have everywhere been on the outside .... and how can we suppose that it will ever be different in the present order of things? And when we examine the condition in which nearly two thousand years of the Gospel have left the most favored nations, not to speak of the regions beyond, we look in vain for solid evidences that another two thousand years of the same would bring the world any nearer the fancied Millennial state [before Christ comes] than Christendom is at present. ... Some hold up their hands in holy horror at the idea that "Christendom," as it now exists--"this chaos of intermingled divisions, antagonistic communions and interminable contentions, jealousies and strifes"--is to remain. They cannot think that the Greek Church, the Papal Church, the disagreeing Protestant churches, together with the many sects and heretical coteries which "disgrace" the Christian profession, are to continue to the end of time.

But this state of things is exactly what has developed under "eighteen hundred years of the Gospel proclamations," and what has been is that which shall be, unless radical changes come, by the intervention of some new power and method of administration, such as the coming again of the Lord Jesus to judge and rectify will bring. ...

When we look at the evils and the tares that have all the while been growing, at the sad estate into which "Christendom has been brought" by the spirit of sect, human ambition, self-seeking hypocrisy, unbelief, misbelief and the super-exaltation of humanitarian goodishness, "which makes nought of doctrine," it seems next thing to absurdity to say that "this" is the instrument and agency to convert "the world" to truth and genuine godliness.

People say, "Oh, yes; but only set the Church aright. Put it to work to do as it should; bring it up to what it 'ought to be' in enterprise and liberality, and there can be no question that it will soon conquer and sway the world to Christ and salvation." Be it so; but who is to convert Christendom and put it in condition to convert the world? Reform, Reform! That is the watchword. The whole Church and the whole earth are full of reformers laboring at reforms. But the sad fact remains: "That which is crooked, cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered," while the doctoring is often worse than the disease. ... To convert the world there must first be a conversion of the Church, and that can never be until Christ the Judge shall come.

Yet another thing to be noted in connection with our subject, is the character of the times in which we live. The Scriptures abound in allusions to the moral aspect of the world in its "last" period--the period bordering on the time when Christ shall come with power and great glory, and everywhere those times are represented as full of unbelief, lawlessness, outbreaking sin, rampant lust, blasphemous mockery, and reviling of sacred things,--a very carnival of bad passions and God-defiant crimes.

The question, therefore, arises, whether our times are not of the character thus divinely described and fore-intimated. ... Have "we" not withal fallen upon a time of extraordinary degeneracy and wickedness? Has there not come a grievous falling away from the faith, a giving of heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies? Have not people become lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to law and rightful authority, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, "holding certain forms of godliness," but failing to show the power of godliness in their lives? Have "we" not plentiful examples of those mockers who were to come, walking after their own lusts and likes, and saying "Where is the promise of his coming?" [Parousia, presence, Diaglott translation.]

Think of the startling multiplication of divorces, the breaking down of the sacredness of marriage, the shameless prevalence of licentiousness, and the commonness of infanticide, and secret bloodguiltiness of which physicians tell. Note the growing indifference to the solemnity of oaths, to sacred promises, to moral obligations, to the laws of God, and to all holy things. Observe the rapid accumulations of colossal robberies, swindles, defalcations, embezzlements, rascalities and false dealings, which disgrace our civilization, much of it also in high places, by people of social rank, education and refinement. Estimate the increasing killings, murders, incendiarisms and lawless and malicious misdoings of men and women, and the trampling under foot of right and justice in political, commercial and banking circles.

Observe the awful increase of suicides, which, within the past few years, have exceeded the number of 200,000 per annum! Lusts and crimes and fiendish passions seem to have reached flood tide, blossoming like trees in springtime, filling our "daily journals with their stench," and yet, treated and familiarly talked of as ordinary and trivial things! And when we consider that all this is within the realm of so-called Christendom, we may well wonder that we should have Christian people singing over it, and telling us that we are on the march to a glorious Millennium [before Christ comes]. What this state of things betokens is not Millennial Glory, but "the day of Judgment, on the margin of which the world of to-day is reading." ...

The question whether there is to be a glorious Millennium on this earth before the return of Christ is not to be decided by what is most agreeable to our reason and fancy, nor yet by what we imagine the most effective to stir zeal in effort to benefit the world lying in sin, but by what the Word of God says. What does not accord with the Word must go under, without regard to human likes, reasonings or opinions. ... That many good and sensible people have need to examine the question with more thoroughness than they yet have done, is abundantly evident; and that what we have thus written may help some to right conclusions, is our earnest wish. ... Nor can we leave the subject without solemnly laying it on the consciences of all whom we can reach, not to rest satisfied with notions which flatter and please a rationalistic fancy, but which they have never critically examined; and to beware of giving sanction to a modern popular persuasion, which they may find without just foundation in Scripture....

It is indeed a fact for all to consider, that the side which we take on the question will and must make serious difference in the whole system of our theological thinking. There is scarcely a doctrine which is not more or less affected by the ground we take upon this question. Our decision will and must affect our views of the Resurrection--of the Kingdom of God--of the Second Coming itself--of the Nature and Purpose of the Present Dispensation--particularly of the Judgment, and what is to come after it, and the whole condition and life of the finally redeemed....

And it will and must make or unmake to us many most pregnant passages of Holy Writ, rendering them grandly luminous, or sealing them as meaningless and uncertain--mere riddles for interpreters to guess at, without agreement as to their clear and certain import.

A decision so far-reaching and momentous in its consequences and effects cannot safely be treated with indifference, and certainly demands a very serious, candid and thorough examination, that the conclusion may be one solidly founded in the revelations given us in the sacred Scriptures.

DISCUSSING A RENOVATED EARTH

REV. J. A. SEISS, D.D., LUTHERAN (DECEASED) WROTE:

These words occur in connection with the Apostle's endeavor to impress his Jewish brethren with a sense of the greatness and glory of the Lord Jesus and of the salvation which is preached in His name. He begins the epistle by announcing the Savior to them as the Son of God--the appointed Heir of all things--the Maker and Upholder of the worlds --the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person, who has been exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high. These were sublime statements, and needing to be well substantiated to be made acceptable. He therefore instituted various lines of argument, adapted to the Jewish mind and founded upon the Scriptures, which all held to be divinely inspired. And as the Jews regarded angels as the highest created orders, and as standing next in the scale to the eternal Father himself, Paul's first effort was to prove from prophecy that

CHRIST IS SUPERIOR TO THE ANGELS

He introduces three points in which the super-angelic dignity is shown. The first is that Christ is assigned a higher name than the angels. The second is that he is clothed with a sublimer honor than the angels, and the third is that Christ is invested with a sublimer office than the angels, they being only ministering spirits, while he is spoken of as a divine King, whose throne is forever and ever, and the sceptre of whose Kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. The princely investiture and reign of the Messiah is thus distinctly deduced from the Old Testament, and used by the Apostle as the sublimest demonstration of the Savior's personal dignity. And this Messianic dominion he applies particularly to what is hereafter to grow out of the gospel economy. He tells us that it is peculiarly "the world to come" over which the Messiah's reign is to be exercised. "For unto the angels hath he not put into subjection the world to come, whereof we speak," thus proceeding upon the implied assumption that it has been by promise put into

SUBJECTION TO CHRIST,

and that all those allusions to the Savior as a King have their chief application and ultimate fulfilment in that "world to come." The Messiah's reign and this world to come accordingly belong together and coexist in the same period and locality. By determining, then, what is meant by this "world to come," we may form an idea of what is included in the Messianic Kingdom; or, if we already know what the consummated Messianic reign is, and where it is to be, we have it already decided what we are to understand by this "world to come."

If any stress is, therefore, to be laid upon the conclusion evolved in the preceding discourses, there is no alternative left but to understand this "world to come" as the Millennial World, or the world as it shall be when Christ shall have restored the throne of David and entered upon his glorious dominion as the Sovereign of the nations and Lord of the whole earth. And to this agrees exactly the original word, oikoumene, which means the habitable earth--the domiciliated globe on which we dwell--and not some remote supernal region, as we sometimes imagine. The world to come, then, is nothing more nor less than this self-same world of ours in its final or Millennial condition. The earth is not to be annihilated.

GOD NEVER OBLITERATES

His own creations. The dissolving fires of which Peter speaks are for "the perdition of ungodly men," and not for the utter depopulation and destruction of the whole world. They may consume cities, destroy armies and effect some important meteorological and geological changes; but men and nations will survive them and still continue to live in the flesh. The earth is to be renovated and restored from its present depression and dilapidation, and thus become "the new earth" of which the Bible speaks. It is to pass through a "regeneration" analogous to that through which a man must pass to see the Kingdom of God; but there will be a continuity of its elements and existence, just as a regenerated man is constitutionally the same being that he was before his renewal. It will not be another earth, but the same earth under another condition of things. It is now laboring under the curse; but then the curse will have been lifted off and all its wounds healed. At present, it is hardly habitable--no one being able to live in it longer than a few brief years; but then men shall dwell in it forever without knowing what death is. It is now the home of rebellion, injustice and guilt; it will then be

THE HOME OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

It is now under the domination of Satan; it will then come under the blessed rule of the Prince of Peace. Such, at any rate, is the hope set before us in the Word of God, and this I hold to be "the world to come," of which the text speaks. It cannot be anything else. It cannot be what is commonly called heaven, for the word oikoumene cannot apply to heaven. It is everywhere else used exclusively with reference to our world. Neither can it be the present gospel dispensation, as some have thought, for that began long before this epistle was written and could not, therefore, have been spoken of by Paul as yet "to come." We are consequently compelled to understand it to mean our own habitable world in its Millennial glory. And as the prophecies concerning the Messiah's eternal kingship are here referred to as having their fulfilment in the subjection of the Millennial world to his dominion, we are furnished with another powerful argument of Scripture in favor of the doctrine of Christ's personal reign as a great Prince in this world. Indeed, the Bible is so full of this subject, and its inspired writers are so constantly and enthusiastically alluding to it that I am amazed to find so many pious and Bible-loving people entirely losing sight of it. Ever and anon the Scriptures return to it as

THE GREAT AND ANIMATING HOPE

of the Church in all her adversities and depressions, and it does seem to me that we are depriving ourselves of much true Christian comfort by the manner in which we have been neglecting and thrusting aside that glorious doctrine. My present object is to show, from the Scriptures, and by just inferences from them, what sort of a world this "world to come" is, and to describe, as far as I can, what we are to look for when once this earth has been fully subjected to that divine King whose throne is forever and ever, and the sceptre of whose Kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness.

That "the world to come" is a highly blessed world, and a vast improvement upon the present scene of things, will be inferred on all hands without argument. It could not be a subject of hope if it were not. The Savior himself exhibited a model of it when in the Mount of Transfiguration,--from which, perhaps, we may obtain as deep an insight of its glories as from any other portion of Scripture. That he designed

THAT SCENE AS A MINIATURE MODEL

of what his future coming and Kingdom is to be, is obvious. A week before it occurred he told his disciples that "the Son of man shall come in the glory of the Father, with his angels or messengers with him"; and that there were some standing there when he made the declaration who should not taste of death till they saw the Son of man coming in his Kingdom." This coming in his Kingdom, which some of the disciples were to live to see, is not the final advent, for the disciples are all dead, and the final advent is still future. Neither is it the destruction of Jerusalem, for but one of the apostles lived to see that catastrophe, and the Son of man did not then come in his Kingdom. And yet some of the apostles were to have ocular demonstration of the Son of man's coming in his Kingdom before tasting of death. Search through apostolic history as we will we shall find nothing but the transfiguration to which the Savior's words will apply. That, then, was in some sense the coming of the Son of man in his Kingdom. It was

NOT, INDEED, THE COMING ITSELF

but it was an earnest and picture of it. It was the coming of the Son of man in his Kingdom, as the bread and wine in the eucharist are Christ's body and blood. Peter says: "The power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" are not "cunningly devised fables." He declares that he was certified of their reality by the testimony of his own senses. We were "eye-witnesses," says he, "when we were with him in the holy mount." We thus have clear, inspired testimony that the scene of the transfiguration was a demonstrative exhibition of the coming of Jesus in his Kingdom. Hence, whatever we find in the descriptions of that scene, we may confidently expect to be realized in that "world to come whereof we speak." As Christ appeared in that glorious scene, so he will appear when he returns to this world. As he was then personally present as the Son of man, so he will be personally present in the Millennial Kingdom. And as he was there attended by different classes of persons, so will his glorious Kingdom consist of similar classes.

Let us, then, endeavor to draw out before us some of the more striking features of "the world to come," and, by the contemplation of its attractiveness, endeavor to school our hearts into more ardent thirst to participate in its blissful scenes.

In the 1852 H. F. Hill wrote a book entitled The Saint's Everlasting Inheritance in which he described a restoration to paradise on the earth. When Barbour first reached his conclusions about the return of Christ in 1873, Hill was one of the first to whom he communicated his idead. Barbour's Midnight Cry booklet says Barbour wrote to him on January 6, 1861 and presented "most of the leading arguments for 1873 . . .as now given in these pages."--Barbour: Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873; Or the Midnight Cry, second edition, 1871, page 34.

Russell would most certainly have read this book, and his views as held between 1871 and 1876 are a reflection of it and other similar books.

From an advertisement for the 1873 edition of Hills' book:

From My Notes on Henry Hill

The history of the development of "restitution" doctrine among Jehovah's Witnesses is not well known, but this book played a key role. Its author was one of those whom Barbour first contacted when he had developed his ideas about Christ's eminent return.

Well known in his day, there is little biographical information on H. F.
Hill. He was a resident of Lindleytown, New York. His book on restored paradise
earth was first published in 1852, and had a profound effect on the thinking
of those associated with the advent movement. Contrary to the general thinking of most Adventists, Hill taught that the earth would not be consumed by fire. In introductory advertising matter to the 1873 edition it is said that the book "teaches that the earth, instead of being annihilated at the consummation which awaits it, will be restored and become far more glorious than in its Eden state, when God shall in the plentitude of his grace crown his ransomed ones with eternal glory and gladness, and shed universal and unfading beauty over the renovated world, making it the heritage of the people of God, under the righteous reign of the second Adam, the Lord from Heaven."

When Barbour returned from Brittan about 1859 and started to communicate
his newly formed ideas, Hill was one of the first to whom he wrote. Barbour's
Midnight Cry booklet says Barbour wrote to him on January 6, 1861
and presented "most of the leading arguments for 1873 . . .as now given in
these pages." (Barbour: Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873;
Or the Midnight Cry, second edition, 1871, page 34.) In Peter's monumental three volume consideration of prophetic themes as discussed in the period, Barbour and Hill are mentioned together in volume two, on page 445. (Peter's work was financed by William Conley, first Watch Tower Society president. See the dedication in Peter's book and for Conley see the proclaimers book.)

Russell began studying the restitution doctrine (restored paradise earth)
in 1872, apparently led to it by a series then appearing in the Bible
Examiner. His views as then held were very much like Henry Hill's, and
it is impossible for him to have missed reading Hill's book. When discussing
the roots of their restitution beliefs in Supplement to Zion's Watch
Tower, Russell specifically mentions only J. A. Seiss. Hill and the other authors he lumps under the term "and others." Hill was, however, so intimately associated with the doctrine, that he could hardly have escaped reading the book. Hill's connection to Barbour (and Storrs) is strong proof that he did read it.

Russell recounted his early study of Restitution doctrine in Zion's Watch
Tower in May 1890, saying:

"From 1870 to 1875 was a time of constant growth in grace and knowledge and love of God and his plan. We came to see something of the love of God and
how he had made provision for all of mankind and how all must be awakened
from the tomb in order that God's loving plan might be testified to them,
and that they might then, my knowledge and help, through obedience–as
a result of Christ's redemptive work–be brought back into harmony with God. We saw this to be the Restitution work foretold in Acts 3:21. But though seeing that the Church was called to joint- heirship with the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom, up to that time we failed to see the distinction between the reward of the church now on trial and the reward of the world after its trial." This shows that Russell's views in this period were essentially those of Hill, differing only in regard to a restoration of the Jewish nation.

Another person worth considering is H. F. Carpenter who wrote The Scripture
Question Book, Advent Christian Publication Society, c. 1855

Relevance of this Book to Watchtower History

When Charles Russell met Jonas Wendell in 1870 he was introduced to, not
just Advent Christian belief, but to the beliefs of the non-Trinitarian party
of the Advent Christian church. Today the Advent Christian Church is Trinitarian.
Up until after 1902 or so, many associated with it were not. Very little
is actually known about the content of Russell's conversations with Wendell.
Jonas Wendell wrote very little. His booklet The Present Truth; Or, Meat
in Due Season (The Author, Edenboro, Pennsylvania, 1870) is exceptionally
rare. Most Watchtower collectors and historians have neither seen nor read
it. His other known writings consist of a few letters to various Advent journals.
So, the problem facing a historian (and collector) is how to reconstruct
in an accurate manner the conversations between Russell and Wendell. The
only way is to consult those publications by other Advent Christians (Second
Adventists) who believed as Wendell did. In my opinion, the very best source
is this small book.

H. F. Carpenter was a physician turned evangelist. The book was first
published in the late 1850s anonymously. Later editions have his name on
the cover. He was widely known in Second Advent circles and was personally
acquainted with Storrs and Grew and a reader of The Bible Examiner.
In the 1870s he moved to California to spread the Second Adventist message.
He was one of three missionaries in the state, and is possibly (in my opinion
probably) the person who first introduced H. B. Rice to The Herald of
the Morning.

His Scriptural Question Book is set up as a catechism of sorts.
It presents the basics of Advent Christian doctrine as Jonas Wendell would
have taught it. Restitution (paradise earth), the Bible teaching on the state
of the dead, the truth about the trinity doctrine and other essentials are
all in this book in question and answer form. I've spent considerable time
reviewing this book. I believe he was strongly influenced by J. Priestly's
Index to the Bible and John Locke's A Common-Place Book to the
Holy Bible. Non-Trinitarian Second Adventists were not radical Unitarians
as was Priestly, but Priestly's influence was felt. His multi-volume book
against the trinity was read, as were other books by Priestly. I've recently
found a book by Priestly that belonged to Horace Hastings. Hastings wrote
articles appearing in Bible Examiner and other advent oriented
publications. He was publisher on occasion, and friend to, Grew, Storrs,
and others in that era. Henry Grew's parents were members of Priestly's
congregation in Enland and followed him to America.