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Volume 1, Number 3
The
Christian Science Standard
SPECIAL
COMMITMENT OF THE EARLY CHURCH
In our past issue of the Standard some
significant details of the early Christian Church
were given which are to be developed in this issue.
One of the peculiarities of the early church was
that it embraced the whole life of its members. To
them, the Kingdom of Heaven, or New Jerusalem, was
the only thing worth troubling about. Jesus
had taught them that the end of the world was to
come after his Second Advent. They believed his
return would occur in their lifetime. Because, as
they believed, the world was soon to end, worldly
possessions lost their value. To flee this planet
and reach His kingdom was the imperative. They were
literally pilgrims on earth, whose home is
heaven.
THE DAWN OF A
NEW ERA
In his book Megatrends 2000, John Naisbitt
writes: "We stand at the dawn of a new era. ...
(page 11)
"We cannot
understand the megatrends of the 1990's without
acknowledging the metaphorical and spiritual
significance of the millennium. ... On a secular
level the millennium has come to mean a golden age
in human history, a time to close the door on the
past and embark upon a new era. (page 13,
14)
"As we move toward
this extraordinary date, the mythology of the
millennium, consciously or not, is reengaging us.
Some Christian fundamentalists have warned their
flocks to prepare for the literal Second Coming of
Christ. On the opposite end of the religious
spectrum, a wide assortment of metaphysical and
occult groups, today's populist religions, are
predicting the earth will undergo some sort of
cataclysmic shift around the year 2000. Headlines
about global warming and holes in the ozone layer
convince many the time is at hand. ... The year
2000 is not just a new century but a religious
experience. ..." (page 14)
END OF THE WORLD
THEME TO REEMERGE THROUGHOUT THE DECADE
"Today's fundamentalists," states Megatrends
2000, "expect a literal
millennium—hellfire, brimstone, and all-right
out of the Bible. The New Age millennium is more
high tech; some groups predict spaceships will
rescue the chosen few before the final cataclysm.
...
"The end of the
world theme will reemerge again and again as we
approach the millennium. Preacher Hal Lindsey's
The Late Great Planet Earth, with 25 million
copies in print worldwide, connects the fulfillment
of biblical prophecies of the end of the world to
present-day events. ...
"From the early
Christians to the [present time], people
have been trying to figure out when the millennium
would arrive, how it could be predicted, how much
time they had left, and what they should do to
prepare." (pages 284, 285)
TWO JUDGMENTS
FORETOLD BY CHRIST JESUS
In his discussion with his disciples on the Mount
of Olives, three days before his crucifixion, as
recorded in Matthew, chapter 24, Jesus reviewed
again his teaching on the coming destruction of
Jerusalem and the end of the world. This Olivet
Discourse is found also in Mark, chapter 13, and
Luke 21:5-38. Commentaries tell us that in the
account given in Luke Jesus not only discusses (1)
the coming end of the world, but also foretells (2)
the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, which took place
A.D. 70 when the city and its population were
destroyed. "But that siege [A.D. 70] and
its horrors but adumbrate the final siege at the
end of this age..." (Scofield Reference
Bible, unrevised edition, page 1106)
THE MASTER'S
VIEW OF THE END
We know what Jesus taught his disciples regarding
the end of the world, from his Olivet Discourse,
recorded in the three gospels mentioned above. In
addition, however, his disciple Peter tells us what
view Jesus held as to the manner of the end.
He writes: "This second epistle, beloved, I now
write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure
minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful
of the words which were spoken before by the holy
prophets [Old Testament], and of the
commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and
Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall
come in the last days scoffers, walking after their
own lusts. And saying. Where is the promise of his
coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the word of God the heavens were of
old, and the earth standing out of the water and in
the water: Whereby the world that then was, being
overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens
and the earth, which are now, by the same word are
kept in store, reserved unto fire against the
day of judgment and perdition of ungodly
men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise [of the coming
judgment], as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to
repentance."
THE GLORIOUS NEW
HEAVEN AND EARTH
"But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which 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 therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness, looking for
and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
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. Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent
that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot,
and blameless. And account that the
lonqsuffering of our Lord is salvation. ..."
(II Peter 3:1-15) This was the teaching of Christ
Jesus to the apostles as is stated in verse 2. It
is the same message as that of St. John the Baptist
which will be discussed in more detail further
on.
THE END NOT TO
OCCUR UNTIL
THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
Jesus in this discussion told his disciples: "Ye
shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye
be not troubled: for these things must needs come
to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines and earthquakes in
divers places. But all these things are the
beginning of travail. Then shall they deliver you
up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye
shall be hated of all the nations for my name's
sake. And then shall many stumble, and shall
deliver up one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead
many astray. And because iniquity shall be
multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold.
But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be
saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in the whole world for a testimony unto
all the nations; and then shall the end
come." (Harmony of the Gospels, Stevens
and Burton, p. 186) (Matt. 24:7-14) The end will
not come until the gospel is preached throughout
the world and all will have had the opportunity to
be "saved."
THE FALSE VIEW
OF THE MILLENNIUM
AND THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM
Christianity, including many Christian Scientists,
have long expected the manifestation of the
millennial estate described in Isaiah and
Revelation (Isa. 11:6-9; 65:17-25; 66:22; Rev.
20:4-6). They generally interpret these passages as
describing an earthly condition of bliss and
happiness lasting one thousand years. This
interpretation is so universal as to constitute a
Christian doctrine.
According to the
Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia
(Samuel Fallows, Editor, Chicago: Howard-Severence
Co. 1911. 3 Vols.), this is a Jewish concept,
originating before the first advent of Christ and
having taken root in Christian thought. "As the
world was made in six days, and as, according to
Psalms 90:4 'a thousand years is as one day' in the
sight of God, so it has been thought the world
would continue in the condition in which it had
been for 6000 years; and as the Sabbath is a day of
rest, so will the seventh period of a thousand
years consist of this millennial kingdom, as the
close of the whole earthly state. This period
[the period following the six thousand
years] was conceived by the Jews as a sort of
golden age to the earth, and every one formed such
a picture of it as agreed with his own disposition,
and with the views concerning the highest felicity
which were dictated by the degree of intellectual
and moral culture to which he had attained.' With
many these views were very low, being confined to
sensual delights, while others entertained better
and more pure conceptions of that happy time."
(Page 1163)
The millennium,
however, is that state referred to in Isaiah
65:17-5 as a realm of perpetual blessedness, when
"the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the
lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust
shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt
nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the
Lord."
This view of an
earthly, material golden age constitutes a barrier
preventing people from making the effort to escape
the "horrors" of the "day of the Lord." It omits
the fact that Isaiah said the millennial state
would occur after the establishment of the new
heavens and the new earth.
These millennial
references indicate that after "six thousand years
since Adam" there is to come about some significant
change in the human situation which will forever
alter the course of human history. Along this line
of thought we find the following interesting
reference in Science and Health, where Mary
Baker Eddy writes: "The twelfth chapter of the
Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John, has a
special suggestiveness in connection with the
nineteenth century. In the opening of the sixth
seal, typical of six thousand years since Adam, the
distinctive feature has reference to the present
age." (559:32) The date of Adam given by Scofield
is B.C. 4004. Six thousand years brings us to A.D.
1996. Thus, by 1996 we should expect to see the
undeniable evidence of this change referred to in
the Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia
as "the close of the whole earthly
state."
On page 514 of
Science and Health in the paragraph
subtitled "Qualities of thought," Mrs. Eddy plainly
indicates that the millennial state is spiritual,
not material, and explains by quoting the well
known passage from Isaiah (11:6-9) that he is
describing a spiritual state of thought,—"the
individuality created by God," and not the material
millennial Utopia found in popular Christian
thought.
THE MILLENNIUM A
PROCESS
Mrs. Eddy explains the millennium as a process, not
a material state or realm in these words from
Miscellany 239:27:—"The millennium is a
state and stage of mental advancement, going on
since ever time was. Its impetus, accelerated by
the advent of Christian Science, is marked, and
will increase till all men shall know Him (divine
Love) from the least to the greatest, and one God
and the brotherhood of man shall be known and
acknowledged throughout the earth."
That Mrs. Eddy did
not believe the millennium to be a material Utopia
is further confirmed in her statement in Science
and Health 110:32, where she states: "No
analogy exists between the vague hypotheses of
agnosticism, pantheism, theosophy, spiritualism, or
millenarianism [i.e., "belief in the
millennium of Christian prophecy"—Webster, 3rd
New International] and the demonstrable truths
of Christian Science; and I find the will, or
sensuous reason of the human mind, to be opposed to
the divine Mind as expressed through divine
Science."
The words and works
of Jesus and his followers confirm the fact that
the millennium is actually a process by which we
are to gain access to the Kingdom of Heaven. This
is the kingdom of heaven about which Jesus preached
throughout his three year ministry. This is the
reign of Christ which is to eventually rule all
nations,—the new heaven and new
earth—when "the first heaven and the first
earth [are] passed away," as St. John
writes in Revelation 21:1.
Jesus had
undoubtedly grown up with the concerns of the
people of Judea—that the pagan Roman
occupation was extremely oppressive to the
religious Jews and that they were seeking ways of
deliverance. Their only hope seemed to be in the
advent of a deliverer in the form of the oft
prophesied and long awaited Messiah. Jesus' early
years had been obviously around the synagogue and
its teachers, since at the age of 12 years he was
found in the temple at Jerusalem "sitting in the
midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking
them questions. And all that heard him were
astonished at his understanding and answers." (Luke
2:46, 47) He was familiar with the writings of the
Old Testament Scripture and their
prophecies.
All of the
teachings of Jesus were aimed at bringing his
students and hearers out of the world and into his
kingdom. His parables usually began with the words:
"the kingdom of heaven is like unto" and so on, and
of his healing work he said, "But if I cast out
devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of
God is come unto you." (Matthew 12:28) His healing
work was not merely to repair matter, but to open
thought to his kingdom. It was to lift thought
above the world into his kingdom.
May not this be the
same process whereby the human race, like Elijah,
escapes a doomed world in "chariots of fire
[light, i.e., transfiguration]," and
not in "spaceships" as suggested in Megatrends
2000?
MARY BAKER EDDY
ACCEPTS
JESUS' TEACHING ON "THE END OF THE WORLD"
As with Jesus and his disciples, the followers of
Mary Baker Eddy must necessarily accept the actual,
not mere figurative, end of the world. Mrs. Eddy
writes: "Let the Word have free course and be
glorified. The people clamor to leave cradle and
swaddling-clothes. The spiritual status is urging
its highest demands on mortals, and material
history is drawing to a close." (No and
Yes 45:24-27)
MRS. EDDY
PROPHECIES THE END DATE
Mrs. Eddy not only accepted the prophecies of the
Old and New Testaments concerning the end of the
world, but added her revelation to these. In her
home at Pleasant View, Concord, New Hampshire, she
taught the members of her household staff a
"divinity course." The notes of one of the students
in that course were privately printed in hardback
in 1933. The title page reads: "Notes on the
Course in Divinity Given by Mary Baker Eddy,
The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science,
and Author of its Textbook, Science and Health
with Key to the Scriptures, at Her Home,
Pleasant View, Concord, New Hampshire, During the
Years Nineteen Hundred Three, Nineteen Hundred
Four, and Nineteen Hundred Seven; Recorded by Lida
Fitzpatrick, C.S.D. and others." Mrs. Fitzpatrick
was an authorized teacher of Christian Science in
Cleveland, Ohio. Her notes under date of February
23, 1904, quoting Mrs. Eddy, read in part: "In the
year twenty-one hundred I think will be the end
[of the world]. Then Christian Scientists
will have held crime in check as the book
(Science and Health) says. At that time
either [the people in] the world will be
saved through universal salvation, or those who now
are working against us [i.e. those who will not
be saved by the Christ Science] will burn up as
the physical scientists say the world will be
burned up, by volcanic action; we know what
they call volcanic action is mortal mind destroying
itself. All must learn they cannot sin and escape
punishment, as they think they can. ... Those who
work out now will be saved; ... all the woes
Jeremiah predicted will come to pass. God is making
demands upon us. (Do not mention this
prophecy.)" (page 38-39)
SCIENCE AND
HEALTH DESCRIBES THE PROCESS
Science and Health throws light on "the end
of the world" process and what will undoubtedly
cause a mass turning to Christian Science. We read:
"Love will finally mark the hour of harmony, and
spiritualization will follow, for Love is Spirit.
Before error is wholly destroyed, there will be
interruptions of the general material routine.
Earth will become dreary and desolate, but
summer and winter, seedtime and harvest (though in
changed forms), will continue unto the
end,—until the final spiritualization of
all things. 'The darkest hour precedes the
dawn.'
"This material
world is even now becoming the arena for
conflicting forces. On one side there will be
discord and dismay; on the other side there will be
Science and peace. The breaking up of material
beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want
and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new
phases until their nothingness appears. These
disturbances will continue until the end of
error, when all discord will be swallowed up in
spiritual Truth. ...
"As this
consummation draws nearer, he who has shaped his
course in accordance with divine Science will
endure to the end. ... Those who discern Christian
Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in
the ejection of error. They will maintain law and
order, and cheerfully await the certainty of
ultimate perfection. ... 'He uttered His voice, the
earth melted.' This Scripture indicates that all
matter will disappear before the supremacy of
Spirit." (Science and Health 96,
97)
All loyal Christian
Scientists accept Science and Health as
divinely inspired. We find nothing in any of Mrs.
Eddy's recorded statements implying that anything
in Science and Health is meaningless,
extraneous, or frivolous. The time has come for
each of her loyal followers to ponder the important
points quoted above and give due consideration to
their application to our times.
MRS. EDDY ON
AMERICAN CHRISTENDOM
Our Leader predicts that in this
century,—that is, within the next ten
years,—in the United States, Christendom
will be classified as Christian Scientists, "if the
lives of Christian Scientists attest their fidelity
to Truth." (Pulpit and Press 22:9) How can
this occur without the degree of commitment of the
early followers of Jesus, the primitive church and
the workers who first followed our Leader? Is there
possibly some agent developing in this decade that
will cause Americans to radically depart from
materialism and embrace Christian Science? Mrs.
Eddy places the responsibility for the fulfillment
of this prophecy squarely on the shoulders of
individual Christian Scientists. Is it not
dereliction of duty to rely on others to fulfill
our Leader's prophecy?
Our God
and soldiers we alike adore
Ev'n at the brink of danger; not before:
After deliverance, both are alike requited,
Our God's forgotten, and our soldiers
slighted.
— Frances Quarles 1635
MRS. EDDY ON
WORLD CHRISTENDOM
Mrs. Eddy further writes: "It is undoubtedly true
that Christian Science is destined to become the
one and the only religion and therapeutics on this
planet." (Miscellany 266:29-2)
What will cause the
inhabitants of this planet in the twenty-first
century to turn to Christian Science? Certainly not
the present conditions in the Christian Science
Movement.
THE PROPHET
MALACHI FORESEES TWO ADVENTS OF CHRIST
In the book of Malachi we have his prophecies of
the future coming of Christ in two distinct
advents. In chapter 3, verses 1 through 6, is the
prophecy of the First Advent. In chapter 4, verses
1 through 6, is his prophecy of the Second
Advent:—also, verse 1 describes the judgment
that is to occur after the Second Coming,—the
destruction of the world by fire. Verse 2 describes
the Second Coming as a Sun of righteousness rising
and possessing "healing" in its "wings"
(rays).
MALACHI FORESEES
TWO ELIJAH-TYPE MESSENGERS
Verse 5 of chapter 4, states: "Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord." Properly
translated with English idiom it should read:
"Behold, I will send you a prophet Elijah ..."
Elijah is a type for all time. It is in this sense
that Jesus understood it (See Matt. 11:14; 17:11,
12; also Luke 1:17). (Cf. Dummelow, p. 615) The
Jews interpreted Malachi to mean that the actual
Elijah would return and prepare the way for the
Messiah who would defeat their enemies and set up a
great millennial kingdom in Palestine, and that
they would rule the world from Jerusalem. They did
not accept the meaning of Malachi that there would
be two advents as well as two Elijah-type
messengers.
JOHN THE
BAPTIST, ELIJAH-TYPE NUMBER ONE
The spiritual attitude of the early Christians in
regard to the end of the world is better understood
as one contemplates the work and mission of John
the Baptist. We know from the gospels that John was
a child of promise and that he was born in a city
of Judah (Cf. Luke 1), when his parents were old.
Both of his parents were descendants of priestly
families and his mother was related to the mother
of Jesus. He had deeply religious interests and was
familiar with the writings of the Old Testament
prophets. He saw himself as fulfilling prophecy and
said: "I am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as
said the prophet Esaias [Isaiah 40:3-8]."
(John 1 :23)
THE MISSION TO
WARN
When we look at the prophecy in Malachi we see that
the special message of this messenger was to warn
the world of the great judgment—the end of the
world—and prepare the race for salvation. The
words of Malachi are: "Behold, I will send my
messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:
and the Lord., whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
his temple, even the messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. But who shall abide the day
of his coming? and who shall stand when he
appeareth for he is like a refiner's fire, and like
fullers' soap." (Mal. 3:1, 2) [Scofield's
Reference Bible here cross-references "day of
his coming" with Malachi 4:1]
THE
VIPERS
John knew he was the forerunner of the Messiah, and
that the deliverance of the Jews and of the whole
world was not a military victory over their
national enemies, but a spiritual victory over "the
world, the flesh, and the devil." (Matt. 3:1, 2)
What was this voice crying in the wilderness? And
what was its message? The first recorded words of
John were: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand." (Matt. 3:1, 2) And his other cry: "O,
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come?" (Matt. 3:6-8) In the
desert where John had been living, often there were
grass fires. Many insects may be burned up, but the
wise vipers flee and are seen moving ahead to
escape the flames. As Hastings' Dictionary of
the Bible (page 474) states it: "... He
[John the Baptist] heard God's voice in
nature as well as in His word: as he brooded on the
signs of the times, the barren trees of the desert,
fit only for burning, and the vipers fleeing before
the flaming scrub, became emblems of the
nation's peril and lent colour to his warnings of
impending wrath." Also, The Interpreter's
Bible explains this passage: "In Luke 3:7
all the hearers were a 'brood of vipers' who
fled like snakes from a field ... on fire." (Vol.
7, page 264) One cannot fail to see John's message
in his reference to the fleeing vipers—it can
have no other meaning than the world is coming to
its end by fire. (See S&H 515:5)
ELIJAH-TYPE
NUMBER TWO
Malachi, in chapter 4, presents the Second Advent
of Christ, together with the second Elijah-type
messenger who this time was to serve, not as a
forerunner, but as a "Restorer" and is directly
involved in the events associated with the end of
the world. The words of Malachi are: "He shall turn
the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers." The
commentary states: "the 'fathers' are the
patriarchs and prophets of Israel, the 'children'
are their degenerate descendants who have alienated
the heart of 'their fathers' by their disobedience
to their godly precepts. The preaching of John
[Elijah-type number two] will turn
the heart of the children to imitate their just
(i.e. pious) ancestors, and thus the heart of their
ancestors, now alienated, will be turned to them in
love and approbation." (Dummelow 738)
Thus we have Elijah
[Elias] as a type of the forerunner to the
First Advent, warning Israel "to flee the wrath to
come." And at the Second Advent this "Elijah-type"
ministers to the regathered Israel and all the
world, aiding them in fleeing the wrath.
In chapter 4,
Malachi foresees the Second Coming of Christ in the
rising of the Sun of righteousness. Scofield's
Reference Bible (unrevised edition) refers this
"Sun" to Genesis 1:16, as signifying the "greater
light" in the two advents of Christ. Prior to the
Second Advent "the sun is not seen, but there is
light. Christ is that light (John 1:4, 5, 9), but
'shineth in darkness,' comprehended only by faith.
As 'Sun of righteousness' He will dispel all
darkness. ... The 'lesser light,' the moon,
reflecting the light of the unseen sun," is the
state of the world prior to the Second Coming.
(Scofield page 4)
As Jesus and his
three disciples were coming down from the mount of
Transfiguration, about nine months before his
crucifixion, we read in Matthew, "And his disciples
asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that
Elias [Elijah] must first come? And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall
first come, and restore all things. But I say unto
you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him
not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.
Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Then the disciples understood that he spake unto
them of John the Baptist." (17:10-13)
Scofield's
footnote—page 1023—states: "All the
passages must be construed together (Matt.
17:10-13; 11:14; Mark 9:11, 12, 13; Luke 1:17; Mal.
3:1; 4:5, 6). (1) Christ confirms the specific
and still unfulfilled prophecy of Mal. 4:5, 6:
'Elias shall truly first come and restore all
things.' Here as in Malachi, the prediction
fulfilled in John the Baptist, and that yet to
be fulfilled in Elijah, are kept distinct. (2)
But John the Baptist had come already, and with a
ministry so completely in the spirit and power of
Elijah's future ministry (Luke 1:17) that in
an adumbrative and typical sense it could be said:
'Elias is come already.' Cf. Matt. 10:40; Philemon
12, 17, where the same thought of identification,
while yet preserving personal distinction,
occurs (cf. John 1:27)."
SHIFT IN
CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE
As mentioned in our previous issue, page 4, members
tend to believe that existing church governments
and attitudes are those which were passed down from
their founders. "Constantine found the episcopal
form of government over the churches already
existing with its roots in the past; and in
adopting Christianity as the religion of the
empire, he adopted that ecclesiastical form of
church government. What then had become of the form
of government which we find in the New Testament?"
Likewise, today we may perhaps presume that the
attitude of Christians toward their religion is
similar to that of the apostles. The fact is,
however, that a distinct change of attitude grew up
in Christendom during the Middle Ages.
EARLY CHRISTIAN
LIFESTYLE REDIRECTED
It is understandable that the life style of the
early Christians was dedicated to their religion
and to spiritual growth, and that material things
had no strong appeal. This manner of thought and
life continued for centuries. Eventually, a change
came to Christendom at the time of the Reformation,
and in the Renaissance, or "new birth." A Florida
secondary school textbook presents the change in
lifestyle that came to Christendom as follows: "...
Lord Bacon wrote a book on the necessity of
gathering facts and observing phenomena in order to
find out the secrets of nature 'for the glory of
God and the relief of man's estate.' He complained
that men made no progress because they asked no
questions of nature. The great inventions of the
compass, gunpowder, and printing had been made, he
said, by chance. If men would only ask questions of
nature they would get answers that would transform
the world. Thus he opened the way for the discovery
of the world of nature, inaugurating a movement
that has lasted to our time. The walls of the
stuffy room in which they had been living were
suddenly opened, disclosing an immense
prospect."
EXPANSION OF THE
MATERIAL ENVIRONMENT
"The Discovery of Man. The effects of this new
birth were not confined to the expansion of the
material environment of the human race or the
mental enlargement that accompanied it. The
greatest discovery of the Renaissance was not
printing, or America, or the law that governs the
stars in their courses. It was man himself. For
centuries men had thought of the world as an evil
place, at best a place of preparation for the
hereafter. If you are taking a railway journey and
find it necessary to change trains at a wretched
little junction, you may disregard the discomforts
of the wait between trains because you know that
soon you will be on your way to your destination.
To the Middle Ages this life was but a way-station
in the passing of the soul to eternity. To the
Renaissance the transforming idea came that the
way-station had possibilities. There was much
beauty about. Man could make something of his time
while on the road to heaven. It was possible to
live, not merely to wait; to think of improving the
present, not to fix all his thoughts on his
destination.
"For this infinite
curiosity about the far distant regions, manifested
in the journeys of explorers and the investigations
of astronomers and other scientists, extended also
to the intellectual and emotional life of men. Men
also wrote of the ideal courtier, the man who was
to win a career in the service of the state. He was
to have an education that trained every side of his
character. He was to be expert in horsemanship and
all athletic sports, in music and art. Skill in
conversation and ability to tell a good story were
not overlooked. He was to be schooled in poetry
and, indeed, to write poems for circulation in
manuscript among his friends. Statesmanship he was
to learn through travel to foreign courts,
conversing with wise counselors, observing manners
and customs and studying the details of foreign
policy so that he might advise his prince. Above
all, he was to be a man of learning. Honest work
was exalted. ... Living conditions became safer and
more comfortable. In place of gloomy castles and
wretched hovels, homes for men and women were to be
found....
"If the
Elizabethans had lived only for getting and
spending, we should not be greatly interested in
their story. What gives value to the story is that
the world of man, to them, meant his emotional and
spiritual world as well as material possessions and
that there were interpreters of this new curiosity
about life. Marlowe thought it fine 'to be a king,
and ride in triumph through Persepolis,' but he
also said that emperors and kings are obeyed only
in their provinces, while the kingdom of the mind
is of infinite extent. He spoke of the soul 'still
climbing after knowledge infinite,' just as
Shakespeare speaks of man's infinite possibilities,
making him like a god." (Greenlaw and Miles,
Literature and Life, Book Four; New York:
Scott, Foresman and Co., 1924. page 99)
EXPANSION OF THE
"SPIRITUAL" ENVIRONMENT
Through these developments the advanced nations of
Europe and in America departed from their
"agricultural era" into the "industrial," and
recently they have entered upon the new "high tech"
or "information" era, only soon to pass into
another, as yet unknown, stage of development. As
Christian Scientists, however, we know, or should,
what that coming era is to be. George Gilder, in
his book Microcosm, (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1989) states: "The central event of the
twentieth century is the overthrow of matter. In
technology, economics, and the politics of nations,
wealth in the form of physical resources is
steadily declining in value and significance. The
powers of mind are everywhere ascendant over the
brute force of things." (page 17) It is not
difficult to reason out that if the
twentieth century is the period of the
overthrow of matter, the twenty-first
century must mean the end of matter and the
reign of Spirit.
THE GREAT RESCUE
OPERATION
The central theme in the life of Moses was the
deliverance of the Children of Israel from Egyptian
bondage by leading them out of the land of the
Pharaohs and bringing them into Canaan. An even
greater call is now upon the human race for a
universal salvation from a planet that is about to
undergo divine judgment. Do not Christian
Scientists today have a parallel responsibility in
the events which are developing as a result of the
Second Coming? Are we not called on to engage in
the greatest rescue operation in history? Christian
Science as taught by Mrs. Eddy is not a religion
established for the pursuit of mere worldly
pleasure but to establish the Kingdom of Heaven in
individual consciousness. The mission of Christ
Jesus was to save the world,—the human
race,—by bringing humanity safely into his
kingdom. He was not saving the world by making
possible a materially healthy pursuit of worldly
happiness,—"eating, drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage."
To anyone who is
imbued with this prophetic vision of the judgment
of the world, it is apparent that material
possessions and luxuries would be of diminishing
value! Go forth in hope!
Go forth
in might!
To all your nobler self be true,
That coming times may see in you
The vanguard of the hosts of light.
— Sentinel XIX, page 483
THE COMING
"SPIRITUAL" CENTURY
To the ignorant materialist the twenty-first
century will be one of doom and gloom, but to those
who shaped their course in accordance with divine
Science it is bright with the promise of the new
heavens and new earth.
VANGUARD OF THE
HOSTS OF LIGHT
ELIJAH-TYPE NUMBER TWO
Our Church is committed to pursue, under the
leadership of Mary Baker Eddy, the purpose and role
of the Elijah-type at the Second Advent, that is,
to "restore all things." Just as St. John the
Baptist appeared in the fulfillment of prophecy for
the First Advent, so we are assured that our
mission at the Second is of vital necessity to the
Bible promises, as "vanguard of the hosts of
light."
Our Leader writes
(Science and Health 566:12): "As the
children of Israel were guided triumphantly through
the Red Sea, the dark ebbing and flowing tides of
human fear,—as they were led through the
wilderness, walking wearily through the great
desert of human hopes, and anticipating the
promised joy,—so shall the spiritual idea
guide all right desires in their passage from sense
to Soul, from a material sense of existence to the
spiritual, up to the glory prepared for them who
love God.
Stately Science
pauses not, but moves before them, a pillar of
cloud by day and of fire by night, leading to
divine heights. "If we remember the beautiful
description which Sir Walter Scott puts into the
mouth of Rebecca the Jewess in the story of
Ivanhoe,—
When
Israel, of the Lord beloved.
Out of the land of bondage came,
Her fathers' God before her moved,
An awful guide, in smoke and flame,—
we may also offer
the prayer which concludes the same
hymn,—
And oh,
when stoops on Judah's path
In shade and storm the frequent night.
Be Thou, longsuffering, slow to wrath,
A burning and a shining light!"
* *
*
"Pilgrim on earth,
thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of
God." (Science and Health 254:31)
* *
*
Veniet autem sicut
fur in nocte dies ille Domini.—II Petri
3:10
Stanley C. Larkin,
Editor
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