Book of the Ages
For ever, O
Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Ps. 119:89.
The Word of God
covers a period of history reaching from the Creation to the coming of the Son
of man in the clouds of heaven. Yea, more, it carries the mind forward to the
future life, and opens before it the glories of Paradise restored. Through all
these centuries the truth of God has remained the same. That which was truth in
the beginning is truth now. Although new and important truths appropriate for
succeeding generations have been opened to the understanding, the present
revealings do not contradict those of the past. Every new truth understood only
makes more significant the old.
Commencing with
the Fall, down through the patriarchal and Jewish ages even to the present
time, there has been a gradual unfolding of the purposes of God in the plan of
redemption. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel
through Christ; they looked for the salvation of the race through man's
substitute and surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour
who was to come to our world in human flesh, and some of them talked with
Christ and heavenly angels face to face, as a man talks with his friend.
As time has
rolled on from Creation and the cross of Calvary, as prophecy has been and is
still fulfilling, light and knowledge have greatly increased. . . . In the life
and death of Christ, a light flashes back upon the past, giving significance to
the whole Jewish economy, and making of the old and the new dispensations a
complete whole. Nothing that God has ordained in the plan of redemption can be
dispensed with. It is the working out of the divine will in the salvation of
man.
All the truths of revelation are of value
to us, and in contemplating things of eternal interest, we shall gain true
perceptions of the character of God. . . . The entire character will be
elevated and transformed. The soul will be brought into harmony with Heaven.
From That I May Know Him - Page 197
