CHAPTER XXXV.

 

THE CURSE REMOVED.

 

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”—

I John 3: 8.

 

 

IN our last chapter we learned that “the earth abideth for ever.”  It is a comforting thought, in one sense, to know that the earth will never pass away.  Never shall I forget the glory that broke upon my soul when first I learned that the old notion concerning “the end of the world” is erroneous, and that the earth will abide for ever.  To know that God does not create worlds to be destroyed helps us to appreciate more fully the handiwork of God.  While this is a glorious truth, yet when we look at the effects of sin, and see how the curse rests upon everything about us, our joy is mingled with sorrow.  Yet it need not be so.  Shall the earth remain in its present condition for ever?  Shall the world about us be forever cursed?  Nay, there is a promise of a better day.  The earth shall not only remain for ever, but the blight of sin shall be forever removed.  We have the sure Word of God: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifest, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”  To set forth this fact is the purpose of this chapter.

     In order to ascertain just what is meant by “the works of the devil,” let us glance at the primeval condition of the earth.  God pronounced everything that He had made “very good” (Gen. 1: 31).  The whole earth was Eden, and God planted a garden “eastward in Eden.”  Man was put into this garden.  There was no sin nor any of its consequences on earth.  The land was so fertile and brought forth so abundantly that every need of man could be supplied without toil or effort.  Man, however, fell into sin.  Sin brought upon him and the whole world a terrible curse.  “Unto the woman He said, I will

 

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greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”—Gen. 3: 16‑19.  These verses are remarkable.  These words depicted to Adam and Eve the great curse that was then to come upon ­them and upon the whole world about them.

     We will notice the effects of the fall as follows:

 

     1. Upon man.

 

     The effect upon man is alarming and far reaching.  The curse touches his entire being—spirit and soul and body.  It poisons his inner and destroys his outward life.  Sin has its beginning in the innermost part of our being, and works its way outward.  According to the Scriptures, man is totally de­praved.  In the heart of man there is nothing of God or holi­ness.  There may be certain good desires and kind deeds, but there is none of God in the unrenewed heart.  Bible descrip­tions of the human heart reveal its exceeding wickedness.  Lest us note one or more such descriptions: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagi­nation of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” —Gen. 6: 5.  The imagination is the place where conduct is formulated.  We read of a man: “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”—Prov. 23: 7.  Man is certainly corrupt in his out­ward life, but his outward conduct is only a result of his inward depravity.  We read again: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”—Matt. 12: 34.  We know that the

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mouth speaketh many things that are corrupt, but all such things must come from an evil heart within.  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”—Jer. 17: 9.  “Keep thy heart with all dilligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”—Prov. 4: 23.  Paul tells us that “Evil communica­tions corrupt good manners.”—1 Cor. 15: 33.  These communications proceed from the heart.  The world is full of corrupted manners.  Therefore, it must be that the heart is exceedingly wicked.  Again we read: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”—Gen. 6: 11, 12.  “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wicked­ness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, fool­ishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”—Mark 7: 21‑23.

     All sin originates in the heart, but it does not all stay there.  The heart is not the only part of man that is cursed.  Man’s whole being—body, soul and spirit, is blighted by sin.  The fall of man brought a chain of untold evils upon his body.  All the horrid forms of diseases and death have resulted from sin.  Every ache, pain, and grief is a direct consequence of sin.  Every bending form, every halting, trembling limb points us back to the fall of man.  Surely the effects of the fall upon man are great.

 

     2. The Human Family Is Affected.

 

     As we have already intimated, the whole human race is involved in the curse of sin.  The curse rests upon man every­where—upon the rich and the poor, high and low, educated and ignorant, vulgar and refined, kings and peasants, noblemen and slaves, bondmen and freemen, little and big, old and young.

No individual nor nation escapes the dire effects of the fall.  The entire human family is involved.

 

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     3. The Brute Creation Suffers.

 

     Sad to say, Adam’s transgression did not stop in its effects with him or the human family; but the brute creation is in­volved as well.  “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”—Rom. 8: 19‑22.  The word “crea­ture” here means “creation.”  “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together.”  This certainly includes the brute creation, and much more besides.  It is a well known fact that the brute creation is involved in the effects or the fall.  The faithful horse, the affectionate watch‑dog, the in­nocent kitten, all suffer abusive blows, kicks, and wounds from their masters.  Besides all of this there is war and strife be­tween the various members of the brute family.  Moreover, the curse rests upon the whole creation.

 

     4. The Earth Is Touched.

 

     The curse rests upon the very ground itself.  Let us notice the words of the Lord touching this point: “Cursed is THE GROUND for thy sake.”  The ground is cursed.  How awful!  The effects of the curse upon the ground, we can see all about us in such forms as disease, fruitlessness, and nauseous weeds.  Today, disease lurks in the water we drink, in the food we eat, in the air we breathe, and in the very earth upon which we walk.  Death besets us on every side.  The soil produces, at its best, a scanty harvest.  Before man fell the soil brought forth abundantly, without toil or effort on the part of man; but after he sinned, God said unto him: “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”  “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou

 

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return unto the ground.”  This is not all.  The curse not only takes away the fertility of the soil, but causes the earth to produce hurtful, noxious, nauseating weeds, that hinder the growth of useful fruits and vegetables, and that bring disease and trouble to man.  Thus we see that in several ways the curse rests upon the ground itself.

These facts themselves draw a dark picture.  However, there are promises of a better day.  The curse, with all of its results, is a work of the devil.  My text says: “For this pur­pose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”  This text alone means much.  There are few people who realize the depth of the meaning of this text.  Many seem to think that, at the coming of Jesus, the earth itself is to be destroyed.  This can not be true.  The earth is a part of the handiwork of God.  If Jesus came or is coming to destroy the earth, then He was manifested that He might destroy the works of God.  The curse is not God’s work.  It is the work that God permits the devil to do for a while, “for thy sake,” O, child of Adam.  Jesus was manifested that He might destroy the curse; and the curse He will destroy.

We have seen that the curse rests upon man as an indi­vidual, upon the human race as a whole, upon the brute crea­tion, and upon the very ground itself.  Even so, the curse will be removed from man as an individual, from the human family as a whole, from the brute creation, and from the ground itself.  Man’s heart will then be depraved no longer; sin will no longer show itself in outward transgression.  The human body will be no longer subject to disease, pain and death.  Every bending form will be straightened, every darkened eye will be opened, every deafened ear will be unstopped, and every rheumatic joint will be limbered.  No home nor family will again be burdened with care nor blighted by sorrow.  “There shall be no more death.”—Rev. 21: 4.  Funeral ser­vices shall be unknown.  No more graves shall be dug.  No more sorrow; no more crying. The curse shall be removed

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likewise from the brute creation.  “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”  Both the domes­tic and the wild animals will be delivered from the curse which has overtaken them.  The animosity that now exists between the different members of the brute creation will be forever removed.  The enmity that is between the brute family and the human family will be taken away.  Yea, even more than this.  The promise goes still farther, and touches the very ground itself.  Every effect of the curse upon the ground will be taken away.  Please observe: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall re­joice, and blossom as the rose.  It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. . . . . For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”—Isa. 35: 1‑6.  “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. . . And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp. . . .They shall not hurt nor destroy.”—Isa. 11: 6‑9.  What a precious promise!

     “There shall be no more curse.”—Rev. 22: 3.