Man has conquered land, sea, and air. He has unlocked the secrets of the atom, and unleashed much of its powerful potential. Now he lifts his eyes and looks for new worlds to conquer, for new frontiers to cross. He is, as it were, at the stepping-off place from this earth, and he plans now to reach the moon, and dreams of interplanetary trips.
Trips to the moon in rockets and space ships are no longer the talk of idle dreamers, but sober men, staid journals and periodicals expatiate on their feasibility. They have witnessed a rapid change from vision and fantasy to actuality in many fields of endeavor during only one generation, and now see little reason why man should not accomplish whatever he can imagine. Such reasoning seems logical in the light of 20th century developments.
But what say the Scriptures? It is important to discover what God has said., Here is one verse that should dissolve any doubt of the likelihood of man stepping off of this planet for another: "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Loan's: but the earth hath He given to the children of men." Psalm 115:1616The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. (Psalm 115:16). God has given man the earth and not the heavens, and he is not going to leave it by his own ingenuity and power. That which man has discovered on the earth, and what the telescope has revealed in the heavens is truly wonderful, but in none of this is he leaving the earth where God put him. And just as God said to the sea, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed" (Job 38:1111And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? (Job 38:11)), so He has set bounds beyond which man cannot pass.
The present spectacle is but the re-enactment of a scene which took place thousands of years ago in the Plain of Shinar. There men decided to build a tower which would reach to heaven, and soon proceeded to execute their plans. They were going to get beyond this earth then, but one calculation which they failed to make was basic; namely, what did God think about it? Listen to the divine comment:
"And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city." Gen. 11:5-85And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. (Genesis 11:5‑8).
The project had to be suddenly abandoned because of the judgment of God, and to this day the evidence of that visitation is widely apparent. Every time we meet a person who speaks another language than our own, it should remind us of God's judgment on men at the tower of Babel (that is, confusion). And surely it would seem that nothing would be restrained from men of all that they imagine to do now, except divine interference. But what an exception!
Everything indicates that the end of this age is just about here, and as the end approaches, God has allowed men to reach their zenith, with little or nothing left to conquer; but along with progress has come moral decay and spiritual apostasy. Everything is soon to be headed up by the "man of sin," and the great catastrophe will come—first "the great tribulation" with its unparalleled time of suffering and destruction of life, so much so that if it were not confined to the very short period of 31/2 years, "no flesh should be saved." Then will come the actual judgment by Him who will come out of heaven as "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" IO put down all His enemies and reign in righteousness. Thus will all the proud works of men be utterly crushed.
But amid all these observations let us remind ourselves, as Christians, that our portion is not earth, but heaven. It is true that God gave the earth to the children of men, but everything here has been ruined by sin, and bears the sad marks of it. Then God came to us in the gospel and called us to Himself and to a heavenly portion. Our citizenship, or commonwealth, is in the heavens (Phil. 3:2020For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (Philippians 3:20); J.N.D. Trans.), and we are but strangers and sojourners here (1 Pet. 2:1111Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (1 Peter 2:11); J.N.D. Trans.), and wait for the Lord Jesus to take us to be with Himself (John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)). In fact, we have already died with Christ, and risen with Him, and now are exhorted to set our minds on things above (that is, where He is at the right hand of God), and not on things on the earth (Col. 3:1-31If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1‑3)).
Very soon all the redeemed shall leave this earth, not by any invention of men, but with changed bodies of glory; at His shout we shall be caught up to meet Him in the air. How little we enter into what is before us! Then it will be a joyful farewell to the earth and its days of trial. We who are Christ's may in spirit bid it farewell now:
"Farewell to this world's fleeting joys,
Our home is not below;
There was no home for Jesus here,
And 'tis to Him we go.
"To Him in yonder home of love,
Where He has gone before-
The home He changed for Calvary's cross,
Where all our sins He bore.
"He bore our sins, that we might be
His partners on the throne!
The throne He'll shortly share with those
For whom He did atone.
"Up to our Father's house we go,
To that sweet home of love;
Many the mansions that are found
Where Jesus dwells above!
"And He who left that home above,
To be a suff'rer here,
Has left this world again for us
A mansion to prepare.
"His errand to the earth was love
To wretches such as we!
To pluck us from the jaws of death,
Nailed to th' accursed tree.
"Th' accursed tree was the reward
Which this sad world did give
To Him who gave His precious life
That this lost world might live.
"And has this world a charm for us,
Where Jesus suffered thus?
No; we have died to all its charms,
Through Jesus' wondrous cross.
"The cross on which our Lord expired
Has won the crown for us!
In thankful fellowship with Him,
We bear our daily cross.
"Set free in grace—He vanquished him
Who held us in his chains-
But more than this, He shares with us
The fruit of all His pains.
"To all His ransomed ones He'll give
(To us amongst the rest)
With Him to dwell, with Him to reign,
With Him forever blest.
"Farewell, farewell, poor faithless world,
With all thy boasted store;
We'd not have joy where He had woe-
Be rich where He was poor."