be assured that the goal of creation was not the earth itself or the myriads of worlds around us, great and wonderful

though they are, but MAN. Read Psalm 8:4-8 in this connection. However, in the opening chapters of Genesis, we

find a great complication entering in which is directly opposed to the will and purpose of God, and this is SIN:

`By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin' (Rom. 5:12),

and because death is universal there is no need to argue to prove that:

`All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' (Rom. 3:23).

Not only this, but the earth itself has become involved in this terrible tragedy as Romans 8:21,22 asserts. The

conflict we see around us in nature is only an external evidence of this fact. Consequently the original purpose in

the creation of heaven and earth has been held up, as it were, by sin and death, and the bulk of the Bible therefore is

taken up with the way God is going to remove these great enemies to His revealed will.

We can now understand, in some measure, the reason for the wonderful work of redemption accomplished by the

death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He came to put away sin righteously by the sacrifice of Himself

on the Cross of Calvary as the Sin Bearer and to abolish death for ever. This is God's basis upon which He can

bring His creation back to its original perfection and beauty, and how human beings who are sinners by nature can

be made righteous and absolutely free from the taint of sin and failure, and therefore have a glorious share in the

new heaven and earth that will be spotless and perfect (see 2 Pet. 3:13 and Rev. 21:1-4,23-27). This great salvation

can be ours if we will receive the Lord Jesus by simply trusting Him to be our Saviour, or, expressing it another

way, if we put our faith in Him alone. God will then reckon His righteousness to be our own possession. If this step

has not been taken, we ask the reader to turn to the following Scriptures and see how true this can be personally.

These passages are 2 Corinthians 5:20,21, and Ephesians 2:8,9. As we have said before, it is not much use our

reading about the Divine plan in the Bible if we are for ever outside it. This would be a tragedy of the first

As the Word of God is studied and believed it becomes evident that the Creator concentrates first of all upon the

earth and shows us how he is going to remove the effects of sin and death from His creation and bring in His

glorious kingdom, so that at the last it can be said in truth `The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of

our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever' (Rev. 11:15).

Now there are at least two ways in which God can do this. The same Almighty Voice that said `Let there be

light: and there was light' (Gen. 1:3), that is, without the assistance of any creature, could obviously carry on His

work indefinitely in the same way, majestic and alone. On the other hand He could use agents to carry out His will

if He chose, while not being dependent in any way upon them. This is precisely what we find Him doing in His

matchless condescension and grace. He is pleased to use redeemed men and women, and young people who are

wise enough to place themselves in His almighty hand and find out by prayer what His will is for them (Col. 1:9;

Eph. 5:17).

Coming then to the earthly side of the plan of the ages, we find its first unfolding in the call of Abram recorded

in Genesis 12:1-3. Note the words `I will' in verses 2 and 3, ending with `and in thee (Abram) shall all families of

the earth be blessed'. Now Abram, or Abraham as he was afterwards called, is the father of Israel, and that is why

the Jewish nation figures so largely in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. They were to be redeemed

by God and then become the agents for world-wide blessing. To make this sure and true, God promises Abram a

posterity or a seed that would endure, and this we find in Genesis 15:5 and many other passages:

`And He (God) brought him (Abram) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou

be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be'.

Not only this, but to be practical the seed must be guaranteed a home to dwell in and in the later verses we read

`In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river

of Egypt (the Nile) unto the great river, the River Euphrates' (Gen. 15:18). Look at a map and see the extent of this

wondrous gift. The reader will note that it is considerably larger than Palestine and perhaps will now appreciate

why it is that this part of the globe has always figured prominently in human affairs, and why it looms so large today

in the gigantic problems connected with the Middle East.