The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

same in hope'; and the dissolving of all these things, of which Peter speaks, is not the
destruction of them, but the breaking of their bonds, the loosing of them, the setting of
them free again, to become what they were originally meant to be, their deliverance.
(Compare Rom. 8:19-23.) And as to the flying or passing away, of which John [in the text
under consideration] speaks, a total disappearance of all the material worlds from the
universe is not at all the idea; for he tells us that he afterwards saw 'the sea' giving up its
dead, the New Jerusalem coming down 'out of the heaven,' the Tabernacle of God
established among men, and 'nations' still living and being healed by the leaves of the Tree
of Life."
We submit other comments on this text that we consider clear and forceful so far as the
significance of the heaven and earth are concerned:
"The fleeing away of heaven and earth described in Rev. 20, is described in Peter as their
consumption by [symbolic] fire. Both descriptions include the passing away of the present
corruptible state, and change to a state glorious and incorruptible."--Alford.
"That this is the case is clear from a careful study of the passage in the Second Epistle of
Peter. The Apostle speaks here of three worlds. First, 'The heavens were made of old by
the Word of God, and the earth also, which standeth out of the water and in the water;
which things being so, the world that then was being overflowed with water was
destroyed.' What was destroyed? Not the globe or the sidereal heavens, but the world that
then was, the wicked anti-deluvian society; the then existing state of things passed away,
but the globe, the solar system, and the sidereal heavens remained of course as they were.
Secondly, to 'the world that then was,' he compares 'the heavens and earth which are now,'
or as Alford renders it, the new heavens and earth; that is the post-deluvian visible world;
and of these he says that at the appearing [apocalypse] of the day of God, the thousand
years of the Millennium, which is as one day with God, it is destined to be similarly
purified, not with water, but with [symbolic] fire; and he adds thirdly, that we according
to God's promise (alluding evidently to Isa. 65:17) look for a new heavens and a new earth
wherein dwelleth righteousness."--H. G. Guinness.
None of these writers it seems to us have explained fully or clearly the outcome of the
passing away of the present heaven and earth and the ushering in of the new. Dr. Seiss
locates this great change as beginning at the close of the thousand years, instead of at their
beginning. Mr. Guinness makes the new heaven and the new earth state to refer to both
the one thousand-year period and the eternal state which follows, but erroneously, we
believe, applies the vision of Rev. 21:1 after its close.
Mr. Russell's explanation, however, is clear and harmonious with all Scriptures.
Concerning the symbolical use of "earth," "heaven," "mountains," "seas," and "fire," he says:
"Throughout the Scriptures, earth when used symbolically represents society; mountains
represent kingdoms; heavens, the powers of spiritual control; seas, the restless, turbulent,
dissatisfied masses of the world. Fire represents the destruction of whatever is burned-tares,
dross, earth (social organization), or whatever it may be. And when brimstone is