EARTH'S EARLIEST AGES
Posted: July 22, 2012
by G. H. Pember
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first excerpt* in a series on the works of George Hawkins Pember (1836 - 1910), an English theologian and author affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren. His work Earth's Earliest Ages is considered by many his Magnum Opus and has been touted worldwide a masterpiece. It analyzes the prophecy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 that says the end times would be a repeat of “the days of Noah” and concludes that the final and most fearful sign heralding the Lord's Second Coming will be the return of the Nephilim, “the appearance upon earth of beings from the Principality of the Air, and their unlawful intercourse with the human race.”
*Following much history and background from G. H. Pember, our first excerpt in this series begins from page 180 of the upcoming Defender Publishing edition of Earth's Earliest Ages.
The
residence of the
fallen angels upon
earth was the
immediate cause of
their alliances with
the daughters of
men.
Now,
in speaking of the sin
of some of these, Jude
tells us that,
despising the position
of dignity and
responsibility in
which God had placed
them, they voluntarily
left their own home in
the Kingdom of the
Air, prompted it would
seem by earthward
desires, and began to
exercise an unlawful
influence over the
human race. And,
perhaps, as a
punishment, their
return was prohibited;
they were banished
altogether from
heaven, and confined
to the limits of
earth; just as Satan
and the remainder of
his angels will be
hereafter, a short
time before the
appearing of Christ to
cast them into the
still lower abyss.
But,
however this may be,
they were from some
cause dwelling upon
earth at the time, and
the fact is apparently
mentioned to account
for their inter-
marriages with the
daughters of men. If,
then, their continued
residence below was
voluntary, they soon
passed on to a far
more frightful sin:
if, on the contrary,
it was penal, instead
of humbling themselves
under the mighty hand
of God, and patiently
enduring until He
remitted His just
punishment, they did
not hesitate to defy
Him still more
daringly, and to
violate the law of
their being.
The
assertion of a similar
occurrence after the
Deluge agrees with the
passage in Numbers
where the sons of Anak
are said to have been
Nephilim, or of the
Nephilim; and seems
also to account for
God’s command that
the whole race of the
Canaanites should be
extirpated. For
immediately after the
commission of the
antediluvian sin, the
doom of the world was
pronounced: and
prophecy intimates
that the future
confinement of the
angels of darkness to
earth will be the
proximate cause of the
great rebellion which
will call forth the
Lord Jesus in flaming
fire to take
vengeance.
The
children of these
unlawful connections
before the flood were
the renowned heroes of
old: the subsequent
repetition of the
crime doubtless gave
rise to the countless
legends of the loves
of the gods, and
explains the numerous
passages in the
Classics, as well as
in the ancient
literature of other
languages, in which
human families are
traced to a half
Divine origin.
Before
passing on, we should,
perhaps, notice the
most common objection
to our interpretation,
which is, that angels,
as spiritual beings,
could not take wives
of the daughters of
men. We are, however,
unable to recognise
the cogency of such an
argument, because
those who advance it
lay claim to a more
intimate acquaintance
with angelic nature
than we can concede as
possible. On this
point, therefore, we
will merely quote a
passage from
Augustine—an
opponent of the
angel-theory—containing
an admission which has
been made by many
other writers of
various ages and
climes, and which,
absurd as it may have
seemed to ourselves
some years ago, is now
rendered more probable
by the disclosures of
modern Spiritualism.
After
citing the hundred and
fourteenth Psalm to
prove that angels are
spirits, the great
theologian proceeds as
follows:
“However, that angels have appeared to men in bodies of such a nature that they could not only be seen but even touched, the same most true Scripture declares. Moreover, there is a very general rumour that Silvans and Fauns, who are commonly termed incubi, improbos saepe exstitisse mulieribus, et earum appetlsse ac pcregisse concubitum. Many trustworthy persons assert that they have had personal experience of this, or that they have been informed by those who have experienced it. And that certain demons, whom the Gauls call Dusii, are continually attempting and effecting the crime is so generally affirmed that it would seem impudent to deny it.”
Augustine
thus considered that
Paul had some such
thought in his mind
when he bade the woman
to worship with
covered head “on
account of the
angels,” is, to say
the least, within the
limits of
possibility.
Retrospect.
We
have thus endeavoured
to trace the flow of
history from its
source to the great
catastrophe which
swept corruption and
violence from the
earth. We have seen
its clear spring
proceeding from the
throne of the
Everlasting God, and
have then lost sight
of it as it wound its
way through vast
regions that may not
be trodden by mortal
foot. Once or twice we
have climbed an
accessible height, and
from the far distance
gazed with strained
eyes upon something
which sparkled in the
rays of God’s Word,
and which we supposed
to be the waters of
the river we were
seeking; but we could
obtain no certain
knowledge of the
mysterious stream,
until we saw its
turbid and foaming
torrent emerging in
fearful cataract from
between the dark
mountains which
concealed its previous
course.
We
have followed it into
a land of delight, in
which it gradually
calmed and brightened
again, while its banks
teemed with all that
is beautiful and
lovely: we have traced
it as it passed the
limits of that joyous
realm, and hurried
through dry and barren
tracts, with ever
increasing volume and
rapidity, till at
length its agitated
waters were violently
engulphed in the great
ocean of the flood.
The
warning of Christ.
Does it apply to our
times?
We
must not, however,
dismiss the story of
doom which we have
just been considering
without some
reflections on the
solemn warning drawn
from it by the Saviour.
“But as the days of
Noah were,” is His
awful declaration,
“so shall also the
coming of the Son of
Man be. For as in the
days that were before
the flood they were
eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in
marriage, until the
day that Noah entered
into the ark, and knew
not until the flood
came, and took them
all away; so shall
also the coming of the
Son of Man be.” Thus
the closing scenes of
this present age will
be a reproduction of
the days of Noah: the
same intense
worldliness, and at
last positive
inability to care for
the things of God,
which was displayed by
the antediluvians,
will also be
characteristic of our
world when Christ
begins the judgments
that will quickly
culminate in the glory
of His appearing.
It
seems fair, then, to
infer that this second
manifestation of the
spirit that worked in
them which were
disobedient before the
flood will be effected
by a conjunction of
causes similar to that
which formerly
produced it. And
hence, as we have
already remarked, it
becomes a matter of
the greatest practical
importance to
comprehend those
causes: for whenever
they are again found
to be simultaneously
affecting the masses
of the world’s
population, the fact
will afford a strong
presumption that we
are drifting rapidly
to the great
consummation of
wickedness; that the
avenging glory of the
Lord is about to be
revealed, so that all
flesh shall see it
together.
For
us, therefore, the
great question is, Are
these fatal influences
now in operation? Are
they more universally
characteristic of this
epoch than of any
other? Mature
consideration has
impelled many to
return an affirmative
answer: let us see
whether facts warrant
us in holding the same
view. It is impossible
to exaggerate our
interest in the
investigation. If the
present times are only
beginning to take the
complexion of those of
Noah, they send forth
a piercing cry of
warning, admonishing
us to stand with our
loins girded about and
our lamps burning,
waiting for the
summons of the Lord.
For He will remove His
Church, as He removed
Enoch, before the
wickedness of man has
come to its worst. He
will take away that
which He Himself has
called the salt of the
earth, and then the
corruption of all
flesh will go on
unchecked, and the
world speedily ripen
for its doom.
The
seven causes of
antediluvian
corruption. Are they
all in present
operation?
The
seven great causes of
the antediluvian
apostacy have been
already noticed, and
may be summed up as
follows.
I. A tendency to worship God as Elohim, that is, merely as the Creator and Benefactor, and not as Jehovah the covenant God of mercy, dealing with transgressors who are appointed to destruction, and finding a ransom for them.II. An undue prominence of the female sex, and a disregard of the primal law of marriage.III. A rapid progress in the mechanical arts, and the consequent invention of many devices whereby the hardships of the curse were mitigated, and life was rendered more easy and indulgent. Also a proficiency in the fine arts, which captivated the minds of men, and helped to induce an entire oblivion of God.IV. An alliance between the nominal Church and the World, which speedily resulted in a complete amalgamation.V. A vast increase of population.VI. The rejection of the preaching of Enoch, whose warnings thus became a savour of death unto the world, and hardened men beyond recovery.VII. The appearance upon earth of beings from the Principality of the Air, and their unlawful intercourse with the human race.
These
causes concurred to
envelope the world in
a sensuous mist which
no ray of truth could
penetrate. They
brought about a total
forgetfulness of God
and disregard of His
will; and thus, by
removing the great
Centre Who alone is
able to attract men
from them- selves,
rendered the dwellers
upon earth so selfish
and unscrupulous that
the world was
presently filled with
lewdness, injustice,
oppression, and
bloodshed. It remains,
therefore, for us to
consider whether
similar influences are
now acting upon
society.
Too
be continued...
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