The Christian world believes the day is coming when the earth and all material things will be consumed by fire. In Christian Science we learn that all materiality will be destroyed, but not in the way that is generally believed. The difference is not as to what the end shall be, but as to when and how.
Once the earth became so corrupt, and mortal man so sinful, that every living thing except what found refuge in the ark, was destroyed by water. That which was saved did not remain pure, but became even more corrupt, so that "evil waxed worse and worse."
The Revelator, from his exalted position in Mind, "saw a new heaven and a new earth," not the old heaven and earth made pure and perfect, but "a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." To him, material things had come to an end, for he saw the spiritual. Both flood and revelation were the appearing of Truth to human consciousness; but John's thought had been divested of more materiality. To Noah there still seemed to be some good in the material world; mortal existence appeared as the blending of good and evil. To his sense the remedy was a flood—the purifying power of Truth—which should wash away the evil and leave the good of mortal existence. The belief that there is good in materiality prepared an ark; that the little good might not be destroyed,— and what a little it was! Eight persons out of all the earth; seven of the clean beasts, two of the unclean, and seven birds. Mortal man, in attempting to preserve the seeming good in materiality, retained also the evil; and "error of every form emerged from the ark." (No and Yes.) The error was soon manifest, and still continues its seeming existence. The flood did not prove to be the remedy, hence the world now looks forward to the final destruction of all material things by fire.
The thought entertained by Noah, and that discerned by John, typify the appearing of truth to each individual consciousness. Materiality is generally recognized as being evil, but still there seems to be some little good in it; something that, in the mortal sense of things, should be preserved. Mortals endeavor to separate the good from the evil; thus to make the mortal man better, they cast out evil little by little; but the belief that there is some good in mortal man, prevents them from giving up the mortal entirely, thereby to gain that which is immortal. We may continue to work in this way; but mortal man will never become so good that it will not be seen he still embodies evil; hence the remedy is not that which will cleanse and purify the material,— but a fire that will utterly consume the world, the flesh, all evil.
According to the Scriptures, all material things will be consumed by fire. It is not necessary that the word fire be taken in its literal sense here, any more than where it is said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. One characteristic of fire is that it consumes that with which it comes in contact; the fuel that supports it is consumed until both fire and fuel cease to be. So it is with all material things; one depends upon another for seeming existence until that which forms the support is consumed, and destruction comes upon both. Error consuming itself produces the fires of affliction that purify and elevate mankind.
We have thought mortal man good as well as evil, because we have seen those who manifested a feeling of love for humanity, and who endeavored to live up to their highest idea of right; those who were conscientious in all their dealings, regarded by the world as honest and upright men. We made our mistake in thinking that this good belonged to the mortal man: instead, this was the real man asserting himself over the mortal and material. Were it not for the mortal sense, the individual would be seen to be the reflection of Infinite Good. John saw the heaven and earth of God's creation because the material and mortal sense of them had disappeared. Even if all material things were burned up, the material thought that produced them would still remain. Literal fire, even though it consumed the whole world, could not bring the consciousness of Good wherein all is harmony; but, as material beliefs are destroyed harmony becomes demonstrably manifest.See Science and Health, 180, 8 . The end of material things comes with the end of mortal and material thoughts,—and not before. "Behold the day cometh and now is" when all material things are come to an end in the presence of Spirit—not at the expiration of a certain number of years,—but the end is come to that consciousness which realizes the Allness of God, and the nothingness of everything else.
