Hence we see that the eight-string
harp sometimes used by the Jews represents the harp of God minus the
strings picturing the Abrahamic promise and restoration. Now these
strings or doctrines have been found and appreciated by God's people;
and the harp fully strung yields music of unspeakable sweetness.
[536]Restoration means to restore that which was lost. The first man
Adam was made perfect, in the image and likeness of God, with power and
authority to fill the earth with a race of people and to rule the earth
as his dominion. By reason of his sin, he brought upon himself the
manifestation of divine justice; and being sentenced to death, he lost
the right to life, and this right was lost also for his offspring. The
first man, Adam, was created a human being, not a spirit being. "The
first man is of the earth, earthy." (1 Corinthians 15:47) God created
the earth for man. "God ... formed the earth and made it; he hath
established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be
inhabited." (Isaiah 45:12,18) The Scriptures conclusively prove that
God's original purpose was that man should have an everlasting home on
the earth as long as he obeyed the divine law. Man having disobeyed
forfeited his right to live on earth, and Jesus, the perfect man, having
by his great sacrifice purchased this right for man, the time must come
when man will be restored to that which was lost.
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