[550]Again says the Apostle:  “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (1 Corinthians 6:2) Again Jesus plainly declared that at his second coming he would sit upon his throne of glory, and before him should be gathered all nations, and he would separate them and reward them according to their obedience to his laws. (Matthew 25:31-46) If the church, Jesus the head and his body members glorified, endowed with power and authority, are not to act as the great deliverer and uplifter of the human race, then why should they be clothed with such power and authority?  If there is to be no opportunity for the restoration of mankind, then God’s plan with reference to the new creation and its work must fail.  He has positively announced that one of the very purposes for calling and developing the new creation is the blessing of mankind.—­Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:16,27,29.

[551]"I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light unto the gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison [the grave, condition of death], and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” (Isaiah 42:6,7) “Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.”—­Isaiah 49:8.

[552]Thus we see that every purpose of the divine plan points to the restoration of mankind.  Every vital doctrine speaks of that coming time for man’s blessing.  Every other string of the harp of God harmoniously blends with the music of the tenth string, the restoration of man.  It must be admitted by every honest student of the Bible that all the fundamental doctrines point to God’s purpose of offering restitution blessings to the entire human race, and that the obedient ones will enjoy the blessings upon the earth.  And now let us examine some more specific texts further corroborating the already strong proof that restitution is the great object of the divine plan relative to the human race.

[553]God made a covenant with the nation of Israel, by which covenant he promised to give life to all who would keep that covenant. (Leviticus 18:5) The Israelites, like others of Adam’s offspring, having been born sinners and imperfect, could not keep this covenant; therefore could not get life through it.  The specific reasons are:  (1) Because the ransom-sacrifice had not yet been given; (2) because of the imperfections of the human race and the imperfections of Moses the mediator of the covenant it yielded life to none of the nation of Israel. (Romans 8:3) There was a two-fold purpose for this law covenant being made.  One was, that it might serve as a schoolmaster to lead Israel to Christ (Galatians 3:24); and the other, to foreshadow a better or new law covenant