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"If, then, we have proven that the mental capacity of today is not greater than that of past ages, but probably less, how shall we account for the increase of general knowledge, modern inventions, etc.? We trust we shall be able to show this reasonably and in harmony with Scripture... The great principles (electricity, steam power, etc.), which many men in many years work out, apply and improve upon, time and again, were generally discovered apparently by the merest accident, without the exercise of great brain power, and comparatively unsought... As knowledge becomes more general and books more common, the generations possessing these have a decided advantage over previous generations; not only in that there are now a thousand thinkers to one formerly, to sharpen and stimulate each other with suggestions, but also in that each of the later generations has, through books, the combined experience of the past in addition to its own. And now we come to the Scriptures to see what they teach on the subject; for while we believe, as suggested above, that invention and the increase of knowledge, etc., among men are the results of natural causes, yet we believe that these natural causes were all planned and ordered by Jehovah God long ago ... Hence, as the six thousand years of the reign of evil began to draw to a close, God permitted circumstances to favor discoveries ... That this was God's plan is clearly indicated by the prophetic statement: "O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; [then] many shall run to and fro, and KNOWLEDGE [not capacity] shall be increased," "and none of the wicked shall understand [God's plan and way], but the wise shall understand"; "and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time." `Dan. 12:1,4,10`" —1886 ("Divine Plan of the Ages" pp. 166-68)
""But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the Time of the End: [then] many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Not only does the general increase of knowledge experienced confirm the teachings of `Daniel xi`, that the Time of the End began in 1799, but the predicted running to and fro —much and rapid traveling—also confirms it. These all belong to the Time of the End. The first steamboat was operated in 1807; the first steamcar in 1831; the first telegraph in 1844; yet today thousands of mammoth cars and steamships are carrying multitudes hither and thither, "to and fro." Sir Isaac Newton, the celebrated astronomer of the seventeenth century, was greatly interested in this statement by the Prophet Daniel, and declared his belief that in fulfilment of it human knowledge would so increase that men would possibly travel at the rate of fifty miles an hour. Voltaire, the noted French infidel, got hold of this statement and scornfully remarked: "Now look at the mighty mind of Newton, the great philosopher who discovered the law of gravitation: when he became an old man and got into his dotage, he began to study the book called the Bible, and in order to credit its fabulous nonsense he would have us believe that the knowledge of mankind will yet be so increased that we shall by-and-by be able to travel fifty miles an hour! Poor dotard!" Both of these men died long before the Time of the End had brought its wonderful increase of knowledge, which more than fulfils the prediction of the Christian philosopher, based upon the divine revelation." —1892; "Thy Kingdom Come", pp. 63-64
"We are told that this time will be especially marked by two particular features: first, "Many shall run to and fro"; second, "Knowledge shall be increased." (`Dan. 12:4`) Today we see this prophecy fulfilled. All over the world people are running to and fro as never before. Railroads, steamboats, automobiles, electric cars—surface, subway and elevated—etc., carry mankind everywhere. General increase of knowledge characterizes our wonderful day. Every child ten years old is able to read. All over the world are books, newspapers, Bibles in every home—opportunity for knowledge such as never has been known since man was on earth. The remarkable fulfilment of this prophecy marks our day as the time of The End, in which the present Dispensation is to be concluded and the New Dispensation is to be ushered in—the time when God's people will be able to understand the situation and to get ready for their change." —1894; "The Day of Vengeance", iv
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