Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28, 29).
Three things are here promised: first, the resurrection of all the dead; second, a resurrection of life; third, a resurrection of damnation, or judgment.
All who are in their graves will come forth in one or the other of these resurrections. The apostle Paul mentions them as the resurrection of the just and of the unjust (Acts 24:15). And in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we read: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first."
In the twentieth chapter of Revelation these two resurrections are clearly described as being a thousand years apart. The first resurrection is of the righteous. "On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6). In verse 5 we read, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Some say that death ends all, but it doesn't. We must all rise. We must all stand before the judgment bar of God (Rom. 14:10). We must all meet the deeds done in the body.
In his funeral oration at his brother's grave, Robert Ingersoll, the acknowledged skeptic, gave utterance to these words: "In the night of death Hope sees a star, and listening Love can hear the rustle of a wing." Beautiful sentiment, sentiment of faith! But where did he get in? Certainly not from the gardens of infidelity and doubt. As McCaughtry says: "This is a rose plucked from the garden where Christ slept and rose again."
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just; for the righteous God trieth the heart and reins" (Ps. 7:9).
Three things are here promised: first, the resurrection of all the dead; second, a resurrection of life; third, a resurrection of damnation, or judgment.
All who are in their graves will come forth in one or the other of these resurrections. The apostle Paul mentions them as the resurrection of the just and of the unjust (Acts 24:15). And in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we read: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first."
In the twentieth chapter of Revelation these two resurrections are clearly described as being a thousand years apart. The first resurrection is of the righteous. "On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6). In verse 5 we read, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Some say that death ends all, but it doesn't. We must all rise. We must all stand before the judgment bar of God (Rom. 14:10). We must all meet the deeds done in the body.
In his funeral oration at his brother's grave, Robert Ingersoll, the acknowledged skeptic, gave utterance to these words: "In the night of death Hope sees a star, and listening Love can hear the rustle of a wing." Beautiful sentiment, sentiment of faith! But where did he get in? Certainly not from the gardens of infidelity and doubt. As McCaughtry says: "This is a rose plucked from the garden where Christ slept and rose again."
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just; for the righteous God trieth the heart and reins" (Ps. 7:9).
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