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THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
VOL. XIV. APRIL 1, 1893. NO. 7.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.
----------
"Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in
question."--Acts 24:21.
--"When they heard of the resurrection of
the dead, some mocked."--Acts 17:32.
--The prophet David "spake of the resurrection
of Christ: that his soul was not left in
hades."--Acts 2:31.
--Christ was proved or "declared to be the
Son of God with power...by the resurrection
from the dead."--Rom. 1:4.
--"Now if Christ be preached, that he rose
from the dead, how say some among you that
there is no resurrection of the dead?"--
1 Cor. 15:12.
--"But if there be no resurrection of the dead
then is Christ not risen."--1 Cor. 15:13.
--"And if Christ be not risen, then is our
preaching vain;--and your faith is also vain;--
and we are false witnesses;--and ye are yet in
your sins; and they that are fallen asleep in
Christ are perished."--1 Cor. 15:14-18.
--"But Christ is risen from the dead, and become
a first-fruits of them that slept."--
1 Cor. 15:20.
--"For since by a man [Adam] came death,
by a man also [Christ] came the resurrection
of the dead."--1 Cor. 15:21.
--"The God and Father of our Lord Jesus
...hath begotten us again unto a hope of life by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead."--1 Pet. 1:3.
--The Apostles "taught the people and
preached through Jesus the resurrection of the
dead."--Acts 4:2.
--At Athens, Paul "preached unto them Jesus
and the resurrection."--Acts 17:18.
--Paul said, "I count all things but loss...
that I may know him [Christ] and the power
of his resurrection;...if by any means I
might attain unto the [chief] resurrection of
the [chief] dead."--Phil. 3:8-11.
--"Blessed and holy are all they that have part
in the first [chief] resurrection."--Rev. 20:6.
--"There shall be a resurrection of the dead,
both of the just [justified believers] and the unjust"
[now unjustified].--Acts 24:15.
--Some "concerning the truth have erred,
saying, that the resurrection is past already."--
2 Tim. 2:18.
No other doctrine is made so prominent in
the New Testament as that of the Resurrection;
except it be that of the second coming of our
Lord and his kingdom glory, or his first advent
and sacrifice for sins. And yet, so far has modern
popular theology drifted away from that of
our Lord and his Apostles that, the resurrection
of the dead is scarcely ever preached upon today;
and it would be a great convenience, indeed,
to many ministers of all denominations,
if the entire doctrine of the resurrection could
be expunged from the Bible: It would save
them from many perplexing questions which
they can only ignore or seek to evade, instead
of answering them. What a proof this furnishes
that the Bible is not what infidels assert--the
work of knavish priests. Had such made it
they would have made it more to their pleasement
--to support their theories.
[R1508 : page 100]
FALSE VIEWS.
----------
If the reader ever heard one sermon on the
resurrection from any so-called "orthodox"
pulpit he was remarkably favored. And yet
that is scarcely true, either, for what he heard
was probably such a medley, such a confusion,
that his ideas were worse confounded after hearing
than before. Such exceptional ones probably
heard such a discourse as was reported in
the public press about two years ago, delivered
by a very learned and able Presbyterian Doctor
of Divinity to a Brooklyn audience.
This D.D. explained that the resurrection will
consist in a regathering and revivifying of all
the bones and sinews and flesh and skin, etc.,
that ever constituted human bodies, regardless
of how they had been disposed of, by fire or
mouldering or otherwise: No matter if parts
had been destroyed by accident or eaten by
[R1509 : page 100] fishes or beasts of prey; or if they had rotted
and gone as fertilizer into various fruits, vegetables,
grasses, etc., and thus been over and
over again transformed.
He explained "the last day" to mean a final
twenty-four hours before the burning up of the
world, and pictured that an after portion of
that twenty-four hours would be devoted to a
work of judging the world, while the forepart
would be occupied by the resurrection work;
and he pictured the air black with hands, arms,
feet, fingers, bones, skins, sinews, etc., of the
billions who have lived and died, seeking the
other parts of their bodies; and that then the
souls would come from heaven and hell and
be imprisoned in those resurrected bodies.
What an unscriptural and nonsensical view!
And yet, how could the man think or preach
differently on the subject seeing that he believed
firmly in a "resurrection of the body," which
very words nearly all "orthodox" creeds of
"Christendom" recite? And how could a body be resurrected in any other way than by gathering
together again the various parts and
members which once composed it? In no other
way, of course. And if the "resurrection of
the body" is the resurrection specified in the
Bible, we as well as others are shut up to the
nonsensical and ludicrous view expressed by the
Brooklyn D.D., as above stated.
THE BIBLE DOCTRINE REASONABLE.
----------
But the Bible contains no such statement;
and such an inference is as unwarranted as it is
unreasonable. The reason which led to this
statement that the resurrection would be merely
that of the body is quite evident. The teaching
had gradually crept into the Church that
what seems to the five senses to be death is not
such in reality: none are dead--saints nor sinners
--but all more alive than ever, when to us
they appear to be dead. With this idea before
the mind, many lose sight of the Scriptural
teaching of a "resurrection of the dead" [beings,
persons, souls]; and hence they altered it
to suit their changed ideas, although it is still
"a very inconvenient doctrine to get around." Because after having preached in the funeral discourse
that the deceased is "free now" and "no
longer hampered and encumbered with a body,"
it is confusing to read from the Bible as a part
of the funeral service about the "hope of a resurrection
of the dead," when they hope that
their friends are not dead, and would be glad
to hope that they would never have anything
more to do with what they term the "prison-house
of clay"--the body. It is confusing, too,
to read the Apostle's words (specially intended
and suited for such an occasion) about the second
coming of Christ, and the blessing at that
time, by a resurrection of "them that sleep in
Jesus" (1 Thes. 4:14-18); and the expression,
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words," only adds to their confusion; for no
other words would be so comfortless to them;
because of the unscriptural views they entertain.
But while, as we have seen, the theory of a
"resurrection of the body"--the recovery and
reorganization of the original atoms of matter--
is nonsensical, as well as without Scriptural warrant,
let none so regard the doctrine of the resurrection
of the soul or being, which is taught
in the Bible, and which is reasonable.
ANASTASIS--RESURRECTION.
----------
In the Bible the word resurrection is found
only in the New Testament; it is the translation
of the Greek word, anastasis, the meaning
of which, as given by Prof. Young's Concordance
[R1509 : page 101] (a standard authority), is, "A standing or rising up." Liddell & Scott's Lexicon defines
the word similarly, viz., "A making to stand or rise up; awakening, restoration."*
*In one exceptional passage another word is used, egersis (Matt. 27:53); but there are reasons for seriously
doubting the genuineness of this verse and the preceding one.
However, these peculiar verses are found in part in
the oldest Greek Manuscript yet discovered; hence we
may not discard them, although they are very difficult to
harmonize with other scripture statements: for instance,
if it was the earthquake which occurred at the moment of
our Lord's death that opened those graves, it seems peculiar
that they should stay thus three days before coming
out of their graves after our Lord's resurrection (wrong or
at least unusual word used for resurrection). And they
could not be perfected by anastasis because it is written that
Christ should be the first to thus rise from the dead. Then
again, who were these "saints" or holy ones? They were
not holy ones of the New or Gospel Dispensation; for it
did not begin, and the disciples did not obtain "liberty to
become sons of God" (John 1:12) until Pentecost, fifty
days later. And if they were holy ones of the Jewish or
previous dispensations, their awakening could be only similar
to that of Lazarus,--to die again; because the Apostle
Paul, later than this, after recounting the most notable
of the holy ones of by-gone times, declared, "These all
having obtained a good report through faith, received not
the promise [chief of which is the resurrection of everlasting
life], God having provided some better thing for us
[the Gospel Church], that they without us should not be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39,40.) Hence the holy ones
of by-gone dispensations are not (in the divine plan as
here stated) to experience their full resurrection until after
the Gospel age--until the Millennial age; for the entire
period of the Gospel age is set apart to the development
and perfecting of the Church which is Christ's "bride" or
"body" or "temple."
Other Greek words are used when referring
to the temporary awakening of dead ones who
afterward died again, as in the case of Lazarus,
Jairus' daughter and others; but neither the
Greek word anastasis nor its English equivalent,
resurrection, is used in such cases. We
are not questioning that the English word resurrection is often used with only a limited signification;
but we are calling attention to the
restricted use of the Greek word. And we insist
that it is only by giving it the full weight
of its meaning that the importance of our Lord's
work as man's Redeemer can be fully appreciated.
To say that the ransom given once for
all by our Lord secured a resurrection (anastasis) for all, and then to define that word as
merely signifying a re-awakening, to a spark
of life as now enjoyed, would be to rob the Lord
of the honor of his great work, by robbing the
word "anastasis" of its full import. Our claim
is that this word contains the thought of a full
restitution of all that was lost--human perfection
--and not merely re-animation. It was all that was lost that our Lord died to recover;
and the promise of a resurrection is therefore the
promise of the restoration of what was lost and
redeemed. This has been provided for all, and
must be given or offered to all--whether then
they accept of it or reject it.
To get the full force of anastasis--"restoration,"
"rising up"--we must remember from
what a height man has fallen into death. The
resurrection (anastasis) secured for mankind by
their Redeemer is a full and complete raising
up (or restoration) to all that was lost, for all,
by one man's (Adam's) disobedience. "For
as by a man [Adam] came death [with all the
degradation which that word implies--mental,
moral and physical, culminating in utter dissolution
--utter loss], even so by a man also [the
man Christ Jesus] came [i.e. was secured] the
resurrection" [anastasis--a complete restoration
to all that was lost; a full rising up to the
grand heights of perfection--the image and likeness
of God at first enjoyed].
The Millennial age is to be the resurrection
day for the world of mankind; but it will be
optional with each individual whether or not
he ever attains this grand perfection, provided
for all in Christ. It may at first seem strange
to say that the dead will be obliged to co-operate
in the matter of their own resurrection
(to perfection) or else never obtain it; but
such is the Scriptural representation. The dead
will not be required to aid or co-operate in
their awakening from their graves; for "there
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor
wisdom, in the grave" (Eccl. 9:10; Psa. 6:5),
and they, therefore, could neither assent to
nor oppose their awakening. That work will
be done for the world by their glorified Redeemer,
who declares, "All that are in their
graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man
and come forth: [that is, all will be awakened;
[R1509 : page 102] but there will be two classes, who will be
awakened under different conditions, as our
Lord proceeds to show, saying,] they that have
done good [that is, those consecrated ones who
are good and acceptable to God through
Christ] to a resurrection life [That is to say,
this class will come forth from death with a
perfect life, a completely resurrected or raised
up life, over which death shall no longer have
any power or control]; and they that have
practiced evil [surely this includes all of the
fallen race except the few above referred to,
the consecrated, holy ones] unto a judgment
[or trial] resurrection" [--an opportunity for
full raising up if they will conform to the discipline
and chastisements of that thousand-year
judgment-day of Christ's reign].
In harmony with this, the true and full meaning
of anastasis--a complete or full raising up out of death--is our Lord's expression to the
Sadducees who inquired concerning a woman
of many husbands, "In the resurrection [anastasis] whose wife shall she be? (Luke 20:33.)
Our Lord avoided giving them a direct reply,
perhaps because it would have required a long
discourse concerning the future, for which they
in their cavilling spirit were wholly unready,
and perhaps because the due time for information
respecting God's methods and dealings
during the Millennial age were not yet due to
be explained. So our Lord's reply, in effect,
was,--Ye err, because ye do not understand
the Scriptures respecting how matters will then
be, nor do ye appreciate the great power of
God by which he is able to work all things according
to the counsel of his own wise plan.
Then, turning the subject away from the suppositionary
case suggested by the Sadducees,
our Lord took occasion to drop a word of instruction
respecting the first or chief resurrection
--the resurrection of the blessed and holy.
(Rev. 20:6.) A knowledge of this resurrection
would be meat in due season to them that
stood by, while a direct reply to the question
would not be, so our Lord said: "The sons
[R1510 : page 102] of this period marry and are given in marriage,
but those who shall be accounted worthy to
obtain that period and the resurrection [anastasis] out from dead ones will neither marry
nor be given in marriage; neither can they die
any more: then, like the angels they will be, and
sons of God--becoming sons by THE resurrection."
The emphasis on "resurrection" and
"dead" here, intensified by the expression
"out from dead ones," leaves no room for doubt
that the Lord referred to the First Resurrection.
It will be perceived that in this statement
our Lord omits any reference to the masses of
the world and their opportunities for restitution
to human perfection through a judgment-resurrection,
a resurrection depending upon
their co-operation, during Christ's Millennial
reign, when, under him, their head, the saints
(the holy ones who shall be accounted worthy
of that first or chief resurrection to spirit conditions)
shall judge the world.--1 Cor. 6:2.
RESURRECTION OF THE SOUL.
----------
There is nothing in the word resurrection, nor yet in the word anastasis, to limit or in
any way determine the nature or organism of
the one who experiences resurrection. If a resurrection
of the body were predicted, then it
would imply that exactly the same body would
be raised up: and, since the human family are
all flesh-beings, it would imply that the very
same bodies now possessed, with exactly the
same atoms of matter, would be "raised up."
For the exact meaning of the word anastasis must be born in mind, viz., "restored" or
"raised up."--Liddell & Scott.
If then the human body which dies were the
thing to which resurrection is promised, nothing
more or less than the same body with its
same atoms, same defects, and the same peculiarities,
could be expected: and, as a result,
resurrection would be merely a renewal of
present, unfavorable, fallen conditions.
But it is not the bodies of men that God
promises to resurrect, but the men themselves
--the beings (in the English Bible translated
souls). It was Adam as a whole that sinned,
--Adam, the living soul (being), and not merely
his body. It was Adam as a whole, as a living
soul (being), that was sentenced to death, and
it was the souls of his posterity yet in his loins,
unborn (Heb. 7:9,10; Exod. 1:5; 1 Cor. 15:22),
[R1510 : page 103] that shared in him the penalty--"The
soul that sinneth, it shall die."
In harmony with this it would seem reasonable
that when Christ redeemed man from this
death-penalty, his soul must have paid man's
penalty. And so we find it clearly stated of
our Redeemer:--His anguish was a "travail of
soul:" His soul was "exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death:" "He poured out his soul unto death:" "He made his soul an offering
for sin"--a corresponding price for the soul of Adam and all in him. Thus God redeemed
our SOULS from destruction.--Psa. 49:15.
And it is those souls condemned in Adam's
soul, and redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ's
soul, that are to have a resurrection. The
Scriptures, when speaking of this, do not always
use the word soul, but it is always implied;
as, for instance, in the statement, "As in Adam
all [souls--beings] die, even so all [souls, beings]
in Christ shall be made alive;" and again,
"There shall be a resurrection of the dead
[souls, beings], both of the just [souls, beings]
and of the unjust [souls, beings]." Wherever
character is expressed, as here by the words
"just" and "unjust," it is evident that not
bodies but beings are meant; for although we
might say lean or fat, beautiful or homely bodies,
character cannot be predicated of bodies merely:
a body cannot be either just or unjust: the soul or being is always understood where character
is asserted or implied. [What is the "soul?"
will be more fully discussed at some future time.]
WITH WHAT BODIES WILL THEY COME
FORTH?
----------
While a soul or being is more than a mere
body, yet there can be no being, no existence,
no soul, without a body. But then, again, there
are different kinds of bodies,--"There is a
natural [animal] body and there is a spiritual
body" says the Apostle, explaining this question.
(1 Cor. 15:44.) And the kind of body
determines the nature of the being or soul.
Beings with spirit-bodies are spirit beings,
or heavenly beings--as God, and angels; a
further distinction being shown amongst these
spirit-beings in that those possessed of inherent
life (immortality,--God, the Father, and our
Lord Jesus Christ) are said to be "of the divine
nature"--far above angels, etc. (Eph. 1:21.)
And this is the grade of spirit body and being
promised to the overcoming "bride" or "body
of Christ," the "royal priesthood." 2 Pet. 1:4.
Beings with the highest order of fleshly bodies,
of the earth, earthy, are called human beings;
--animal souls or beings; the highest of all
earthly or fleshly beings or souls,--originally
in God's likeness; and, as his representative
Adam was, the King of Earth.--Psa. 8:5,6.
Since the human family is evidently a fleshly,
earthly race, and not a heavenly or spiritual
one; and since the inspired Apostle assures us
of this fact, saying, "That was not first which
is spiritual, but that which is animal," "the
first man was of the earth, earthy." (1 Cor. 15:46,47),
we must conclude that, unless something
should occur to work a change, the promise
of a resurrection (anastasis, "raising up," "restoring"), when applied to Adam and his
family, would mean simply a restoration of his
being (soul) to its original powers possessed
before his sin and fall--when he was the earthly likeness of his Creator, and upright.--Gen. 1:27;
Eccl. 7:29.
Since the word anastasis merely signifies to
"raise up," as from a fallen to an upright, or
from an imperfect to a perfect condition; and
since it applies to the soul or being of man, it
is evident that unless there be some change of
nature since the fall of the race in Adam, raising
up would imply nothing more and nothing
less than raising all the way up to that standard
of perfection and divine likeness represented
and lost in Adam. Of the vast multitude of
the human family it is true, that they are of the
earth, earthy; of human nature, like father
Adam, except that they have fallen farther from
the divine image in which they were created in
him. But this is not true of all, as we shall see.
The Apostles Paul and Peter clearly explain
to us that during this Gospel age God has been
selecting a peculiar people, a little flock, to be
joint-heirs with Christ, their Redeemer and
Lord, in the Millennial Kingdom, which is to
bless all the families of the earth. And they
no less clearly assure us that those who shall
be of that "bride" class will be changed in
[R1510 : page 104] their resurrection, to a new nature, the divine nature, that thereafter they may be with their
Lord, and be like him, and see him as he is.--
See 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 John 3:2. Compare also
our Lord's words in John 17:24.
The same authoritative teachers assure us that,
in order to secure such a change in their resurrection
(necessary to all who will be members
of that Kingdom), a certain change must take
place in them before death. This latter change is Scripturally called a begetting of the spirit,
and the resurrection change is called a birth of
the spirit. That which is begotten and born of
the spirit will be a spirit-being, and no longer
a human-being. As that which is begotten and
born of the flesh is flesh, so that which is begotten
and born of the spirit is spirit. Nicodemus,
and the Jews generally, thought that
when the due time should come their nation
would become God's Kingdom--a fleshly kingdom
under a fleshly Messiah. But our Lord corrected
Nicodemus' error, and assured him that
all who would ever become members of that
Kingdom, or who should even see it, would
have to be begotten and born again,--a second
time,--of the spirit of God.--See John 3:5-7.
The Apostles explain that the begetting to
this new nature comes only to believers, already
justified by faith in the Redeemer; and that,
while the justification of believers comes to
each as a free gift through Christ, this begetting
to be new creatures "of the divine nature"
comes to us directly from the Father, and that
as a result of our full consecration to him.
The Truth, the word of God's grace,--"our
high calling which is of God"--is the begetting
and quickening influence which starts the new,
consecrated life in all who are properly exercised thereby. The Apostle says: "The God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hath begotten us."--1 Pet. 1:3.
The Gospel age is exclusively devoted to this
work of begetting and quickening and preparing
of the true Church, the "little flock," for
birth to the divine nature, and thus to an inheritance
in the promised Kingdom which flesh
and blood (souls or beings of human nature)
cannot inherit, nor even see. (John 3:3,5.)
The resurrection of the Church includes the
resurrection of Christ Jesus, who is the head of
the Church which is his body. (Eph. 1:22,23.)
This resurrection is not only the chief or first resurrection in the sense of being the grandest
and most wonderful "raising up," far above
human and angelic natures--to the very pinnacle
of glory and power, the divine nature--
but it will also be first in order. And upon its
completion, all other features of God's great
plan for human salvation wait and depend.
This first (chief) resurrection began over
eighteen centuries ago, when the head of the
Church arose, the first-born from the dead.
Since then, one after another, a "little flock"
of believers, after sharing in justification
under the New Covenant sealed by the Redeemer's
sacrifice, consecrating themselves to
the Lord and becoming joint-heirs with Christ
in the Abrahamic Covenant (Gal. 3:29), have
been begotten and quickened to this course of
action by the exceeding great and precious
promises of God, and sealed by the holy spirit
of promise, which continually, by God's Word
[R1511 : page 104] and providences, bears witness that they are
"accepted in the Beloved;" and that if they
suffer with him they shall also reign with him;
--if they be dead with him they shall also live
with him. (Rom. 6:8; 8:17.) "Beloved, now
are we the sons of God [begotten to the divine
nature, witnessed by the spirit of adoption
which enables us to recognize God as our Father];
but it doth not yet appear what we shall
be [what shall be the peculiarities of our new
bodies which we shall receive when born from
the dead as sharers in Christ's resurrection], but
we [do] know that when he [Christ] shall appear,
we shall be like him; because we shall see
him as he is [not as he was]; and none can see
spirit beings as they really are except such as
are also spirit beings--even as none except
those begotten of the spirit can now understand
spiritual things.--1 Cor. 2:14.
TWO ORDERS OR CLASSES RESURRECTED:
ONE IN THE HEAVENLY, THE OTHER
IN THE EARTHLY LIKENESS.
----------
The Apostle Paul gives a most complete discourse
on this subject. (1 Cor. 15:12-28,35-55.)
First, he proves that faith in a resurrection
[R1511 : page 105] is a part of Christian doctrine, without which
the entire fabric would be senseless. Secondly,
having proved the doctrine, he shows that
our Lord's resurrection is God's guarantee of a
resurrection to all our race, for which Christ
died. He proceeds to prove this fact and its
reasonableness (verse 21) in that as by Adam
came death to all, so by the man Christ Jesus
the resurrection blessing is made applicable to
all. Notice, however, that although a full resurrection
up to perfection is made applicable to all, by God's plan, it does not follow that
all will obtain it. It is only for those who
shall successfully pass a judgment or trial to
prove their worthiness of it under God's conditions
--the New Covenant. It is made applicable to all, in that the terms will be such
that all may avail themselves of the offer, in Christ. Next the Apostle shows that "as all
in Adam died, even so all in Christ will be
made alive [i.e., fully escape death], but each
in his own order or class.--Verses 22,23.
He next pointedly shows, in a few words,
what we are here seeking to elaborate: namely,
that only those who get into Christ by
"faith in his blood" will ever get the perfect
life which he has provided, and will make possible
of attainment to all. And he shows that
of these who come into Christ, into the household
of faith, there will be more than one class or
order--each one in Christ will be made alive,
or fully "raised up" out of death, in his own
proper class or order. These orders he shows
to be two. The "first-fruit" class, the "members
of his body," will be first in order and
first in rank. Because associated with Christ
in sacrificing, during this age, they shall be accounted
worthy to have part in his resurrection
--the chief resurrection.--Phil. 3:8-11; Rom. 6:5;
Rev. 20:6.
"Afterward [that is, next in order, or the
remainder of those to be made alive in Christ,
will be], those who are Christ's during his [second]
presence [during his Millennial reign].
Then will come the end [the finish of the great
salvation which he began by the sacrifice of
himself once for all], when he shall deliver the
[Millennial] kingdom to God the Father,--
when he [Christ] shall have put down [by love
or by force] all rule and all authority and
power [opposed to righteousness, truth and
love;--opposed to God and his perfect law].
For he must reign until he has put all enemies
under his feet. [His Millennial Kingdom, having
been arranged for the very purpose of releasing
those who shall desire to be in harmony
with God, when made fully aware of his real
character and plan, and of destroying all who,
under similar knowledge, are wilful opponents
of God and righteousness, cannot cease until
all these ends are fully accomplished. The
enemies to be humbled in the dust include not
only evil forces, moral and physical, but also
all persons who wilfully become associates in
and parts of those evil things. The enemies
will therefore be both animate and inanimate.]
Even the last enemy, THE death shall be destroyed:
for he [the Father] hath subjected all things under his [Christ's] feet."
It was an easy matter for those whom Paul
addressed to believe that when the Millennial
Kingdom should be in operation sin and sinners
would be brought low; but the point most
difficult to them, and the one which the Apostle
was now seeking to impress, was that the death which had reigned over and conquered
the race through Adam's sin had now become
an enemy, an opponent of God's plan: and
hence would surely be destroyed by the reign
of Messiah. Death had not always been an
enemy or an opposer of God's plan: once it
was his servant, executing upon fallen man the
penalty pronounced by God. But now, since
Christ had paid the ransom price for Adam and
for all condemned in him, this Adamic death
is no longer to be accounted as a servant of
God to execute justice, but as an enemy which
the Redeemer of men is fully authorized and
empowered to destroy--thus liberating from its bondage all for whom he died--"every man,"
all who died in Adam. (Rom. 8:31-39.) This
destruction of the death from which Christ redeemed
us, the enemy death, does not have any
thing to do with the Second Death, to which,
under Christ's rule, all will be subjected who,
when released from the Adamic death and
granted a new trial for life, are found wilful
sinners. The second death will be the friend [R1511 : page 106] rather than the enemy of all who love righteousness;
for in it "the abominable," and they
only shall be destroyed--and that utterly.
Verses 27,28, show that Jehovah alone is
superior to our Lord Jesus, and that after subduing
sin and death Christ as well as all things
will be subject to the Father, who will be recognized
as THE GREAT I AM, in whom the
all in all of majesty and power will inhere.
Having thus proved the fact of a general resurrection,
and having shown the two orders--
the Christ order, including every member of the
body of the Christ who is to be like him and
with him and a sharer of his glory and divine
nature, and having shown the other class who
will get life in Christ during the Millennial
reign, the Apostle comes to particulars respecting
these two classes (verses 35-54), in answer
to a supposed question--"How are the dead
raised up, and with what body do they come?"
First, he treats the two classes together, saying,
It is with man in death and resurrection
as with the planting of grain and its reappearance.
If you sow barley you expect barley; if
you sow wheat you expect wheat to come up.
So of whatever kind or nature a person is when
he dies, he will be of that same nature, perfected,
in the resurrection;--a resurrection will
be a raising up of the same kind that goes into
death.
All men are of the human nature, of the Adamic
family, of the earth, earthy. Hence, with the
exception of those begotten by the word of divine
promise to the new spiritual nature (and
who by reason of this change belong to "the
order of Melchisedec" and are "new creatures
in Christ," "members of his body"), all the
race of Adam die in Adam's nature, human nature;
and if raised up to perfection would attain
the perfection of man-hood. But those
begotten of the spirit to the spiritual nature
will, when resurrected, be perfect spirit-beings.
To the Adamic seed God has given a grand and
wonderful human or flesh body, whose grandeur
may be conjectured if we can imagine all
the grand qualities and gifts which we see exhibited
exceptionally in poets, philosophers, musicians,
orators, mathematicians and physical
prodigies combined in one person. These human
qualities lost by all the race to a greater or
less extent will still belong to those of the
Adamic seed who shall be fully resurrected out
of the death-loss sustained in Adam's fall. But
to the new seed, which is Christ (Head and
members), God has promised a yet more glorious
spirit-body, the wonders of which we but
little comprehend as yet.--1 John 3:2;
1 Cor. 2:9-10.
In verses 39-41, the Apostle introduces a description
of the first or chief resurrection, in
which the Church is especially interested, and
shows that as there are various grades of earthly
beings (fish, fowl, cattle and man), of which
man is the lord or chief, so also in the spirit
realm there are various degrees or grades of
beings--the angelic being one, and the divine
nature chief of all. So he reasons that as we
can conceive of harmony and perfection, with
variety, in the earth, perfect horses, dogs, cattle
and men, so we can likewise conceive of similar
variety in perfection amongst spirit beings.
We may judge something of what human perfection
will be by imagining all the wonderful
powers of mankind exercised to the full by each.
But although we know less about the spirit
realm, we do know that spirits, powers and
glories differ from human powers and glories.
The glories yet diversities of the spirit world
being well illustrated by those of the sun, moon
and stars.
THE FIRST RESURRECTION DESCRIBED.
----------
In verse 42the Apostle fully reaches his topic
saying, "Thus is the resurrection of the dead."
Some who fail to see the two classes or orders
in resurrection, and who claim that all will obtain
spirit bodies in resurrection, urge that the
above words apply to all who shall ever be resurrected,
and that the description following is
therefore applicable to all. But if the careful
student will take his Emphatic Diaglott or any
Greek New Testament he will see that the words
"resurrection" and "dead" are both emphasized
in verse 42; as though the Apostle would
say, Thus will be the special or first resurrection,
of the special class of the dead. To ignore
this feature of the Greek is to blind one's
self to the real force of God's Word. It may
[R1511 : page 107] be asked, May it not have been a custom with
the Apostle to use emphasis when speaking of
the resurrection in general? We answer, No;
[R1512 : page 107] and refer the student to other instances of the
use of the same expression without emphasis
in the same chapter. (See verses 12,13,21.)
And be it noticed that in each of these verses
the words "resurrection" and "dead" do not
refer to a special class and a special order of
resurrection, as in verse 42. Furthermore, notice
that whenever the Lord or the Apostles refer
to the resurrection of the overcomers, the word
resurrection is in every case made emphatic, and
when the word occurs in a general way it is
without emphasis.
In the following texts anastasis is without the
Greek article and hence shows no emphasis,--
indicates no special peculiarity: Matt. 22:23;
Mark 12:18; Luke 2:34; 20:27; John 5:29.
(Here, instead of emphasizing the word anastasis by adding the article, the special resurrection
is pointed out by calling it a resurrection
of life, because those who share it will be perfected
in life at once; the contrast being shown
again in the statement that the others will come
forth to a judgment-resurrection or a perfecting
obtainable only through judgments, discipline,
etc.); Acts 17:32; 23:6,8; 24:15-21.
(As already noticed the Apostle is here showing
that his faith in a resurrection or perfecting
is not only for those now justified, but that it
extends beyond this small class and includes a
hope of perfecting for many now ignorant, sinful,
unjustified), Acts 26:23; Rom. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:12,13,21;
Heb. 6:2; 11:35; 1 Pet. 1:3;
3:21.
In the following texts anastasis has the Greek
article, showing emphasis and indicating that
the first or special resurrection is surely meant:
Matt. 22:28,30,31; Mark 12:23; Luke 14:14.
(This text should not be understood to mean
that Simon would be rewarded for his kind act
by a share in the special resurrection, but that
he would get a reward for it after the special resurrection
of the Christ shall have introduced
the new Kingdom--when Simon and the world
in general will be granted full opportunity for
life everlasting in and by a judgment-resurrection.);
Luke 20:33,35,36; John 11:24,25;
Acts 1:22; 2:31; 4:2,33; 17:18; Rom. 6:5;
1 Cor. 15:42; Phil. 3:10,11; 2 Tim. 2:18;
Rev. 20:5,6.
Mark well that it is not our claim that anastasis without the article, never refers to the
Lord's resurrection; but that the emphasis when
used with anastasis always marks the statement
as relating to the chief or spiritual resurrection.
The apostles frequently spoke of our Lord's
resurrection without calling attention to the
fact that it was of a superior kind, just as we
frequently do. They indeed often and properly
enough use the word egeiro in speaking of
our Lord's resurrection (as in Acts 5:30); but
this word simply means, "to awaken, arouse, stir (Liddell & Scott). This word is used in
speaking of the temporary awakenings of our
Lord's miracles; as, for instance, in referring
to the awakening of Lazarus (Jno. 12:1,9,17),
of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:41) and of the son
of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:14). This word is
also used without reference to dead people: for
instance, when our Lord was asleep during the
storm on the lake--the disciples "awoke [egeiro] him" and "he arose [egeiro] and rebuked the
winds." (Matt. 8:25,26.) "It is high time
to awake [egeiro] out of sleep," the Apostle
urges. (Rom. 13:11.) And again he says,
"Awake [egeiro] thou that sleepest." (Eph. 5:14)
referring to the thoughtless. These comments
apply also to the word anistemi frequently
rendered arise, arose, etc., but never
rendered resurrection.
But not so with the word anastasis (resurrection):
it is never used except with reference to
the raising up of dead beings,--souls. And we
hold that its use agrees in every instance with
the thought of a full raising all the way up to
perfection (and that it never refers to a mere
reanimation or awakening) except it be in one instance out of the forty-three above noted.
That one instance is in Heb. 11:35, where anastasis occurs twice, rendered raised to life again and resurrection. The first of these is generally
understood to refer to the re-awakening of two
children, by Elijah and Elisha; but we believe
that had he referred to these the Holy Spirit
would have guided the Apostle to the use of the
word egeiro as in the case of Jairus' daughter
[R1512 : page 108] and the others awakened by our Lord. We
prefer, therefore, to understand the word anastasis here the same as in the other forty-two uses
of the word--a full raising up to perfection--
and hence must suppose that the Apostle means
that certain women, although not sharers in the
battles, were sharers in the losses and the faith --their faith in God's promises permitting them
to look into the future and to trust God for the
resurrection of their dead ones; indeed, to sorrow
not as others who have no such hope. This
view finds support also in verse 39: "These all,
whose faith was attested, did not obtain the
promised blessing, God having provided a superior
portion for us [the bride, the body of
Christ], that they without us might not be made
perfect.
Finally, dear readers, let us remember that
the reward, "Well done!" and the chief resurrection
are not for those who have a clear
knowledge and strong faith, merely, but for
those who through their knowledge and faith
become "overcomers" in deed and in truth.
But the more clearly we see that a full, complete
resurrection of being is freely provided for all
of Adam's race in our great Redeemer's sacrifice,
the more we can appreciate that sacrifice
and the more we should love and esteem both
the Giver and the Gift. And the more clearly
we see that the attainment of the spiritual plane of perfect being, to which believers during this
Gospel age have been called, is dependent on
three things--(1) begetting of the spirit, under
the sanctifying power of the word of his grace,
(2) quickening to activity in God's service and
to self-sacrifice by a still fuller appreciation and
under the same sanctifying influences of the
same spirit of the Truth, and (3) a resurrection-birth to the perfection of the new nature to
which we were begotten and quickened--the
more grace it will give us in considering what
manner of persons we should be, as copies of
our Redeemer, if we would make our calling
and election sure. And the more clearly we
see that a trial or judgment in the present life
is essential to a part in the chief resurrection,
the more reasonable it will appear that all of
the world, who during the next age will be
granted an opportunity for everlasting life under
perfect conditions, must have a trial or judgment,
and that therefore the period of Christ's
reign is the thousand-year judgment-day and
that a judgment-resurrection will progress therein
--the willing and obedient obtaining perfection
and life at its close, the disobedient, rejecting
that gracious provision, being then "destroyed
from among the people."--Acts 3:23.
Let us who have been begotten of the Spirit,
with the great Apostle, count all other prizes
but as loss and dross that we may win Christ--
win a membership in that glorious body--and
be found in him; if by any means (by fellowship
in his sufferings) we may obtain a share in
his resurrection--the resurrection.--Phil. 3:8.
----------
[R1521 : page 108]
THROUGH FAVOR OF OUR GOD.
----------
I'll live because Christ died for me,
And lives again to set me free
From imperfection and from death,
Through favor of our God.
No fear of death can bring me care,
His robe of righteousness I wear;
My sin is covered, praise the Lord,
Through favor of our God.
I've passed from death to newer life,
I'm reckoned with the Bride, His wife,
I wait the call to join the feast,
Through favor of our God.
I'll reap with Him while yet I may,
And follow in the narrow way;
From tares I'll separate the wheat,
Through favor of our God.
I'll see Him as He is, and reign
With Him till thousand years shall wane,
In giving life to countless dead,
Through favor of our God.
The "little flock," exalted then,
With Christ, their Head, shall draw all men
To Him, with golden cords of love,
Through favor of our God.
The King's highway of holiness,
Will soon be opened up to bless
The human race with lasting life,
Through favor of our God.
The earth like Eden then shall bloom,
And sin and sorrow find no room,
For one and all shall know the Lord,
Through favor of our God.--HENRY FITCH.
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