“As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”
TO us has been given the message of Christ’s second coming. At the ascension of our Lord, angels stood beside the disciples, and with them watched the Saviour as He passed into the heavens. Then they turned to the disciples with the words, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” This message was given to the disciples to give to us, and God designs that it shall sound till the end of time. We are to wait and watch for Christ to come in His own appointed time, without sin unto salvation.
The vast majority of human beings fail to realize that the judgments of God are about to fall upon the earth. Their minds are filled with thoughts of eating and drinking and getting gain. They have allowed these subjects to take their whole attention, and as a result violence fills the world. Sin is on the increase. Iniquity prevails.
How is the message of warning received?—Just as it was in Noah’s day. “All things continue as they were from the beginning,” men say.
But Christ declares, “If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken; the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.”
Man was created to glorify his Maker. But iniquity has so increased that at the present time men and women have very little appreciation of the goodness and power of God. They do not believe His Word. Self is the god they worship.
Ever since his fall Satan has been working at cross purposes with God, seeking to obliterate all trace of the divine likeness in man. He has led human beings to indulge an appetite for liquor and tobacco. He knows that those who give themselves up to indulgence of appetite can not stand in their God-given manhood. They are slaves. Their reason is beclouded, their intellect dulled.
All over the world, pride, vanity, and self-indulgence are crippling men and women, so that they dishonor their Creator. The wrath of Jehovah is soon to fall upon the ungodly; but human beings are so controlled by the9enemy that they do not see what is coming. So deeply engrossed are they in the things of this world that they have no time to study God's Word, no time to think seriously of their spiritual welfare. Their one thought is to gain wealth, to make a display; and tho they make mistakes, they have no time to remedy them, but hurry on, scarcely thinking that soon they must give an account of their life-work.
Satan comes to men and women with specious temptations. Offering them riches and power, he says, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." And thousands upon thousands listen to his words, and worship him by becoming wholly engrossed in a search for wealth, or in following the fashions of this degenerate age.
Thus the world is being led captive. The beings that God created in His own image are entirely neglecting to prepare for the judgment.
As the waters of the Flood cleansed the earth in the days of Noah, so will the fire of God purify the earth in the last great day. Then, the water from the heavens united with the water in the bowels of the earth; and in the destruction that is coming, fire from heaven will unite with fire that is stored up in the earth.
Are we preparing for what is coming? Have we thought seriously of these things? You who are giving yourselves up to pride and vanity, have you thought of the day when you must give an account of the time and money that you have wasted?
Christ said to His disciples, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me." They tell us that Christ is soon coming to take to Himself those who have loved Him and have waited for His appearing; and that to those who have devoted their time to money-getting and pleasure-seeking, He will say, "I know you not; . . . depart from Me."
Now is our time to prepare to meet Christ. God has given us this time, and if we use it in self-gratification instead of in helping others and honoring God, we shall come up to the judgment unprepared. In that day many will plead as an excuse that they did not know that Christ's coming was near. But the excuse will not be accepted. They did not know simply because they did not want to know. God gave them abundant opportunity for knowing, but they closed their eyes, that they might not see, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
Their one thought was to enjoy the things of this world. Like the people of Noah's day, they have spent their lives in self-gratification.
The cases of all are pending in the heavenly sanctuary. Day by day angels of God are watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. In the judgment the question will not be, What profession did you make? but, What have you done for Me? What fruit have you borne to My glory? Now is the time to prepare for the coming of the King.
"The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord; the mighty men shall cry there bitterly. . . . Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath. But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." The God who rules in the heavens is our God. We have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice, "Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, . . . Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger."
Shall we not strive to be among that number who will welcome Christ with the words, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
A STRANGE STORY.
By Jessie F. Waggoner
BY JESSIE F. WAGGONER.
A MADMAN with wild asses in the field,
And fed with grass, like oxen, while his hair,
Long grown like eagles' feathers, hangs unkempt
Around his haggard face,—his nails like claws!
A sad, yet joyous, story his, more strange
Than fiction, and more weird. Of royal birth,
And learned in all the wisdom of the schools,
At length crowned king of no mean realm, he rose
Until, in time, a king of kings was he.
As gold surpasses silver, brass, and iron,
His realm surpassed succeeding realms in power.
As flourishes a tree in midst of earth,
Until in height it reaches unto heav'n
And forms a shelter for all beasts and birds,
And meat provides for every living thing,
So he did grow until his greatness reached
The skies, and his dominion unto earth's
Remotest bounds.
Had he but thankful been,
And recognized the Source of all his good,
All had been well. But Pride, the hateful imp,
Crept in and filled his heart with vanity.
And then he fell, as every one will fall
Who hearkens unto these sly whisperings
Of hell.
Think not that he had ne'er been warned,
When darkness wrapped the earth in swaddling bands,
And quiet night wooed even kings to rest,
A holy watcher sped from worlds on high,
And paused not till he reached the monarch's bed.
What scenes now burst upon his dazzled eyes!
No wonder he was troubled and afraid,
For there upon his chamber walls he saw
Such pictures as he ne'er had seen before.
He saw himself, a mighty tree, that reached
Quite up to heaven, and over all the earth,
That sheltered beast and fowl 'neath fairest leaves!
And nourished, with its goodly fruits, all flesh.
He saw a holy one come down from heav'n;
With trembling heart, he heard him cry, "Hew down
The tree! Cut off his boughs! Shake off his leaves!
And scatter all his fruit! Let all the beasts
Withdraw from under it, and fowls from off
His boughs. But leave the stump [Blest ray of
hope!]
And let the dews of heaven water it.
Give him his portion out among the beasts,
And let his heart be changed from man's to beast's,
Let seven times pass over him, to this
Intent: that he and all who live may know
That the Most High doth rule in earth as well
As heaven, and giveth it to whom He will."
Had he now broken off his sins by right,
His wrongs, by showing mercy to the poor,
It might have lengthened his tranquility.
But at the end of twelve short months,
He walked upon his palace and o'erlooked
His vast domain with thoughts of self alone.
He spake, and said, "Is not this Babylon
The great that I have built by my great pow'r,
And for the honor of my name?" While yet
The word was in the monarch's mouth, there fell
A voice from heaven which said, "Thy kingdom is
Departed from thee, till thou learn to know
That He who rules on earth is God alone."
And that same hour was it fulfilled, and he
Was driven out to live among the beasts!
O pride, how great thy fall! How deep the vale
Of thy humility! But better learn
The lesson thus, than not to learn at all.
If plants refuse to grow in shine, then they
Must grow in shade. And if the Spirit's fruits
Refuse to grow 'neath sunny skies, then rain
And storm-clouds needs must come; for Love can
not
Forsake one heart so long as there is hope.
And grow they did—the precious fruits,—in this
Poor monarch's heart, for at the end of those
Sad days, he lifted up his eyes and lo,
His mind returned, and sweet Humility
And Faith, with Love and Joy and Peace, were
there!
He praised and blessed and honored Him that lives
And reigns forevermore, before whom all
Who live on earth are naught, who doeth as
He will in heaven and earth, and none can stay
His hand, or say to Him, "What doest Thou?"
And now behold the goodness of the Lord!
Not only did the monarch's mind return,
But kingdom, honor, majesty as well,
While all his counsellors and lords again
Sought unto him. And Neb'chadnezzar praised,
Extolled, and honored then the King of heav'n,
"Whose works," he said, "are truth, and ways are just,
And those that walk in pride He can abase!"
This story of God's wondrous works with him,
He sent to all the earth, and you, that you
May learn in shine, what he did learn in shade.
Mental Calvaries
"THE word Calvary means literally 'The place of a skull.' There Jesus the Saviour was crucified. When poor, blind, ignorant men discard faith and lean to their own understanding, every noble, saving truth is violently slaughtered in our mental Calvaries. Who can measure the meaning of this prophetic hint of history foretold, of how these 'num-skulls' of ours hinder our divine advancement and the faith-born saving truths of limitless possibility?"
THE FRUIT OF THE ELM.
LIFE'S best fruit often appears in other lives. In the ancient book of the Similitudes of Hermas, the angel speaks to the disciple a parable. He points to the vineyards where the dwarfed and pruned elm trees were planted between the rows that on their branches might grow the luxuriant vines, and he says: "See, therefore, how the elm . . . gives . . . more fruit than the vine." "How, sir," said the disciple, "does it bear more fruit than the vine?" "Because," said the angel, "the vine, being supported upon the elm, gives both much and good fruit; whereas, if it lay along the ground, it would bear but little and that very ill, too."
That was a good lesson for the disciple of that day and of this. Often the best part of the fruit we can bear is in supporting and strengthening and serving others in their fruit-bearing; and often the best part of the most notable fruit which the world praises is due to the unseen, quiet ministries of love and unselfishness behind those fruits of ability or genius. If we are not gifted to be as fruitful as the vine, perhaps then we can be the more abundantly fruitful, as the elm. What we could never do of ourselves we may yet do through unselfish love in the service of our brethren.—S. S. Times.
WHO WAS MELCHIZEDEK?
By G. W. Reaser
EVERY Bible student meets with questions, the solution of which will, for a time at least, baffle his knowledge. If he be a persistent student, his mind will frequently revert to such questions, until the time comes when, with additional light focused upon the problems, harmonious and perfectly satisfactory solutions will either gradually develop, or flash suddenly upon his mind. The discovery of such questions is but a natural result of the pursuit of the thoughts of the Infinite One by the finite mind; and, instead of being an objection to Divine Revelation, is rather a proof thereof; for it is written, “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are . . . My thoughts [higher] than your thoughts.”
The Melchizedek who met Abraham, on the return of the latter from his victorious pursuit of Chedorlaomer, was not, as some have thought, the Messiah; and yet Christ is Melchizedek. These statements, altho apparently contradictory, are perfectly harmonious.
Reference is made but twice, in the scriptures which antedate the birth of Christ, to the subject of our inquiry, by his official title,—“Melchizedek” (See Gen. 14:17-20; Ps. 110:4). Doubtless he is mentioned in connection with a group, or order, of equal associates, in the first and second chapters of the book of Job, but in these instances his title is not disclosed. It is left for the inspired writer of “the Leviticus of the New Testament,” the book of the priesthood of the new dispensation (Hebrews), more fully to reveal and establish the identity of this individual.
Exaltation of Christ.
The divine purpose in the writing of each book of the Bible is the unfolding of the complete plan of salvation for mankind; yet each book has its specific purpose, its link to supply, in the golden chain of heaven-born truth. The distinct purpose in the writing of the book of Hebrews is to exalt and magnify, to beautify and glorify, the priesthood of Christ. The Subject of this inspired epistle is first declared to be equal with the Most High fellow-God, with the fulness of creative power inherent in Him; and so far superior to the highest angels in glory, that all of these mighty messengers are invited to unite joyfully in His worship.
It is further stated that, notwithstanding His exalted position, His infinite greatness, His supreme power and glorious majesty, He condescended to take upon Himself the weak, fallen nature of sin-defiled humanity, “For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham; . . . that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest.”
The argument of the first two chapters of the book under consideration is concentrated upon the first verse of chapter three, in the invitation to the “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”
In continuation of this discourse upon the exalted priesthood of Christ, frequent reference is made to the fact that He was made of God, an High Priest “after the order of Melchizedek,” and in this thought is the climax of the argument reached; the complete glorification of the greatest high priest known to the universe, set forth.
After the Order of Melchizedek.
This oft-repeated statement of Inspiration, in declaring Christ to be “a priest after the order of Melchizedek,” is neither incidental nor accidental. The Holy Spirit does not thus employ language, nor play upon words. The purpose of Jehovah must be to convey to our minds new conceptions of truth and beauty relative to the priesthood of Christ. But this effort of the Infinite Mind to exalt Christ as our Great High Priest, is partially lost upon us unless we can discern the full import of the significance of the Melchizedek priesthood, and grasp the beauty and grand reality of the truth intended to be imparted to us in styling our Saviour a “High Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” There could be no force or meaning to the expression if there is no solution to it.
Is it possible that the strength of the discourse, the beauty of the culminating point of the book of Hebrews, in exalting the priesthood of Christ, is lost to earnest Bible students?—Not so, if we can solve the problem which now claims our concentrated attention. If any fear “trespassing upon forbidden ground,” I intrench myself confidently behind the invitation, “Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus,” in His office as priest “after the order of Melchizedek.”
Perhaps the first point that we should note in our investigation is, that there was a time in the life of Christ when He was not a high priest (Heb. 5:5). When He was clothed by His Father with the office of priesthood, He was ordained to be a priest “after the order of Melchizedek” (verse 6).
The thought of the “order” of the Melchizedek priesthood should next claim our attention. Certainly more than one individual is required to constitute an order. Naturally we would grasp the idea of a group of persons associated together in like official position or social capacity, to form an order. Take, as an example, the order of priesthood called “the Aaronic.” There were many priests in this order, of whom Aaron was the first in point of time, hence the name.
Just how many priests there are in the “order of Melchizedek” it is not necessary for us to know at present. We have knowledge of two individuals who are mentioned as being of the Melchizedek order of priesthood; the priest who met Abraham is one; Christ is “another”; after the same order (Heb. 7:15).
A succession of monarchs have reigned upon the throne of Great Britain. Each man in this line, or order, was called a king. The Melchizedek who blessed Abraham is one priest in a certain class; Christ is another of the same class, or order, He also being given the same title,—“Melchizedek.”
That the Melchizedek of Genesis was not Christ is proven by the statement that he was “made like unto the Son of God,” and again by the fact “that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth another priest” (verses 3, 15). Thus Melchizedek was one, and Christ “another” in the same “order.” Christ had a pedigree. His ancestry is distinctly traced from Adam. Matthew 1; Luke 3. Melchizedek has no pedigree. He did not enter this world by birth into our human family as did Christ. He had, as a priest, no “beginning of days” as an infant; he departed from this world without an “end of life.” Christ was both born and died. Therefore these two persons were distinct individuals, but each a priest after the same order.
Melchizedek doubtless came into existence in the same manner as Adam. He did not begin life as “an infant of days.” He was not born, but created. His first appearance upon the stage of action was in the full stature of his manhood. So with Adam. Both were “without father, without mother” in the sense of birth as applied to the membership of our human family, subsequent to the first pair. Adam, like Melchizedek, would have been favored with “an endless life,” an unchangeable priesthood, had he not forfeited his divine right by sinning.
A clue to the identity of Melchizedek is suggested in his name. Interpreted, it signifies “King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.” Somewhere this illustrious character ruled over a righteous kingdom, in a peaceful, sinless, and bloodless city, called “Salem.”
In the days of Abraham are we to suppose that there was, in truth, a righteous kingdom with a capital city of peace in this world, over which this priest-king ruled? The only cities of that period, of which we have any historical record, were centers of wickedness, strife, and bloodshed; of which Sodom and Gomorrah were illustrious examples. Had there been a righteous kingdom upon earth, there would certainly have been some annals of it, either in sacred or profane history. In the silence of both, we are driven to the conclusion that there was no kingdom of righteousness in this world, nor a capital city, entitled to the peaceful name “Salem.” Therefore the kingdom of Melchizedek was not in this world.
Had there been such a nation, surely God would have used it for the promulgation of His truth in the earth; and, instead of calling Abraham, to make of him a great nation, which should be the custodian of His truth, He would simply have called him to join himself to the righteous nation already established under the sovereignty of Melchizedek.
There are, however, other inhabited worlds in space; and are we not, at this point, justified in asserting our knowledge as to the names of the permanent capital cities of two of these worlds?—one being “Salem, City of Peace;” the other, “Jerusalem,”—“God’s City of Peace” (Rev. 21:1-3). Melchizedek reigning in Salem; Christ to reign in the New Jerusalem.
Unquestionable proof that Melchizedek was not a member of our human family is found in the fact that he was not chosen as “father of the faithful,” which high honor was conferred upon Abraham; altho it is expressly stated that Melchizedek was a “better” personage than Abraham (Heb. 7:6, 7). If there was a member of our human family upon the stage of action in Abraham’s day who was conceded by Inspiration to have been superior to Abraham, surely the “better” would have been chosen to occupy the exalted position of “father of the faithful.” Still further evidence that he did not belong to our race is supplied in the statement that he “abideth a priest continually.” “Here men die.”
Salem, Oregon.
(Continued next week.)
With God the Cure May Be Better
“WITH God the cure may be better than the prevention.”
MIRACLES AND THE GOSPEL.
By Henry Ward Beecher
[From "The Life of Jesus the Christ," by Henry Ward Beecher.]
ALL critics of the Gospels, tho, in each group, differing by many shades among themselves, may be reduced to two classes:
1. Those who believe that the writings of the evangelists are authentic historical documents, that they are divinely inspired, and that the supernatural elements contained in them are real, and to be credited as much as any other parts of the history; and,—
2. Those who deny the inspiration of the Gospels, regarding them as unassisted human productions, filled with mistakes and inaccuracies; especially, as filled with superstitions and pretended miracles.
These latter critics set aside all traces of the supernatural. They feel at liberty to reject all miracles, either summarily, with "philosophic" contempt, or by explanations as wonderful as the miracles are marvelous. In effect, they act as if there could be no evidence except that which addresses itself to the material senses. Such reasoning chains philosophy to matter; to which statement already many do not object, but boldly claim that, in our present condition, no truth can be known to men except that which conforms itself to physical laws. There is a step further, and one that must soon be taken, if these reasons are logically consistent—namely, to hold that there is no evidence of a God, unless nature be that God. And this is Pantheism, which, being interpreted, is Atheism.
We scarcely need to say that we shall take our stand with those who accept the New Testament as a collection of veritable historical documents, with the record of miracles, and with the train of spiritual phenomena, as of absolute and literal truth. The miraculous element constitutes the very nerve system of the Gospel. To withdraw it from credence is to leave the Gospel histories a mere shapeless mass of pulp.
What is left when these venerable records are stripped of the ministry of angels, of the mystery of the divine incarnation, of the wonders and miracles which accompanied our Lord at every step of His career? Christ's miracles were not occasional and occult, but in a long series, with every degree of publicity, involving almost every element of nature, and in numbers so great that they are summed up as comprehending whole villages, towns, and neighborhoods in their benefactions. They produced an excitement in the public mind, so great that oft-times secrecy was enjoined, lest the Roman government should interfere.
That Christ would be the center and active cause of such stupendous imposture, on the supposition that miracles were but deceptions, shocks the moral feelings of those, even, who disbelieve His divinity. Widely as men differ on every topic connected with the Christ, there is one ground on which all stand together, namely, that Jesus was good. Even Infidelity would feel bereaved in the destruction of Christ's moral character. But to save that, and yet to explain away the miracles which He wrought, has put ingenuity to ludicrous shifts.
Renan, to save the character of his poetic hero, is obliged to depict him as the subject of an enthusiasm which grew upon him until it became a self-deceiving fanaticism. It seems, then, that the whole world has been under the influence of One who was not an imposter, only because He was mildly insane!
That such a conclusion should give no pain to men utterly destitute of religious aspirations, may well be conceived. But all others, looking upon this wanton and needless procedure, will adopt the language of Mary, and say, "They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him."
OUR LEADER.
ALL along on the battle-field of life, the Christian finds the footprints of Christ. He can see where He has fought with the enemy and thrown him upon the ground. In the valley of temptation, when the righteous man feels that he is standing alone, his eye falls upon the tracks of Jesus, who walked that way and fought, being tempted in all points. On the hillside of sorrow, he sees where the Saviour has struggled, being alone yet not alone, and great drops of bloody sweat have fallen. Many a faint-hearted one, heart-sick and weary, has taken heart at the knowledge that the Saviour had been there before him.
Blessed Leader! He never sends us anywhere He was unwilling to go Himself, and where we may not take heart again at sight of His princely footprints.—Herald of Truth.
GOD'S LOVE.
By Louis Albert Banks
[Louis Albert Banks, D. D., in S. S. Times.]
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
MARGARET MEREDITH tells how a notorious rough named Ike Miller, the terror of a mining district in the north of England, was converted. Henry Morehouse, a young evangelist scarce out of his boyhood, was preaching to a company of these miners, when Ike Miller came in, and took a seat near the front. Preachers and helpers trembled, for this wicked man had threatened to break up the services. Henry Morehouse preached on God's love in Jesus Christ, and he longed to reach the heart of the wild, grimy miner who sat so strangely quiet gazing into his face.
After the meeting the men gathered around the preacher regretfully.
"Ah, Henry, you didn't preach right. You ought to have preached at Ike Miller. You had a great opportunity and you lost it. That softly sort of preaching won't do him any good. What does he care about love? You ought to have told him the dreadful punishment he is going to get." The young preacher only said in a boyish tone, "I am real sorry I did not preach to him right. I did want so to help him."
Meanwhile the big miner was tramping home. His wife ran in front of the children as he came in, but she stared in bewilderment; he was not drunk; he was not scowling. He put his arms around her, and kissed her, and said, "Lass, God has brought your husband back to you." Then, gathering up the shrinking children, "My little boy and girl, God has brought your father back to you. Now let us all pray," and he knelt down. There was a silence, but for many sobs; he could not think of any words; his heart was praying, but Ike Miller had uttered no prayer since he was a little boy. At last, words from those distant days came back to him—something that his mother had taught him; and from that hovel floor, in the midst of that remnant of an abused family, to be abused no more, he sounded out in rugged gutturals through his sobs:
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee."
THE RESURRECTION.
1. Through sin, into what condition have all been brought?
"Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned." Rom. 5:12.
2. Nevertheless, what promise does the Lord make to those who are under the dominion of death?
"I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death." Hosea 13:14.
3. What assurance is given to such, through the prophet Isaiah?
"Thy dead shall live; My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead." Isa. 26:19.
4. With what certainty does Paul declare the resurrection?
"But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised; and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain; your faith also is vain." 1 Cor. 15:13, 14.
5. What is Christ's own promise in regard to the resurrection?
"Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the Resurrection, and the Life; he that believeth on Me, tho he die, yet shall he live." John 11:23-25.
6. Without the resurrection, what hope is there for any who have died?
"For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised; and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished." 1 Cor. 15:16-18.
7. How many will be resurrected?
"Marvel not at this; for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs 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 judgment." John 5:28, 29.
8. How many resurrections will there be?
"Having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. "The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished." Rev. 20:5. See, also, John 5:29.
Note the length of time that elapses between these two resurrections.
9. What class have their part in the first resurrection?
"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." 1 Thess. 4:16.
10. When does the first resurrection take place?
Ans.—At the second coming of Christ. See answers to questions 9 and 11.
11. What other mighty work takes place at the time of the first resurrection?
"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.
12. After each of these resurrections has taken place, what other important work is accomplished?
"Thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:14, last clause. "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." John 5:29. "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each man according as his work is." Rev. 22:12.