The Morning herald., 1878-03-16

awake nor be. raised out Of their sleep
This language cannot b. perverted :
Thsre Il 30 much scripture Sn this point
but .NeA cannot give bata Ssw. passages a
present. Now, when the Thesolonians wert
1in'trouble about their dead, Paul, to CON-
fort them used the following words: Thes
4, IS, 18. "But would not have you to be
Ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep that you sorrow not as others
which have no hope. For If we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even SO, them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring
with him. For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming Of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep
For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with q shout, and with the voice
of the archapgel, and with the triumph Of
God, and the derd In Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them In the
clouds to meet the Lord In the air, and SO
shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore
comfort one another with these words"
Paul did not say comfort one another
with words, conveying the idea that the
dead he was speaking of had gone to
heaven, paradise, &C., but that they
Should rise from the dead. What
a strange idea it would have
have been for Paul to have assured these
Thesolonians that the live ones should not
go before or prevent the dead ones If the
dead ones were already there. But Paul
knew where they were, in (hades) the
grave. And SO we hear him saying eff
after the manner of men have fought with
beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth |
it with me If the dead rise not.
Let us ear, drink and be merry, for
for Tomorrow we die. Well might Paul
take the Eppacurian maxim. If the dead
rise not, for all his hope was n the resur.
rection from the dead, he was sayiog, if no
resurrection, no future life; no hope, no re.
ward. And again we hear him saying, I'll
he dead rise not, then Christ is not
raised and 1t Christ be not raised your
Faith is vain. You are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep In
jhrist are perished. Query, Now ask
my reasonable man TO tell me how 1t could
'e possible fer those fallen asleep to have
'een perished If they were in heaven, as the
Theology of the day teaches. There are
many persons to-day who virtually deny
ne resurrection, and plainly deny the re-
direction of the dead. For If people 20 to =
eayen when they die, (orseem to die) then \
hey cannot be raised from the dead. Tfla
ne man, proper, does not die, but merely a
be clay tenement in which the man lives, q
hen the man is not dead, neither can he be s
iised from the dead; for live man can s,
ot be made live man, or be raised from P
le dead. Oh let us believe Gods word, it Of
the truth; and 1t will settle all these dis
utes If we only believe It. For the resur-l
'ction of the dead is the only hope of the
1urch How many then there are who
ave 10 ho.sa. Processing Christians Who'll
more the resurrection by saying that thevl
Ill not 20 to Heaven when they die, and ?
len they have no hope at all. For hope Is 4
compound word, meaning expectation
I'D desire. They neither expact the Lord
come to raise the dead, nor desire death,
ID thus have no hops. When Paul1heardI
le rumbling of deaths chariot wheels, and
new death was the absence Of life (Gen. 2.
40. l9.) he said, If in this life only we
ave hope In Christ, (wtthout the resurrec.
on) we are ofall men most miser BILE, but
hen he thought of the Lord coming to d
aise the dead and translat, the living, he q
Ills 1t the blessed hope (Titus q, 81 Il
ut not so If death 2 Cor. l. 9-1O; alse 81
;ts y: 95. But let us gray for the return a.
the Lord, (Thy Kingdom Come 50 those Il
'hich are asleep may praise Him. For bl
lie dead praise not the Lord. Psalm 115. 4; pl
so Psalms and s, we read, Return oh 9,
ord; deliver my soul Oh save me for thy 11e 1e
ercy sake, for in death there Is no remem. s,
erance of thee In the grave who shall 81
We thee thanks? The wages Of sin is death o
1t the gift of God is eternal life. No eter u J,
u life outside of Jesus Christ. Let all m
ad carefully the 18th chapter of Cor, O.
ID believe 1t, for there Is no Immortality III
.cept In Jesus Christ. G. W. BRUCE. y.
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