The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-04-02


aThe Resurrection of the Dead and
the Life Everlasting"
II is undoubtedly true that life. and
Immortality are drought to light in
the Gospel" ard only there. The an
clients often and anxiously discussed the
ouestion, but could arrive at no certain
conclusion, AS Cicero says, the phil
osophers did not SO much prove as hope
for it. With them it was but hope,
hammered by many fears and doubts.
Nor is modern thought moro successful
When left to themselves, to their I'M
aided reason, men differ. and doubt as of
old. ]
or dispute. It's effects. too, are visible
and tangible. The indignation is ap-
nailed by the signs of dissolution, and
death would have an easy victory but
for the voice OF revelation.
"Tf man die, shall he live again?"
| This is the question, and it is OF Infinite
moment to every man. The Gospel
teaches that after the dissolution of the
hody-the house we live in here-we
shall have "a building of God, a house
NOT made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. $50 that when "we are absent
| from the body, we shall be present with
the Lord" This belief COMFORTS with
the dignity of our nature, and answers
| to our highest aspirations. Hope springs
| immortal in the human breast, and we are
nrone to believe that even in death, 1--WE
Shall not all die" Unless we are to sur
viye the death of the body, our earthly
| life seems short, unsatisfactory and in
complete. The life to come is not end
| less, but endlessly progressive. The
| time will never arrive when we shall
| cease to live, or cease to grow. Our
thoughts, our knowledge. our affections
will continue and expand forever.
But what of the resu rrection? What
| are we to believe about that? All that
the Scriptures teach. The fifteenth
chapter of the first Epistle to the Corin-
| thians contains all that we can know
about it, or -need believe. There will
| he resurrection of the dead. Christ is
| The first fruits from the dead, afterward
| they that are Christ's at. His coming.
The body is sown in corruption at
| death. and shall be raised in incorrup-
| tion. 1t is sown in weakness, and shall
| he raised in power. 1t is sown natural
body. and shall be .raised "a spiritual
body. What natural body is we know.
What spiritual body is we do not yet
know. All that it lis necessary to be-
lieye about it is, that it will be as well
adapted to the future state as the
natural body is to the present state. It
| will also be our body. We shall feel it
| to be so, and shall identify it as such.
Whatever is essential to the identity of
| the body is the principal thing. What
this is no mansson earth knows. lt GER
| tainIy IS not the particles OF matter
| which compose the body at any given
| time. For these may change, and do
| change repeatedly without the body
| losing it's identity, fact which scatters
| TO The winds the common objection to
the doctrine of the resurrection. Doubt
| less God could preserve the material
body intact even in the grave, but 1t is
not necessary that He should do SO.
| Again, it is asked where is the soul
after death and before the resurrection?
| The souls Of the faithful freed from
the burden of the flesh "are with God
| in ioy and felicity But they will not
| have their perfect contamination OF
| bliss in body and soul, till the morning
of the resurrection.
I have in this series of Lectures given
a plain account of the Apostles Greed,
the most ancient, simple and Christian
Of all creeds, and one which l believe is
destined to be restored to its ancient
place as the generally accepted symb Dol
Of the Christian Church. To hasten the
day of it's general adoption, it behooves
ali sincere Christians candidly to exam
Inc it, g" seriously considering what
the Gospel are; and Earnestly heseeohlng