Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1900-04-11

that slept.
As the incarnation was the fundsmen-
tai miracle of Christianity so the resur-
rect ion is the crowning attestation. The
| doct rine and the fact of Christ's resur-
| rection stand pre-eminent in Holy
| Scripture. Without 1t Christ's character
and work lack their principal sttestation
and seal as divine; without 1t the key
| stone in the arch of our faith Is gone;
our faith is vain, and our redemption
| unsccomplisbed
| Hence that resurrection must be an
4 esia nilshed fact. Whateiy declared that
! no fact of history Is more absolutely ac-
credited by competent and abundant
| witnt s.es.
Such variety of appearances, such va
riety OF manifestations as His eating and
| drinking with friends, His copversing
| with them, and all this extending through
| forty days, leave no ground for reason
able doubt. No phantom theory, no
vision theory, no optical Illusions, can
account for His many appearances, nor
can the theory OF frauds explain a faith
/ " hose sincerity was attested by witness
| ing lives and martyr deaths. The resur-
rection was SO thoroughly sttested that
| it was never disputed until centuries
| afterwards, vi hen all the witnesses and
their immediate disciples had passed
1 away.
| Christ's resurrection was the first fruits
from The dead. Two persons had gone to
1 heaven without dying Enoch and Elijah.
| True there had been dead men raised be-
| fore-the Shunsmmite's sou, the msu
| " hose body was touched by that OF
| Elisha. The Saviour had raised three per-
sons from death to life, but these were
| demonstrations not resurrectioDs.
| But none of these could have had he
! resurrection OF which Jesus was the
[ tirst-and the first fruits. The marked
peculiarly OF this resurrection is that
He " no is thus raised, "dieth no more.
death hath no more dominion over Him"
| In this sense Christ was the first ever
! raised from the dead. First fruits are
the first ingstherings OF harvest,
the promise and prophecy OF harvest,
the specimen of the harvest; and so
Cnrisi was the first dead that ever had a
/ true resurrection.
/ When the Saviour was crncified "the
earth did quake and the rocks were rent:
the graves were opened: and many bodie
of the saints " hich slept rose, and ca me
out OF the graves after His resurrection
and went into the Holy City and appeared
unto many" What became OF those
saints " bose bodies were thus raised ?
Some tad BEEN raised from deaf b, before
Christ rose; but not to immortality.
But Matt bew is careful to state that hose
/ 4
resurrection, and rs Christ was the first
that rose from the dead to the immortal
state, the probability is that these saints
rose not TO die again.
We see no reason for the apostle stat
ing hey did not come out OF their graves
until after Christ rose. Hence ii is posi-
BILE that these resurrected ones went at
once to heaven in that forty days after.
The Redeemer took these saints with
Himself to His own home in their glori-
fed bodies assurance of the final
redemption of the bodies of all His fol-
lowers, and as samples OF resurreeted
bodies. How suita bic on His appearance
in heaven in His fully giorified human
ity, as evidence of His victory over deaf b,
that he should present to all heaven sam
piles of The redemption OF our bodies,
when abe that raised Christ from the dead
shall also quicken your mortal bodies -
The Rsdeemer having flushed II is greatest
work ia tine worlds history, as He enters
heaven there must have been glorious
shout: worthy Is the Lamb tust was
siaiBl' from the ten thousand times ten
thousand, snd thousands OF thousands,
and from the millions of millions
VINO have washed themselves and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Assured by Him who .'hath troddeu
the VINE press alone''-''I am the first
aud tine last; am He THAT fiveth ana
was dead; and behold. | am alive forever
more. Amen; aud have The keys Of hell
and DEATH" The work OF Calvary and
/ ina Nss-iah's victory over desth will be
he song of ne redeemed along the ages
Of et-rhsiN T rext greatest work VIII
De ths rt@urrectiost o. ali the dead
sneu ~ htng II. vii win HIS last vie :
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