The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1910-09-02


Death-"twice dead. plucked up by the
roots without hope OF any further
resurrection or restitution.
Comfort With These Words"
St Paul urges that Christians should
not be ignorant concerning those who
are asleep--that they sorrow not even
as others who have no hope" II t.
bad enough to think of millions of the
heather us being totally extinct. hope.
lessly dead. without any prospects Of
resurrection. The same would he
true respecting our neighbors and
friends. parents and children brothers
and sisters. who are not sanity. who
are not in Christ Jesus" who are not
walking nfter the Spirit. who are not
heirs OF God and joint heirs with Jesus
Christ our Lord. And II II would be
sore trial TO think Of them as utter
ly destroyed in death and without hope
Of resuscitation, resurrection. how
much worse would It have been when.
in our misunderstood ding OF Gods plans.
we thought Of them as being in either
Purgatory or eternal torture. Such a
false conception Of the Divine plans is
even worse than to believe them with
out hope and extinct.
The Apostle proceeds to point out the
basis of this hope in these words, III
we believe that Jesus died and rose
again. even so them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring (from the dead,
with (by) him" Il Thessaonans iv. IA.
So, then, the Apostle declares. the
resurrection hope is the Christian hope.
and the basis Of the hope of this resur-
rection is that Jesus died that he might
be mans ransomer-that he arose from
the dead that he might be the great
Deliverer Of mankind, the Prophet.
Priest and King Of God. and that he
might gather TO himself the elect
Church. the Bride, the Lambs Wife,
as his joint-heir.
Christians. Of course. in thinking OF
the resurrection of the dead. would pri-
marily, chiefly. consider their dear
ones Of the household Of faith; Eence
the Apostle continues his argument.
saying, that those Of the Church living
not precede or hinder those members
Of the Church who have died during
the past centuries, for the dead in
Christ shall arise frst-shall be awak-
ened first from the sleep Of death.
"Them That Sleep In Jesus"
We cannot think that the Apostle re-
fers merely to the Church in this case,
for uniformly. in speaking of the resur-
rection Of the dead. he refers both to
the Church and to the world. the
resurrection of the just and Of the
unjust" So in this case he evidently
refers both to the Church and to the
world as "asleep in Jesus" The ex-
preston will be noted as different from
another one of his respecting those
who sleep in Christ" The latter ex-
preston evidently refers to the Church
as the glorified members of The Christ.
But in speaking Of those asleep in
Jesus he evidently has reference to the
whole world Of mankind. The whole
world died in Adam without having
voice in the matter Of their birth or
trial or condemnation. Condemnation
came upon all because Of one mans
disobedience." Likewise justification
is to pass upon all of our race through
the precious merit of Christ's sacrifice.
The fact that he died. the just for the
unjust" constitutes his death q salts
faction price for the sins of the whole
world.
From this standpoint. therefore, the
whole world not only died in Adam
but now sleeps or waits unconsciously
for resurrection of the dead through
the merit of our Redeemer's sacrifice
If we believe that Christ died for our
sins and laid the foundation thus for
his great work of blessing the world Of
mankind, including the Church, the
first-fruits, let us believe also that
God who began his good work will not
stop until he shall have brought forth
judgment unto victory-until all the re-
deemed world shall be brought to a
knowledge Of the Redeemer and Of the
Heavenly Father and to an opportunity
for life everlasting through obedience.
The world died in Adam-"In Adam all
die" Jesus is the Redeemer Of the
world. Even so all in Christ shall be
made alive"
The message has reached the Church
only. as yet. In due time ii will reach
every member Of the race. The Church
is already reckonedly quickened from
the dead by the holy Spirit and will
shortly be born from the dead in the
First Resurrection" The world
therefore, from the Divine standpoint
is not dead in Adam now. but merely
asleep in Jesus, waiting for the glori-
Gus time when. his Kingdom establish
ed, he shall call all mankind from the
prison-hous of death. from the tomb
that each may learn to the full Of the
grace of God in Christ. and have OPP
portunity for attaining life everlasting
These are the words in which we are
to comfort one another-words Of hope
respecting the resurrection Of the dead.
both the just and the unjust-words OF
sympathy. words of assurance. words
that show that Cod iS haitian than all