River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-05-20

lgASlOK RUSStlLll st. Paul discusses
the resurrection,
ana shows that without Gods purpose
to restore the dead to life those who
have fallen asleep in death would have
persisted as do brute beasts. Then he
assures us that Christ has risen and
become the First-fruits of those that
slept" Others, indeed, were awak-
ened temporarily; for instance, the
daughter Of Jairus, the son Of the
widow of Main, and Lazarus the friend
Of Jesus. Yet none of these instances
IS counted as a resurrection; for it is
said that Christ is the First-fruits of
them that slept. Their awakening was
merely OF temporary nature, and they
soon relapsed into the sleep of death.
They did not have a full resurrection
GnGStGSiS-a raising up to perfection Of
life, such as the redemptive work Of
Jesus guarantees to Adam and to all
his race willing to accept the same I'M
der the terms of the New Covenant
jeremiah 31:31-34.
The Scriptures clearly teach that it
Is not the body, but the soul, that is
promised q resurrection-that it was
our Lords soul that went to SheOl, to
Hades, to the death state, and that
God raised Him from death on the
third day. All Christendom has been
plunged into difficulties by the I'M
scriptural theory that it is the body
which is to be resurrected. We shall
now note O few Of the difficulties into
which this error has plunged us as be-
levers in the words of Christ. partic-
ularly in connection with our Redeem
er's resurrection.
What Went to Heaven?
The ordinary thought in Christian
minds fl respect to our Lords death
and resurrection is that when He seem
ed to die He did not die; that He. the
being, soul, could not die; that, in
stead, He went to Heaven. and then
came back on the third day to get the
body which had been cruclfed; that
lie took 1t to Heaven forty days later;
that He has had that body ever since;
and that He will have it to all eternity,
married with the print of the nails in
His hands and His feet with the print
of the thOrns upon His brow. and with
the spear mark in His side. What a
CHASTITY thought!
How strange that we should have
been misled into so unscriptural and
unreasonable q theory! Some endeaV-
or to gloss the matter by suggesting
that our Lords flesh is glorifed-that
it shines-the shining presumably max
ing the wounds all the more conSpicu-
Gus.
Our Methodist friends have not yet
changed their statement of the matter;
namely. He assembled up on High,
taking His fleshly body with Him and
all that appertained thereto, and sat
down on the right hand of Cod" This
medieval statement correctly admits
that the ieshly body was not the
LORDS glorified body, but declares that
He, the soul, took it with Him as lug
gage. The statement, "and all that ap-
pertained thereto" presumably would
refer to our Lords sandals, walking
stick, and such clothing as the soldiers
did not divide amongst themselves at
the time of His crucifxion-if indeed
He had any others! But our dear
Methodist friends wish to be sure that
nothing was left behind
All this is of a piece with the theory
that when the saints die they go to
Heaven, and return later to get their
bodies ''and all things appertaining
thereto''-the Inconvenience that they
have been rid of for centuries! How
many trunkloads of things appertain-
ing thereto" may be taken by some,
and how mixed an assortment by 9th
ers, is not stated. Neither are partic-
ulars given respecting these whose
clothing, etc, have meantime worn out.
But we have had enough of this, if it
has helped us to see the absurdities
Of our theories received from the Dark
Ages, if it has awakened us to thought
and to Bible investigation on this i'm
portrait and interesting subject
What Say the Scriptures?
The Bible presentation of this mat
ter is in every way reasonable, consist
ent and harmonious. ST. Paul points
out that there is a natural body and
there is a spirit body" He does not
mean, and he does not say. that the
spirit body is n human body gloriied
Quite to the contrary, he declares that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the
Kingdom of God"-no matter how gio-
rified it might be- A human being is
so totally different from spirit being
that. as st. John says, lit doth not yet
appear what we shall be" in our resur-