Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-04-13

Golden Text: 1.-THE Lord is risen
indeed" Luke 24:34.
In these days the devil is making
the most subtle yet Virulent attacks
upon the foundational beliefs Of the
Christian life. They are the more
vicious because they are frequently
spoken from the pulpits that have
been dedicated to the Lord CAf4S.,
and from the lips of men who are
often most pleasing in personality
and in their presentation OF their
views. The inspiration Of the Bible,
the uniqueness Of the personality OF
the Son of God-God and man in
one-and the resurrection of the
body Of Jesus are three truths par
ticularly obnoxious to the arch enc
my of our souls. If the devil can
destroy our faith in the Word of
God; if he can make one believe
that there is no difference in kind,
but only in degree, between you and
Jesus the Christ; if he can take
away your hope born Of the assur-
ance that this same Jesus" now
lives, he is well pleased. And he is
smart enough to know that he could
not do this unless he got it pre-
scented by some one who claims to
be a friend of Gods. Therefore, be-
cause Of the source of the attacks,
because Of the intensity of them in
these days, and because Of the great
issues involved, it is our purpose to
consider the truth concerning the
resurrection, particularly, as at this
time the whole world is thinking in
0F 81 - fh0IICh off.
en- in very distorted terms.
Different Views
There are at least four views ex-
pressed these days concerning the
resurrection Of Jesus the Christ.
1. That it was merely a vision or an
apparition which the disciples had.
2. That it was not real but merely
a revival of the spiritual influence
of Jesus over the minds Of His dis
cipIes. 8. That it was more than
a resuscitation; that it was a rising
again to life in a body that was the
same yet different, different yet the
same. It was an objective reality.
4. The fourth view is the lie that
was propagated by the Jewish lead
ers to account for the empty tomb
that his disciples had stolen the
body while the Roman guard slept.
The mere statement of this view
coming from the source it did is one
of the strongest evidences of the
truth of the resurrection, for it
shows to what eXtremities His enc
mics had come. Who ever heard Of
Roman guard asleep on duty?
Who ever heard of a group OF unin-
fiuential poverty-stricken fishermen
being able to outWit the Roman
army, to break open Roman-seal-
ed tomb, to take away the body
that had been placed there and to
unwrap and leave the grave clothes
lying in the tomb, and particularly
in the shape of the body still folded
but collapsed? Where could they
have taken the body and hidden it
from the vigilant eyes Of the powers
that were? For the discovery Of the
body would have been the thing
most desired by the Jews and
Romans under those circumstances.
So this fourth view can be sum-
marily dismissed, for the disciples
could not have stolen it, and His
enemies would not have done So.
The other views need to be exam
ined then. That it was not mere
apparition or vision which the
disciples had, that it was not merely
subjective on their part is proven
by many things. These same things
prove the falsity also of the second
view. What they saw could be felt.
On His first appearance to them
they were terrified and supposed
they had seen a ghost-a spirit. But
He told them to see His hands and
feet and to handle Him, and see;
for spirit did not have flesh and
bones as we see me have"
Then He showed them His pierced
hands and feet; and to make them
doubly sure that it was not merely
a vision He asked them for food,
and ate before and with them some
of the fish and honey comb which
they had prepared for their evening
meal. duke 24:36-43) A week later
He appeared again and made Thorn
as, honest doubter that he was
put his fingers in the nailprints and
| thrust his hand in His open side
to make him sure that He had real
h. 81, tn1a