Though this scene would be full, and immortally sublime, and disclose a grandeur which a seraph's eloquence never can describe, yet I take the liberty to dissent from this long and fondly cherished opinion, and will humbly endeavor to present you my views on the immortal resurrection of the human dead. The ideas I have advanced in my sermons on the new birth, require me to do this. And no one has more occasion to rejoice than myself, that we are bound by no creeds, and that the preachers of our order encourage and cherish free investigation. Among such able and benevolent theologians, I feel conscious, if I err, that they will endeavor, in the spirit of meekness, to set me right. I therefore hold no one responsible for the ideas I am now about to advance. I am by no means in favor of new theories built upon mere human speculations, nor do I deem it an enviable task to make innovations on the long and universally established opinions of the christian community. I shall simply appeal to the scriptures to sustain me in my present exposition, and by that standard I am willing my views should be tried, for by that alone, they must ultimately stand or fall.

From the text we have selected, it might, perhaps, be expected, that we should proceed to prove the final holiness and happiness of the human family by showing, that he who is "made alive in Christ is a new creature"; but as this has, heretofore been done so often and so ably, we shall confine our attention, principally, to the different scripture accounts of the resurrection of the dead, and endeavor to ascertain whether it is indeed, to take place at the end of time and be general, or whether it is continually transpiring as gradual as the successive deaths of our race in Adam.

And here I would distinctly remark, that the dead are represented as being raised at the coming of Christ. This is admitted and believed by all. But where, I ask, is there in the Book of God one passage to prove any coming of Christ after the destruction of the Jewish polity when he commenced his gospel reign, called the judgment of the world? This was his second coming; but where but where is there a scrap of scripture to prove his third coming at the end of time? For one, I have searched in vain for such testimony. That Christ came in his kingdom, during the life time of the persons he addressed, and then commenced the judgment of the world, is certain. This is not, however, admitted to be that coming of Christ when the dead will be raised immortal. Where then is revealed that third coming of our Lord, at the end of time, to raise the dead? I think it will be an unsuccessful task for any man to search it out and bring it forward.

I would not be understood to say, that no destruction will attend this earth. On the contrary philosophy seems to warrant the idea. But the scriptures no not, in my apprehension, reveal such a catastrophe, nor a third coming of Christ, nor a general resurrection at that period. The reader may, perhaps, here inquire whether the scriptures do not clearly describe the resurrection of all mankind to be at one instant of time? I answer, no more than they describe the judgment of all mankind to be at the same instant. But, says the reader, the resurrection is to be at the coming of Christ, which must be at some designated period. Very well; the judgment was to be at the coming of Christ to the destruction of the Jewish state, and does not this designate some particular period? If so, how are we judged in the present day? If the judgment day, which then commenced, has not yet ended, why may not the resurrection day be still progressing? If you contend, that the dead were all to rise at once, then by the same mode of scripture interpretation, I can prove that all the living were to be judged at once. Acts xvii. 31. "Because he hath appointed A DAY in the which, he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given this assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." 2 Cor. v.10. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things in body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad."

Though this event is represented as transpiring in one day, and as though all men were literally arraigned at the same instant, still all Universalist admit, that it commenced at the destruction of Jerusalem, has passed upon succeeding generations, and will continue from the present down to subsequent ages, so long as human beings shall have a habitation on earth. This is called the last day. Jesus says—"the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." So I contend, that though the resurrection is also called the last day, and represented as raising all mankind at one instant of time, still simply means, that the doctrine of Christ (viz. The judgment and resurrection) should, at his coming in his kingdom, be fully revealed to the living by their seeing his prophesies fulfilled in the abrogation of the ceremonial law, and this doctrine of life and immortality be permanently established and commence its sway over the living, as the last and best system of God to man, and this resurrection day continue down to all subsequent generations of slumbering dead, raising every man in incorruption and glory. The judgment and resurrection of the world are therefore both progressing, for these two constitute the gospel reign of Christ. He is "the resurrection and life of the world," as well as "judge of quick and dead." Both are to be accomplished in the last day, and that day is now progressing. A general resurrection, at the last vibrating pendulum of time, cannot I humbly conceive, be substantiated by the oracles of truth, any more than a general judgment. I am rather inclined to think that the judgment of the world by Jesus Christ expresses the whole, including the resurrection and all; even as the high priest, clothed with the breastplate of judgment on the day of atonement, closed his services by raising the nation into the holy of holies, "which was a pattern of things in the heavens."

If the Scriptures afford us any evidence of the third coming of Christ, to raise the dead, for one, I must acknowledge my utter ignorance of the fact. In John (chap. vi.) Jesus several times uses the expression, "and I will raise him up at the last day." If others contend that this has reference to "the last day of the last generation of the human race on the earth," yet I must candidly acknowledge, that I cannot see a shadow of evidence to prove this position. The last day in this instance, refers to the gospel dispensation, which commenced at the destruction of the temple, and involves the whole reign of Christ. It is synonymous with the "day of Christ" and the "day of the Lord" mentioned in several places by the apostles. Nor do I conceive it means, that Christ would raise them up by his own immediate power, but that God would raise the dead according to that doctrine, which he sent his Son to reveal to men, and this would be fully established in the world, and be believed and felt by Jew and Gentile Christians at the coming of Christ in his kingdom, at the end of that dispensation. Then and not till then were the predictions of Christ fulfilled, and then were those Christians, who had not seen Jesus after his resurrection, "made perfect in faith."

The dead are to be raised at the last trump; by which I understand the seventh, for no other last is revealed. This trump is mentioned by our Saviour (Matt. xxiv. 31.) and is the gospel trump which was to commence its sound at the destruction of Jerusalem. In Rev. chap. viii, seven trumpets were given to seven angels, who are represented as sounding them in succession, and increasing woes following, till the sixth trumpet sounded. But when the seventh angel sounded and the last dreadful wo passed away, a very different order of things followed. Rev. x. 7. "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." Rev. xi. 15. "And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." Now compare these woes and this subsequent order of things with the tribulations Christ described in Matt xxiv chap. And the subsequent life the righteous entered into, and you will readily perceive that both refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the commencement of Christ's auspicious reign. (The Revelations were certainly written before that event.) When the seventh angel sounded, Christ came in his kingdom and began his reign; and that he began his reign when the trumpet sounded, and the woes recorded in Matt. Xxiv. And xxv. Chapters took place, will not be denied. This settles the point that the seventh or last trump was not to sound at the close of Christ's reign, but at its commencement. And under this last sounding trump the dead were to be raised immortal, and those who were alive when it commenced its sound, were to be suddenly changed in their circumstances and feelings as described in the context. It was the day of their redemption from all their trials and persecutions, and doubts and fears.

That this was the period when the Christians entered the resurrection day as well as the judgment day under Christ is certain. They entered into the full enjoyment of that most sublime of all doctrines in the faith of which they not only saw the dead raised immortal and free from pain, but felt themselves new beings. They were exalted from the dust to high and "heavenly places in Christ," were "caught up to meet the Lord in the air," were seated "on thrones and made priests and kings to God and reigned with Christ." There "they shone like the brightness of the firmament and the stars forever and ever," recognized the goodness of God in redeeming love, and sang the song of certain victory over death and Hades. Then "the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven was given to the saints of the MOST HIGH," and in this "kingdom of their Father they shone forth like the sun." The above promiscuous quotations from Scripture justify the expression, that the living were "changed in a moment at the last trump," which announced to the world the immortal resurrection of the dead. That this trump, whose sound proclaims the resurrection of all mankind, is the gospel trump, the doctrine of Christ, we cannot doubt.

That the change of the living, in the context, has any reference to changing them into immortal beings, I cannot admit without further evidence. It is contrary to the whole tenor of revelation—it is contrary to our text, which declares that all, who are made alive in Christ first die in Adam. As the change of the living is an important point in our present investigation, we will give it further attention. That the Christians were to experience a great and sudden change at the destruction of Jerusalem is certain. They were to be delivered from all their trials and persecutions, and be raised into the full and felicitous enjoyment of the reign of Christ. Those Christians, who had not seen our Saviour alive from the dead, who had believed on the testimony of his apostles and of the "five hundred brethren," were delivered from all their doubts and fears on seeing his predictions fulfilled, were perfected in faith, and their "hearts established unblamable in holiness." This was to them a resurrection day, not only in reviving their faith and hope in the doctrine of the immortal resurrection of all that died in Adam, but in delivering them from their sufferings, and raising them into the sublime enjoyments of the reign of Christ. In reference to this period, Jesus says, "thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." And Paul says, "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." What sense would there be in his saying—if by any means I might, by my exertions, become an immortal being, not as though I had already attained to immortal existence? No sense at all. But the apostles meaning is clear, if we render it thus—If by any means I might continue faithful unto the end, and obtain a crown of life in the first resurrection at that day when Christ shall come in his kingdom to destroy his enemies and to deliver and elevate Christians to honor. We shall notice this more particularly in our next when we come to comment on Philippians iii. Chap. Again he says—"Who concerning the truth have erred, saying the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some." That is, to make the Christians believe that their promised deliverance was past, while they were yet in the midst of their sufferings, was calculated to overthrow their faith. We will notice the change of the living still further. Jesus says, that those, who were in their graves, and had done good, should come forth to the resurrection of life. And Daniel says, that many of them who sleep in the dust of the earth should awake to everlasting life, and those, who were wise, should shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turned many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Here Daniel and Jesus represent the low, suffering, and distressed condition of the Christians previous to the destruction of Jerusalem, and their final deliverance and exaltation at that period, by sleeping in the dust, being dead in their graves, and suddenly coming forth to life and shining like the brightness of the firmament and the stars forever and ever. This is equivalent with being "caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."

The above changes are as great and as in instantaneous, as the apostle represents in the context,—"We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed." As if he had said we shall suddenly enter into the full fruition of that glorious gospel kingdom, whose trump shall then begin, and continue to sound down to the remotest periods of that "last day" proclaiming the incorruptible resurrection of all the dead, and at the same time changing the living from the low, sorrowful, and groveling thoughts of earth to the sublime and joyful contemplations of "life and immortality brought to light through the gospel." So the last day, in which the last trump sounds, and the dead are raised, embraces the whole gospel reign of Christ. The resurrection is coeval in duration with the judgment of the world; for both are called the last day, and both are represented as involving all mankind in one assemblage to be judged and in one assemblage to be raised.

[To be continued.]

SERMON XXII

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv:20.

We have already shown that the judgment of the world is called the "last day," in which all human beings are to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and receive according to their deeds. We have shown, that this day commenced at the end of the Jewish age, and is to continue down to all succeeding generations, so long as human beings shall have a habitation on earth. We have shown that the resurrection is also called the "last day," in which all the dead are to be raised immortal. We have shown that, as a doctrine of God, it was permanently established in the world at the end of the Jewish dispensation—that the last or gospel trump then commenced its sound, proclaiming the immortal resurrection of all who "die in Adam," and at the same time changed those who were then alive—and that it shall continue to sound to the remotest periods of this last day, proclaiming the resurrection of the dead and changing or reforming the living. We have shown that the judgment and resurrection constitute the gospel doctrine of Christ, and, as such, both were established in the world at the same time, and are both called the "last day," in which all men are in succession to be judged, and raised immortal. The apostle Paul, when discussing to his hearers, either the judgment or the resurrection, looked forward to that interesting period, when they were to be established in the world, and, with a giant effort, grasped in one view, the beginning and end of this brilliant, sublime, and everlasting DAY, and presented it in mental vision to his persecuted and almost desponding brethren as one instantaneous, transporting and triumphant event, in which the world was to be judged, the living changed, the dead raised immortal and incorruptible, and the rapturous song of final victory was to be sung over death, its sting and the grave.

We will now proceed to notice those passages, which are applied to the immortal and general resurrection of the dead, point out their misapplication, and reconcile them with the views we have advanced. We will first notice our context. And here it will be necessary to ascertain the condition of those whom Paul addresses. He introduces the chapter by referring to the many witnesses of Christ's resurrection, and commences his argument in proof of this fact, and against those christians, who had not been eye-witnesses, but who had professed faith in his resurrection merely on the testimony of the apostles. These christians were suffering persecution, and were, of all men most "miserable" if Christ were not risen from the dead; as in such case, their future deliverance and exaltation at his predicted coming, were but a visionary dream. And as their Lord seemed to delay his coming, "some among them (being discouraged) began to say, there was no resurrection of the dead." The great evidence, to which they were looking for the final proof of his being the true Messiah was the fulfillment of all which the prophets had written of "the daily sacrifice being taken away, the holy people being scattered" and of the glory of the Messiah's kingdom and reign, and of all, which Jesus himself had predicted of his coming to destroy their persecutors, to put an end to the Mosaic dispensation, and to raise them to a state of exaltation in his kingdom. They had not seen Jesus alive from the dead as had the apostles; and however much they might be inclined to credit their testimony, yet their severe persecutions and sufferings, and the protracted period of his coming would, very naturally, create, in their hearts many doubts and fears as to its truth.

These are the persons, whom Paul addresses in our context, and labors to keep them in the faith by presenting the whole weight of testimony in favor of the resurrection of Christ, on which he hinged the resurrection of man. He summons before them more than five hundred eye-witnesses, of whom himself was one, to satisfy them of the fact, and summons all the powers of philosophy in nature. He refers them to grain sown in the earth, and its coming forth in a new body. He refers them to all the various species of flesh, of men, beasts and birds on the earth, and to the glory of the sun, moon and stars in the heavens —all differing from one another—to prove that God is able to prepare an immortal body, differing from all these, and raise man immortal! As he passes on, reveling in the greatness of his strength, and absorbed in the immensity of his theme, his argument gathers force, till earth and heaven appear to be in motion before him! He ranges the universe, summons to his aid the power of God, lays his masterly hand upon every fact, gathers them in his grasp, condenses them before his hearers, and, in one overwhelming burst of eloquence, makes the whole bear upon the resurrection of Christ and of man! He refers them to the coming of his Lord, at which time will be the end of the Jewish age. Then their sufferings and persecutions terminate, their darkness, fears and doubts will be removed, they will be ushered into the glorious reign of Christ, behold this last and brightest day, hear the last joyful trump sounding, see the dead by an eye of faith arising, and themselves as living men changed. These would be Christ's at his coming. Then he would receive his kingdom and begin his auspicious reign.

No fact is more certain than that Christ was to commence his reign at the sound of the last trump. Not an instance can be produced, where Jesus has revealed to his apostles, that any trump was to sound subsequent to the one, which announced his coming in his kingdom at the end of the Jewish age. If any one can produce scripture authority where a trump is to sound at the close of his reign, or at the end of time, or even produce testimony to prove the end of time, I will publicly and gratefully acknowledge the favor. Perhaps the 24th verse of the context will be brought forward for this purpose: "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power." This, as it reads, is no objection to my views; but I contend that this is not a correct rendering of the passage. Every careful reader will perceive, that it stands in perfect contradiction with verse 28th: "And when (notice the word when) all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son himself also be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." This verse teaches a future reign and future subjection, after the kingdom is delivered up to God. What propriety is there in saying, "when all things are subdued unto him," after he has resigned his kingdom? What has he to subdue, after the kingdom is delivered "up to God, even the Father". Certainly nothing. I readily grant, that in the modern edition of the Greek Testament I have before me, it is rendered in the dative case, "teen basileian to Theo kai Patri;" "the kingdom to God even the Father." But I perused, several years since, a short criticism by an English writer (whose name I cannot recall, nor the periodical which contained it) on this very phrase in which the author stated that in an early Greek manuscript, he had in his possession, it was rendered in the nominative case, "teen basileian ho Theos kai Pater." This would reverse the present translation, and cause it to read—"Then cometh the end when God even the Father shall deliver to him (Christ) the kingdom." The writer however argued, that as the chapter referred to the general resurrection at the end of time, it seemed to read far better as Christ's mediatoriol kingdom would then terminate. This is mere assertion founded upon preconceived opinions.

I will, however, produce direct authority to support my views. I will here present the reader with Wakefield's translation of this passage, whose scholarship will be doubted by none:

"Then will the end be, when God the Father delivereth up the kingdom to him, during which he will destroy all dominion, and all authority and power; for he will reign till he hath put every enemy under his feet; and so the enemy death will be destroyed at last."

Here, then, we perceive that instead of its referring to the end of time, and to the Son's delivering up the kingdom to the Father, it simply refers to the end of the Jewish dispensation, when the Father delivered to his Son a kingdom, and when he commenced his reign. This gives harmony, strength and consistency, to the whole connection closing with the 28th verse, and is in perfect agreement with the whole tenor of revelation, which no where speaks of the end of time. But according to the received translation, he first delivers up the kingdom to God, then commences his reign, subdues all things, destroys death, and is then subject to the Father! Let it be distinctly noticed that this "end" is at Christ's coming. But where, I again ask, is revealed a third coming of our Saviour?

But again—The Ethiopic version also supports this rendering of the above passage, in agreement with Wakefield, which I consider as sufficient authority to settle the question, at least in my own mind. But even were there no other authority, than the general tenor of revelation, I should feel justified in my present exposition. To contend for a general resurrection, we are in the same predicament with the orthodox in contending for a general judgment.

The above harmonizes (in my apprehension) with every other part of divine revelation, which embraces the testimony of the prophets, and of Jesus Christ and his apostles, who all speak of the end as referring exclusively to the termination of the Jewish age, at which time he should come in his kingdom and commence his reign. They also speak of the glory which should follow, and of the success that should attend it. But not an instance can be produced, where they speak of the end of time. He is to destroy the last enemy death; and this work is effected progressively in this last day, as individuals are in succession raised from death, and established in their final and blissful condition affording us no revelation when this order of things will terminate. If it is a fact, that God the Father, at the sound of the "last trump," delivered to his Son the kingdom—if this be the correct rendering of the passage, as the whole tenor of revelation seems to justify, then it was at the commencement of his reign; and our views of the resurrection day are irresistible. The apostle grasps, in mental vision, the whole subject, and represents it as one great and interesting event, big with sentiments of light and life, in the same sense that he does the judgment of the world, which revolved in his capacious soul as but one single day. The sudden and interesting change he represents as taking place in the living, has reference to the unexpected manner in which this sublime scene would burst on the world. In this he but follows the example of his Lord, who declared he would come as a "thief in the night"—that he would "come quickly," and in an hour they were not aware, and exhorted his disciples to watch.

We will notice one more passage in the context, which may be urged as an objection. "Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed." The mystery, here mentioned, refers to the change of those, who should be found alive at the coming of Christ in his kingdom, produced by the full revelation and establishment of that doctrine, which proclaims the immortal resurrection of all mankind by being made alive in Christ. It is the fulfillment of the following scriptures—Eph. i 9,10—"Having made known unto us the mystery of his will—that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him." This mystery was then finished in the full revelation of his will to the doubting christians, whom Paul addresses in the context. This is evident from Rev. x:7—"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." And that he began his reign when the mystery was finished is certain from Rev. xi. 15—And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, "and he shall reign forever and ever." Here we perceive that this mystery of God's will was to be finished at the sound of the seventh or last trump, which will is, to gather or make alive all things in Christ. And at this time he was to receive his kingdom and reign forever and ever. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," has reference to those persecuted christians, who were not to "taste of death till they saw the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

Phil. iii:20, 2l—"For our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." That this passage has reference to changing our natural into immortal bodies at the resurrection, I see not a shadow of evidence to prove, either in established in their final and blissful condition the passage itself, nor in the context. The context we have already noticed by pointing out the resurrection to which Paul desired to attain. Chap. i:6—"He, that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Chap. iv:5—"Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." "The day of Jesus Christ" and "the Lord is at hand" refer to his coming at the end of the Jewish age, and not to a resurrection at the end of time. Paul gave the Philippians notice of no other coming of Christ. The passage has reference to the change the living were to experience, at this coming of our Lord in his kingdom, by being delivered from their persecutions, doubts and fears, perfected in faith, and "established unblamable in holiness before God," so as to resemble in a moral and exalted sense those immortal beings in heaven who are here called the "glorious body" of Christ. The body to be changed embraces both Jew and Gentile christians, who were at that time to be raised from their lowly condition into his gospel kingdom and "shine forth like the sun." This is evident from the manner in which he commences: "For our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our lowly body that it maybe fashioned like unto his glorious body." He contrasts the low and oppressed condition of the whole christian body with what will be their exalted condition at the coming of Christ, and that exalted condition will assemble that glorified body of beings in heaven who died in his cause, and with whom they had their conversation, and from whence they were expecting the Saviour. It has reference, I conceive, to the body in which Christ arose. The church is the body of Christ, and it is to be presented to himself a glorious body, not having spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. The Greek word tapeinos rendered "vile," should be rendered lowly or humble.

It will be noticed, by the reader, that the word body is used in the singular number and not in the plural, as some have quoted it in their writings. But if it refer to individual forms, it ought to be rendered in the plural—"who shall change our vile bodies." But it means the whole church or body of believers—a collective body of individuals. In this sense the Greek word, soma, here rendered body is frequently used in the New Testament. That the apostle does not refer to all mankind is evident from the fact, that after the vile body is changed according to the working, he adds—whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself—That is, able even to subdue all things as well as to change that body. If the passage refer to an immortal and general resurrection, or rather to the change of all the living into immortal beings, then there would be none to subdue after that period. But if we apply it to the coming of Christ in that generation, and to the change of the whole christian body, then all is plain and in perfect agreement with the preceding and succeeding context; also with 1 Cor. 15th chapter, and with the whole tenor of revelation, which speaks of but one coming of our Saviour in his kingdom, and which shows that the work of subjection commenced after the change of the living at the last trump, whose sound announced the commencement of his reign. The word kai, rendered even, should probably have been rendered also. "Who shall change our lowly body—according to the working whereby he is able also to subdue all things to himself." The whole context, however, justifies the above exposition because the christians were looking for the coming of Christ at the end of that age, and exclaimed, "the Lord is at hand."

[To be continued.]

SERMON XXIII

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv:20.

In our last we noticed the context, and also taken into consideration the language of Paul on the coming of Christ and the change of the living in Phil. iii:20, 21. This, we have shown, has no reference to the mortal bodies of men being changed to immortal bodies, so as to resemble the personal form of Jesus Christ. If it refer to Jesus, still the resemblance would be moral, not personal, for no where do the scriptures teach, that we are in our personal appearance to be like our Saviour. But in a moral sense, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." I do not say, that there will be no personal resemblance between immortal beings and Christ. I fully believe there will be; but I mean that this personal resemblance is more a matter of course, than a doctrine of divine revelation. I do not read of the "glorious body" of Jesus in his immortal resurrection state. But the scriptures do compare the moral body of Christians on earth with the glorified body of holy beings in heaven, Heb. xii:22, 23—"But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an in-numerable company of angels to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made made perfect." So far as the Christians were "established unblamable in holiness before God even our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints" so far as they were elevated to "shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever" so far as their moral condition and enjoyments were improved and enlarged, thus far, of course, the lowly body of the church on earth would be changed into a moral resemblance of that "glorious body" of Christ, who were praising him in heaven. In heaven the Christians had their conversation, from whence they were looking for the Saviour, as shortly to come, and fashion them into a moral resemblance of those saints above, who had died in his cause, and who were to come with him. From the whole context, the conclusion is irresistible that this change of the "vile body" was at the coming of the Lord then at hand, and not at the end of time, as some imagine.

Another scripture commonly applied to the general resurrection of the dead, and a change of all the living is recorded in 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17—"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not be before them that are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in air, and so we shall be evermore with the Lord." That Paul here refers to the coming of Christ in his kingdom to establish his reign, and to elevate the Christians who were alive at that period, the preceding and succeeding contexts fully justify. And so I must understand his language, till some one can prove a third coming of Christ, and an eighth sounding trump at the end of time. In the two preceding chapters, he dwells largely upon the persecutions of the Christians, exhorts them to be faithful, expresses his desire "to perfect that which is lacking in their faith," and concludes by saying—"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." No one will deny that this has reference to his coming at the end of the Jewish age. Now would it not be doing injustice to this powerful and cogent reasoner to say, that he suddenly drops this subject without giving his brethren any warning, and runs off to the end of time, speaks of another coming of' Christ at which he is to raise, at the same instant, all the dead and change the living to immortal beings? And that he should again, as suddenly, drop this subject, and hasten right back to the coming of Christ at the destruction of Jerusalem? To charge him with this is certainly ungenerous.

After stating that Christ should descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God to exalt the dead and living, he adds—"But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write for yourselves perfectly know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape." There is no resisting the conclusion, that "the day of the Lord" in this passage refers to the same period when "the Lord himself shall descend from heaven" in the passage above; which must be at the destruction of Jerusalem. He quotes Christ's own language, Matt. xxiv:43. See also 2 Peter iii:10. In both places, the sudden coming of Jesus is compared to a "thief in the night." But where is a general resurrection, at the end of time, clearly stated, that he had no need to inform them of the times and seasons, because they already perfectly knew? Where is sudden destruction to come upon any in that day? For one, I find no such revelation.

Though the doctrine of immortal resurrection of all mankind was fully revealed, and established in the world at the coming of Christ in his kingdom; yet that particular point is not argued by the apostle in the scripture on which we are commenting. He is not speaking of all mankind, nor of the immortal resurrection; but as in Phil. iii:20, 21, so here he is speaking of the Christians only who should be alive when that scene burst and of those dead only who had died in the cause of Christ. "The dead in Christ" cannot possibly include those who died previous to his birth, but those only who died in the faith of his doctrine previous to his coming in his kingdom. We might reason this point at large, but deem it unnecessary till some one proves how those, who never heard of a Saviour, could be said to die in Christ, or to be dead in him. I would, however, remark that the Greek preposition en may be rendered, on account of. The phrase would then read thus—the dead on account of Christ. Wakefield renders it thus—"they who have died in the cause of Christ." That this is its true sense, I have not a doubt.

Let one thing here be distinctly noticed: Paul says—"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain," &c. Now where has our Lord ever said, when speaking of the immortal resurrection, that some would be alive, and be changed to immortal beings? Nowhere. This single circumstance ought to make every man pause before he asserts such a change to be true. Read Christ's language in all three of the Evangelists where he addresses the Sadducees; and he speaks only of the dead being raised, but not of any one being changed. Read his language, John vi:39—"And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day." Nothing is here said about changing the living to immortal beings. The Father has given all into the hands of his Son; and if he is to raise them up at the last day, then all must die, for the change of the living is not the resurrection of the dead. How then could Paul tell his brethren, "by the word of the Lord," that they were to be thus changed? He could not because there is not a "thus saith the Lord" to support it. But Paul had the word of the Lord support the change in the living which we have pointed out. Christ said, "the righteous should go into life eternal," they "that endured unto the end should be saved" that "they should shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father," and that "they should be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

But, inquires the reader, were those who died in the cause of Christ raised immortal at his coming? No, they were not. It simply means that they were in that day to receive their elevated stations of glory and and honor in the gospel kingdom, so much so, as if they had been alive. The living Christians, in this respect, were not to be before them. Having suffered and died in the cause of Christ, they were in the minds of the living to "shine as the stars forever and ever" in the kingdom of Christ, because they had turned many to righteousness. The Lord had, as it were, delayed his coming, and many had given up faith in Christ's resurrection, and were sorrowing without hope over their friends who had fallen asleep in his cause. They of course had no faith in the immortal resurrection of their friends, nor in the fulfillment of Christ's predicted coming to raise their names to unfading honor for having labored and died in his cause. We are not to understand that those departed saints were literally exalted to elevated stations in Christ's kingdom on earth, any more than Christ literally came. But as Jesus was in that day, at the end of the Jewish age, "crowned with glory and honor," as king on the mediatorial throne of the universe, so were his apostles elevated on thrones of glory with him. Jesus says, "when the Son of man shall sit on his throne of glory, ye also shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

Now certain it is, that Jesus did take his throne, when he came in his glory, at the destruction of the temple. Then it is equally certain, that the apostles and martyrs also took their's at the same period and in the same sense. Then Christ came and "his holy angels" and all the saints came with him; not literally, but in the same sense that he himself came. Luke ix:26, 27—"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory and of his Father's and of the holy angels; but I tell you of a truth there be some standing here which shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God." I Thess. iii:13—"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God our Lord even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." Here we perceive, that he was to come "with all his saints and holy angels." By his holy angels, we are to understand his gospel messengers or martyred apostles and by his saints, those who had died in his cause. These are the persons who are said to be dead in Christ, and asleep in Jesus. By the words dead and asleep we are not to understand their present extinction of existence in contrast with their immortal resurrection, but the supposed low and disgraceful cause in which they died, or for which they were put to death by their persecutors, as malefactors. This disgraceful condition, in which their murderers viewed them as unchangeably sleeping, stands in contrast with their triumphant exaltation at the coming of Christ. Their enemies would then look upon them as having come forth from the dust of the earth and shining as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever, and not as sleeping in perpetual infamy and dishonor. [See Daniel xii 2, 3, and John v:28, 29.] Their enemies (whether dead or alive) were to come forth to shame, contempt, and condemnation, which stand in contrast with the glory and honor to which the Christians (whether dead or alive in Christ) were to be raised in the minds of the living even to succeeding generations.

Let it be distinctly noticed that these dead in Christ are not said to be raised incorruptible and immortal, but only caught up with the living Christians in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air—not literally, but in the same sense that the living saw the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, so should they see his saints and holy angels raised from the slumber of infamy, and, together with the Christians who remained alive at that day, be exalted with him in the air. [See Matt. xxiv:30, 31—Mark xiii:26, 27—Luke xxi:27, 28, and Rev. i:7.] In these passages he is represented as "coming in the clouds with his angels," who "gathered, with a great sound of the trumpet, his elect," and raised them to honor in his kingdom. And let me add—this is all the change Christ has ever said should take place in the living at the sound of the Trumpet. I have no doubt that the Apostle had his eye upon the above words of our Lord when he said, "we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." It will here be plainly seen in what sense those who had died in the cause of Christ were first raised. They are represented as coming with him at the destruction of the temple, and after that event the whole "body" was exalted together. The "vile body" of Christians on earth (vile indeed in the eyes of their enemies) was then "fashioned like unto his glorious body" of saints and angels in heaven who had died in his cause.

That we have given a correct exposition of 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17, is evident from Paul's words 2 Tim. iv:7, 8—"I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge shall give me at that day," &c. The phrase "that day" means not the day of Paul's death, but the day Christ should appear in the clouds of heaven at the end of the Jewish age. His crown was merited for having "fought the good fight and kept the faith." The crown means that exalted honor he should then receive for having "turned many to righteousness." And not only himself, but all, "who love the appearing of Christ," should shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever in his gospel kingdom among men. We this day look upon the martyrs and apostles as the lights of the Christian world and as occupying, on the sacred page, stations far more exalted than any ever conferred upon the greatest men of the universe. They are "made priests and kings to God" for dying in his cause, and thus establishing the truth of Christianity.

This was the "first resurrection," and these were the persons who had a part in it, which no subsequent christians can ever can have. Rev. xx:6—"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." But if Christ had not come in his kingdom at the end of the Jewish age, as the prophets and himself had declared, then the whole Christian system must have fallen and the names of its martyrs and apostles remained buried in perpetual infamy as a set of deluded men and impostors. But, blessed be God, it is not so. They, by their faithfulness, have attained unto the "first resurrection" and thus broken the dark chains of infidelity into fragments. This is the resurrection and change referred to in Phil. iii:20, 21, and 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17, on which we have commented.

We have intentionally omitted till now Phil. iii:11, 12, as our ideas will be more readily comprehended here than in our introductory discourse, where we simply adverted to these words of Paul—"If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead—Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect," &c. Here we perceive that the resurrection unto which he desired to attain depended on his exertions in the cause of Christ, and being faithful unto the end. He says (verse 14)—"I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." But what prize was this? Ans. It was a part in the first resurrection to which he desired to attain (verse 11) and he was not "perfect," he feared "lest after having preached to others himself might be a cast-away." He feared that he might not endure faithful unto the end. He was well aware that the promise was—"Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life." To obtain this crown of life in the first resurrection, was the highest prize, the highest calling of God, ever suspended upon human merits! Paul did continue faithful, and as he was led to the thought of death, with composure and satisfaction exclaimed—"For I am now ready to be offered; and the time of my departure" is at hand. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also, that love his appearing." Here we perceive that Paul had continued faithful, and was entitled to the promised crown, which was awarded to him, and to all "the dead in Christ," who, on account of their faithfulness, had a part in the first resurrection—when he came in the clouds of heaven to establish his kingdom. It has nothing to do with the immortal resurrection of the dead, for that is not the reward of merit, but the gift of God. To that all shall attain who die in Adam. But in the first resurrection none had a part except those who died in the cause of Christ, and the living who continued faithful to the day of his appearing. On them and them only devolved the honor of establishing the truth of Christianity for the happiness of future generations, by not only testifying that they had seen Jesus alive from the dead, but by cheerfully submitting to death, and showing themselves miracles of suffering in his cause. Both the departed and those that remained alive, attained to the first resurrection, were glorified together, and their crowns shall shine in the gospel heavens with undiminished splendor long after those of kings and tyrants shall be dimmed and lost in the vortex of revolutions.

He concludes the chapter by noticing the change of the "vile body" which we have explained. Here then is no evidence of a general resurrection, nor of the end of time. The context, the silence of Jesus about the change of the living into immortal beings, and the whole tenor of revelation combine to set it at defiance. Of one thing I am satisfied; that no man ever has, and I believe, no man ever can reconcile the change of the living and the resurrection of the dead recorded in Philippians and 1 Thessalonians with their respective contexts, so as to prove a general and immortal resurrection at the end of time. As I have traveled in an untrodden path, I do not know but that I may have erred in some minor points, but am satisfied that my general positions are sound and tenable.

[To be continued.]

SERMON XXIV

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv:20.

We have now come to that point in our subject where it will be necessary to cite a few passages to prove that the immortal resurrection is successive, not general, and will conclude by considering some of the principal texts, which may be urged as objections.

We have already shown that the resurrection of the dead was to be at the sound of the last trump. And as that trump commenced sounding at the end of the Jewish age, when Christ came in his kingdom, I deem it sufficient to establish the fact that the dead are continually rising in this last, this gospel day. But the question presents itself— were any of the human family raised immortal before that period? To this question I give an affirmative answer. I firmly believe, that the dead have been rising immortal from Adam to the present day, for God has never changed the established order of the universe. I believe that the dead are raised without any miracle, in the common acceptance of that term, as much as I believe that we are born, and die, not by a miracle, but according to that constitution of things which God has immutably established from the beginning. I believe this doctrine of Christ to be founded upon the unchanging principles of philosophy but so mysterious, that man in his present existence cannot comprehend the subtle causes and effects by which he shall put on immortality. It was, therefore, necessary that this sublime truth should be established in the world by the miracles Jesus wrought and by the miraculous power of God in raising him from death. The first man Adam was made by a miracle, while his posterity are naturally born into life, according to that constitution of things which God has established. So Christ, the second Adam, was born from the dead by a miracle, while mankind from the beginning, have, in succession, been born from the dead according to that constitution of things which he has established.

On this principle, it may be stated as an objection, that as none of Adam's posterity could be born till their parent was created by a miracle, so none of the human family could be born from the dead, till Christ the second Adam were raised immortal by the miraculous power of God. This objection is futile unless it can be proved that Christ creates life and immortality. In fact, it would even then fail;— because Christ, as our sacrifice, was slain from the foundation of the world in the offerings made to God in his stead. The atonement, made by the high priest throughout the whole Mosaic dispensation, concluded by raising the Jewish nation in figure on his "breast-plate of judgment" into the holy of holies, which was a pattern of things in the heavens. The atonement always involved the resurrection. The judgment of the Jews, for two thousand years, by Moses only pointed out the resurrection of man in figure, but Christ proved the reality by a tangible fact, and thus revealed it to the living as the doctrine of God of which the world had been ignorant. So what the judgment of the world by Moses taught in figure, the judgment of the world by Christ teaches in reality. My limits will not allow me to argue this point at large. I have already remarked, that I believe "the judgment of the world" expresses the whole reign of Christ including the resurrection.

We now proceed to notice the Scriptures. Matt. xxii. 31, 32.

"But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."

To this Luke adds, "for all live unto him." In order to make these words of Jesus refer to a general resurrection at the end of time, all writers have availed themselves of this last clause in Luke (on which Matthew and Mark are silent) and contend that it means—all live unto God who in his counsels views the future resurrection as present. But this exposition by no means satisfies my mind. If Abraham, Issac and Jacob are not raised—if they are yet wrapped in the insensibility of death, then God during that period is not their God.

To illustrate this, we would remark, that Jehovah could not be Creator till something were created by him. He could not be Father till he had an offspring. He could not be Lord till he possessed property;— neither could he be God till there were a worshipper. Jehovah is the only abstract name he could possess, were he solitary and without a universe. All the other names ascribed to him are relative. The name God as much pre-supposes the actual existence of a worshipper as that of father does the actual existence of a child. Remove the child, and the once doating parent is no longer to him a father. God is not, therefore, the God of the dead, for as such, they could not worship him. He is, however, Lord of both the dead and the living claiming them as his property. Abraham, Issac and Jacob were therefore alive, and worshipping him when those words were spoken to Moses, for in no other sense could he have been their God any more than he was before they were born. The phrase "for all live unto him," may, in this instance, embrace only the three patriarchs, as no others are involved in the quotation. The Sadducees believed in the writings of Moses only, and it is not at all probable, that Jesus referred to any persons, not mentioned by Moses, as it would have been no proof to the Sadducees. His argument is, to prove that the three patriarchs, are raised according to their own writings, not shall be raised. Now that the dead are raised Moses showed at the bush when he called God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here we perceive that "the dead" refers to the three persons whom Moses showed were raised. He then adds—for he is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live unto him—that is, the three patriarchs all live to him. If the phrase embrace any others, it must be the living in eternity, not the living in the flesh nor the dead as such. It would make Jesus contradict himself in the same breath. "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live unto him." To whom does this "all" refer? To the "living"; not the "dead," for in that case he would be the God of the dead.

Luke ix. 30. "And behold there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias." The transfiguration of our Lord is recorded also by both Matthew and Mark, and it is plainly stated that the disciples "saw his glory and the two men that stood with him." If Moses and Elias were dead, their bodies crumbled to dust, and their minds in a state of insensibility, then they were not Moses and Elias who talked with him. Even if God had represented those two persons by other forms, they could no more have been Moses and Elias than Adam and Noah. It is consciousness and memory which constitute personal identity; and if a conversation was carried on with Jesus by any means that human ingenuity can invent, while Moses and Elias were wrapped in as profound insensibility as the dust with which their bodies mingled, then it could not have been Moses and Elias who conversed with Jesus any more than if they had never had an existence. Perhaps it may be said that, as it is called a vision by Matthew, it might have been nothing real. But as the word horama means a sight as well as vision, and as the other Evangelists do represent it as an actual appearance and nothing visionary, it is to be taken in this sense. Was it not a reality that the three disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and though in that condition was it not still their identical Lord? Certainly. Then the vision was so far real, and I see no ground on which the other personages can be considered phantoms. Mark says, "he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen," &c. See also Luke ix. 36. Here it is made certain that it was not an appearance in a dream, but a real and visible sight of three persons whose names are given. Consequently Moses and Elias were there as certain as was Jesus Christ. If so, they must have been raised from the dead, for man can have no conscious existence hereafter in a disembodied state. The scriptures teach that the resurrection is our only hope of a future conscious state of being. As to the translation of Elijah we shall not here notice it.

Phil. i. 23, 24. "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better; nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." To depart and be with Christ must, I conceive, mean in the resurrection world, for in no other sense could he be with Christ so as to render his condition "far better." Nothing can be good or bad for a man in a state of perfect insensibility, any more than for a man unborn—Neither could he be with Christ in such a State, any more than before he existed. Between the condition of a man in non-existence [pardon the expression] and in life, no comparison as to enjoyment or suffering can possibly be drawn. The apostle therefore draws a comparison between his present condition of conscious existence with his brethren, and his future condition of conscious existence with Christ which was far better.

That Paul has reference, in the above, to an immortal existence in the resurrection, is evident from 2 Cor. v. 1, 2, 3, 4.

"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life."

If the above do not prove that the apostle expected to be clothed upon with his house from heaven shortly after his earthly tabernacle were dissolved, then I must acknowledge my ignorance of his meaning. He desires not to be unclothed so as to be found naked at the coming of Christ. By this I understand that between death and the resurrection there is a state of insensibility of several days duration, while the spiritual body is putting on, and if he died so near the coming of Christ, that the process was not completed, and mortality not swallowed up of life, he would be found naked, i.e. In the state of the dead. He therefore expresses no desire to be found unclothed at that period but clothed upon and present with Christ. This is evident from verses 6, and 7.

"Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord."

While in the body, though they had many consolations in the faith of Christ, though "he was with them always even unto the end of the age," though "to live was Christ," yet this condition he terms being absent from the Lord in comparison to being present with him, which cannot mean in the unclothed state of insensibility, but where "mortality is swallowed up of life."

Let it be distinctly noticed, that the apostle is speaking of three states—

1st. as being in this earthly house or body where they were absent from the Lord—

2nd. as being unclothed and found naked at his coming for which they had no desire—

3rd. As being absent from the body and present with the Lord where they should be clothed upon with their house from heaven that mortality might be swallowed up of life, for which they had a desire.

Verse 9. "Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him." Here we perceive that they did not labor to obtain entrance into his presence, because the immortal resurrection is the gift of God. But they labored, whether alive on earth or immortal in heaven, that they might be accepted among those, who were worthy to obtain a crown of righteousness in the first resurrection for having continued faithful unto the end—that they might be worthy to form a part of that glorious body of witnesses in heaven who were slain for the testimony of Jesus. And the body of christians on earth, who continued faithful to the coming of Christ, were to be fashioned like those above, and receive the same exalted honor in his gospel kingdom, and the whole compose one bright body of infallible witnesses, whose testimony can never be shaken by all the powers infidelity. "To depart and be with Christ which is far better" must mean in an immortal existence.

We cannot, for want of room, argue this part of our subject at large; —but the above is in perfect agreement with the philosophy of St. Paul, (1 Cor. 15,) where he compares the raising of the spiritual body to a grain of wheat sown in the earth. I would not be understood to say that this natural body of flesh and blood is ever to rise. No one, I presume, will contend that infants, youth and decrepid age, and those who are born deformed will be raised in that condition and all retain their various complexions. I believe, however, that there are those subtle materials in the natural body which, when extricated from the earthly tenement, and completely developed, shall produce the immortal being; and that these are as perfect in the infant as in the man.

We will now conclude by anticipating and answering one or two principal objections. It may be objected that, if any one arose immortal before Christ, he could not have been "the first-born from the dead" as stated in Col. i. 18. This does not mean first in the order of time, but in rank. It means principal, and is explained by the connecting phrase—"that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." It is more particularly explained in Rev. i. 5. "Jesus Christ the faithful witness and the first-begotten of the dead and the Prince of the kings of the earth." In connexion with this, we will introduce 1 Cor. xv. 20. "But now is Christ risen from the dead and become first-fruits of them that slept." This also has reference to rank and not to first in the order of time. In evidence of this, we will quote Cruden,—"The day after the feast of the Passover, they brought a sheaf into the temple the first-fruits of the barley-harvest. The sheaf was threshed in the court, and of the grain that came out they took a full homer; i.e. About three pints. After it had been well winnowed, parched and bruised, they sprinkled over it a log of oil; i.e. Near a pint. They added to it a handful of incense; and the priest that received this offering shook it before the Lord towards the four quarters of the world; he cast part of it upon the altar and the rest was his own. After this every one might begin their harvest. This was offered in the name of the whole nation, and by this the harvest was sanctified unto them."

Here let the question be asked—Was this sheaf called the first-fruits because it was ripe before the whole harvest? No; it was not cut till the harvest was ripe. Was it called first because the harvest would be second in following it to the temple to be presented to God, by the priest, in the presence of the people? No; it was not to be carried to the temple, nor would the priest or the people ever see the whole harvest thus dedicated to God. But it was called "the first of the ripe fruits," because it was offered to God in the presence of the people as an evidence of the consecration of the whole harvest throughout the nation. It was first in distinction, or importance without any allusion whatever to first in the order of time.

So "Christ was the chosen of God, the elect precious, and the Son consecrated forevermore." He was "the chief among ten thousand" and proved to be the Son of God with power by a resurrection from the dead without seeing corruption. In this condition he was presented to the people as an evidence of the resurrection and consecration of all mankind. In this he was first and last—that is, the principal, the chief, the head, and in this he never has had, and never will have a second in the order of time. This is no evidence therefore that he was the first one who ever rose to an immortal existence. We have positive proof that Moses and Elias were raised from the dead, an in a state of conscious existence for they conversed with our Lord in the presence of three of his disciples. They appeared in glory, and were two as real personages on the one part, as was our Saviour on the other.

Acts xxvi. 23. _"That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light to the people and to the Gentiles."_ This passage contains, perhaps, as plausible an objection against my views as any that can be produced. But this passage means, that Christ should be the _first_ who should show light to the Jews and Gentiles through a resurrection from the dead. The Greek word, here rendered "_should rise_," is _anastaseos_ from _anastasis_. It is a _substantive_, not a _verb_. Professor Leusden, in his Latin Testament, renders it "_ex resurrectione mortuorum"—by a resurrection from the dead_. The verb, _to raise, is egeiro_, and is six times applied to the raising of Christ from the dead in 1 Cor xv. _Anistemi_ also means _to rise_ and is applied to raising the dead to life. But neither—anistemi nor egeiro_ are used in the verse, but _anastaseos_—Consequently it cannot _literally_ be rendered "_should rise_," but _resurrection_. Wakefield translates it thus—"That Christ would suffer death and would be the _first_ to proclaim salvation to this people and the Gentiles _by a resurrection from the dead_." This is evidently the real sense of the passage, and I shall offer upon it no further comment.

THE END