The resurrection will be universal; all the dead, small and great, just and unjust, will be raised up. It will be a stupendous miracle- the living changed, the dead raised in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. Nothing less than the power of God can accomplish it. He who spoke and it was done, and commanded and it stood fast, can, at his pleasure, raise the dead. Infidels, skeptics, and materialists may reject the doctrine of the resurrection, but they have nothing to offer as a substitute but the eternal sleep of the dead. A religion, however beautiful its theory may be, that drops its votaries into an endless night, can never satisfy the aspirations of that something within which we call soul. "As a cripple would rejoice to hear that his limbs should be restored perfect, or a beggar that he should be clad in silk and gold, so much more ought Christians rejoice to hear of the integrity and innocency of the body in the resurrection." These "vile bodies changed"; victory over death, hell, and the grave; immortality, heavenly recognition, and eternal life,- are among the glories that cluster around the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead.

A FUTURE GENERAL JUDGMENT.

The doctrine of a future general judgment is both interesting and solemn. God is eternally just, and will see that the honor, purity, and integrity of his moral government are maintained. Not all men receive justice in this life, but in the final settlement the most perfect justice will be awarded to every one. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). "He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth" (Psalm 96:13).

Concerning the fact of the future general judgment the Scriptures are very plain and direct. Only a few of the many passages can be given in this connection. In Ecclesiastes 11:9 we read: "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; . . . but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment"; chapter 12:14: "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be

evil." In Psalm 50: 1-4 and Daniel 7:9, 10 the same doctrine is taught.

In the New Testament, the doctrine is, if possible, more clearly and forcibly presented. In Matthew 25:31, 32 it is said, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another." Romans 14:10: "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Acts 17:31: "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness.' II. Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body,

whether it be good or bad." Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

If the sacred writers did not intend to teach the doctrine of a future general judgment, they certainly were very unfortunate in the use of language. It would be very difficult to put words together in any language that would more explicitly teach it. The Bible is the word of God; the men who wrote it were inspired; and the truths they uttered will abide forever.

Jesus Christ will be the judge in that great and notable day. In a sense, the whole Trinity will sit in judgment; "but according to the economy of grace this work is assigned to the Son." All judgment is committed to the Son (John 5:22, 27). He alone will appear. In Acts 17:31 it is said that God will judge the world by Jesus Christ. Matthew 25:31: "He [the Son] shall sit upon the throne of his glory." Romans 14: 10: "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." In I. Thessalonians 4:15, 16; Romans 2:16; I. Corinthians 4:5; Revelation 1:7, this same truth is taught. Jesus Christ shall come, but not as the babe of Bethlehem. He shall come "with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (I. Thessalonians 4:16). He shall come "in the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62). He "shall be revealed from heaven

in

flaming fire" (II. Thessalonians 1:7, 8). "Every eye shall see him," even those that pierced him shall look upon him, and every ear shall hear his voice.

Concerning the time of his coming, our Lord said, "Knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). It will be sudden and unexpected, as a thief in the night (II. Peter 3: 10). This day of days will be at the end of the world, and immediately succeeding the resurrection of the dead. One solemn thought should engage the attention of every one. We shall all be there. Small and great, rich and poor, high and low, good and bad; not one will be missing time gone, and now eternity. The result of that day will be a separation between the righteous and the wicked; and the destiny of every one unalterably fixed.

THE FUTURE STATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

The article under review says, they "shall dwell in endless life." These are beautiful and impressive words, and fully accord with the Holy Scriptures. "Endless life," "eternal life," and "life everlasting" is the promise, and it will be realized with all that is implied and included in those terms. When the Son of man comes, and all nations are gathered before him, he will say to those on his right hand, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34); and “ so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I. Thessalonians 4:17). Among the glories and blessings of the future state of the righteous, we may consider the following:

1. The place itself. A "better country"; a "city"; an “inheritance, pure and undefiled"; a "home"; a place of many "mansions." In Revelation 21 John gives a description of the place, which every Christian would do well to read and study.

2. A place of absolute purity and delight. The righteous will not only be free from the guilt and pollution of sin, but from all its consequences. They shall die no more hunger no more thirst no more. Sickness, sor

row, want, or care shall never reach them; and God shall wipe all tears away. That will be a home indeed. 3. The association. All the pure and good of all the ages will be there; but only the pure- those who have "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14). Then the angels, thousands and thousands of thousands, will be there. Loved ones long separated will meet in that beautiful home

- meet to part, no, never. The employment, whatever it may be, will be most delightful. No weariness, no care, no anxiety, no dread - nothing but love, joy, peace, and rest. Above all and over all, Jesus, the Lamb of God, Savior, Redeemer, King Eternal, will be there, and "shall lead them [the saints] to fountains of living waters."

Dr. Guthrie, in describing the future home of the righteous, says it is "a city never built with hands, nor hoary with the years of time; a city whose inhabitants no census has numbered; a city through whose streets rushes no tide of business, nor nodding hearse creeps slowly with its burden to the tomb; a city without griefs and graves, without sins and sorrows; a city which glories in having Jesus for its King, angels for its guards, saints for its citizens; whose walls are salvation, and whose gates are praise."

THE FUTURE STATE OF THE WICKED.

This article of the Confession says we believe in “an eternal state of rewards, in which the righteous dwell in endless life, and the wicked in endless punishment." This is substantially the doctrine held by all orthodox denominations. All who believe the Bible to be the word of God believe in the future endless happiness of the righteous; and that the future endless punishment of the wicked is as clearly and plainly taught as the future endless bliss of the righteous.

In Matthew 25: 31-46 we have a description of the day of judgment. "The Son of man shall come in his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them, and shall say, unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting

fire." In the forty-sixth verse, where our Lord concludes this description, he says, "And these [the wicked] shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." It will be observed that the Savior puts the punishment of the wicked and the happiness of the righteous in opposition to each other, so that if the one is endless the other must be also.

In Matthew 18:8 our Lord said, “It is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or feet to be cast into everlasting fire." In Mark 9:43, 44 the language is, if possible, stronger: "The fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not." In II. Thessalonians 1:9 Paul says concerning the wicked, they "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." What language could the sacred writers have used that would more fully and clearly express the doctrine of future endless punishment? If the terms used to express the duration of the punishment of the wicked are to be limited, so must they be when used to express the durability of the happiness of the righteous; and in that case we should not have either an endless heaven or an endless hell.

In Matthew 12:31, 32, Mark 3:28, 29, and Luke 12: 10, our Lord speaks of the sin against the Holy Ghost, which, he says, shall never be forgiven. No matter what that sin is, there is such a sin, or our Savior would not have said so. It shall not be forgiven, “neither in this world, neither in the world to come." "Hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” In Revelation 14:11 we read, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." Believing as we do that the sacred writers were inspired, how are we to explain their language, such as the following, if the doctrine of future endless punishment be not true? "Everlasting punishment." "In danger of eternal damnation." "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." "Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." "Hath never forgiveness." "The fire that never shall be quenched.' "These shall go away into everlasting pun