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Signs of the Times, Vol. 3, No. 4.

CHRIST STILLS THE TEMPEST

Signs of the Times

Jan 18, 1877

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jan 18, 1877

CHRIST STILLS THE TEMPEST.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
Jesus had been teaching and healing uninterruptedly all day, and he greatly desired retirement and rest for himself and his disciples. He therefore instructed them to accompany him to the other side of the sea. But before he embarked he was accosted by a scribe who had listened to his words, representing the jewels of truth as being of far greater value than hidden treasure. In the grossness of his darkened mind, the scribe conceived that Jesus designed to enrich his followers with worldly treasure. He therefore eagerly addressed him, as had Judas, saying, “Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” The Saviour read the unworthy thought that actuated his heart, and answered him as he had answered Judas, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” This Jewish teacher had only his own selfish interest in view when he proposed to follow Jesus. He hoped that the Saviour would soon establish his kingdom on earth, and that the wealth and station which would then accrue to his disciples, were the riches of which Jesus had spoken. But only a mind blinded by avarice and the lust of the world could so have misinterpreted the words of the Saviour.
If it were not for the poverty of Christ, and the fact that the poor and humble are ranked beneath his banner, many would connect themselves with him and glorify his name. If he had bestowed honors and riches upon those who became his disciples, how gladly would the proud Pharisees, the chief priests and scribes, have paid him homage. Many in these days would accept the truth if there was no self-denial connected with it. If they could have the world with Christ, they would enlist in his army. But to follow him in his humiliation, with no prospect of an earthly reward thereby, is more than their feeble faith can endure. They turn back crest-fallen, as did the scribe from the rebuke of Jesus.
After dismissing the multitude, Jesus and his disciples took ship for the other side of the sea, which was a desert in comparison with the shore that they were leaving; but for this very reason they hoped to find rest from the fatigue of their labors, being removed from the dwellings of men. However, as they were moving off, a number of boats loaded with people followed Jesus, desirous of learning more concerning the doctrine that he taught.
The Saviour was wearied from his long and arduous labors, and being now for a time relieved from the claims of the multitude, he stretched himself upon the hard plank of the fisherman’s boat and fell asleep. Soon after, the weather, which had been calm and pleasant, changed. The clouds gathered darkly over the sky, and a furious storm, such as frequently visited those parts, burst upon the sea. The sun had set, and the blackness of night settled down upon the water. The angry waves dashed against the ship, threatening every moment to engulf it. First tossed upon the crest of a mountain billow, and then as suddenly plunged into the trough of the sea, the ship was the plaything of the storm. Finally, it was discovered that it had sprung a leak and was fast filling with water. All was now hurry and confusion in the darkness and amid the roaring of the angry waves. The strong and courageous fishermen were skilled in managing their craft; but, experienced as they were to the changing moods of the sea, they knew not what to do in so terrible a gale, and their hearts filled with despair as they perceived that the boat was sinking.
They had been so engaged in their efforts to save themselves and keep the ship afloat, that they had forgotten that Jesus was on board. But now, as their courage fails them, and they think themselves lost, they remember that it was he who commanded them to cross the sea. In their agony of fear they turn to him, remembering how he had once saved them in a like peril. They call, “Master! Master!” but the roaring of the tempest drowns their voices, and there is no reply. The waves break over them, and each one threatens them with destruction.
Despair seizes them, and they call again; but there is no answer save the shrieking of the angry blast. Has the Master deserted them? Has he walked away upon the foam-capped billows and left them to their fate? They remembered that he had once walked upon the water to come and rescue them from death. Has he now given them up to the fury of the tempest? They search for him distractedly, for they can do no more to save themselves. The storm has so increased that all their efforts to manage the ship are vain; in Jesus is their only hope. Presently a flash of lightning reveals him fast asleep, undisturbed amid the noise and confusion.
They rush to him, and bending over his prostrate form, cry out reproachfully, “Master, Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Their hearts are grieved that he should rest so peacefully, while danger and death threaten them, and they have been laboring so hard against the fury of the storm. This despairing cry arouses Jesus from his refreshing sleep. As the disciples rush back to their oars, to make a last effort, Jesus rises to his feet. In his divine majesty he stands in the humble vessel of the fishermen, amid the raging of the tempest, the waves breaking over the bows, and the vivid lightning playing about his calm and fearless countenance. He lifts his hand, so often employed in deeds of mercy, and says to the angry sea, “Peace, be still.” The storm ceases, the heaving billows sink to rest. The clouds roll away, and the stars shine forth; the boat sits motionless upon a quiet sea. Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus rebukes them, saying, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”
A sudden hush crept over the disciples. Not a word was spoken; even impulsive Peter did not attempt to express the reverential awe that filled his heart. The boats that had set out to accompany Jesus had been in the same peril with that of the disciples. Fear and finally despair had seized their occupants; but the command of Jesus brought quiet where but a moment before all was tumult. All fear was allayed, for the danger was over. The fury of the storm had driven the boats into close proximity, and all on board beheld the miracle of Jesus. In the hush that followed the stilling of the tempest, they whispered among themselves, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Never was this impressive scene forgotten by those who witnessed it. Never will its wonderful majesty fail to inspire the children of God with reverence and awe.
When he was rudely aroused by the terrified fishermen, the Saviour had no fears for himself; his anxiety was for his disciples, who had distrusted him in the time of danger. He reproved their fears, which manifested their unbelief. They should have called upon him at the first appearance of danger, and he would have relieved their anxiety. But in their effort to save themselves they forgot that Jesus was on board. How many, in the trying scenes of life, amid perplexities and danger, fight against the storms of adversity alone, forgetting that there is One who can help them. They trust in their own strength and skill, till, baffled and discouraged, they remember Jesus, and humbly call upon him to save them. Though he sorrowfully reproves their unbelief and self-confidence, he never fails to hear their earnest cry, and give them the help they need.
Tossed on the raging billows of the deep, the weary voyager should remember that Jesus was on the sea, in a time of like peril; that his voice commanded the terrible storm to cease; that the angry elements obeyed the mandate, and his faithful followers were saved. When the waves break over our sinking bark, and the lightning reveals the foam-capped breakers that threaten us with instant destruction, we may remember in our peril that Jesus is on board. He hears our agonizing cry, and he will never forsake those who put their trust in him.
Whether on the land or on the sea, sleeping or waking, if we have the Saviour in our hearts there is no need of fear. The call of faith will always meet with a response. We may be rebuked because we have not sought him at the very beginning of trial, but nevertheless, he will accept our humble petitions, wearied as we are in our efforts to save ourselves. Living faith in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life, and will deliver us from danger in the way that he knows to be the best.

Vile Literature.

We are glad to see that Christian sentiment is being aroused on the subject of vile literature, and that the pulpit and the Christian press are speaking out on this subject in a most fearless manner.
Rev. De Witt Talmage, when asked by letter whether it was right to read the New York Ledger or the Weekly, expressed the sentiment of the more thoughtful men and women of the church, when he answered:
“The family altar is nothing; catechisms are nothing; religious instruction is nothing, so long as there is an unhealthy periodical in the house. From the two leprous lips of that one sheet there will be a poison breathed on the family Bible, on the piano, on the arm-chair, on the cradle, on the dining-table, and the whole house will be plague-smitten. The question amounts to this: ‘Shall my family be blest or blasted?’”
“I give an infallible rule. Seek some one who has been reading a paper for several years, and find out if her character is growing more symmetrical, is she a better daughter, a holier mother, a more consistent church-member? If, on the contrary, her ideas are groveling, her imagination debased, her ideals of life twisted and sprung, then better decree that such a paper shall not come into your house by postman or messenger, or as wrapping paper around a dry goods’ bundle. ‘Every tree is known by its fruits.’”
“If there be one gulf in hell deeper than another, it shall be the doom of those newspaper men whose pen is stabbing to death the purity of American society. The newspaper stands are blotched with accursed pictorials, and I pray God that if these polluters of public morals may not be arrested by the voice of conscience, or silenced by the indignation of our sorrow-struck communities, that then they may be hurled out of this life speedily, that the plague may be stayed. God redeem our country from the damning influence of a corrupt newspaper literature.”
A mother recently complained to a friend of ours of the waywardness of her daughter. The friend, who was the girl’s Sabbath-school teacher, asked, “What does she read?” The mother had not guarded that point, and never thought to inquire.
They went to the young girl’s room to find an abundant supply of sensational and vile literature, which had been furnished her gratuitously. The poison had been doing its deadly work for months, and the mother found out all too late that vile literature is as corrupting and seducing as vile company, and that the one leads to the other.
This poor, deluded girl is now an inmate of a brothel.
The feet of many thoughtless girls have been taken in this same snare.
We have found them in hospitals and almshouses and prisons; friendless outcasts; wrecked and ruined.
And girls are not the only sufferers. This is the shortest road a boy can take to perdition; every other evil follows in its train.
And this vice no longer hides itself in dark, secret places, but seeks some public resort for its vile traffic, where men and boys may be drawn together in crowds, and tempted by the display of immodest pictures to purchase.
We have seen boys blush with shame, and hide the newly bought pictorial under their jackets at the approach of respectable-looking people, and hurry away to enjoy in secret what they would not be seen reading in public.
Mothers will do well to inquire how many news depots there are where vile literature is exposed for sale on the streets their children travel when they go to the post-office or the school-house. Better expose them to small-pox or cholera than allow them to go near such places.—Golden Censer.

The Tempest Stilled.

The wild winds burst o'er Judah's hill, Far pealed the raging billow; The fires of heaven flashed wrathfully— As Jesus pressed his pillow.
The light, frail bark was rudely tossed From surge to dark surge leaping, The sails were torn and oars were lost, Yet Jesus still lay sleeping.
When o'er that bark the loud waves roar'd, And blasts went howling round her; Those Hebrews roused their slumbering Lord,— Lord save us or we founder!
He spoke, Ye troubled winds be still, The chafed wind sank reposing, As wild herds rest on Judah's hill, When calm day light is closing.
And turning to those startled men, Who watched the wave's subsiding; He spoke in mournful accents then, These words of righteous chiding.
O ye who thus fear wreck and death As if by heaven forsaken, How is it that ye have no faith? Or faith so quickly shaken?
And when those doubters saw with dread, The wondrous scene before them; Their limbs waxed faint, their courage fled, Strange awe came creeping o'er them.
This, this, they cried is Judah's Lord! And power divine arrays him! For lo, he doth but speak the word, And winds and waves obey him.

Praying and Working.

By C. H. Spurgeon

I LIKE that saying of Martin Luther when he says: "I have so much business to do to-day that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours' prayer." Now, most people would say, "I have so much to do to-day that I can have only three minutes' prayer; I cannot afford the time." But Luther thought that the more he had to do, the more he must pray, or else he could not get through it. That is a blessed kind of logic; may we understand it! "Praying and provender hinder no man's journey." If we stop to pray, it is no more a hindrance than when the driver has to stop at the farrier's to have his horse's shoe fastened; for if he went on without attending to that, it may be that ere long he would come to a stop of a far more serious kind.—C. H. Spurgeon.

A Negro's Argument.—

An old negro named Pete was very much troubled about his sins. Perceiving him one day with a very downcast look, his master asked him the cause. “O massa, I'm such a great sinner!” “But, Pete,” said his master, “you are foolish to take it so much to heart. You never see me troubled about my sins.” “I know the reason, massa,” said Pete. “When you go out duck-shooting, and kill one duck and wound another, don't you run after the wounded duck?” “Yes, Pete;” and the master wondered what was coming next. “Well, massa, dat is the way wid you and me. De debil has got you sure; but, as he is not sure of me, he chases dis chile all de time.”

Godly Sorrow Ends in Joy

As worldly joy ends in sorrow, so godly sorrow ends in joy.

THE WAY OF LIFE

By James White

FROM PARADISE LOST TO PARADISE RESTORED.

Third Paper—The Resurrection.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

In our second paper we took the position that it is not necessary that the same matter compose the resurrected body which constituted the mortal body, in order to a resurrection from the dead. Man was made of the dust of the ground. Gen. 2:7. In consequence of transgression he fell under the sentence of death, and the decree that he should return to dust. Chap. 3:19. Adam, as an organized being, is no more. The material that composed the representative of the race is simply dust, as it was before Adam existed. The names of the righteous, as the adopted sons of God, are written in Heaven. Their life records are also on High, and their works follow them on earth. In this sense, like Abel, though dead, yet they speak. And this is all that remains of holy men of God, unless the doctrine of conscious existence between death and the resurrection can be maintained.
The resurrection of the righteous dead is the act of reorganizing from the dust of the ground, with immortal natures, the same beings that lived holy lives on earth, and whose names and worthy records are in Heaven. The matter which will constitute the immortal form will be taken from the dust of the ground, without respect to that which had at any time constituted the mortal being. This view of the subject places the resurrection of the dead beyond the reach of the skeptic. He urges the impossibility of the resurrection of the same matter which composed the mortal body, on the hypothesis that particles which help make up the human body may be transferred through vegetable and animal productions, taken as food, to other human bodies. But as there is no necessity, neither from the facts in the case, nor from any scripture statement to the contrary, for the dear Saviour to put himself to the trouble of searching through the universe for the same particles of matter which composed the body at any time during the natural life, to make up the immortal being, in order to a resurrection of the dead, the wind is taken completely out of the skeptic's sails.
If it be objected, that to reorganize the being at the resurrection with other matter than that which constituted the mortal form would be a re-creation, and not a resurrection, then we reply, that as the form after death returns to dust, the resurrection of the form is to all intents and purposes a re-creation, whether it be reorganized from the matter which composed the mortal form, or from other matter. The creation of Adam was simply his formation from existing matter, called the dust of the ground. After death, man returned to dust, such as Adam was before he was created. The first resurrection will be the re-creation, or re-organization from the dust of the ground, with immortal natures, of those “who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life.” Bible students may here see the harmony of divine truth touching the resurrection of the dead. And if the skeptic, in his ardor to overthrow the resurrection, will not see the truth, we shall be obliged to leave him to fire away at his man of straw. But we linger in sympathy with his misfortune in reasoning from the shaky premises of those theologians who urge that the resuscitation of the same matter that composed the mortal body is necessary to the resurrection of the dead. And we plead that Christian men should not give infidelity their moral support by standing on the same shaky foundation on which the skeptic builds.
We urge that Paul has most clearly and pointedly settled this question of identity of the mortal body with the immortal form in the application of his illustration of the product of the grain. He introduces the very subject under discussion with these words: “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.” 1 Cor. 15:35–38. The parent grain is exhausted long before the new grain forms; hence the identity of the old with the new is not in respect to matter, but organization of the matter which constitutes the grain, so that wheat produces wheat, and the like of all other grain. If this figure means anything, it teaches that the identity of the mortal form with the immortal is not in respect to matter, but in organization of the immortal being so as to connect the then immortal present with the mortal past. The saints in glory will know themselves and each other there. They will not only adore the Redeemer for the glory that enshrouds him then; but remembrances of the past, what Christ did for them in this life, will constitute the highest inspiration of the new song to the Lamb: “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Rev. 5:9.
But if it still be urged that the resurrected body must be composed of material that made up the mortal body in this life, then we inquire, Will the immortal being contain that matter which was put into the grave, or that which constituted the mortal man at middle age? If the position be taken that the same matter, no more and no less, will be brought into the immortal being that was buried in the grave, then we invite attention to the fact that men who may be alike in size at middle life become extremely emaciated, or exceedingly full in flesh, and pass into the grave in these conditions. In the resurrection, will some men be immortal skeletons, while others shall be endowed with immortal corpulency?
The objector may think it more consistent to have the immortal body made up of the exact material which composes the mortal form at middle life. Will our friend, who thinks it necessary to the resurrection of the dead that the same matter be raised which constituted the mortal body, fix upon the age of forty to find the best proportioned man to be resurrected? Then we will suppose that this very man lives to the age of seventy-five, until a large portion of his body shall change five times, when he dies and is buried. The resurrection of the man as he stood at forty would have but very little to do with the same man who was put into the grave at seventy-five. The particles of matter which composed this man at forty would be gathered from the four winds of heaven where they had been scattered during the long period of his five-fold changes, and the grave where this very man was buried at seventy-five need not be disturbed.
We follow the objector one step further, as we see him clinging to the position to which he feels completely driven. It is this, that it is not necessary in order that there be a resurrection of the dead, that the immortal being be made up wholly of matter which composed the mortal form at any given time, but lest the immortal body be the result of an entire new creation, and not of the resurrection, he urges that a portion, more or less, of the old being must help constitute the new. His real position finally is, according to the distinction he makes between re-creation and resurrection, that the immortal man will be partly resurrected and partly created!
Dear reader, we take you back, after showing you some of the absurdities of the objector's positions, to the great Bible facts relative to the resurrection of the dead which you should ever keep in view. God formed Adam of the dust of the ground. After dissolution, man returns to dust. The first resurrection from the dust is the reorganization of good men, with immortal natures, from the dust of the ground, without respect to the scattered particles of matter which helped to make up the mortal body during this life, or at any given period in this life. Christ's body did not see corruption. He was raised with the marks of the crucifixion upon his body, that he might be identified as the very same Jesus that died upon the cross. Moses probably did not return to dust. The body of Moses, as well as that of Christ, is doubtless an exception to the rule that man should return to dust, as Enoch and Elijah were exceptions to God's appointment that all men should die. Heb. 9:27.
The fact that the same body that was placed in Joseph's new tomb came forth, bearing the marks of the crucifixion, or the probability that the body of Moses had not seen corruption at the time the disputation occurred between Michael and Satan, and, therefore, Christ raised the same body that the Lord buried in the valley of Moab, must be regarded as exceptions to the general decree, “Unto dust thou shalt return.” The immediate resurrection of these, before seeing corruption, must be regarded in the light of the change which the living saints will experience at the blast of the trump of God at the second coming of Christ.
As the objector reads passages from both the Old and New Testaments which speak of the resurrection of the dead, he is impressed that the obvious meaning of these texts make it necessary that the same matter be brought forth from the graves at the resurrection that was buried in them. We will give these texts, and briefly notice their bearing upon the question under discussion. Let the reader carefully apply the direct statements and illustrations of Job, to the position we have taken that all there is of man returns to dust, and that hope of the future life depends upon the resurrection of the dead, without respect to one portion of matter above another, and it will be seen that in his words we find one of our strong-holds.
“There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up, so man lieth down, and riseth not, till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee; thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.” Job 14:7–15.
With a keen sense that all there would remain of him after death would be his record on High, until he should identify himself in the resurrection, Job anxiously and yet triumphantly exclaims: “Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Chap. 19:23–27.
This remarkable fact appears, that the writers of both Testaments represent the state of the dead by the figure of sleep. David speaks of the resurrection in these words: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” Ps. 17:15. “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me. Selah.” Ps. 49:15.
Isaiah speaks of his dead body rising with others. But, in the most literal sense, the prophet returned to dust, and as an organized body ceased to exist more than two thousand years since. If we are to be guided in our understanding of his words by other plain declarations of the Scriptures, and also facts relative to decomposition of the body and its return to dust, the strength of the following prophetic language must be regarded as setting forth simply the reorganizing of the body at the resurrection of the just: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they rise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Isa. 26:19.
The resurrection of all the saints under the figure of the whole house of Israel is presented to the prophet Ezekiel under the figure of a valley filled with dry bones. But the expression, I will open your graves and bring you up out of your graves, must not be understood so as to contradict the plainest facts relative to the condition of the dead. To give these words their most literal sense would be as absurd as to contend that in some valley on the globe God has collected and preserved the bones of all his saints. The strength of the following declarations and figures of the prophet of God is to show that God will reorganize immortal beings at the resurrection, in whom will be perpetuated the identity of the mortal organism.
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. And caused me to pass by them round about, and, behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them.
“Then saith he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves. And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.” Eze. 37:1–14.
The Lord by the prophet Hosea declares: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction.” Hos. 13:14. And to this very prophecy Paul refers in the closing part of the following quotation: “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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Cor. 15:51–55.
The apostle in his letter of condolence to those of the church at Thessalonica who had buried Christian friends, would dispel their griefs by removing their ignorance respecting the state of the righteous dead. He cites the church forward to the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous dead as the source of their comfort under bereavements, and the consummation of their hope. He says: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 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 prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 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 the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:13–17.
“The hour cometh,” says Christ, “in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29. And in Paul's confession of faith before Felix he declared the “resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Acts 24:15. But it is left to the Revelation chapter 20 to place these two resurrections one at each end of the millennium.
J. W.

Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication

ADDITION.—Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. 2 Pet. 1:5–7.
Subtraction.—Laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, . . . desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. 1 Pet. 2: 1, 2.
Multiplication.—Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God.
Continue reading: Characteristics of the Last Days