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
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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