O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction." Hosea 13:14.
5. Through whom will come this redemption from the grave?
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor.
15:21,22.
6. What would have been the result to the dead had not Christ procured their release
from the grave?
"For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in
Christ are perished." Verses 16-18.
7. Why did God give His only begotten Son to the world?
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
8. What did the Sadducees in Christ's time deny?
"Then came to Him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any
resurrection." Luke 20:27.
9. How did Christ, from the Old Testament Scriptures, prove the resurrection?
"Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the
bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob. For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him."
Verses 37,38.
NOTE.-That is, in view of the resurrection- of the fact that there is to be a
resurrection- all live unto God. In His purpose, all are alive. It is in this sense that
Paul speaks of God as the one "who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things
which be not as though they were." Rom. 4:17.
10. Under what illustration from nature are the resurrection and the final salvation
of the righteous taught?
"That which thou sowest is not quickened, ~xcept it die." 1 Cor. 15:36.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:24.
NOTES.-The seed dies to spring forth into new life. In this we are taught the lesson of
the resurrection. All who love God will spring forth to life, and live again through
endless ages in the earth made new.
The Open Grave.- The truth of the resurrection has been forcibly illustrated by the
following incident: In the city of Hanover, Germany, is a grave known as "The open
grave." It is that of a woman, an infidel German princess, who died over one hundred
years ago, and who, on her death-bed, gave orders that her grave should be covered with a
great marble slab, weighing perhaps a ton, surmounting solid blocks of stone firmly bound
together with clasps of iron, with this inscription placed on the lowermost stone of the
tomb: "This grave purchased for eternity, must never be opened." But no human
device can thwart the plans of God, or hinder the workings of life from Him. It happened,
providentially no doubt, that a birch-tree seed was buried with the princess. Soon it
began to sprout. Its tiny shoot, soft and pliable at first, found its way up through the
ponderous stones of the massive masonry. Slowly and imperceptibly, but with irresistible
power, it grew, until at last it burst the bands of iron asunder, and opened this
never-to-be-opened grave, leaving not a single stone in its original position. What a
rebuke to infidelity! and what a mute but striking promise that, erelong, in God's own
time, all graves shall be opened, and the sleeping ones awake from their dusty beds!
11. Where are the dead when they hear the voice of Christ calling them to life?
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John 5:28,29.
12. How many distinct classes will have a resurrection?
"There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."
Acts 24:15.
13. By what terms did Christ refer to the two resurrections?
"All that are in the 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.
14. When will the resurrection of the just occur?
"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." 1 Thess. 4:16. See also 1 Cor. 15:23.
15. When are the righteous to be recompensed?
"For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke
14:14.
16. In what condition did David expect to rise?
"As far me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when
I awake, with Thy likeness." Ps. 17:15.
17. What great contrast will be seen between the present body and the one to be put
on in the resurrection?
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is
raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory;
it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body;
it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Cor. 15:42-44.
18. After whose body will these resurrected ones be fashioned?
"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." Phil. 3:20,21.
19. What will the righteous do upon rising from the grave?
"Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. 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.
20. In what words will their triumph over death and the grave be expressed?
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:55.
21. How long will they live?
