(Chairman, Scott BONHAM, Attorney, Cincinnati, O.)

The Scriptures clearly teach that the first resurrection will occur at the second coming of Christ, and only the saints of this gospel age will share in it; but that in the resurrection of the unjust (Acts 24:15) vast multitudes of them will be saved.

C. T. Russell, affirmative.

L. S. White, negative.

I take this opportunity to assure Brother White and this audience that my opening remarks two evenings ago were in no sense intended as jibes or slurs against my opponent. He evidently misunderstood my statement. I did not say that his arguments on the subject were idiotic and nonsensical, for the gentleman had not yet presented his arguments. How could I antagonize them? What I did say was that the idea that when a man is dead he is more alive than when he was alive is an idiotic and nonsensical idea. But I confess that I myself once believed this nonsense, as many bright and able men besides Brother White still believe it. I expressed surprise that a man of his caliber, after studying the subject, should still be willing to undertake its defense. My endeavor is to awaken all such intellects as Brother White's to a realization of the absurdity of such false reasoning which so long has held able and brilliant minds. Brother White's antagonism by no means discourages me. I remember that Saul of Tarsus once persecuted those in this way, and thought he did God service. Many persons at first so antagonistic that they burned my books have afterward become my warmest defenders, my friends and colaborers. I call to mind a Methodist minister, Mr. Rogers, of Homestead, near Pittsburgh, who, when proffered the reading of "Millennial Dawn," refused, and was so prejudiced that he declared that if it were left in his house he would burn it. Later on, in the Lord's providence, he did read it, got a blessing, and is now a colaborer in the work. I call to mind Dr. Simpson, of Allegheny, a United Presbyterian minister, who at first was terribly incensed against "Millennial Dawn," but after a careful, prayerful study of it became a firm friend of the truth. On the platform with me this evening is Brother Paul Johnson, once the pastor of one of the most prominent Lutheran churches of Columbus, Ohio. Brother Johnson was once in such opposition to the true interpretation of God's word that from the pulpit he urged those of his congregation who possessed "Millennial Dawn" to burn it. Let us hope that Brother White may yet sit down to read the "Dawns" carefully and prayerfully, and not merely in a spirit of opposition which always blinds the truth.

The topic under discussion this evening – "The Resurrection of the Dead and What It Implies" – is a very prominent one in the Scriptures and a very important one, without which it is impossible to understand the divine plan of salvation. But this subject of the resurrection has been little studied by Christian people in general, because their minds were diverted away from it by the erroneous supposition that the dead were not dead, but alive in heaven or purgatory or hell.

The doctrine of the resurrection, therefore, has been rather in the way of Christian people and theologians who, following the style of Brother White's comments of the other evening, have claimed that it is a resurrection of the body, whereas the Scriptures declare that it is a resurrection of the soul, and never once referred to a resurrection of the body. Elder White, the other evening, endeavored to read in the word "body," claiming that when the apostle says, "It is sown," and "it is raised," the body is meant. But if the "it" means the body, how does it apply when the apostle says, "God giveth it a body as it has pleased him"? Does it mean that God giveth the body a body? [HG228] Surely not. The "it" is the being, the soul. The matter is clearly stated in respect to our Lord; his soul was not left in Sheol, was not left in Hades, was not left in the grave. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades" (Acts 2:27-31).

Theologians, in wrestling with this subject of the resurrection, are so confused by the error of thinking that the man is alive in the interim between death and the resurrection, that they formulate some peculiar absurdities in trying to explain the matter. They would tell us, for instance, that Adam has been over five thousand years living without a body either in heaven or hell, but if he is in heaven his happiness is not quite complete, because he needs that flesh; and if in hell he is not suffering as much as he would do and ought to do, and, therefore, needs the resurrection to complete either his joy or his pain, and similarly with all the other thousands of millions. The mere statement of the matter should show the absurdity of it. According to science, our bodies experience a change, throwing off all effete matter, and taking on new, so that our organisms, our bodies, are completely changed every seven years. Evidently, therefore, these changing particles of matter are not important; it is not particular atoms of matter that the dead will desire in the resurrection, but a return to being, a return of soul, a return to conscious personality. I have not the time on this occasion to discuss the meaning of the word "soul," but have a free tract on this subject which I will be pleased to send to any who will write a postal-card request to me at Allegheny.

The resurrection is what the apostle terms the salvation that will be brought unto us at the revelation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:13.) Any salvation which we enjoy in the present time, the apostle explains, is salvation by hope, by faith, and is not an actual salvation. Rom. 8:24, "We are saved by hope." If our hope continues, and if we are energized by it to obedience to the divine Word, the result will be our actual salvation, or resurrection, full and complete'a salvation from sin and its death penalty. But notice that as the Scriptures clearly distinguish between the trial of the church during this gospel day and the trial of the world during the millennial day, so it distinguished between our special salvation and the world's common or general salvation, and similarly it distinguishes between the first resurrection, which the saints will enjoy, and the general resurrection, which will be for the world.

In other words, the great general penalty that came upon Adam and all his posterity that was sentenced to death was, "Thou turnest man to destruction" (Psa. 90:3)'to "sheol," to "hades," and to the grave. The second step in the divine plan was the redemption of Adam and all his race by the great Redeemer Jesus.

The third step will be the deliverance of the world from the sentence of death'otherwise called the "curse," the "wrath of God," etc., that is resting upon our race because all are sinners. (Rom. 5:12.) Have in mind, then, these three parts: 1. Adam's sin and its death penalty. 2. Our Lord's righteousness and the giving of his life as the redemption price for Father Adam, and, incidentally, for all his children. 3. The resurrection of the dead. The race was treated as a whole in the original sentence which passed upon all men, and in offset of that "Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man." And in response to this, "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust" (Acts 24:15).

It will be noticed that the resurrection is in this text divided into two parts, the just and the unjust Similarly the prophet Daniel, speaking of the matter, divides it into two parts, saying: Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,

(1) some to everlasting life and

(2) some to shame and age-lasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2.) Notice that they were not enjoying everlasting life, but were asleep in death, and the others were not suffering shame and lasting contempt, but were also asleep until awakened. But particularly notice the two classes, both participating in the resurrection.

Come now to our Lord's statement on the subject, "Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:29). Note here, again, that all are in their graves, and not alive; and that all must come forth from their graves, not from heaven, or purgatory, or hell. Note that the coming forth is not the resurrection, either, but that they come forth that they may have a resurrection'they come forth "unto resurrection."

The Greek word signifying resurrection is anastasis, and does not mean merely an awakening from the dead, as in the case of Lazarus. The meaning of the word is "standing up again." The thought is that a fall took place. Adam was created perfect and upright, in the image of his Maker, but through sin and disobedience he experienced a fall, which affected him mentally, morally and physically.

Christ's redemption of Adam, his payment of Adam's ransom price by His own death at Calvary, secures much more for Adam than merely the coming out of a state of unconsciousness. Imagine Adam in his dying moments, 930 years old, weak, emaciated, all run down every way. Let us not get the thought that our Redeemer's death was intended merely to justify Adam to return to [HG229] that enfeebled condition. Oh, no; the payment of his sin penalty justified his return to the condition in which he was when he transgressed. Or, as Jesus expressed it, he carne "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

Human perfection was lost; the right to a return to human perfection was bought by the precious blood of Jesus, and the time for the return will be at our Lord's second coming, when all shall hear the voice of the Son of man and come forth from the tomb in practically the same condition in which they entered it; but unto, or with a view to, their resurrection or raising up again out of the sin and death condition into perfection, etc., from which they had degraded. So, then, in Adam's case it may be plainly seen that he not only will be awakened in the condition in which he died, but he will be granted the opportunity of standing up again, of resurrection, of full recovery from his fall into sin and imperfection. This is the glorious meaning of the word "resurrection"'standing up again.

True, only Adam and Eve ever fell from perfection; but all their race were reckoned as sharing in their fall, because if they had not fallen their children would have been born on the same plane of perfection and to divine likeness; hence in the divine arrangement the redemption of Adam to all that he lost includes also all of his children, all of whom, under the Lords gracious arrangement, will have a full opportunity of coming back to the perfection of life, to the image of God.

Now let us note the processes of the divine arrangement.

Adam and his race did not lose their perfection in the divine image suddenly, but gradually during the six thousand years the race as a whole has been going downward, so that while Adam, even under adverse conditions, was 930 years in dying, the average length of life today is thirty-five years. And so we find that the Lord has arranged that the resurrection'anastasis, raising up again'shall be a gradual one.

All of God's blessings began with the church, which the apostle tells us is to be "a kind of firstfruits unto God of his creatures" (Jas. 1:18). If this were the only Scripture on the subject, we should be able to gather from its statements that God intended the salvation of an after-fruits, else what is the signification of the church being a kind of firstfruits? Again, the church is called "the church of the first-born," or. more literally, the "first-borns" (plural); others of the human family to be saved later will come in as the after-borns. (Heb. 12:23.) It should be noticed that the Scriptures use this word "born" in respect to the perfecting accomplished in the resurrection. Hence the church is spoken of as being begotten of the Holy Spirit, and a later experience, which we enjoy, is called the quickening of the Spirit. When we begin to be active in the service of Him who hath called us from darkness into his marvelous light, then the embryotic condition is represented as progressing and preparing us for birth in the resurrection. Thus our Lord, begotten of the Holy Spirit at the time of his baptism, quickened by that Spirit to energy in doing the will of him that sent him, and finishing his work, was developed and made ready for his birth of the Spirit in his resurrection. We read, "He was the first-born from the dead," a death in the flesh and quickening in the Spirit. And again, "the first-born among many brethren"'we his brethren are to be similarly born in the first resurrection, as we shall see later. (Col 1:18; 1 Cor. 15:20.) Only this first-born class is being dealt with at the present time. God's time for begetting the world with the Spirit of the truth, and for the world to be developed, and for the world to be born, in the sense of reaching perfection of life, will be in the next age during the millennium. No one will question that the heathen are not begotten of the word of truth at the present time, when we know that more than 1,200,000,000 of them have never heard of the only name whereby we must be saved.

Pardon me if I emphasize this thought, for I realize how important it is to your clear comprehension of the divine plan as revealed in the Scriptures – that the church, the elect, the saints, will alone constitute the resurrection of the tested holy who shall be associated with Christ to share with him in his throne of glory and in his work of blessing all the families of the earth as members of the spiritual seed of Abraham. Let me quote again: "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 unto God and of Christ and shall reign with. him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6).

The resurrection process for the church, the "little flock" class, begins with their consecration, when they are reckoned as dead with Christ, yea, also, as risen with him, dead to sin and alive toward God through Jesus Christ, their Lord. Their changed or resurrection life has its beginning now, and, as the apostle says, they are being transformed by the renewing of their minds, that they may prove (know, experience) the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, and this we will attain in our actual resurrection, when all the members of the church, which is the body of Christ, shall have been "begotten" and "quickened" and developed and be ready to be "born from the dead" in the first resurrection.

This first resurrection class, the church, is said to share in Christ's resurrection, his resurrection, which is not to human perfection, but to glory, honor and [HG230] immortality'" far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named."

Those who are called of the Lord here in this gospel age are invited to share in his ignominy, to suffer with him, to suffer for the truth, to suffer for one another, to "lay down our lives for the brethren," "for if we suffer"'with him'" we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim. 2:12). "If we be dead with him, we shall also live with him"'" heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, if so be we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together" (Rom. 8:17). These, and these alone, are to share in the first resurrection, "his resurrection."

Note this expression of the apostle in his letter to the Philip. 3:8, 9). He says, "I do count all things but loss and dross that I may win Christ and be found in him," a member of the glorious body of the anointed one beyond the veil'a member of the bride'the Lamb's wife, who shall sit with him in his throne. (Rev. 3:21.) The apostle continues the same argument, saying "that I may know him"'might be identified with him and experience the'" power of his resurrection" (Philip. 3:10).

"His resurrection" is the first resurrection, or chief resurrection of spirit nature, of the divine nature, but as for the world's resurrection it will be entirely different; it will be a resurrection, a raising up again to the glory, to the dignity, the grandeur of the perfect man Adam, as he came from the hand of God very good, in the image and likeness of him who created him, plus the valuable experiences gained through the fall and the raising up again'resurrection.

The apostle, continuing his argument, declares that the conditions upon which he may hope to share in Christ's resurrection, the first resurrection, or, according to the Greek, the "out resurrection," exanastasis, is that he shall be made conformable to Christ's death'that he should die as Christ died. (Philip. 3:10.) He does not by this mean that he must die on the cross, but that he must die a sacrificial death; he must lay down his life in the service of God, in the service of righteousness, in the service of the brethren, the body of Christ. And this rule applies to all who will be members of the body of Christ, the royal priesthood, the peculiar people. As our Master said, each of these must take up his cross and follow him, or they can not be his disciples.

Who are the good and the just meant by the apostle and our Lord, as those who will share in the first resurrection?

We have now clearly in mind the two classes, and that the resurrection has been provided for both in the divine plan'that the sacrifice for sin was a ransom for all to be testified in due time. (1 Tim. 2:4-6.) Let us examine particularly St.

Paul's expression, "the resurrection of the just," which corresponds with our Lord's expression "that they have done good." But who are these? We reply, that in the absolute sense "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10). There is none just.

We must therefore understand these expressions "done good" and "just" in the relative sense in which they are uniformly used in the Bible. As the apostle says, "The righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4). Fortunately for us, it does not say walking up to the spirit of the divine law, for then none of us would be acceptable, but it does say walking after the spirit of the divine law, and this may include all who have been begotten of the Holy Spirit, but it could not include any one else.

Hence, all of our neighbors and relatives and members of our families who have not been begotten of the Holy Spirit can not be of these who are walking after the Spirit, can not be of these who are approved of God, and described by the apostle as "the just," the justified, the acceptable; can not be of those described by our Lord as having done good in God's sight; can not, therefore, be of those who have part in this first resurrection of life, the first resurrection of the blessed and holy, this chief resurrection to joint-heirship with Christ in glory, honor, immortality, and to reign with him a thousand years. I might press the matter a little closer and say that not all those who are begotten of the Holy Spirit shall come off more than conquerors and share in the first resurrection, but my point is sufficiently well established without pressing it to this extreme, and I ask you then to consider carefully in your minds how many, how few, of your neighbors, friends and relatives you may, according to the apostle's phraseology, expect will be in the first or blessed resurrection to everlasting life, and then you will conclude, dear friends, that all others will be in the other resurrection, the resurrection of damnation, or the resurrection of the unjust which we shall consider presently. If you have followed me carefully, if you get the force of the apostle's words respecting walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, the Spirit begotten, and then continuing in that good way, you should be ready to admit that the number in this resurrection is extremely limited, as our Master expressed it, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

And again. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne" (Rev. 3:21). Let us now apply the words of Daniel, indicating that the holy awake to everlasting life, and the words of St. Paul, that the just will be [HG231] resurrected first, and the words of Jesus, that this class, having done well, been approved of God, conquerors and more than conquerors through him who loved us and bought us'these shall have as their reward that they will come forth unto the resurrection of life. What does that signify'the life resurrection? It means this, that there will not be a gradual raising up, but that the power of resurrection will come upon them suddenly; that they, as the apostle explains, will be "changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," and not by a gradual process of mental, moral and physical development. Their gradual change takes place in this present life, changing them from glory to glory into the likeness of God's dear Son (2 Cor. 3:18), and through experiences and trials, sufferings and self-sacrifices, that they may thus, as the jewels of the Lord, be polished and made ready for the kingdom. These, then, one by one, as they were polished, the apostles first, and all the faithful little flock in Christ since, have been allowed to wait for their glorification and their resurrection change, until the second coming of Christ, that the whole body of Christ may be glorified together. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

Thus St. Paul said: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 1 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 that love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). As St. Peter also said: "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" (1 Pet. 5:4-5).

Respecting this resurrection of the church, St. Paul wrote: "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown an animal body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42-43). Then adds: "Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:51). The majority of the church, including the apostles, having been polished and prepared for the kingdom, "fell asleep" (1 Cor. 15:6), and have since waited for the full gathering of the full body of Christ at his second coming, and the apostle is here pointing out that those who will be living at the time of the second advent will not go before the ones who are asleep, but, on the contrary, the "dead in Christ" (the sleeping ones) will rise first. Or, as Daniel says, awake first, and then the living ones of that time will experience a similar change, so that all will be glorified with the Lord beyond the yell as spirit beings, for, as the apostle says, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." Therefore, not only those who have slept for centuries must be changed to spirit beings, but the living ones also must be changed from flesh and blood to spirit.

When thus changed we "shall be like him" and "see him as he is"'not as he was. (1 John 3:2.) We have already quoted the Scriptures which tell us the reward of this little flock, the bride of Christ, who will participate in this resurrection of the blessed and holy, and we remark that the title "first resurrection" in the Greek signifies not merely first as in order of time, but especial first in the sense of paramount, chief, highest resurrection. They will receive perfection of life instantly, because their trials for this glorious condition in the present life will have passed successfully'they will have had the approval of God as copies of his dear Son, and be accounted worthy to obtain that resurrection.

We come now to the other, or general resurrection, styled by the apostle the resurrection. of the unjust, and styled by Daniel the resurrection of those who shall be awakened from the sleep of death to shame and age-lasting contempt.

This resurrection, in John 5:29, is called by our Lord "the resurrection of damnation," but the translation is seriously faulty. The Greek word rendered damnation is krisis, and is more properly rendered in the Revised Version, "judgment," as in the twenty-second verse of the same chapter, where we read, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22). It was the same word used by St. Peter also when he said God knoweth how "to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Pet. 2:9). He is not punishing them now. They are to get their punishment when the day of judgment comes. Our translators could scarcely have made a poorer translation than they have given us when they improperly rendered this word "damnation" contrary to its use elsewhere and contrary to its meaning. Surely the poor world has had enough of damnation or condemnation already; as the apostle says, condemnation passed upon all men because of Adam's transgression. (Rom. 5:12-18.) The world has been under this condemnation for six thousand years, and, although Christ has redeemed them from that condemnation, their release from it has not yet been accomplished, because the world must wait until the "calling," the "sealing" and the "glorifying" of the "elect" shall first be accomplished. This condemnation that is still upon the world will at the second coming of our Lord be canceled, and then, under the new covenant, the Lord will be merciful to their transgressions and their sins, and their iniquities he will remember no more. (Jer. 31:31-34.) The apostle [HG232] tells us that God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the glorified Christ. This is a promise of a future judgment or a future trial of the world, and the millennial day or epoch is set apart for that particular work. God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world. That is not judging the world now. With the forgiving of the Adamic condemnation, mankind will be brought to a new trial. or judgment, or test, even as we who believe during this gospel age on account of our faith are counted as released from Adamic condemnation and started on a new trial for life eternal or death eternal; so the world, when its judgment day shall begin, will not only be released from the Adamic condemnation, but immediately begin to be on trial individually for life or death eternal. Our Lord, in this same chapter, declares that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, and the apostle corroborates this, saying that God "will judge the world"'in that day (not in this age)'" by that man whom he hath ordained"'Christ Jesus (Acts 17:31), the head to the Lord, the bridegroom, the church, the body of Christ being associated with him in his judgment throne, from which the blessings of the Lord will go forth, and also his testings and discipline to every creature. That the glorified church, after sharing in the first resurrection, will be associated with the Lord in the judgment of the world during the world's great judgment day, the millennial age, is the distinct statement of the apostle. I quote his words: Know ye not "that the saints shall judge the world?" (1 Cor. 6:2). Now, then, connect with this thought of the world's coming judgment by the Lord and his associates, the church, the language of Jesus: They that have done good "shall come forth unto the resurrection of life"'the first resurrection'" and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of" judgment. (John 5:29.) We have already shown that the mere awakening of the sleeping dead is not a resurrection, and the Lord's word declares that the unjustified, the disapproved of God, will all come forth from their tomb, from the sleep of death, "unto," or that they may have a resurrection, by judgment; that they may be raised up out of their present fallen, blemished, sinful, imperfect conditions, mental, moral and physical, up, up, up, to that which is perfect, to that which was lost, that they may rise up again to the glorious heights of the likeness and image of God as he originally created them, from which perfection they fell through sin, but to the privilege of returning to it again, they were redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Now, let us look at the statement of Dan. 12:2 that some will come forth "to shame and age-lasting contempt." Imagine the world coming forth during the millennial age from the tomb; imagine the blessed conditions which we are promised shall then prevail when Immanuel shall be King over all the earth, when Satan shall be bound during that thousand-year judgment day of the world, when the knowledge of the Lord shall shine forth as the great sun of righteousness to scatter all the clouds of ignorance and superstition that are now binding the heart of man. Imagine the knowledge of the glory of the Lord filling the whole earth, not merely as a gentle shower, but symbolically ocean deep, as we read. The knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth "as the waters cover the deep" (Isa. 11:9). Consider the description of that glorious epoch given us through the prophets and apostles. The apostle Peter says of it: "Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ"'the second advent'" whom the heavens must receive [retain] until the time of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21). We have just been considering some of the promises made by the holy prophets. Hark further to the Lord's 'declaration that the people of that time shall no longer say, "I am sick," and that there shall no longer be an infant of days, children in infancy, neither an old man that hath not filled his days; none shall die of old age, but sinners shall be cut off in the second death; for the prophet goes on to declare that a sinner dying then at a hundred years would be but a child; he might at very least, by obedience to the laws of Messiah's kingdom, live to the conclusion of the millennium. (Isa. 65:20.) The apostle Peter, speaking of that reign of Christ, head and body, the antitypical Moses, said: "And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet"'that great teacher of the millennial age'" shall be" utterly "destroyed from among the people." Thus there will be a weeding out during the millennial age, they who persist in the love of sin, and choose to disobey the divine law and respond to Messiah's judgments, disciplines, etc., until at the close of the millennium the whole world will consist of human beings in the image of God as was Adam. As the divine plan tested Adam when he was perfect, so his divine arrangement that the world of mankind shall be subject to a severe crucial test at the close of the millennial age, after they shall have passed through the experiences of the fall and of the raising again to all that was lost. If by that experience they have learned to fully submit their thought to the will of God, if they have learned to love righteousness and to hate as iniquity everything contrary to the divine will, it is God's pleasure that they shall have eternal life. And any who will not after these experiences be in full accord with him, and who would have any love or sympathy for sin, will be blotted out of existence; for "the soul that sinneth it shall die" (Eze. 18:20), shall always be the divine standard.

This trial at the end of the millennial age is clearly pictured to us in Rev. 20:2, where we are told that after Satan, having been bound for a thousand years to deceive the nations no more, that at that time he may be loosed and test or try all who dwell on the face of the earth, whose number is as the sand of the seashore.

What proportion of these will yield to the temptations of the hour we are not informed, but those who do yield will be counted in as enemies of God, and their destruction, in harmony with the divine judgment, is symbolically pictured in the words, "Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them."

Another picture of this millennial age, the time of judgment of the world, is given us in Rev. 20:12, where we read that the "dead, small and great," will "stand before . . . the great white throne." The whiteness of the throne represents its purity; the righteousness of the judgment reign of Christ. (Rev. 20:11-12.) As it is written again, he shall judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained'Christ and the saints, for we are members in particular of the body of Christ. The books will be opened, the books of the Bible which now are to so many closed and misunderstood, and the dead will be judged according to the things written in the books. The same law and the same understanding of the divine character that is now to be presented to you and to me will then be presented to them. God changes not, his plain law changes not. As our Lord declared, "My word shall judge you in the last day"'the millennial day, the last of the 7,000-year days. Six of these days have already passed under the reign of sin and death; the seventh is just before us, and is called the day of the Lord, the day of Christ, the great Sabbath for the world, in which, through Christ, they shall rest through Christ from the Adamic condemnation, be released from it, and be brought back, if they will, into harmony with God.

We read also that they will be judged according to their works, and this, we notice, is quite contrary to the judgment that is now upon the church, for, as the apostle informs us, we are judged according to our faith, according to our endeavors, and not according to the actual results. But the world during the millennium, during its judgment day, will be judged according to its works, and works will be possible under the assistance of the kingdom. There will be nothing to pull down, nothing to tempt, nothing to destroy, in all the Lord's holy kingdom.

Everything to upbuild and to strengthen and assist; not merely to have good endeavors, but their endeavors will meet with more and more success as they shall rise up more and more out of sin and death conditions unto full perfection of all that was lost.

By the end of the millennial age perfect works will be possible to all who remain and perfect works will be required of them; they shall be judged according to their works. This does not mean that faith will not have its part, but they will no longer walk by faith, as we now do, but by sight, by the various assistances of that glorious day when the darkness and shadows of the present time shall all have flown. Note that the apostle tells us of that blessed day further, saying, "The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isa. 35:10). Let us not think of this as referring to the saints at the present time, but rather of the returning or restitution class who will then be privileged, as the same prophet declares, to go on the highway of holiness, which is a very different way from the "narrow way" of holiness which is the only way open during this gospel age for those who will be joint-heirs with Christ.

Let us remember the words of the same prophet concerning the same restitution class, during its day of judgment hour, on trial for life or death eternal. Let us remember that the redeemed of the Lord are not merely the elect who enjoy his favor during this gospel age, but that the whole world was redeemed, and God has promised a blessing to every member of the race through the precious blood; describing the blessings of the millennial age and the resurrection in beautiful poetic language. He says:

"And in this mountain"'kingdom of God'" shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined, and he will destroy in this mountain"'kingdom'" the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations"'ignorance, superstition, death'" he will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears off all faces, and the rebuke of" being "his people shall he take away from all the earth" (Isa. 25:6-8).

The new order of things connected with Messiah's reign, and the world's judgment or trial epoch, is most gloriously pictured as a "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," as compared with the present order or condition of things over which Satan is the prince, or ruler, when sin and death abound. [HG234] (2 Pet. 3:13.) Not that there will be a literal burning of this earth, or its destruction in any sense of the word, but that the great transition epoch between the reign of sin and the reign of righteousness will be accompanied by a momentous epoch of trouble, including anarchy, which will overthrow all present institutions, and prepare the world for the reign of righteousness and love, as in contradistinction to the present reign of sin and selfishness and death.

The binding of Satan and the overthrow of the reign of sin is described as "a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation" (Dan. 12:1). And following it will come the new era of peace, in which God's blessings will be poured out on the world, while their judgment or trial for life or death eternal will be in progress.

Hearken to the description: "I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men"'the tabernacle of God is the church itself, the holy temple of God, the wonderful temple of the living God'" and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people; and God himself shall be with them and be their God; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful" (Rev. 21:3-5).

Mark, dear friends, that this is not a picture of the reward of the church in heaven.

It is a picture given us respecting God's dealings with the children of men on earth, after the glorification of the church, the new Jerusalem, the bride, the Lamb's wife. It pictures the time when God's tabernacle shall be with men under the whole heaven. It tells us that the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of God. It tells of the time when "every knee shall bow" and every tongue confess; the time when all men shall have full knowledge of God and his righteousness, and a full opportunity of coming back into full harmony with him, and to full perfection, full raising up, full resurrection to all that was lost by Father Adam's disobedience.

Up to the present time God has not been judging the world; that is, rewarding and punishing each act of mankind. The whole world was under a death sentence anyway, and only those who came to the Lord and got free from the original sentence could with any propriety be said to be on trial again. Hence the trial was confined to justified believers, God's people; hence the Scriptural declaration, "The Lord will judge his people" (Psa. 135:14). But the judgment of the world, as we have already shown, is set aside for the future. God "hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness," the millennial day, which has not yet been fully inaugurated. (Acts 17:31.) When that glorious day shall be ushered in, the judgments of the Lord in the earth will all be committed to the Son, as the Scriptures declare, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22), and the judgment of the Son will take cognizance of every evil deed of every creature, as we read that he shall not judge by the hearing of the ear, neither by the sight of the eye; he shall judge righteous judgment. (Isa. 11:3-4.) Christ and the church will thus regulate the world's affairs, and see to it that every evil deed is punished, and every good endeavor is rewarded, and the result will be marvelous, as the prophet has declared: "When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa. 26:9). As soon as a man finds that the attempt to commit a robbery will bring upon him some physical punishment, he will desist. As soon as he finds that to slander his neighbor would bring upon him a temporary paralysis of the tongue, he will be careful respecting his words. And so with every act and every word, a just recompense of reward will be rendered for each; and forthwith there will be no further use for jails and penitentiaries, police or armies; and speedily the world will learn that honesty, righteousness and truth will be their best policy, and gradually they will learn to love righteousness when they see its beneficient operations in the uplifting of their own minds and bodies and hearts, from sin and degradation toward the likeness of God.

Oh, how these descriptions given in the word of God of the glorious times of restitution that are to come, give us a new view of his character for justice and for love, as well as for wisdom and for power. With what fervency we can now pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Now, as we read the apostle's words, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together, . . . for the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:22, 19), we see a meaning in his words that we never saw before. The manifestation of the sons of God will be their glorification in the kingdom church in glory. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43). And as the result of the shining forth, as the result of the kingdom then established, as the result of the overthrow of Satan, sin and death, will come the relief of the groaning creation from the bondage of corruption, the bondage to death. Some of them are bound by mental and physical and moral chains. Others have gone down into the tomb. But all shall be released; all [HG235] shall have an opportunity to return to the Father's house, for "in my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). There is one for the angels, there is one for the glorified church and there is another not so high for the world of mankind.

Mark how the apostle points this out in the same connection, saying, "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21). The liberty of the children of God, fully attained, means everlasting life, without the blemishes and imperfections with which we are now acquainted. The children of God, the saints, will get their release in the first resurrection. But the groaning creation, the world in general, as the context shows, are also to have their share, but not until the saints are glorified. Then, during the millennium, the world may be released from all the bondage, all the restraints, all the limitations of corruption and death, and come back to all that was lost in Adam, redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus.

But, says one, will their conduct in the present life not have something to do with the condition of mankind during the millennial age? Will they get scot-free? We answer, clear friends, that we may judge somewhat of the Lord's dealing then by his dealing with the church now. Those of you who now are saints of God, and who once were aliens and strangers and enemies of God, and who at that time sowed your "wild oats," sowed to the wind'how did God deal with you when you were received into his family? Consider the matter for a moment. Although he freely forgave you your trespasses for Christ's sake, and permitted you to enter into blessings and joys, and to an appreciation of his glorious Word, nevertheless he permitted that some of the sting and smart and poison of your course of sin should continue with you. Doubtless many of this audience have aches and pains at this moment, the result of their sins and indiscretions before they came into the Lord's family, before their sins were forgiven. We see a principle here, a reconciliation, and also a permission of stripes, or punishments. From God's standpoint our responsibility is in proportion to our knowledge. Since all, except idiots and infants, have some knowledge, all have some responsibility, and for that responsibility they must expect stripes or punishments, few or many. This is the principle which applies to the world in the future. They will not be lost to all eternity, which would neither be few stripes or many, but would constitute interminable, unceasing stripes.

The legal obligation of the world will be entirely canceled before the Lord with the opening of the millennial age, for God has promised that under the new covenant he will forgive the sins and iniquities of Israel, and the apostle shows that the same principle will apply to all the Gentiles. It will be a gradual work to take away the stony hearts out of the flesh and to give them a heart of flesh. It will require a large share of the millennial age to bring mankind into that gracious condition in which they will have the heart of flesh'hearts proper to perfect mankind'hearts of love. But remember, dear friends, that these hearts of flesh, promised to the world under the new covenant, which will be inaugurated at the second coming ofour Lord, are totally different from the blessing that is granted to the church now. To us the Lord does not give a heart of flesh, but makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus, a new creation of God, to whom all old things are passed away and all things have become new; for we are to be spirit beings like unto our Lord and not flesh beings like Adam. (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 15:45-49.) We see, then, that in proportion as any one at the present time is a transgressor against any measure of light, he is to that extent amenable to stripes or punishments. And we may say that each worldly person carries about in his own body the reward of his willful misdoings and an automatic measure of stripes, which he will receive during the world's judgment day.

If the world could have this, the Scriptural thought, it would have far more weight with it than all the not-believed theories about eternal torment. Because, like all the other features of the divine plan, this is reasonable, and it commends itself to all reasonable minds as at least probable.

Note how this harmonizes with the Scriptures. Daniel says (Dan. 12:2) that "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt." He is not referring to shame and contempt that they had when alive. He is not referring to shame and contempt which the world had for them while they were dead. He is referring to a shame and lasting contempt which they themselves will experience amongst mankind after they shall have been awakened from the sleep of death during the millennium. Some of them will have more shame and more contempt, others less.

Each man's shame and contempt will be measured by his moral obliquity. At that time, in some manner not explained in the Scriptures (possibly by some power closely resembling mind reading), the weakness and contemptibility of each member of the race will be manifested to each other one, and in marked contrast with the perfect standards of righteousness which will then be uplifted before the whole world of mankind. Some will be there who in the present time have succeeded remarkably well in covering their really [HG236] dark designs, selfishness and meanness. They will be opened as a book. Some whose dark deeds were all secreted will then be recognized, shunned and shamed.

If we would choose from amongst men an illustration of the basest of men, it would probably be the emperor Nero, the murderer of his own mother, the man whose perfidy triumphed in so many ways and who so cruelly burned many of the followers of Jesus, making torches of them by covering them with burning pitch.

Nero was redeemed; Nero will be one of those, therefore, who will come forth among the unjust, among those who have done evil, with whom God was not pleased. Nero will come forth to a resurrection by judgment. The judgment of the Lord, the stripes, the experiences of shame and contempt, may, if he wills, work out for him a blessing, leading to a complete reformation and transformation of his character, and, if so, in proportion as the change progresses, his shame and the contempt of his fellows will decrease, and finally, should he come fully into heart harmony with the Lord, the shame and contempt will all gradually fade out, and thereafter his fellows will all come to love him and appreciate him as an overcomer of sin, and as one to whom God will be pleased to grant eternal life because of such a change, . and because of his coming to be a lover of righteousness and a hater of iniquity.

We have chosen an extreme example, but remember that the Lord also shows an extreme example when he mentions the Sodomites and declares that in his sight they were less guilty, less responsible, less deserving of shame and contempt and stripes than some to whom he preached in his day, and who thought themselves quite respectable, church-going people. (Matt. 11:23-24.) Now, dear friends, we have before us the Scriptures on the subject of the resurrection of the just and of the unjust, of the good, approved of God, the saints, the little flock, those who at the conclusion of the present life are adjudged of God to be fit and prepared for eternal glory and joint-heirship with our Lord in his kingdom. We have shown you that these are few. The fact is indisputable. You know that many of your friends and neighbors are not walking after the spirit, but after the flesh, and that only these will be of the saints in the first resurrection.

Consequently you see that the great majority of those you know today will be in this secondary resurrection, the resurrection to judgment. And it should rejoice your heart as it does mine to know that they only do not go to eternal torture when they die; but that even after they awake from the sleep of death God's provision for them, when they shall hear the voice of the Son of man and come forth from the graves, is that they might have a resurrection by judgment, by testing, by discipline, by the rewards and punishments which will be meted out to them during the whole of the world's judgment day, the millennial age.

I did not quite finish my argument. I will continue. Mark the Scriptural declarations on this subject: Rev. 15:4: "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest."

Philip. 2:9-11: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Rev. 5:13: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth. and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever."

How glad we should be that God will wipe away all tears from off all faces; that his tabernacle shall be with men, and that there shall be no more curse, no more dying, no more sighing, no more crying. How glad we shall be that the angel's message at the time of the Redeemer's birth shall be fulfilled: "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour," literally, a life-giver, one who will give life to the world, to so many of them as will receive it; but all the wicked will he destroy.

I am sorry, dear friends, in some respects, that my presentation of matters never seems to suit my opponent. I can not help this. I might perhaps return the compliment, and say that his presentations do not always suit me. But that perhaps may not be wondered at. I am sorry I have not pleased him all the way through in every particular. You will notice, dear friends, that the agreement of this debate is as you have it in the program in your hands. That is the ground upon which we are debating and discussing.

Our dear brother seems to think that I took some advantage of him last night, but I remind this audience, and remind the brother, that that is not my fault. He was in the affirmative; the subject was his affirmation, not mine. He made the affirmative, which I deny. Besides this, you will remember our dear brother seems to think he knows all that I believe a great deal better than I do myself. I do not know what he believes, except as he tells us here, but he says that he knows all that I believe. He says he has read "Millennial Dawn." I do not think he has.

[Laughter.] I am willing, dear friends, to leave the matter as to how the brother treats "Millennial Dawn," and what kinds of things he gets out of it. I leave that to the intelligence of the people who have "Millennial Dawn," that have read it.

There are about seven thousand volumes of "Millennial Dawn" in your city. Quite a good many of you have them, and there are over two million copies of "Millennial Dawn" in the hands of the people of the United States, and they are being printed at the rate of twelve thousand books every day; and they are printed in six languages and being prepared in four more. The people will find out what is in "Millennial Dawn" despite our dear brother. I wish he would open his eyes a little; I had some hope of him, as I suggested at the beginning, but I have not much hope of him now.

Our dear brother thought I said last night that Lazarus represented the Gentile nations and that I said that all the Gentile nations got into Abraham's bosom. I was not so foolish as that, my dear brethren. I was telling you if that was a literal statement, our dear brother does not take it as a parable, then if it was a literal statement, when Lazarus got into Abraham's bosom there would not be much room for the rest of us. There have been eighteen hundred years since, and some of us just as good as Lazarus have died since; some that did not have sores, or dogs to lick the sores, but some just as good as Lazarus, and if this were a literal statement there would be no room for them in Abraham's bosom at all. We tried to show you that this was a parable. The rich man represented the Jewish nation, and Lazarus represented those Gentiles who were outcasts from the commonwealth of Israel, as the apostle put it, those who were outside the pale.

You will remember that the apostle tells us on this subject that there was a middle wall, or partition, around the Jewish nation, for over sixteen hundred years. They, as a nation, from the time of the law down to the rejection of Jesus, had the special favor of God, and in this way they had the wall around them, so that the poor Gentiles could not get over or under that wall. You will remember the Syrophoenician woman. She was a Gentile. She came to Jesus; she wanted her daughter healed because she was afflicted with a demon. What did Jesus say to her? Jesus said, "It is not meet to take the bread from the children's table and give it unto dogs." He was classing her as one of the dogs. Jesus gives us this illustration himself. All Gentiles seeking the favor of God, yet unable to come to God, were in this sense of the word pictured by Lazarus, the companion of dogs, in this parable. Then the day came when there was a change of dispensation, and the Jewish nation died as respects the favor and privileges and blessing they had had for sixteen hundred years. Then God's favor turned and passed to [HG245] those Jews ready to receive Christ, those "Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile," as we read in John 1:10: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sous of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

These were the ones that he received, all those Jews. After that the favor of God was sent amongst the Gentiles. You remember Cornelius was the first Gentile convert, and he was converted seven years after our Lord began his ministry. The favor was limited to the Jewish nation for a certain time. You remember the apostle Paul again in says, "It was necessary that the gospel should be preached first unto you," then afterwards according to God's arrangement it turned so that the Jews were left outside as a nation and the Gentiles who were in the right condition to receive the Lord's favor became the children of Abraham. I have not the time to discuss this subject to-night; that will be part of our subject next Sunday afternoon, "The oath of God to Abraham and his seed."

I pass on to notice the rich man's five brethren. Our brother does not seem to see how there could be any five brethren if that rich man were the Jewish nation. I will remind you, dear friends, that the nation of Israel originally consisted of twelve tribes, and you will remember at the time of the dispersion in Babylon they were divided at that time; ten tribes constituted Israel, and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin were called the tribe of Judah, and in the return from Babylon of the ten tribes very few came back, though representatives of them all came; but those who came back were principally the two tribes. So, then, the rich man of our Lord's time represented the tribes of Judah and Benjamin especially, so that the two were represented by the one man, and the ten remaining were represented by the five brethren, the same proportion, you see'five representing ten and two representing one.

This was very appropriate, and shows that all the other Jews wanted to have the Lord's favor; must have it on the terms in harmony with the law and the prophets.

Our brother referred to the last day 'the judgment day' and said how many things were to take place there. And I answer, yes. The judgment day the dear brother does not seem to get the proper view of. "A day with the Lord is as a thousand years," says the apostle Peter, and he adds, "And I would not have you ignorant concerning it, brethren." Now, our dear brother is ignorant of it. He should not be. [Laughter.] Our brother tells us that he is waiting for the Lord Jesus to come quickly, and yet he tells us in the next breath that he can not come until a thousand years are completed. How does he know that he is to come quickly? A thousand years must come in between.

Our dear brother objects to another chance for Nero in the millennium. He says he has a chance. I do not think he ever had a chance, from God's standpoint under Christ, but I do not know. If he ever had a chance, he will never get another. But if he has had no chance because, blinded and weakened by depravity and unable to appreciate the principle of the truth along with the world in general, in harmony with what the apostle Paul tells us, "the god of this world has blinded the eyes of them that believe not," then he is entitled to a chance in the future. Whoever is of that class of blinded ones, whether they live in heathen lands or Christian lands, they are to have the blessing expressed by the apostle, "Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" to every man.

Our brother reminds us about Sodom, and I remind him again that the Lord says that in that day of judgment, the thousand years, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Bethsaida and Chorazin.

Our brother speaks of bodies in the resurrection. I answer yes, of course they will come forth with bodies, but not with the same matter that was in their bodies before. You bury a man out there in the graveyard and plant an apple-tree over him, and the roots grow down and appropriate the matter in that body, and after awhile that matter goes into the apples, the apples fall on the ground, the pigs eat the apples and you eat the pigs, and thus the atoms constituting that body are distributed all over the world. You do not know where that matter has gone to.

The Lord never tells us we will get the same particles of matter back. The same atoms are not needed, but they will have bodies when they come forth, similar to the ones that went down into the tomb.

Our brother said there was nothing about the resurrection of the soul. I replied to that. You will remember I quoted you several times on this subject. The Lord says, respecting his experience: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, the grave."