Basic HTML Version
182
The Story of Redemption
themselves. They went aside to consult as to what should be done.
They reasoned that if the report brought by the guard should be
circulated among the people, those who put Christ to death would
be slain as His murderers.
It was decided to hire the soldiers to keep the matter secret. The
priests and elders offered them a large sum of money, saying, “Say
ye, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept.”
Matthew 28:13
. And when the guard inquired what would be done
with them for sleeping at their post, the Jewish officers promised to
[233]
persuade the governor and secure their safety. For the sake of money
the Roman guard sold their honor and agreed to follow the counsel
of the priests and elders.
The First Fruits of Redemption
When Jesus, as He hung upon the cross, cried out,
“It is fin-
ished“
, the rocks rent, the earth shook, and some of the graves were
opened. When He arose a victor over death and the grave, while the
earth was reeling and the glory of heaven shone around the sacred
spot, many of the righteous dead, obedient to His call, came forth
as witnesses that He had risen. Those favored, risen saints came
forth glorified. They were chosen and holy ones of every age, from
creation down even to the days of Christ. Thus while the Jewish
leaders were seeking to conceal the fact of Christ’s resurrection, God
chose to bring up a company from their graves to testify that Jesus
had risen, and to declare His glory.
Those risen ones differed in stature and form, some being more
noble in appearance than others. I was informed that the inhabitants
of earth had been degenerating, losing their strength and comeliness.
Satan has the power of disease and death, and with every age the
effects of the curse have been more visible, and the power of Satan
more plainly seen. Those who lived in the days of Noah and Abra-
ham resembled the angels in form, comeliness, and strength. But
every succeeding generation have been growing weaker and more
subject to disease, and their life has been of shorter duration. Satan
has been learning how to annoy and enfeeble the race.
Those who came forth after the resurrection of Jesus appeared
to many, telling them that the sacrifice for man was completed, that
[234]