Page 379 - That I May Know Him (1964)

On the Threshold of Eternity, December 22
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. 1
Corinthians 15:54.
How precious to those who are losing their loved of this world are
their faith and hope in the promises of God which open before them the
future immortal life! Their hopes may fasten upon unseen realities of the
future world. Christ has risen from the dead the first fruits. Hope and faith
strengthen the soul to pass through the dark shadows of the tomb, in full
faith of coming forth to immortal life in the morning of the resurrection.
The Paradise of God, the home of the blessed! There all tears shall be
wiped from off all faces! When Christ shall come the second time, to be
“admired in all them that believe” (2 Thessalonians 1:10), death shall be
swallowed up in victory, and there shall be no more sickness, no more
sorrow, no more death! A rich promise is given to us: “Blessed are they
that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and
may enter in through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). Is not this
promise rich and comforting to those who love God? 25
The resurrection of Jesus was a sample of the final resurrection of all
who sleep in Him. The risen body of the Saviour, His deportment, the
accents of His speech, were all familiar to His followers. In like manner will
those who sleep in Jesus rise again. We shall know our friends even as the
disciples knew Jesus. Though they may have been deformed, diseased, or
disfigured in this mortal life, yet in their resurrected and glorified body their
individual identity will be perfectly preserved, and we shall recognize, in
the face radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, the lineaments
of those we love.26
The Life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first resur-
rection, and until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall sound and
the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every sleeping saint will
be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious jewel, who is known to
God by name. 27 [363]
25The Review and Herald, October 11, 1887.
26The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 6:1092.
27The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1143.
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