Basic HTML Version
God’s People Delivered
311
of a life of hypocrisy, and the soul is harassed with vain regrets. But
what are these compared with the remorse of that day when “fear
cometh as desolation,” when “destruction cometh as a whirlwind!”
[
Proverbs 1:27
.] Those who would have destroyed Christ and his
faithful people, now witness the glory which rests upon them. In
the midst of their terror they hear the voices of the saints in joyful
strains exclaiming, “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him,
and he will save us.” [
Isaiah 25:9
.]
[463]
Amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and
the roaring of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the
sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then
raising his hands to heaven he cries, “Awake, awake, awake, ye that
sleep in the dust, and arise!” Throughout the length and breadth
of the earth, the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall
live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of the exceeding
great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From
the prison-house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory,
crying, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
[
1 Corinthians 15:55
.] And the living righteous and the risen saints
unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory.
All come forth from their graves the same in stature as when
they entered the tomb. Adam, who stands among the risen throng,
is of lofty height and majestic form, in stature but little below the
Son of God. He presents a marked contrast to the people of later
generations; in this one respect is shown the great degeneracy of the
race. But all arise from their last deep slumber with the freshness
and vigor of eternal youth. In the beginning, man was created in the
likeness of God, not only in character, but in form and feature. Sin
defaced and almost obliterated the divine image; but Christ came to
restore that which had been lost. He will change our vile bodies, and
fashion them like unto his glorious body. The mortal, corruptible
form, devoid of comeliness, once polluted with sin, becomes perfect,
beautiful, and immortal. All blemishes and deformities are left in the
[464]
grave. The redeemed bear the image of their Lord. Oh, wonderful
redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager
anticipation, but never fully understood.
The living righteous are changed in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye. At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are