Basic HTML Version
Adam Home Again!, July 2
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every
man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ’s at his coming.
1 Corinthians 15:22, 23
.
Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder,
the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints.... 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....
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
[171]
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 with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth....
All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave. Restored to the tree of life
in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will “grow up” to the full stature of the race
in its primeval glory....
As the ransomed ones are welcomed to the City of God, there rings out upon
the air an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to meet. The Son
of God is standing with outstretched arms to receive the father of our race—the
being whom He created, who sinned against his Maker, and for whose sin the
marks of the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour’s form. As Adam discerns
the prints of the cruel nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in
humiliation casts himself at His feet, crying: “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that
was slain!” Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up and bids him look once more upon
the Eden home from which he has so long been exiled....
This reunion is witnessed by the angels who wept at the fall of Adam and
rejoiced when Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended to heaven, having opened
the grave for all who should believe on His name. Now they behold the work of
redemption accomplished, and they unite their voices in the song of praise.
197