Awake
and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the
earth shall cast out the dead. Isa. 26:19.
The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. . . .
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. 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.
. . But all arise with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth. . . . The
mortal, corruptible form, devoid of comeliness, once polluted with sin, becomes
perfect, beautiful, and immortal. All blemishes and deformities are left in
the grave. . . .
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 made immortal and with
the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels “gather
together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
As the
little infants come forth immortal from their dusty beds, they immediately
wing their way to their mothers’ arms.
Friends
long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness
ascend together to the City of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment