AND THE PURPOSE OF THE AGES

`O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the

land of Israel' (Ezek. 37:12-14).

`What shall the receiving of them (Israel) be, but life from the dead?' (Rom. 11:15).

(4) Resurrection, connected with the Lord's return, is the hope of the believer.

`Every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the

last day' (John 6:39,40,44,54; 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

`Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God' (Job 19:25,26).

(5) An out resurrection is revealed as the gate-way to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus for the

`If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead (literally, attain unto the out-resurrection out

from among the dead)' (Phil. 3:11).

Similarly in the Acts period believers were led to look away from the earthly calling to a heavenly one, the

New Jerusalem, whose final destiny is the new earth to which it descends (Rev. 3:12; 21:2,10). This is the `city' and

`better country' of Hebrews 11:9,10,16, and for them there is a `better resurrection':

`Others were tortured, . . . that they might obtain a better resurrection' (Heb. 11:35).

(6) Resurrection power enables the believer to triumph over all circumstances and render acceptable service to the

`The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, . . . which He wrought in Christ when He

raised Him from the dead' (Eph. 1:19-23).

`That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection' (Phil. 3:10).

What more can we say then? Here is the means by which we may each one become more than conquerors in

our daily experience until that time when, with the Psalmist, we can say:

`I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness' (Psa. 17:15).

To the reader therefore we repeat, hold fast to the fundamental truth of resurrection. Let not tradition rob you

of it, for in losing this you lose your all.

`If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised ... then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ ARE

PERISHED' (1 Cor. 15:16-18).