The Life-giver Is Coming, June 28

The Hope of the Resurrection

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job 14:14.FLB 185.1

The Life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first resurrection, 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. By the power of the Saviour that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead.^{79SDA Bible Commentary 4:1143.}FLB 185.2

Our fondest hopes are often blighted here. Our loved ones are torn from us by death. We close their eyes and habit them for the tomb, and lay them away from our sight. But hope bears our spirits up. We are not parted forever, but shall meet the loved ones who sleep in Jesus. They shall come again from the land of the enemy. The Life-giver is coming. Myriads of holy angels escort Him on His way. He bursts the bands of death, breaks the fetters of the tomb, the precious captives come forth in health and immortal beauty.^{80The Youth's Instructor, April 1858.}FLB 185.3

Our personal identity is preserved in the resurrection, though not the same particles of matter or material substance as went into the grave.... In the resurrection every man will have his own character. God in His own time will call forth the dead, giving again the breath of life, and bidding the dry bones live.^{81SDA Bible Commentary 6:1093.}FLB 185.4

There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52.^{82The Review and Herald, November 22, 1906.}FLB 185.5

The last lingering traces of the curse of sin will be removed, and Christ's faithful ones will appear in “the beauty of the Lord our God,” in mind and soul and body reflecting the perfect image of their Lord.^{83The Great Controversy, 645.}FLB 185.6

Are we ready so that if we shall fall asleep, we can do so with hope in Jesus Christ? ^{84My Life Today, 349.}FLB 185.7