The above changes are as great and as in instantaneous, as the apostle represents in the context,—­“We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.”  As if he had said we shall suddenly enter into the full fruition of that glorious gospel kingdom, whose trump shall then begin, and continue to sound down to the remotest periods of that “last day” proclaiming the incorruptible resurrection of all the dead, and at the same time changing the living from the low, sorrowful, and groveling thoughts of earth to the sublime and joyful contemplations of “life and immortality brought to light through the gospel.”  So the last day, in which the last trump sounds, and the dead are raised, embraces the whole gospel reign of Christ.  The resurrection is coeval in duration with the judgment of the world; for both are called the last day, and both are represented as involving all mankind in one assemblage to be judged and in one assemblage to be raised.

[To be continued.]

SERMON XXII

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. xv:20.

We have already shown that the judgment of the world is called the “last day,” in which all human beings are to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and receive according to their deeds.  We have shown, that this day commenced at the end of the Jewish age, and is to continue down to all succeeding generations, so long as human beings shall have a habitation on earth.  We have shown that the resurrection is also called the “last day,” in which all the dead are to be raised immortal.  We have shown that, as a doctrine of God, it was permanently established in the world at the end of the Jewish dispensation—­that the last or gospel trump then commenced its sound, proclaiming the immortal resurrection of all who “die in Adam,” and at the same time changed those who were then alive—­and that it shall continue to sound to the remotest periods of this last day, proclaiming the resurrection of the dead and changing or reforming the living.  We have shown that the judgment and resurrection constitute the gospel doctrine of Christ, and, as such, both were established in the world at the same time, and are both called the “last day,” in which all men are in succession to be judged, and raised immortal.  The apostle Paul, when discussing to his hearers, either the judgment or the resurrection, looked forward to that interesting period, when they were to be established in the world, and, with a giant effort, grasped in one view, the beginning and end of this brilliant, sublime, and everlasting DAY, and presented it in mental vision to his persecuted and almost desponding brethren as one instantaneous, transporting and triumphant event, in which the world was to be judged, the living changed, the dead raised immortal and incorruptible, and the rapturous song of final victory was to be sung over death, its sting and the grave.