The Special Resurrection of the Unjust

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
“They also which pierced him” (Revelation 1:7), those that mocked and derided Christ’s dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.
[At His trial], Caiaphas, raising his right hand toward heaven, addressed Jesus in the form of a solemn oath: “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” . . .
Every ear was bent to listen, and every eye was fixed on His face as He answered, “Thou hast said.” A heavenly light seemed to illuminate His pale countenance as He added, “Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
For a moment the divinity of Christ flashed through His guise of humanity. The high priest quailed before the penetrating eyes of the Saviour. . . . For a moment he felt as if standing before the eternal Judge, whose eye, which sees all things, was reading his soul, bringing to light mysteries supposed to be hidden with the dead.
The scene passed from the priest’s vision. . . . Rending his robe, . . . he demanded that . . . the prisoner be condemned for blasphemy. “What further need have we of witnesses?” he said; “behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye?” And they all condemned Him.
Thus the Jewish leaders made their choice. Their decision was registered in the book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, the book which no man could open. In all its vindictiveness this decision will appear before them in the day when this book is unsealed by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
When Christ comes the second time, not as a prisoner surrounded by a rabble will they see Him. They will see Him as heaven’s King. . . . Then the priests and rulers will remember distinctly the scene in the judgment hall. Every circumstance will appear before them as if written in letters of fire.
Maranatha p. 281
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Ron. He had a bad fall and broke his collarbone. Rose
—– Please keep Vincent, his mother Hazel, and the family in your prayers. Thursday, Vince’s dad passed away. He was a strong leader in his family and in the community. He was well respected and well known for all the things he accomplished in his life… He will be greatly missed. Please pray for God’s comfort, strength, guidance and protection. It is so difficult being left behind… God is here in the middle of it all. Please pray that His presence will be felt especially throughout this morning. Tracy
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Dear Friends
When my mother was a young bride, she decided to make bread to surprise her husband with her cooking skills. First, she put some yeast in warm water; adding the sugar, salt, and oil at just the right time. Then she began adding flour. Only then did she realize that she did not have quite enough flour to make bread. She had to have more flour! This meant a walk to the corner store. Before going, however, she placed the much-too-sticky ball of bread back into the bowl, covered it with a dishtowel, and placed it over the pilot light on their gas stove to keep it warm until she got back.
On the way to the store, my mother saw a neighbor who was standing at the bus stop. My mother liked this lady. She was always so friendly and full of fun. The lady waved to her, so she stopped to talk for awhile. Finally, they saw the bus in the distance. The neighbor to my mother, “Geneva, why don’t you come to town with me? We can have a fun afternoon together shopping.”
All thoughts of her original errand vanished with this opportunity to go to town. Climbing onto the bus, she deposited the nickle into the fare box and the two women took their seats.
All afternoon they talked and shopped, shopped and talked. About 4:30 PM, my mother looked at her watch. My dad would be closing his gas station soon, so she said good-bye to the neighbor lady and walked the short distance to his station. After the money was counted and everything locked up, they got into the car and drove home.
Climbing up the stairs to their apartment ahead of my mother, my dad opened the door and stood sill in surprise. Then he started laughing harder than she had ever seen him laugh before. Still not thinking about the bread, my mother wondered whatever could be so funny. Rushing inside, she was shocked and horrified! The yeast in her bread had grown and developed in that sticky mass expanding over the bowl, into the burners, up and over the edge of the stove, down the front of the stove, and onto the floor. What a mess she had to clean up! As she was doing so, she was wondering if an afternoon of fun was worth all of that work.
God’s Holy Word uses yeast (leaven) to the baleful work of sin in our life. During the passover, no leaven was even to be found in their houses. “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.” Ex 12:15 As they meditated upon the significance of each symbol in the feast, they were to realize that just as they were to have no yeast in their homes during that time, they were also to have no sin in their lives.
To be free from sin, what a blessing that would be! To have a household whose inhabitants were freed from the power of evil is something for which to strive. Paul admonishes, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God.” Rom 6:12,13 Yet, how often we allow the leaven of sin into our life. One careless moment of taking the suggestions of the evil one can change our life forever. Just as yeast grows and develops, so just a little sin allowed in our lives will strengthen and spill over into other areas of our life until it takes over our thoughts, our words, our action and destroys the character. We become trapped and bound with the chains of that sin, unable to break free, but sin has such a hold on us, that we fall repeatedly. How much we need
deliverance from the evil one. How much we need a Saviour Who can free us from sin’s power.
Thank God we have such an One! “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16,17. Familiar words, but so full of significence. Think of it! He, Who made the Universe came to this sinful old planet to open up a way of escape that we may be cleansed from the yeast of sin that has permeated every part of our life. What a Saviour! We can trust Him to deliver us from the chains of sin that have bound us for so long for He loves us with an everlasting love.
May we come to Jesus for the cleansing we so much need. May we allow Him to have full control of our thoughts, our words, our motives, our actions. May we, from this moment and always, “walk in newness of life” all the way to His Heavenly Kingdom is my prayer.Rom 6:4; Matt 7:13,14
Rose