even in these, who shall be rebuilt, when they shall return from destruction, agreeably to the prayer of Moses"Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." (Psa. xc. 3.) "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the SECOND death." (Rev. ii. 11.) "He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death." (Matt. xv. 4.)

The testimony of Jesus, is full to the point, and emphatic, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." Here we have, again, the strong affirmation: Thanaton ou me theorese eis ton aiona! (John viii. 51.) The same conclusions are deduced from this declaration of Christ. And it must follow, that if a man does not keep the sayings of Jesus, he will see, or behold death; in the peculiar sense of death being present, and holding him bound in the chains of darkness, fast in Hades.

In the 5th chapter of the gospel according to John, the Lord Jesus, in vindicating himself from the aspersions of the Jews, made that a special occasion for affirming the great truths of His gospel, and in a special reference to them. Commencing at the 20th verse, with the declaration of Jesus as follows:

THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS.

"For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth; and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." Jesus then affirms in some detail, of the greater works alluded to, and says, "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." On this passage I will remark, that the tense is explana tory, when taken into consideration with the fact, that Jesus Christ, the Son, was the first-begotten or raised from the dead, literally, at a time subsequent to the time in question. It is therefore clearly indicated, that the quickening here spoken of, is the same as that affirmed by Paul in the present tense, of God quickening the mortal bodies of men in this world, by His Spirit dwelling in them, as I have already considered. And this quickening, is what in the Scriptures is called, the FIRST RESURRECTION; being a resurrection from the death of sin, to a life of knowledge; called the everlasting life; which, to the possessor, is a guaranty, as affirmed by Jesus, that

And I will farther re

"he shall never [not] see death." mark, in relation to the tense, that Jesus spoke in the present and future tenses, as follows: The present tense, had an exclusive reference to that aionos, embracing that portion of time that included his presence in the flesh, and the preaching of his disciples and Apostles, previously to the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, the Jewish Church and ceremonial worship; which events ushered in the aionos of the Gospel Dispensation, when the resurrection spoken of in the future tense, should signalize the happening of those events; as the great era, to which all the prophecies pointed, and concentrated in Jesus Christ, as King in Zion. With this preliminary in view, let us proceed:

In verse 22, Jesus says, "For the Father judgeth [krinei oudena, no one, instead of] no man; but hath committed all [krisin] judgment unto the Son: that all should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." This truth is universally acknowledged; that is, the principle here avowed, in the diplomatic relations of all civilized nations. The Jews pretended to honour God the Father; He sent His Son with full powers and credentials, which were abundantly exhibited; first, in his doctrine; and second, in his miracles, and the immaculate purity of his life, and the moral excellency of his character. But the reason assigned by Jesus, for the Father constituting him Judge of the merits and demerits of the world, is full to the point, in identifying him with the objects of his mission.

The declaration of Jesus (John xii. 46, 47,) is farther explanatory—“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words and believe not, I judge [krino] him not; for I came not to judge [krino] the world, but to save the world."* And this declaration is in harmony with the declarations of Jesus in John v., and confirms my statement of the present and future tenses, etc. And Jesus affirms positively, in reference to the object of his mission,

* And this, to abide in darkness, (in error and unbelief of the truth,) is the first death, or death in sin, or death that is the wages of sin. To be raised from this darkness, therefore, into the light of Christ's Gospel, is the first resurrection-the everlasting life of believers; and on such, the death of mortality, the body, that is the second death, hath no power-it cannot hold them a second of time!

shewing the distinction that he kept in view, in verse 48th. "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him :" i. e. in the last day, the third aionos, as follows: "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge [krinei] him in the last day." This is final as to the tense; at the same time, specifying the last day, or third aionos, or Gospel Dispensation, when he should reign as King of Zion, and as the Mediator between God and men. Therefore, the scene, in the whole scheme of sal vation, embracing Christ's judgment of the nations, receiv ing believers into his Kingdom, and, finally, at the close of the third aionos, or last day, raising the dead, is laid in the last day; in the sense of embracing the whole day, or dispensation of the Gospel. With this explanation and testimony as our adjutor, let us return to John v.

THE FIRST RESURRECTION.

Jesus proceeds (verse 24,) "Verily, Verily, [certainly, certainly,] I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE.' Reader, this testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ is final. I HERE UNFURL THE GOSPEL BANNER, AND WAIVE ITS BROAD FOLDS TO THE WORLD, WITH THE GREAT TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL EMBLAZONED UPON IT. He that hath eyes, let him behold it-" He that hath ears, let him hear, what the Spirit said to the [Seven] Churches" of Asia. "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the SECOND DEATH." And I again here reiterate the truth, the consequences: For if they that hear the word of Jesus Christ, and believe on Him that sent Him, Jesus, have everlast ing life, and shall not come into condemnation, but, by that hearing and believing, pass from death unto life; then it follows, of an inevitable necessity, that where the cause affirmed does not exist, no effect can follow ;-those who neither hear the word of Christ, to believing on God; nor have the everlasting life; nor pass from the death of darkness and sin, into the life of the Gospel; have no part in the first resurrection; on them the second death hath power; and they come into the condemnation spoken of.*

* Reader, if you receive the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be deeply impressed with a conviction of the utter worthlessness of man's pretensions; whether the man be an old sinner, whom old sinners like himself have dressed, adorning his head with a bauble, called a tiara, and dubbing him with the title of pope, cry, "Bow the knee❞—or, clothe

What is this condemnation ? καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται. (kai eis krisin ouk erchetai.) Ans. Verse 27th explains, where it is affirmed that the Father hath given to the Son, authority to execute krisin judgment. Therefore, to come into condemnation, in the sense that krisin is used in verse 24, with the negative, as applied to believers, signifies, that there shall be no trial, in the sense of an opinion, or judgment, or subsequent decision in their case-no censure nor accusation-neither, as Paul expressed it (Rom viii. 1.) can they come into condemnation as unbelievers; for there is "therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Paul assigns a most excellent reason for this, saying, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Believers have the Spirit of life in them. This Spirit keeps them-preserves them from infidelity, and from rebellion against their Heavenly Father; and they walk by the light of this Spirit, in humble imitation of their Divine Lord and Redeemer, the Man Christ Jesus. Jesus proceeds in the developement of the truths of his gospel as follows:

Verse 25-"Verily, verily, [certainly, certainly,] I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." There are two things, as conclusions, that follow inevitably from the truths here affirmed, viz:

First-The dead spoken of, must be those, who, in verse 24th, are characterized as having passed from death unto life. For they are emphatically those who hear Christ's word, believe, &c. And the declaration as it stands in verse 24th, is an affirmation of the effects that should follow from the operation of the cause specified. Therefore, this 25th, verse, is the continuation of the same subject, explaining, by additional detail, the truth there affirmed.

Second-The life that is affirmed as the consequence of hearing the word of Christ, and believing on Him that sent

their pretensions with a shred from Luther, or Calvin, or Arminius, or Hopkins, or the more recent (mormon-Joe) Smith's mantle; and assuming the authority of their respective sect, each for himself, with a pious grimace, damn, as their sect have decided, every one who shall refuse to yield a willing and unconditional assent to their dogmas: and your conviction of the futility of these human creeds and gospels, will deter you from acknowledging any prophet, priest, or king, save your Divine Head and Redeemer! The bull of the Roman pope, and the diversified anathema of would-be saviours, and damners of the souls of men, will be estimated justly; and you will regard them as less than nothing and vanity. VOL. II.-24

him, is, necessarily, the everlasting, or aionion life of the gospel, that believers experience on believing in this world; and this fact is abundantly proved by Christ's explanation as quoted from verse 25th, viz: "The hour is coming and now is," &c. And the dead, who hear, are the dead in sin, they that abide in darkness. (The reader must keep in view the important fact, that of a literal resurrection, from mortality to immortality-from the earthly image to the heavenly image, Jesus Christ is the first in the order of time.)

In v. 26, 27, Jesus proceeds, and explains, by assigning a reason for this, as follows: "For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judg ment also, because he is the Son of Man." And we have seen, that the judgment of the Son is expressed fully, in the then present tense, in relation to all who hear and believe, etc., so that there shall be no subsequent judg ment of them. And we have seen what the judgment of be lievers is, viz: They shall have everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation. And we have further seen, that this everlasting life, is a guaranty, that on them the death of mortality, or the second death, shall have no power. For Christ hath affirmed, solemnly affirmed, that they shall never die, eis ton aiona-shall never see death, eis ton aiona. And this is precisely what Paul signifies, by the declaration, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me FREE from the law of sin and death." For Jesus gives believers the Spirit of life; and this is the immunity from the law of sin and death; and believers have, in a properly qualified sense, life in them. selves, as God gave Christ, in the flesh, life in himself. Therefore, this law of the Spirit of life, maketh believers free from the law of sin and death. Hades cannot hold them a moment. To them, death is for ever abolished— and like their Divine Head, they rise immortal! Not so the unbeliever the law of sin and death is in full force against him; and will consign him to everlasting destruc tion from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Jesus proceeds in his developement of the truth, and in v. 28, 29, affirms, "Marvel not at this ;* for the hour is

The term rendered marvel, is thaumazete, varied from thaumazo; to wonder, admire, marvel. As if Jesus had said, Be not astonished at