| 675 whole House of Israel: behold they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you unto the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and bring you unto the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it saith the Lord."-Ezek. xxxvii, 11-14. Thus the Lord will raise the children of Israel out of their graves, and not as some have supposed, or as the poet says, escort them beyond the bounds of time and space; but put his Spirit in them, and bring them into the land of Israel. This at once explains the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets, that they should inherit the land of Canaan. Surely, the Lord will fulfil [fulfill] his promises unto them, and make them possess their land in peace. Isaiah in view of the resurrection says: "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise; awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself also as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."-Isa. xxvi, 19-21. Job, after his property was confiscated his family destroyed, and he left to languish in consequence of affliction; and as he lamented his loss, answered those who mocked him, and was groaning under his affliction, he breaks out with the following: "Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! that they were graven with an iron pen and laid in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter-day upon the earth: and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."-Job, xix, 23-27. Thus Job looked down through the ages of unborn time, and saw the day when Christ shall stand on the earth, and thus he also anticipated a glorious resurrection. He did not say that he was going to some unknown region; but that his Redeemer is to stand on the earth; and he is to see him with his eyes, and in his flesh for himself, and not for another.-Surely, the idea of the redemption of the body, consoled Job in the time of his affliction and grief.
The apostle says, that when Christ appears he will change our vile bodies, and they shall be fashioned like his most glorious body. Indeed, when he appears the immortal saints will be glorified; and then will be fulfilled the promise that is so often repeated in the scriptures: "They shall reign with him." John while wrapped in a vision, and was caught up to the third heaven, and heard the heavenly hosts sing a new song, says: "And they sung a new song, saying, thou are worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."-Rev. v, 9-10. Thus the heavenly hosts sung anthems of praise to God for the promised redemption, and because he had made them kings and priests, and promised that they should reign on earth, this song was sung in heaven with much joy; but it is seldom that such a thing is even taught in the various churches on earth, to say nothing about singing it. Indeed, all the prophets, and saints of ancient times, rejoiced at the idea of the redemption of their bodies; and notwithstanding, they knew their bodies would be consigned to the tomb, and their spirits flit away to the paradise of God, and there remain for a season; yet they knew that in the latter-days the Lord would come, and that their bodies should be be called forth from the tombs, and become immortal; and they made to reign on earth.
John in the xx chapter of his Book of Revelation gives an outline of the Millennium from the beginning to the end: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless
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