of shall embrace all mankind without distinction of persons, then all will be happy after the resurrection. But there are insurmountable reasons, which, in our opinion, show that the resurrection referred to, will embrace the righteous only, and is the same as the "resurrection of the just,” "to everlasting life." Our reasons are the following, which, we believe, will settle the question.

1. The object of Christ was to refute the infidel notions of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection, the existence of angels and spirits, and future rewards; and to prove from the five Books of Moses, which they acknowledged, inspired and authentic, that the doctrines of the existence of spirits and the resurrection of the dead, were sound and Scriptural-and in addition, he showed that a worthy character was requisite to gain admittance into heaven and a resurrection from natural death. God was the God of the living and not of the dead, therefore, the souls of the fathers, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not annihilated, but still existed; and though their bodies had lain in the cave of Machpelah, hundreds of years, and had crumbled into dust, yet under the promise of God, they should rise and be reunited with the soul. So the passage was understood by the Jews. Thus Christ proved the simple fact of the resurrection from the dead, and the existence of spiritual beings. The question was not, whether all mankind should be raised, or only a few, but whether there would be a resurrection of the dead at all. This was proved.

2. The resurrection spoken of by Christ would, in the use of his language, impress those who heard him, that it included the righteous only. The Sadducees, the immediate auditors of Christ, attached the idea of annihilation to the term dead. When the dead were spoken of, the impression upon their minds was, that reference was had to

those who had once lived, but now were annihilated soul and body. A resurrection to life, therefore, and the God of heaven, the fountain of bliss and glory, being their God, would fix the impression deep in their mind, that the righteous and good, like Abraham, were alone the partakers of its benefits. The reason the fathers and patriarchs would be raised, was not only because they lived, but because God was their God; they had acknowledged the Lord and become strangers for the sake of religion, therefore, “God was not ashamed to be called their God;" while the wicked reject him, and are "without hope and God in the world," therefore, they will be disowned finally by Jehovah. Mr. Campbell says, "Agreeably to the Jewish style of that period, our Lord calls that only the resurrection, which is a resurrection to glory."

3. The Saviour himself restricts the resurrection here spoken of, as confined to those who are worthy of that world and the resurrection. A certain character is requisite to men in order to be accounted worthy of that world, its glories, beauties and blessedness. Now, if Universalism be true, a good character will not be required, a bad character will not exclude; for nothing of the kind will be a consideration, but all are equally entitled to bliss eternal.But the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were good and righteous men, God was their God, and because he lived they should live also; and all who have evangelical faith in God, are the faithful children of Abraham, and heirs according to promise. Such alone are accounted worthy of that world, and are entitled to this resurrection. "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white : for they are worthy. Rev. iii. 4. In order to be worthy, they must possess a good and approved character-it requires something substantially good to obtain the resurrection and

the glories of the coming world as referred to. After men shall have passed a thorough trial, as silver is tried, and then be judged good and approved of God, then they shall be entitled to a resurrection which shall introduce them to the final reward of heaven. In this trial, some will be found unworthy and others worthy; those only who are accounted worthy shall obtain life, while the unworthy shall fail of that world and the resurrection of the dead.

4. If the Saviour refers not to the resurrection of the righteous only, then some persons will have no resurrection at all, and therefore be annihilated, and the Scriptures must necessarily conflict. If the resurrection spoken of by Christ in the text is the only one, and will include all who shall ever be raised, then an indefinite number of the human family will never be raised, and just so many will be annihilated; for only those who are judged worthy of the glories of heaven shall be raised to life from the dominion of Death; which implies that some are unworthy. The Bible states, that "there will be a resurrection of the just and of the unjust-❞ "to shame and to life "-"to life and to condemnation." Indeed, the doctrine is held forth that all will be raised, which cannot be the case, if only those "who are accounted worthy of that world" are raised. Therefore, we have an additional evidence, that the Saviour was discoursing of the resurrection of the righteous only.

5. Those who are raised in that resurrection are the children of God, and as none are the children of God in the sense of the Saviour but true believers, therefore, the text refers to the righteous only. Christ says, "And they are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." The penitent and believing are made, the children of God by grace, and are adopted into his family; and because they are the children of God, they are accounted worthy of the blessedness of the future world and the re

surrection from the dead.

They must first be made the

children of God by faith and grace, before they are entitled to the resurrection of the just to immortality. Paul teaches that the children of God, which have received the first fruits of the Spirit," groan within themselves, "waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of their bodies." Rom. viii. 23. Believers are made the children of God, before their bodies are raised from death; yea, even while they yet groan in their painful, and sickly bodies. Even then they hope and anxiously await the time of full and complete redemption from the grave.

The interpretation, given by Universalists, of Christ's language, "they are the children of God, being the children. of the resurrection," is, that all by virtue of their resurrection are constituted the children of God-because they are raised, they are God's children and heirs of eternal glory. This is a false construction of what Christ says, and is inconsistent with their own theory. They profess to believe, that all are the children of God, from the fact, that God has created men in his own image, and therefore their final holiness and happiness is secured. But their belief in regard to the resurrection would show, that none are the children of God before the resurrection of the dead, and that all are made such by virtue of the resurrection and entitled to heaven. Both cannot be true. The former we have confuted in the first chapter of this book, and the latter now. Physical power can never produce moral character, yet this power shall raise the dead. The only alternative for Universalists is to surrender this portion of Scripture, and no more press it for the confirmation of their opinions of the resurrection, or else if they persist, they must accept the dread and fatal conclusion, the annihilation of an indefinite number of the human race, and thus overthrow the system of Universalism; for this teaches that all mankind will be

made holy and happy in the resurrection of the dead, which cannot be true, if a part of the world is annihilated; unless annihilation and Universal Salvation are one and the same,

As a good character and a bad character are opposite, and must necessarily have widely different results; and as a good character is indispensable to secure a resurrection to glory, therefore a bad character must either prevent a resurrection, or else secure one to shame and contempt. The latter is taught by the Bible.

The next Scripture they appeal to in order to establish their opinions of the resurrection of the dead is found in 1 Cor. xv. They claim the whole chapter as a triumphant proof of the resurrection of all the dead to immortal blessedness; but we need not transcribe the whole; the reader may open his Bible and read it leisurely. We shall quote a few of the main passages, commencing with verse 21. "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Also verses 25-28, and 42-55. These passages, they hold, teach the doctrine, that as many as die in Adam shall be raised in Christ, and that therefore the whole rational world shall have a resurrection to a glorious immortality, and become the partakers of Christ's future and eternal kingdom, which shall insure holiness and ceaseless happiness. This is their strong bulwark.

But few sermons are preached by Universalists, which do not contain some portion of this chapter, and handled as an unanswerable argument and vindication of their theory of the resurrection; nevertheless, their interpretation will clearly lead to three horrid errors.

1. That the souls of men are changed and fitted for glory by the resurrection. They believe that all men are not as yet subordinated to Christ and prepared for heaven, but