alive forevermore. Scriptural evi dence reminds us in His own words, "If I go away [and He did] I will come again and receive you unto Myself." We find that in the vari ous gospel accounts there is the record that after His death and resurrection, Jesus showed Him self again to the disciples as well as to many others. He was observed with many infallible proofs after 40 days speaking of the things per taining to the Kingdom of God, according to the first chapter of Acts. When Christ ascended to heav en in a cloud, the angels declared to those who watched, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here gaz ing up into heaven? This same Je sus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." What a thrilling tes timony that should be to each of us. Yes, He is alive! He is seated now at the right hand of the throne of God, making intercession for us as our great High Priest. From thence He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Q. Denver, Colo. "In Matthew 27:52 we have the account of what happened when Christ was cruci fied on the cross. It says that the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints that slept were raised. Does this mean the Old Testament saints?" A. Because of the time involved, although we do not know how long these individuals had been buried, we would take it to mean that they were Old Testament saints. Keep in mind that the verse does not say that the minute the graves were opened the bodies of
the saints which slept were raised. We read next that they came out of the graves after His resurrection. While the tombs may have been uncovered, it would seem from the testimony of Scripture that those bodies remained in a state of dis solution in the ground until after Christ was resurrected. If it had been any different, He would not have been the "first fruits" (I Cor inthians 15:20). We do not know what transpired with them between the crucifixion and the resurrection. We know that afterward they went into Jerusa lem to testify to the Lord's great ness. We do not know much be yond that. Some people think that they ascended \$/ith the risen Christ to heaven. It appears rather that they had to die again, much the same as Lazarus. We believe that Old Testament saints will be resur rected, as Daniel 12 indicates, right before the millennium as they reign with Christ. Believers today and since the cross will be raised seven years before, at the Rapture. Q. Fresno, Calif. "Why did Christ have to carry His own cross? In Bib lical times was this the custom?" A. From historical records it does appear to have been the final in dignity heaped upon one con demned to crucifixion to have to carry his own cross. It is indescrib ably shameful and degrading the way they treated our blessed Lord. When the Saviour fell beneath the weight of the instrument, we are given a little indication of the tre mendous beating He endured in Pilate's court before the grizzly mob. Isaiah tells us prophetically that so marred was His visage that Page 13
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