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Da il$ Devotional Home Readings Connected with International Sunday? School Lessons Bj> FREDERIC W . FARR, D. D.
can be used of a supernatural event, for Him to ascend to heaven. It will be likewise when a son of man becomes fully and manifestly a son of God. There are three mighty forces in grace that counteract three universal laws of nature. Regeneration conquers degen eration. Psa. 119:25. Life conquers death. Rom. 8:2. Levitation over comes gravitation. 1 Thess. 4:17. It required horses and chariots of fire to drag Elijah up. It was easier for Christ to go than to stay. SATURDAY, February 4. Eph. 4:1-8. Leading Captivity Captive. According to vs. 8 captivity was led captive, not when Christ died upon the cross nor even when He rose from the dead, but when He ascended into heaven. In Eph. 6:12 we are told that the kingdom of darkness is organized like a military camp in the heaven- lies. Through t h i s hostile camp Christ might have to pass to reach His mediatorial seat at God’s right hand. Satan might desire and even attempt to keep Him from His rightful place in the third heaven. From Dan. 10:13 we know that it took Michael twenty-one days to fight his way down with an an swer to the prophet’s prayer. May it have taken the Saviour ten days to make the return journey? Did He then need and employ the angelic help which He re fused, in Gethsemane? These thought provoking questions can only be answer ed by conjecture. The ascension of Christ proclaimed Him to the universe as the re-instated God, the Possessor of universal dominion, the object of worship and the Hearer of prayer. SUNDAY, February 5. 1 Thess. 4:13- 18. . The Rapture of the Saints. The translation of the living saints at the second coming of Christ inter prets the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14 R. Y. marg. This is farther described by Paul in Phil. 3:21 as the transfiguration of the body of our humiliation that it may be fashioned like unto the body of His glory. The sky, not the grave, is our goal. Nowhere in Scripture are we ex-
WEDNESDAY, February 1.
2 Kings
2:8-14.
The Translation of Elijah. There was a peculiar fitness in the manner of Elijah’s departure from the earth. He had lived a whirlwind life and it was fitting that a whirlwind should carry him to heaven. His fiery career was symbolized by the flames of the celestial chariots' that took him home. This was in striking contrast to the gentle and gradual levitation of the Saviour from the Mount of Olives. The translation of Elijah is also, a testimony to the reality and locality of heaven. Rationalism may have its explanation, vs. 16, but faith recognizes the super natural and perceives the chariot of fire. The eyes of Elisha are more trust worthy than the speculation of the sons of the prophets, Matt. 13:16. THURSDAY, February 2. Heb. 11:1-6. The Translation of Enoch. It is reasonable to suppose that it was the original purpose of God to keep man in Eden for a full millennium of progressive growth and happy fellow ship with Himself and then take him to heaven for eternal bliss, 1 Cor. 15: 46. Man would pass from the natural to the spiritual through the interven tion of the Holy Spirit. The advent of sin, however, spoiled this and death came into the world as the result of sin. The translation of Enoch and Eli jah in their respective ages seems to be a Divine testimony to the original des tiny of man. We know little about Enoch, only that his message was an Advent proclamation and that his life was pleasing unto God. This relates translation to holiness and the second coming of Christ. It is the Christian objective for the present age, the up ward calling of God in Christ Jesus. FRIDAY, February 3. Luke 24:36-53. The Ascension of Christ. The natural and incidental manner in which this event is referred to in Scripture leads us to regard it as an ap propriate and expected event. When Christ had finished His work on earth, it was a most natural thing, if the word
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