WHAT MOSES SHOWED AT THE BUSH.

Continuing to level his argument against the Sadducees – continuing to prove the general resurrection of mankind, and not merely the resurrection of the Church – our Lord adds, “Now that the dead are [to be] raised even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, for he is not a God of the dead but of the living; for all live unto him.” Had there been no provision in God’s plan for the raising of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he never would have spoken of himself as being their God, but rather would have treated them as nonexistent, having no being, no God, and never to have any. Likewise, the fact that God speaks of the coming blessing through Abraham upon all the families of the earth proves that from the divine standpoint, although the billions of earth are dead, they all live unto God – in his purpose, in his plan, in his arrangement, to be accomplished and fulfilled through Jesus during the Millennial age.

SHALL WE KNOW EACH OTHER THERE?

The questions are frequently asked us,

What knowledge of one another will there be in the next life? and will there be communication between the heavenly and the earthly classes?

We reply that the acquaintance of the present time will be prolonged into the next life, and revive and increase. As for those who will attain the spirit plane of being, viz., the bride, the overcoming class, and “the virgins, her companions, which follow her,” otherwise in Scripture known as the “great company,” all being upon the spirit plane will be able to see and know each other, because in those respects they will be alike, spirit beings.

True, the Bride class, with her Lord Jesus and the Father, will all be on the divine plane, while the Great Company, like the angels, will be on a lower plane of spirit being. But all spirit beings may see and know and have intercourse with each other – those on the divine plane being superior not only in rank and position but also in that they will possess inherent life, immortality, while the others will possess a life that will be eternal because of its continuous supply.

The world of mankind will know each other as they do now – some by previous acquaintance and some by introduction. Thus, none of the ancient worthies who will be present as perfect men will be known by any of the world today, and they would need, therefore, some kind of introduction, either by divine miracles attesting them and their authority or by some other means. It may be easily enough imagined how the world will gain introduction one to the other, just as such introductions are now accomplished amongst men. Similar introductions will doubtless be necessary to the glorified saints beyond the vail, since the majority of them have never seen the Lord, the Apostles, nor each other.

COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN SPIRITS AND HUMANS.

Coming now to the last feature, we answer that undoubtedly there will be communication between the heavenly and the earthly beings, not only throughout the Millennial age but subsequently. To our understanding the Father and the heavenly angels will have nothing to do with mankind during the Millennium, until the delivery up of the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. But there will be communication between the Kingdom class, the Church, with Jesus at its head, and the world of mankind under their supervision and uplifting influences. Looking back into the past, we see that God communicated with Abraham, and numerous of his natural descendants, through spirit beings, who assumed human form for the purpose. But we are not to expect such manifestations in the future, because we find in the divine arrangement a different preparation.

We find that the ancient worthies as a class have been prepared of God in advance to serve this very purpose; that they, rewarded with human perfection, might serve as the intermediaries between the spirit Kingdom and the world of mankind. As it is written, “The Law shall go forth from Mount Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” The instruction will go from the spiritual Kingdom to the earthly princes, its representatives, and be communicated from these princes to all the families of the earth, with full power and authority in the name of the Kingdom to enforce every regulation, to reward the well-doers and to punish all who fail of obedience.

With the end of the Millennial age, willful evildoers having been cut off in the Second Death, the world of mankind will be, like the angels (NOT as spirit beings, but like them in that they will be), possessed of lasting life, and be without gender distinction. They will all be perfect men, like to and equal to the condition of the ancient worthies during the Millennium. When the Kingdom of Christ shall be delivered to the Father, we believe that a similar communication will be established between the perfect men and the heavenly courts that was in vogue before the first disobedience and its penalty came upon men. True, we do not know very particularly about the character of the communion which prevailed in Edenic times, but it was sufficient for every purpose, we may be sure, and such will be the communion of the future between the perfect God and his earthly image, the perfect man – similar communion to that which during the Millennial age will take place between the glorified Church and its earthly representatives, the ancient worthies.” (R3461)