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 19:25-27.

Our personal identity is preserved in the resurrection, though not the same particles of matter or material substance as went into the grave. The wondrous works of God are a mystery to man. The spirit, the character of man, is returned to God, there to be preserved. In the resurrection every man will have his own character. God in His own time will call forth the dead, giving again the breath of life, and bidding the dry bones live. The same form will come forth, but it will be free from disease and every defect. It lives again bearing the same individuality of features, so that friend will recognize friend. There is no law of God in nature which shows that God gives back the same identical particles of matter which composed the body before death. God shall give the righteous dead a body that will please Him.

Paul illustrates this subject by the kernel of grain sown in the field. The planted kernel decays, but there comes forth a new kernel. The natural substance in the grain that decays is never raised as before, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him. A much finer material will compose the human body, for it is a new creation, a new birth. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.57SDA Bible Commentary 6:1093.

He [the believer] may die, as Christ died, but the life of the Saviour is in him. His life is hid with Christ in God. “I am come that they might have life,” Jesus said, “and that they might have it more abundantly.” He carries on the great process by which believers are made one with Him in this present life, to be one with Him throughout all eternity….

At the last day He will raise them as a part of Himself…. Christ became one with us in order that we might become one with Him in divinity.58The Review and Herald, June 18, 1901.

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Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation John 5:28, 29.

The Life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first resurrection, and until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall sound and the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every sleeping saint will be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious jewel, who is known to God by name. By the power of the Saviour that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead.53Sons and Daughters of God, 359.

“The hour is coming,” Christ said, “in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” That voice is to resound through all the habitations of the dead; and every saint who sleeps in Jesus will awake and leave his prisonhouse. Then the virtue of character we have received from Christ’s righteousness will ally us to true greatness of the highest order.54Sons and Daughters of God, 359.

The victory of the sleeping saints will be glorious on the morning of the resurrection…. The Life-giver will crown with immortality all who come forth from the grave.55Sons and Daughters of God, 359.

There stands the risen host. The last thought was of death and its pangs. The last thoughts they had were of the grave and the tomb, but now they proclaim, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” … Here they stand and the finishing touch of immortality is put upon them and they go up to meet their Lord in the air…. There are the columns of angels on either side; … then the angelic choir strike the note of victory and the angels in the two columns take up the song and the redeemed host join as though they had been singing the song on the earth, and they have been. Oh, what music! There is not an inharmonious note. Every voice proclaims, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.” He sees the travail of His soul, and is satisfied.56Sons and Daughters of God, 359.

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Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Isaiah 26:19.

The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place….

Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hands to heaven, He cries: “Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!” Throughout the length and breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of the exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the prison house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55. And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory.

All come forth from their graves the same in stature as when they entered the tomb…. But all arise with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth…. The mortal, corruptible form, devoid of comeliness, once polluted with sin, becomes perfect, beautiful, and immortal. All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave….

The living righteous are changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels “gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” 50The Great Controversy, 641, 642, 644, 645.

As the little infants come forth immortal from their dusty beds, they immediately wing their way to their mothers’ arms.51Selected Messages 2:260.

Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.52The Great Controversy, 645.

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Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44.

Suppose that today Christ should appear in the clouds of heaven, who … would be ready to meet Him? Suppose we should be translated into the kingdom of heaven just as we are. Would we be prepared to unite with the saints of God, to live in harmony with the royal family, the children of the heavenly King? What preparation have you made for the judgment? Have you made your peace with God? … Are you seeking to help those around you, those in your home, those in your neighborhood, those with whom you come in contact that are not keeping the commandments of God? … Remember that profession is worthless without a practice that enters into the daily life. God knows whether we are keeping His law in truth. He knows just what we are doing, just what we are thinking and saying. Are we getting ready to meet the King? When He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, will you be able to say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us” (Isaiah 25:9)? To those who can say this Christ will say, “Come up higher. Upon this earth you have loved Me. You have loved to do My will. You can now enter the Holy City and receive the crown of everlasting life.”

If it were possible for us to be admitted into heaven as we are, how many of us would be able to look upon God? How many of us have on the wedding garment? How many of us are without spot or wrinkle or any such thing? …

This is our washing and ironing time—the time when we are to cleanse our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)…. Shall we not let our sins go? …

I entreat you, brethren and sisters, to labor earnestly to secure the crown of everlasting life. The reward will be worth the conflict, worth the effort…. In the race in which we are running, everyone may receive the reward offered—a crown of everlasting life. I want this crown; I mean by God’s help to have it. I mean to hold fast to the truth, that I may see the King in His beauty.49In Heavenly Places, 356.

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The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation. Jeremiah 50:25.

At His own will God summons the forces of nature to overthrow the might of His enemies—“fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word.” Psalm 148:8. When the heathen Amorites had set themselves to resist His purposes, God interposed, casting down “great stones from heaven” upon the enemies of Israel. We are told of a greater battle to take place in the closing scenes of earth’s history, when Jehovah “hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation.” Jeremiah 50:25. “Hast thou,” he inquires, “entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” Job 38:22, 23.

The revelator describes the destruction that is to take place when the “great voice out of the temple of heaven” announces, “It is done.” He says, “There fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent.” Revelation 16:17, 21.43Patriarchs and Prophets, 509.

In the last scenes of this earth’s history, war will rage.44The Review and Herald, October 19, 1897.

The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon.45SDA Bible Commentary 7:983.

The Captain of the Lord’s host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle.46SDA Bible Commentary 7:982.

He on whose vesture is written the name, King of kings and Lord of lords, leads forth the armies of heaven on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean and white.47SDA Bible Commentary 7:982.

When He shall come to the earth again, He will shake “not the earth only, but also heaven.” “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage.” “The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll”; “the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But “the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Hebrews 12:26; Isaiah 24:20; 34:4; 2 Peter 3:10; Joel 3:16.48The Desire of Ages, 780.

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