Volume LXI Number 12 - Church of God (7th Day)

all things that are done under the sun, that there is oneevent unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is fullof evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, andafter that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined toall the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than adead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but thedead know not any thing, neither have they any more areward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also theirlove, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished;neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thingthat is done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:2-6).Let us not end our discussion here, however. We knowthat for those who follow the Lord there will be a wonderfulresurrection morning for loved ones to be reunited. "But Iwould not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerningthem which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as otherswhich have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died androse again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus willGod bring with him. For this we say unto you by the wordof the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto thecoming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with ashout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpof God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then wewhich are alive and remain shall be caught up togetherwith them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and soshall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort oneanother with these words" (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).Jesus said that His people would belong to one fold. "Iam the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and amknown of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so knowI the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. Andother sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also Imust bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shallbe one fold, and one shepherd" (John 10:14-16).We are told in Romans 6:3-5: "Know ye not, that somany of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptizedinto his death? Therefore we are buried with him bybaptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up fromthe dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also shouldwalk in newness of life. For if we have been planted togetherin the likeness of his death, we shall be also in thelikeness of his resurrection".Finally we read in I Corinthians 15:20-23: "But now isChrist risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits ofthem that slept. For since by man came death, by mancame also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam alldie, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But everyman in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward theythat are Christ’s at his coming."ThanatopsisBond TennantI first became acquainted with the word, thanatopsis,from my College American Literature professor. Thesimple definition of the word is “a view or thought ofdeath.” Have you ever considered what is your view orthought of death? Perhaps, you have never thought aboutthe subject of death.I read about a churchgoing woman who was taughtthat death is not really the end, but rather it is a passage toPAGE EIGHTTHE ADVOCATE OF TRUTH