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| 1 After these things was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
There was a feast – Probably the Feast of the Passover. R2433:3
These annual gatherings constituted the very best opportunity for reaching the devout Jews from all parts of the Holy Land, and from surrounding countries. R2433:3
When, by reason of the multitudes gathered from every part, the Jewish leaders who sought his life would think it unwise to make any demonstration against him for fear of a riotous disturbance. R4137:3
Jesus went up – Drawn thither, according to the Jewish usage, to celebrate one of the great annual feasts. R3501:1
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| 2 Now there is in Jerusalem, at the sheepgate, a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. |
A pool – Today known as the "Pool of the Virgin." R2433:3
Bethesda – The word Bethesda signifies "House of Mercy." R3500:3
God's tabernacle in the Millennial age will be a house of mercy, not merely for the elect few, but God, through his elect Church--the Christ, head and body--shall "bless all the families of the earth." (Gen. 12:3) R3502:1
Having five porches – Built for a public sanitarium for the benefit and convenience of those who desired to use the agitated pool. R3500:6
This scene is compared to historical accounts of the bath of Ibrahim, near Tiberias, on the sea of Galilee, and to the crowds at the grotto of Lourdes. R3501:1
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| 3 In these lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, awaiting the moving of the water. |
Impotent folk – Their infirmities are indicated to have been something akin to rheumatism, paralysis and other muscular or nervous ailments, causing lack of vital power, withering or wasting of the muscles. R4137:5
Waiting for – Old Greek MSS (the Sinaitic and the Vatican) omit these last seven words of verse 3 and all of verse 4, quite probably added as a marginal note explanatory of the views held by the people, or possibly the thought of the copyist who made the marginal note. R3500:6, 2433:3
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| 4 For an angel descended at a certain season in the pool and troubled the water. Whoever therefore first went in after the troubling of the water became well, whatever disease he laboured under. |
An angel – The phenomenon not being understood, many considered that the agitation of the pool was miraculous, attributing it to an angel from heaven. R3500:3
This portion is not accurate and is not found in the oldest manuscripts, and is appropriately omitted from the Revised Version. R4137:5
Troubled the water – It is presumed that the spring which supplied the pool was connected with a reservoir of gas, which really imparted to the water some curative property. Or possibly it was connected with a siphoning spring which overflowed at times. R4137:5, 3500:3, 2433:3
Travelers whose word is reliable declare that they have seen this spring rise twelve inches in five minutes, and then subside about as quickly. R2433:3
First – Suggesting that the benefit was from the gases, since only those who entered immediately were profited by it. The impregnating gases, upon entering the pool, would speedily be combined with the atmosphere. The first to enter would also benefit by inhaling some of the escaping gases--ozone. R3500:3
Made whole – Partly by the energizing influence of faith and partly by some medicinal quality imparted to the waters by the gases. The cures effected by it would cause the pool to have considerable fame. R3500:3
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| 5 But there was a certain man there who had been suffering under his infirmity thirty and eight years. |
A certain man – The miracles performed by Jesus and the apostles were not attempts to heal all sickness, to banish pain and sorrow. There was a great multitude of impotent folk at the pool of Siloam needing healing; Jesus merely observed one of that multitude. R4980:2, 4137:6, 3501:2; NS730:3
There was no record that he had more faith in the Lord than had the other ones about him. On the contrary, the context shows that he had no faith--that he did not even know the Lord, and did not learn until afterward who had healed him. R3501:5
We may not at first see why the Lord favors some more than others with the knowledge of his grace and truth, but we may assume that it lies in the direction of honesty of heart, repentance of sin and a "feeling after God." R3501:4
Since our Lord did not perform miracles for all the sick, neither are we to expect all the sick of today to be cured, either by natural means or by miraculous power. R3501:3
While there were many widows in Israel in the time of the famine, Elijah was only sent to the widow of Zarephath; while there were many lepers in Israel, Elisha healed of leprosy only Naaman, the Syrian. R3501:2
He was more helpless than the majority, and his case was apparently hopeless in that it was chronic, of 38 years' standing. R2433:6
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| 6 Jesus seeing this man lying there, and knowing that he was in that state now a great length of time, says to him, Wouldest thou become well?
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Jesus saw him – If such scenes of sorrow, pain and trouble touch our fallen hearts sensibly and deeply, how much more intense must have been the sympathy which our Lord experienced in the presence of such conditions. R3501:1
Wilt thou – He thus let the matter depend upon his own will. So it is now with those who are now being healed of moral ailments, now being spiritually enlightened--the assistance is with themselves. R3501:5
Only those who will can be benefitted in this age. Our Lord testified again, "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (verse 40). To come unto the Lord means to accept his arrangements, to answer his query, saying, Yes, Lord, I would be made whole. R3501:6
So, during the antitypical Sabbath, the Millennium, it will be declared to all the world that "whosoever will" may have life and health eternal if he will take the steps of faith and obedience. B40
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| 7 The infirm man answered him, Sir, I have not a man, in order, when the water has been troubled, to cast me into the pool; but while I am coming another descends before me. |
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| 8 Jesus says to him, Arise, take up thy couch and walk.
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Rise – Our Lord did not even wait for him to manifest a previous faith in his power, but allowed the man's faith to be testified by his obedience. R2433:6
By these words the Lord awakened in the mind of the poor man desires and aspirations which had almost died out. He was almost heartsick from deferred hope. (Prov. 13:12) R4137:6
Take up thy bed – Probably a very light mattress or comforter, after the custom of that time. There was no real labor connected with this injunction. R3502:2
His object in instructing the man to carry his bed was twofold: (1) the act of itself would be a witness to the miracle; not only directly, but (2) indirectly it would attract the attention of the doctors and scribes of the Law, because they had formulated certain restrictions respecting the Sabbath which were not Mosaic requirements. R3502:2
And walk – One of 36 miracles, separately described, besides many others not individually reported, but in groups. Yet this was not our Lord's chief work, but incidental to his preaching. R4137:2, 3728:2, 3501:2
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| 9 And immediately the man became well, and took up his couch and walked: and on that day was sabbath. |
The sabbath – So that the difference between his teaching and good works, and the teaching and no works of the Pharisees, would be more manifest. R3502:4
The Lord performed so many miracles on the Sabbath, not to signify any disrespect to the day, nor to provoke the Pharisees; rather, to point out the great seventh-day Sabbath, the Millennial day. R2434:1
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| 10 The Jews therefore said to the healed man, It is sabbath, it is not permitted thee to take up thy couch. |
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| 11 He answered them, He that made me well, *he* said to me, Take up thy couch and walk. |
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| 12 They asked him therefore, Who is the man who said to thee, Take up thy couch and walk? |
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| 13 But he that had been healed knew not who it was, for Jesus had slidden away, there being a crowd in the place. |
Wist not – He was too dazed and astounded to think of inquiring the name of his benefactor, or to offer him his thanks. R4137:6, 3502:4
Evidence that he was not a believer. HG404:1; SM570:T
Conveyed himself away – Our Lord, not wishing to refuse the great multitude of sick ones there gathered, quietly withdrew, so that by the time the miracle was known the healer was not to be found. R3502:4
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| 14 After these things Jesus finds him in the temple, and said to him, Behold, thou art become well: sin no more, that something worse do not happen to thee.
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Afterward – He did not first discuss the man's sins and inquire respecting his repentance and his turning over of a new leaf. He did not give him the blessing of healing on condition that he would become a servant of God. R4138:1
In the temple – Corroborating the view that his healing was not accidental, merely because Jesus passed by, or an arbitrary election; but that this man, in his affliction, had been led to a repentance of sin, and as a consequence was specially favored of God. R4137:6, 3501:4
Sin no more – Without chiding for the past, Jesus counseled him for the future. R4138:1
Prayer should be for the forgiveness of sins when sickness is a punishment, rather than for release from the punishment. If the sickness was a judgment, we should expect that when the sin has been confessed and fully repented of, the Lord would remove the chastisement, either partially or wholly. R2008:4
Those who now experience healing, doubtless will require healing for other ailments, and to some extent their freedom from sicknesses will depend upon their purity of life. R759:6
Healings were not performed upon those who were converts to the Lord; on the contrary they were performed on those who were pronounced sinners. HG403:6; SM569:2
Lest a worse thing – Amongst the Jews serious sickness implied serious sins. R4980:3
The penalty for original sin has been a severe one, yet for this original sin God has provided a great atonement. But when thus liberated, a fresh responsibility is upon us. As the apostle declares, if we sin willfully after we have received a knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins. (Heb. 10:26) R3502:5
If, after being released and justified, we sin willfully and deliberately, we may expect nothing further in the way of divine mercy and forgiveness, the penalty is death without hope of recovery. R3502:6
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| 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. |
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| 16 And for this the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because he had done these things on sabbath. |
Sought to slay him – A parallel to the opposition manifested by present-day Christians, sectarians of the strictest sort; not that they would literally kill, but many would assassinate character, if thereby they could defend the falsities of their systems. R2434:1
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| 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.
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My Father worketh – God rested from his work of creation, although he did not abandon the work in his purpose--that of raising a Seed which would eventually deliver the race. R2434:5
Hitherto – Before I came. R51:6*
I work – Now, I work. R1685:2, 975:4, 27:2*
Now that I have come. R51:6*
Christ worketh now, as the Father worked hitherto. E395
The coming of Jesus in the flesh we regard as the dividing line between the two works referred to here by the Savior. R51:6*
The closing work of the Jewish age was the turning point between the work of the Father and of the Son. R27:2*
God has been resting from creative work and will continue to do so until the close of the Millennium--leaving all the restitution work for Christ to do. R1685:2, 2434:5, 1609:6, 975:4
Separating the works of the Father and the Son, the life-privileges which come to the world come directly from the Son--he bought them with his own precious blood. R1006:5
The work of the Son will not be complete until all evil has been thoroughly subjugated, which will be at the close of the Millennial age. R2434:6
Not that he does a work distinct from the Father--"The Son can do nothing of himself" (verse 19); "As I hear I judge" (verse 30); "I am not alone." ( John 8:16) R52:1*
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| 18 For this therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he had not only violated the sabbath, but also said that God was his own Father, making himself equal with God. |
God was his Father – The Jews would have been afraid to call themselves sons of God, or to call him their Father. If they had spoken of themselves as sons of God, they would have thought that they were doing something reprehensible. R5219:2
The Jews never claimed to be sons of God, neither are they referred to in the Scriptures as such. No greater dignity than that of being servants of the Most High God could possibly have been dreamed of up to the time when our Lord himself announced the privilege of adoption to the new nature. R3476:2
Making himself equal – Their anger was because, in claiming to be the Son of God, he was claiming an honor and place so much higher than themselves--implying a closeness of relationship and nature to Jehovah which they considered blasphemous. R2434:2
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| 19 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of himself save whatever he sees the Father doing: for whatever things *he* does, these things also the Son does in like manner.
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Nothing of himself – A contradiction of the common thought of trinitarians, that the Son is the Father. R2434:3, 2408:4
Would any say of the Father, "the Father can do nothing of himself?" R803:1
What he seeth – These words were used in connection with the healing of the sick. They do not, of course, mean that the Lord had seen the Father healing the sick, but that he had seen the Father's will, the Father's plan. R5065:3
The Son likewise – This is a oneness that results from having the same mind or spirit; it is the same oneness that should exist between a heart union of man and wife; they twain are one. R369:5
"There is no other God but one. To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." (1 Cor. 8:4,6) E54
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| 20 For the Father loves the Son and shews him all things which he himself does; and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may wonder.
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The Father loveth – Greek, filio, has affection for. R2434:3
Filio, a love that is more or less respect, not for everybody; it represents more of an individual or family love. R3949:5
All things – Including "judgment" (v. 22) and "raising up the dead" (verses 21, 29). R51:6*
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| 21 For even as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, thus the Son also quickens whom he will:
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And quickeneth – A word not in general use today, but signifying to make alive. NS336:2
To quicken is to make alive, and the double statement gives emphasis to the idea of life by resurrection. R27:2*
The Son quickeneth – Not referring to the awakening of Lazarus, the son of the widow of Nain or the daughter of Jairus; rather, our Lord was looking down to the future--to the resurrection of the Church in glory and the subsequent resurrection of the world during the Millennial age. R2434:3
By giving to justice the price of their liberty from divine condemnation, he secured the legal right to cancel the sentence of condemnation to death against them, and hence the right to resurrect or restore to life. HG292:5
Whom he will – He wills to restore all who shall prove worthy; and to prove who are worthy of everlasting life is the object of the Millennial reign. HG292:5
The Son has been given the privilege of giving immortality to whomsoever he will--to the worthy ones constituting his elect Bride. HG752:2
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| 22 for neither does the Father judge any one, but has given all judgment to the Son;
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The Father judgeth – Greek, krino. This word is full of the thought of trial, or testing, or criticism; but it does not imply finality of decision. R2430:2
The judgment, criticism, or inspection represented by the word krino does not wait for the harvest. It is practically the only kind of judgment that has been in operation. The krino, trial or probationary judgment, as well as the krisis, or decision, is committed of the Father to the Son. R2430:4
The Church is the Body of Christ, and as such is collectively at the judgment seat of the Heavenly Father. Our Lord Jesus is not presented to us as our Judge, but rather as our Advocate before the Judge. R2426:2
In 2 Thess. 2:8-12 the statements respecting the Father's part and the Son's part are so intertwined as to prove that they are united in the one work of judgment--of the Father, by the Son. R2426:5
He does not judge distinct from the Son, for we read, "God hath a appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained" (Acts 17:31); and again of "God the Judge of all." (Heb. 12:13) R52:1*
No man – It is because the Father has already judged all in Adam and condemned all to death, that he could not treat with sinners except through a Redeemer, who became a Mediator. R387:4
Up to the present time God has not been judging the world; that is, rewarding and punishing each act of mankind. HG234:3
Because we are in a fallen condition we are incapable of a trial at God's bar of absolute justice; by our best deeds none could be justified before him. E408
God, whose "work is perfect" (Deut. 32:4), could not recreate or awaken men in an imperfect condition. God does not judge imperfect man in any manner. He has provided Christ as the Judge of fallen men--to judge them in their imperfection and to bring them up to perfection. R1853:6
So far as the Father is concerned, the Adamic sin is forgiven and all claims under it are set over to the Redeemer, the Purchaser, our Lord Jesus. R1058:3
Implying that there is no judgment of any kind in progress by the Father directly during this Gospel age. R2430:3
But hath committed – Or, transferred. R1058:3
He first proved him, and found him worthy of confidence, and then, having made known his plans to him, he committed to him their execution. R1550:2
Our Lord uttered these words before he had finished the work which the Father had given him to do at Calvary, but he spoke from the standpoint of that completed work. F397
It was from the moment of our Lord's resurrection that the Father committed all judgment unto the Son. It was then he declared, "All power [authority] in heaven and in earth is given unto me." (Matt. 28:18) F397
All judgment – Greek, krisis. This word includes the thought of trial culminating in a decision that is final, irrevocable. R2430:2
As the legitimate father of the race, the race is fully in the hands of the Lord Jesus, to deal with absolutely and to judge of their worthiness or unworthiness of eternal life. This he already does for his Bride now. As the Father is the head of Christ, so Christ is the head of the Church, as the husband he is the head of the wife and the family. E457
In that judgment of the world he has promised to associate with himself the Bride class, whose judgment day is now in progress. R2434:4
The saints will be associated with the Lord in the work of judging those in process of purgation during the Millennium. That will be the only really Holy Inquisition (i.e., court of judicial inquiry on matters moral and spiritual). R1469:4
Christ and the Church will regulate the world's affairs, and see to it that every evil deed is punished and every good endeavor rewarded. The result will be: "When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." (Isa. 26:9) HG234:4
That this judgment of the world did not begin at our Lord's first advent, we have his own testimony: "I came not to judge the world," and again, "My Word shall judge you in the last day." ( John 12:47,48). R2434:4
Though our Lord's mission at the first advent was not to judge, but to redeem the world, the testimony is unmistakable that, at his second advent he will judge the world, and his saints will be associate judges. R1383:6, 409:4
He will take mankind as he finds them and deal with each individual according to his own particular condition, adapting himself and the laws of his Kingdom to all the various peculiarities, blemishes and weaknesses as he finds them. F114
Unto the Son – Though the Father had tried and sentenced Adam, and had now provided for the redemption in Christ, all future trial of the imperfect fallen race shall be conducted by the Son, who bought all with his own precious blood. (1 Pet. 1:19) R1287:1, 2269:5, 1068:2, 587:1
God purposed a redemption for Adam and his race through Christ. Thus the race of Adam was bought by Jesus, divine law was vindicated, and the race, by God's will, was in new hands for trial. R1983:6, 1853:6, 387:4
While the legal right to judge was secured through Christ's death, the process of its accomplishment will require considerable time. "God hath appointed a day [the thousand-year reign of Christ], in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained." (Acts 17:31) R1247:6
God will have no direct dealings with the world until the close of the Millennial Reign of Christ; the Son will deal with mankind throughout the Judgment Day of a thousand years. The great Mediator will be the "go-between," representing God to the world, and the world to God. CR486:1
When sin and Adamic death are wiped out, the dominion will be delivered up to God, even the Father, by the accountability of men being made thereafter directly to Jehovah, instead of to Jesus as during the Millennial age. R470:5; A142
But the Son does not exercise that krisis authority until the harvest, the end of this age. He then exercises krisis power in respect to the Church and the world. R2430:3
That the judgment will be fair and impartial is vouchsafed by the character of the Judge, by his perfect knowledge, by his unwavering justice and goodness, by his divine power, and by his great love. R722:2
Hence the Father, aside from his Son, did not judge the Ancient Worthies. R5073:3
There will never be another chance provided for any who have enjoyed a full chance in the present life and have despised it. But no man is competent to decide which of mankind have had, and which have not had, a full opportunity. Only the appointed Judge is authorized or capable of deciding this question. R2048:4
The new creatures are not competent to be judges one of another for two reasons: (1) few of them fully comprehend and appreciate the divine Law of Love governing all; and (2) few can read even their own hearts unerringly. F403
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| 23 that all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He who honours not the Son, honours not the Father who has sent him.
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Honour the Son – As the Father's agent and representative. HG297:2; R5922:6; OV351:4; Q770:2
The exalted Christ is to be honored, yea, worshipped, because the Father has highly exalted him. SM498:2
In proportion as we value the work of the Atonement, our reconciliation to God, in the same proportion will we esteem him whom the Heavenly Father set has forth to be the propitiation for our sins. E83
In the work of creation God set forth the Son in great prominence and glory, saying, "Without him was not anything made that was made." ( John 1:3) In the work of redemption and restitution, God has set him forth so prominently that his name is the theme on every tongue, almost to the eclipse of the Father's own glory. R3161:2
The honor to the Son is as the Father's appointed representative and agent in the great work. R2435:4
In acknowledging Christ and the Church and in bowing to them (Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:9), the world will be bowing to Jehovah; for the Logos, Jesus, the Redeemer, forever will be the representative of the Father and his power. OV351:4; Q770:2
Nothing should be done except at his command. All power in heaven and earth was committed unto him. (Matt. 28:18) R2888:3
Although all things are of the Father in the sense that the original power and life proceeded from him, nevertheless all things are by the Son, in the sense that he, from the very beginning, has been the Father's active agent in every feature of the divine plan. R2199:5
Although Jehovah is the head of Christ, we see him delighting to honor his Son, for he is the Father's representative and the express image of his person. R1550:1
The Church is referred to as the daughter of the Father, and as the Bride, the Lamb's wife, and she is exhorted to reverence the King's Son as her Lord--"So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty; for he is thy Lord [Adon--not Jehovah] and worship thou him." (Psa. 45:11) E48
Although our Lord occupied the chief position next to the Father before he came into the world to be our Redeemer, yet he now occupies a still higher position. NS257:6
God had honored him by delivering to him the scroll of wisdom, and the power and authority to execute all of its provisions. (Rev. 5:5) R2156:2
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 4:11); a proclamation eventually joined in by "every creature." E37
The exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ to glory, honor, power and dominion does not imply that the Heavenly Father abdicates the throne of heaven in his favor. E38
No suggestion that the Father is the Son and that the Son is his own Father, but quite to the contrary--that there are two persons, both Gods, both Creators, but the one the superior, the other his honored representative. R3475:1
Because he showed his obedience and his confidence, in that he humbled himself to become a man and tasted death for every man, therefore God highly exalted him. (Phil. 2:9) R1278:4
Although the Scriptures nowhere place the only-begotten and well-beloved Son of God on equality with Jehovah himself, either while here on earth, or as the Logos, yet now, in his highly exalted condition, he is partaker of the divine nature. R2408:3, 1231:1
We are not to honor ourselves, but to honor him whom the Father has honored, our Lord and our Head. R4115:3
As they honour – We notice a oneness of honor. In honor, each seems to prefer the other. R3161:2
If it be remembered that it is "God in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor. 5:19), it will be seen that we honor both the Father and the Son. R27:5*
They should not honor the Son instead of the Father, however. "My glory will I not give to another." (Isa. 42:8) SM498:2
Not honor the Son as the Father, but as the Father's direct representative, heir of all things. OV351:4
Neither did the apostles contradict the Lord and say that he was the Father, nor that he was equal with the Father. NS195:3
Although our Lord taught us to worship the Father and to pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven," nevertheless the general sentiment of Scripture seems to imply there will be nothing wrong in our addressing a petition to our Lord Jesus direct. R3911:6; Q734:6, 540:10
Prayers can be to the Father or the Son or both, for the Father, as well as the Son, loves us ( John 16:27); and we have promise of communion with both ( John 14:23); and both are to be worshipped and loved equally. R1580:6
Nowhere are we authorized to pray to the dead--either saints or sinners. On the contrary the Scriptures set forth our Heavenly Father as the supreme object of worship, though they do intimate the propriety of praying to our Lord Jesus also. NS732:6
The Father – God is first; our Lord Jesus is first to us, as the Head of the Church, because God has given him the preeminence. (Col. 1:18) In recognizing Jesus' full authority and headship of the Church, we are honoring him who appointed him, and thus we keep God first. R2985:3
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| 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that he that hears my word, and believes him that has sent me, has life eternal, and does not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life.
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He that heareth – The judgment of the Church is here referred to. Those who now hear, believe and obey, have everlasting life promised, as a result of thus favorably passing the present judgment or trial. R2434:6
My word – The Bible is God's Word because it reveals the Lord Jesus Christ and the great plan of salvation. Our Lord Jesus is the spirit of the Word. (2 Cor. 3:17) R21:2*
Hath everlasting life – Equally true to say we have eternal life, or we are reckoned to so have. What the Lord promises, we will have. Illustrated by a person with a check saying he has the money, when what he really has is a promise to pay the money. Q263:1
From the standpoint of God's reckoning, the legal standpoint. They are now "saved by hope." From the standpoint of full accomplishment, Paul writes: "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." (Rom. 8:24,13) R5931:2, 4298:5
They hold a sure title to this glorious liberty, which all the sons of God will possess when fully restored to the divine likeness. R1738:3
Those who are begotten of the Spirit are said to have begun their resurrection now, figuratively. (Rom. 6:4) NS336:1
Not come into – While these sons are not to be spared from the polishing processes necessary to make them acceptable as sons, they are to be spared from the great time of tribulation and to escape the thousand years of judgment or trial coming upon the world. R2405:4
The Church will be receiving her reward when the world's individual crisis or judgment is in process. But the Church is not exempt from individual judgment; her crises takes place during the Gospel age. R669:5
They are counted already as having passed from death unto life, merely waiting for the time when, their course completed, they will be like their Lord and share his glory. (Rom. 6:5) Q137:1
Their present judgment will exempt them from any future judgment. R527:1*, 518:6*, 433:5*
"There is therefore now no condemnation [consequently no future judgment] to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom. 8:1,2 Rev. Ver.) R518:6*
Condemnation – Greek, krisis, judgment, is here translated condemnation. F399; R669:5
This word signifies judgment, and is so rendered in the Revised Version. Compare 1 Cor. 11:32. R2435:1
Those who accept Christ here have their trial, or judgment, in this life; that is, the sentence of life is pronounced and they shall not have another trial. HG40:6
The great mass of mankind, outside the Household of Faith, are still under the original sentence--eternal death. NS6:3
The whole world, during the thousand years of Messiah's reign, will be in condemnation, and have the opportunity of coming out of the condemnation, rising up out of it and getting back into harmony with God. Q137:1
Judgment is not executed until after the trial, but the trial is the judgment, and with the saint ends at death. HG41:1
God will judge--grant trial to--the world in the next age, by Christ. R2398:5
Is passed – Already, in advance of the world. F399; Q137:1
The present time, the present life, is to each of the consecrated ones his day of judgment, his day of trial, his day of testing--to determine whether or not he shall be accounted worthy of life. F399
From death unto life – Justified by faith and obedience as members of his body. F399
Figuratively; but the real passing into life will be at the close of this age, at the Second Coming of Christ, in "the First Resurrection." NS582:6
The change is only a legal one. Actually, according to the flesh, they are still imperfect. But, by divine arrangement, their new minds were accepted of God in Christ and their flesh ignored as dead; they were begotten of God and became sons of God. As sons, they were free from all previous condemnation that came upon them as members of Adam's race. CR131:3; R5896:3, 527:3*
Therefore reckoned free--free from sin and its condemnation, death, the righteousness of Christ being imputed to them by faith. R1738:3, 1726:1, 970:6
So that they might die with Jesus. PT389:1
Noah's Ark represented Christ. Whoever comes into Christ comes into safety and salvation, out of danger and destruction. SM341:3
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| 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that have heard shall live.
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The hour is coming – As the ransom of man has been paid, why do the living continue to die, and the dead remain dead? Because the resurrection hour has not come yet. In God's plan there is a time for everything. R690:3*
The general judgment of mankind during the Millennial age is here referred to. R2435:1
And now is – Omitted in the Sinaitic MS. R1854:3[R1854:2], 1231:6[1231:18], 1077:3[1077:7]; HG293:3
The harvest of the Jewish age was the dawn of the Gospel age. R27:3*
The dead shall hear – First will come the awakening; second, the voice of the Son of man--the message declaring the terms on which the life enjoyed may be continued everlastingly. R3433:1
Those who have gone into the prison precincts of the tomb shall be brought forth, so that they may hear the voice of the Son of Man, and, by obeying, live. F701
But the coming forth is merely the awakening in the case of those whose judgment, or trial, shall not have been previously passed successfully. F708
Bearing in mind that the whole world is dead from the divine standpoint, we see that the apostles and the early Church were called out of the dead world and granted the opportunity of hearing the message of life from the Son of God. F708
The whole world, from the divine standpoint, is spoken of as dead, because it is already nine-tenths dead and under sentence of death to the full. R2435:1, 1231:6, 1077:4
As the world is now counted dead from God's standpoint, so those in the Millennial age who come forth from the tomb will still be dead in the sense that they will not have perfection of life, and not be thoroughly awake intellectually. NS670:5
Be brought to a clear conception of truth. R1854:2, 1231:6, 1077:4
Some of us have already heard the voice of the Son, while we were children of wrath, and from a reckoned standpoint, we have begun to live, through faith in Christ. HG139:1
Son of God – The Bride of Christ will have to do with the life-giving, but merely as the associates of the great Life-giver. The Ransomer, Jesus, alone is the one who can dispense his own life-rights. R5967:5; Q126:4
Jesus is to be our Deliverer. He is the one who calls all the saints from the sleep of death. Although the Father is the Great Deliverer, who raised up our Lord Jesus, and who "will raise us up also," yet it will be by Jesus. All things are of the Father and by the Son. Q124:4
How strange that we were so long deluded, that we heard the voice of man instead of the voice of the Son of Man. SM311:3
They that hear – The dead of mankind shall be awakened to such a condition as will permit them to hear, comprehend, understand, though they will still be dead from the divine standpoint. R2630:2
Hear the voice of God speaking peace through Jesus Christ--informing them that they are still sinners, justly condemned to death, but God in mercy has provided redemption through Jesus. Therefore they are awakened from the tomb and caused to hear the message of God's grace. NS670:5
Obey his voice at that time. (Acts 3:22) R4793:2, 2435:1, 1854:2
Receive, or grasp it. R1231:6
Heed. R1077:4; HG293:2
The only condition upon which any may have everlasting life is obedient faith. To be saved through Christ, each human being must hear in the sense of understanding or appreciating perfectly God's plan, and his responsibility to it. R698:4
Some may refuse to hear, refuse to obey. R3433:2, 433:5*
To ascertain which will "hear [obey]," all must stand before the great white throne of justice, then established, and be judged according to the things written in the "books [of the Bible]" even as the Church is now being judged. R1903:3, 333:1
Some now hear the voice of the Son of Man and live, through justification of faith, while others will not hear the voice of the Son of Man and come to life and perfection until the Millennium, and then actually and not reckonedly. R4398:2
Shall live – Everlastingly. R1903:3
In due time. R1854:2, 1231:6, 1077:4
After hearing, comprehending, if they respond to the hearing, if they obey, they shall eventually attain to perfection of life--gradually. R2630:2, 1854:2, 1231:6; NS670:5
As with the Gospel Church, so with the world in the Millennium, the hearing of the voice of the Son of God is a gradual matter, line upon line and precept upon precept, the obedient coming to a clearer and clearer appreciation. F709
In proportion as they heed they come into closer and closer vital relationship with the Life-giver and share his rewards--in this and in the coming ages. F708
These will progress step by step to the attainment of all that was lost, and beyond this to the attainment of those things which God had in reservation for Father Adam, which he might have obtained had he remained obedient. R3433:2
A new trial is to be granted to Adam and all his race, an individual trial, under the enlightenment and uplifting influence of the great Messianic kingdom. R5443:6
They shall be rescued, not only from the tomb, but also from all the imperfections, mental, moral and physical, which have come upon the world through sin--be raised up to perfection of life. R2435:1
According to the general conception this should read, "they that live shall hear," but this would not have been true. As a matter of fact, no one will be judged in an unconscious state of death. R1854:1
While such as will not obey will be destroyed from among the people. (Acts 3:22,23) HG306:6
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| 26 For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also to have life in himself,
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Life in himself – Immortality. HG752:2; SM496:5
That is, his existence is not a derived one, nor a sustained one--not dependent in any manner upon another or upon conditions, such as food, light, air, etc. R1879:1, 715:1*, 279:2; A211; E396, E389
Independent of any support outside itself, subject to no conditions, incorruptible, exhaustless, unlimited, eternal. R233:6
So hath he given – Promised. R2435:4
As an immortal being cannot die, it seems clear that Jesus did not have immortality when he died. It was given unto him after he died, at his resurrection. R280:4
Indicating Jesus' knowledge of the fact that both he and the Church would share in the divine nature and inherency of life. R5066:4
To the Son – Hence he is now the express image of the Father's person. A211
Life in himself – Immortality. As the Father hath inherent life, so he gave the Son to have this life; and as the Son had the promise of this life during his earthly ministry, so he had the actuality of it in his resurrection. The same promise is given to the Church, which is his Body. ( John 10:27) A211; R5608:3, 2435:4, 1642:4, 1052:5*, 715:1*, 279:2, 252:4; Q502:5
The divine nature. SM67:T
The Bride is to have within her a "well of water [life] springing up" ( John 4:14), while the rest of mankind may come to the fountain to drink. (Rev. 7:17) R252:4
Nowhere in the Scriptures is it stated that angels are immortal. Immortality is ascribed only to the divine nature--originally to Jehovah only, subsequently to our Lord, and finally, by promise, to the Church. A186; R5731:3
A nature incapable of death. R673:6
"In him was life" ( John 1:4), the new life, life as a new creature, partaker of the divine nature. R4155:1
As the result of Adam's disobedience was humiliation, sorrow and death, so the result of Christ's obedience was exaltation, joy, and the crown of life, immortality. R4018:3*
To apply 1 Tim. 6:15,16 ("The blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality") to the Father would be to deny that our Lord possesses immortality. The Father is always excepted as being inexpressibly above all comparison. (1 Cor. 15:27) E78
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| 27 and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is Son of man.
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Given him authority – Given commandment, authorization. R2435:4
Now that the life and power are given to Christ, do not be surprised if he exercises his power in the giving of life. R27:4*
Execute judgment – The divine will. R2435:4
Christ is the judgment of the world because he is its love, and he is its love because he is its light, and he is its light because he is its life. R1329:2*
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| 28 Wonder not at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice,
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The hour is coming – Not far distant. D640
Chronologically we are already in the great Seventh Day, or Thousand-year Sabbath. OV349:1
All – Good and bad, just and unjust. R1592:2
Including those who have gone down into the prison-house of death, the tomb. NS462:3, 664:2; OV215:2
Including those who lived before Jesus came, as much as those who had not yet been born. NS384:3
Why should a ransom be given for all if it was not intended of God that all should benefit by it, or at least have an opportunity of benefiting by it? HG421:3
All were included in unbelief and blindness that God might have mercy upon all and recover every one of them from that blindness, and bring every one to full, clear knowledge which will render every man without excuse and fully responsible. R4781:3
The divine plan is no respecter of persons. Every member of the race, condemned through Adam's disobedience, and redeemed by the death of Jesus, shall have a full opportunity of coming to a knowledge of the fact; and using that knowledge, shall ultimately attain human perfection and everlasting life. HG685:5
In 1 Cor. 15, St. Paul explains how this can be: "As all in Adam die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive." R5612:1; HG646:3
This will include not only the Church of the first-born, but all the remainder of mankind, all of whom, because redeemed, shall come forth unto "judgment-trial." SM436:2; R5060:2; CR50:3
The precious blood will never lose its power till all whom it purchased--all the ransomed of the Lord--shall have heard the voice of their Redeemer. R858:5
It is estimated that 20 billion have died; the tomb is well filled with almost enough to reasonably populate the earth. CR21:1; NS209:5
Resurrection, secured for all by our Lord's death, will be offered to all; but it will be forced upon none. R1853:5; CR37:4
Nothing in the Scriptures implies that all men will eventually attain to perfect life. On the contrary there is a provision for second death for those who will refuse the divine favors. But the Scriptures do teach a universal opportunity for life. HG385:1
Implied by the promise of the Oath-Bound Covenant, that "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 22:18) NS282:2
Therefore the thousands of Ammonites and others slaughtered in Old Testament battles did not go immediately to the theological hell, but to sleep in the tomb until the Redeemer shall begin his work of calling back from the dead all that are in their graves. D640; R5635:6, 4729:3, 3998:5, 3085:3, 1618:1; NS60:6
Therefore such wicked men as Nero will also be called forth from the grave. Q503:7; NS286:5
Robert Ingersoll and other modern unbelievers are thus assured a full opportunity to profit by this "resurrection of judgments." R3559:4
In the graves – Greek, hades, the prison, the tomb. The grave is really a symbol of hope; for we would not speak of it as a prison-house were it not for our hopes of resurrection. R894:1; NS282:3, 307:3
Wherever the teachings of the Bible have gone, wherever the resurrection hope has penetrated, there the grave and cemetery are to be found, rather than the funeral pyre and incinerating furnace. NS282:3
Preserved by the power of God in the great prison-house of death, ready to hear the command of the great King and to come forth. NS635:4
Therefore not yet ascended to heaven. ( John 3:13) R3487:1
All are in their graves, and not alive. All must come forth from their graves, not from heaven, or purgatory, or hell. HG228:5; 194:1; PD61/72; SM311:2, 100:1, 34:1; OV166:3
Resurrection power not only will take hold of the people who will not at that time have fallen asleep in death, but also of those who have gone down into the tomb. R2714:4
Hear his voice – The voice of the Son of God. R5107:3
At his second advent. R5132:3
Some of us (verse 25) have already heard his voice; but here, speaking of the world, there will be an opportunity for all who have never heard the Son of Man to hear it then, and those who hear in the proper sense of obeying will continue to progress to the attainment of life, in its full sense. HG139:1
The resurrection of the world will not be done by the Father directly, but will be committed to the Lord Jesus and will require the whole thousand years for its completion. R5167:2
Calvary changed the future of the Adamic race, so that they may now be said to "sleep in Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:14). The world therefore is not to be considered as extinct, eternally dead, but as asleep, waiting to hear his voice and come forth. R5107:3, 2618:1; HG293:5
In this sense, we speak of the dead as asleep. R5166:5, 3174:4; PD61/72; Q763:2
Calling them to awake and come to a full knowledge of God and to a full opportunity of everlasting life. E346; R1881:2; HG332:4
The Master's assurance is that by his death he has become Lord of all and has the keys of death and hades. He has the right to open hades and to call forth all who have gone down into it. R4645:3; OV215:2
"Thou shalt call and I will answer thee" and awake out of the sleep of Adamic death. (Job 14:15) E346; R5402:5, 2109:5, 1881:2, 1506:5; HG332:4; NS117:5
As he did to Lazarus, "Come forth," or as he did to Jairus' daughter, "Talitha Cumi"--"Come, my child." R4588:6; HG139:1; SM100:1
"The tongue of the dumb shall sing." (Isa. 35:6) R1773:6
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| 29 and shall go forth; those that have practised good, to resurrection of life, and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.
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And shall come forth – Come forth from the tomb, from the blindness of the Adversary, from the dominion of sin and death. NS535:4
Awaken from the sleep of Adamic death, which would have been an eternal sleep except for Christ's sacrifice. R2051:3
It is needful that we recognize a difference between mere awakening from the sleep of death and full resurrection. The awakening will be similar to that of Lazarus, but it will be only the first step necessary in that "resurrection" by judgment. R1853:4; SM100:1
The coming forth from the tomb will be merely the beginning of the work of regeneration. OV381:7; NS284:3
Not merely will all mankind come forth from the grave, but they will come forth for the purpose of being resurrected out of present sin and death conditions to the glorious perfection of perfect human beings which Adam lost by disobedience. R4298:5, 4552:6
This awakening from death is what the Apostle had in mind when he said that God is the "Savior of all men" (1 Tim. 4:10.) but this does not necessarily mean everlasting life. Adam was perfect, yet he fell into death; and his race, when fully recovered from the penalty, will be placed on trial as was he. R5372:3, 4793:6
There will be two general classes of the dead to come forth: those who have already passed their trial, and those who have not yet had their trial. R4552:6, 3795:4, 1509:5; SM34:1
Not all at once, but gradually. R5531:1, 4795:5
"Every man in his own order" (1 Cor. 15:23) the Little Flock, the Great Company, the Ancient Worthies, and the world of mankind. SM226:2; R4552:6, 4431:3
The Church first. R5612:5
It will be the "sheep" (Matt. 25:31-46) that will be especially interested in praying for and preparing for those who are in the grave. In sympathy with God and Christ, they will be co-laborers in accomplishing the work for which Christ died. Any not so interested will be lacking the Lord's spirit, like the goat-class. R5531:6
Not that all in heaven shall come down and all that are in hell come up. R3074:6; CR278:3
As the world returns from the tomb, our thought is that they will come back in answer to prayer, as did Lazarus. SM226:2
Come forth to have testified to them that Christ died for them, because by that time the seed of Abraham will be completed and the blessing of the Lord shall come upon the whole earth. HG118:1
Mankind has no option but to come forth from the tomb in due time, because the ransom has been provided in their behalf. PT388:2*
That have done good – Those who have had their trial and have passed it successfully. R4552:6, 3795:4, 2617:6, 1854:5, 1478:6, 722:5; Q830:2, 220:T
Who have secured divine approval as worthy of eternal life. OV333:2
The trial of the Church, now in progress, is not a trial of men, to see whether they are worthy of human life and perfection eternally, but it is a trial of new creatures. R409:1
The righteous, faithful Christians. HG514:2
The justified and approved of God through Christ. R1853:3; Q218:T; NS316:4
Those who, during the present time, have heard the Gospel, and who have and use an opportunity to do good. R5108:6
This will include both the Little Flock and the Great Company, perhaps also the Ancient Worthies. R5105:3; Q309:3
Only the overcoming classes--the Church, the Ancient Worthies, and the Great Company. These alone can be said to have done well in the Lord's estimation--passed divine approval. F709; Q219:1
There will be different planes of perfection--human perfection, the perfection that will be like that of the angels, and lastly the perfection that will come to those who shall be like Christ, that of the divine nature. Q309:3
Not done perfectly, up to the divine standard in thought, word and deed, because there is "none righteous, no, not one." (Rom. 3:10) The nearest approach to righteousness which is possible to any is purity of heart--righteousness of intention. F709; NS283:4, 316:4, 535:1
We shall not in this life be perfect as Jesus was; but Jesus had a perfect will, and we can also have a perfect will. To cover our defect, we have our Advocate, in whom God has arranged that we may be accepted. R5108:6
Since there is none good, the only sense in which one could "do good" would be by coming into accord with God by obedience. R4989:3
What the Apostle calls the just and the unjust (Acts 24:25), our Lord here calls the good and the evil. NS283:3, 316:4
There is a general division line between the just and the unjust, those who please God and those who please him not, the First Resurrection class and the latter resurrection class. NS535:1
Dividing the human family into two classes, he declares that there is a resurrection for both. It is for you and for me to determine in which of these resurrections we prefer to have our portion. NS534:5
The resurrection of life – Full perfection. OV333:2; R5132:4; SM35:1
The First Resurrection. F665; R3026:6, 2630:4; Q818:6; NS119:1
Greek, anastasis, occurs 43 time in the New Testament. It signifies to stand again, or to raise up again; it is never used concerning the raising of a corpse, nor the mere revivifying of the machinery of life. It means the raising up again out of death into the full perfection of life from which Adam fell. F703
Instead of emphasizing the word anastasis by adding the article, the special resurrection is pointed out by calling it a resurrection of life, because those who share it will be perfected in life at once. R1512:1; SM34:1
The heavenly glory and condition, for which they have been prepared by the trials, the disciplines, the lessons, the chiseling, the polishings, of the present life. NS689:5
Their trial being ended, their full reward will be granted them in the moment of their resurrection. HG384:5; NS535:3, 586:3, 689:5
"Changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." (1 Cor. 15:52) Q503:7
This resurrection of the just began with our Lord and will be completed in the resurrection of the Church which is his body. R1854:4
It will be unnecessary for them to wait for life until the end of the world's judgment. R1854:5
They that have done good will enter immediately upon their reward of full resurrection--human perfection. R1592:2
The faithful of past ages to perfect human life, the overcomers of the Gospel age to perfect life as divine beings. R2613:3, 722:5
The resurrection of the dead, so prominent in the Bible, is one of its unique features, one of its internal evidences that it is not of human origin. NS281:2
That have done evil – The remainder of the world who have not been acceptable to God; not only heathen, but including all who, having heard something respecting Jesus, have not responded to the privileges afforded them--have not consecrated themselves fully and completely. F710; R5132:4; NS283:5, 316:6
Includes many "highly esteemed amongst men" (Luke 16:15), many noble, wise, rich, great and learned. F710; NS284:3
Those not having come up to the divine standard of worthiness for the resurrection of life. NS284:3
Those of the spirit begotten ones, who willfully walk after the flesh and not after the Spirit, having had their trial in the present life, will be accounted worthy of the second death. NS689:5
That have not secured the divine approval as being of eternal life. OV333:2
All who have not been children of God. HG514:2
Unapproved, but redeemed. HG192:1
The ignorant and the undeveloped. NS664:2
That resurrection will be for all the "unjust" (unjustified by faith and obedience); it will be for all the "evil"--all who have not been approved of God in Christ as "good"--all who have not escaped "the condemnation that is on the world." R3066:4, 4552:6, 2618:1, 1853:3; F665
None have been perfect; not even in their minds have they come up to a standard that God can approve. They are unsatisfactory, which means unfit. R5108:6
All who in this life repent of sin will form character which will be a benefit to them in the age to come; their progress will be more rapid and easy; while with others it will be more slow, tedious and difficult. R2613:3, 722:5
While blinded ones will not be held entirely responsible for their blindness, since they have been blinded by the god of this world, they are nevertheless to some extent responsible and will be handicapped in the future in proportion to their degree of present willfulness in sin. R3902:5
Those who take a thousand years to make good will not get as high a reward as those who, by self-sacrifice, now prove their love for the truth and die for righteousness sake. R5109:1
Unto – "Unto," or, that they might have a resurrection "by" judgment. HG232:3; 228:6; NS284:2
It does not say that all of the unjust ones will be raised up. This will not be the case. Only such as conform themselves to the laws of the kingdom will be raised up. R2630:4
The Revised Version labors with a false thought in speaking of a resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgment. The proper translation would be "a life resurrection" and "a judgment resurrection." NS315:6
When all may have a trial, a judgment, under the favorable and righteous conditions which his Kingdom will inaugurate. R2402:4
The resurrection – The mere awakening of the sleeping dead is not a resurrection. HG232:3; 228:6; NS335:6, 353:4
Greek, anastasis, an uplifting out of sin and death. R3388:6, 2630:4; F703; SM312:T
Anastasis is without the Greek article and hence shows no emphasis, indicates no special peculiarity. R1612:1
The whole work of the Millennial Kingdom will be a resurrection work. R4298:5
This raising up, or restitution, will begin speedily after the Kingdom has been established. NS335:6
It signifies to raise up again, and implies that a thing was once up and got down, and is to be brought up again to the place where it originally was, if not higher. NS284:5
Come forth, not to be tortured, but to be made acquainted with the fact that the Creator is both just and loving, powerful and wise. NS384:3
Adam was 930 years in dying. Similarly man's resurrection will be gradual, requiring the entire Millennial age. NS335:6
The gradual resurrection will be to their advantage in that it will permit the development of character inch by inch and step by step. NS335:6, 535:5
The wages of sin being death (Rom. 6:23), it was Jesus' death, not his three-and-a-half years' suffering, that was the ransom, making possible the resurrection from the grave. (Matt. 20:28) R392:6
Awakened in practically the condition in which they died, but surrounded by the new conditions of the Millennial Kingdom--Satan and every evil influence "bound," restrained, and truth, righteousness and every good influence surrounding them. HG384:6; OV382:T; NS520:5, 586:4
Adam will be awakened in the condition in which he died, but he will be granted the opportunity of standing up again, of resurrection, of full recovery from his fall into sin and imperfection. This is the meaning of the word "resurrection"--standing up again. HG229:1
Full resurrection, full raising up to the life lost in Adam will not be attained by any of the world until the close of the Millennial age. R1853:5; NS353:4
We cannot suppose that any will be awakened until the knowledge of the Lord shall be well established among the living of the nations. NS284:4
The salvation or recovery of the race, or so many as will accept the grace of God in Christ when brought to a knowledge of the same, by a judgment-trial and restitution, called resurrection. R3106:6
Resurrrection in its full, complete, Scriptural sense signifies a complete raising up, out of sin and out of death, to perfection of being, perfection of life. R4793:6, 4298:5; Q819:T
Of damnation – Rendered damnation only here and in Heb. 9:27. HG41:3
The word damnation, in the Greek, signifies a crisis, a turning-point, a decision. R4989:2
Greek, krisis, resurrection of trial, resurrection of testing, a gradual resurrection. The awakening will be a preparatory work, not the full resurrection, which will require the entire thousand years. R4989:5, 3066:4, 1853:4, 1592:2, 903:2*; F708; Q218:T, 818:4; NS335:6, 353:4, 535:5; OV333:2
The Greek word krisis is translated "judgment" in 39 instances, in only two others is it rendered "damnation. The word signifies simply judgment or trial, including the result or sentence, to enter life or death, at its close. R1374:3, 1371:2; HG41:3
Four times properly translated in the context by the English word judgment, as it should have been here. NS315:3, 284:1
Our English language absorbs words and phrases from all languages, and thus it has absorbed krises from the Greek. We frequently use it, especially in connection with fevers. NS284:2
Crisis, decision. They will come forth to demonstrate fully whether they will come into harmony with God and prove worthy of life or not. Q504:T; SM35:1
A "resurrection of judgment," mistranslated in our Common Version "resurrection of damnation." R4793:5, 4791:6, 2705:6, 1853:3, 803:3; A147; PD61/72; Q742:2; SM312:T; NS315:3, 534:6; OV361:3
Those who have not heard the Gospel and who therefore have not had an opportunity of doing good. R5108:6, 2624:3; Q830:2
Not a judgment, or trial, for past sins; but another trial for life. F711; NS285:2
The rendering of our Common Version, "resurrection of damnation," is a serious error which has greatly assisted in beclouding the minds of many respecting the true import of this passage. F708; NS315:4
The translators of our common English version supposed that there was no hope except in the present life, and consequently could think of no object God would have in calling the unjustified from their graves, except to damn (condemn) them publicly. R1853:3; OV361:4; Q504:T
Not come forth to be damned or condemned. They were "condemned already" as children of Adam because of his sin. It was from that sin and its condemnation that Christ died to set them free. They will come forth free from that condemnation in a judicial sense. HG434:2
The word judgment sometimes signifies merely the execution of a verdict, or decision reached, but it means in a fuller sense the process of trial, including also the decision or result of trial. R408:3
Meantime the unwilling, the disobedient, will be cut off in the Second Death, the death punishment everlasting will be visited upon them, they will have no hope of a future resuscitation. NS353:5
If they resist, they will die the second death; if they respond, they will be raised up to perfection. Q504:3; NS670:6, 664:2, 635:5, 535:5
"By judgments"--chastisements, corrections, with reward for every good endeavor. SM312:T, 34:1; NS782:6
With no outward show, the Kingdom of God will be in the midst of mankind, a spiritual power, restraining and controlling, punishing sin and rewarding righteousness, and thus affecting a resurrection, a raising up by judgments, stripes, disciplines and rewards. NS513:2
Perhaps seeing in one the intention of robbery, allowing him to go to the length of making every preparation, and then just before the committal of an overt act, smiting his hands with paralysis. NS285:6
The future would teach all, not only what righteousness is, but what the joys of righteousness are. Each would begin at once to have a reward for every good endeavor, and thus experience the resurrection. NS286:2
Present wrongdoing, in proportion as it is committed against light, makes its mark upon the characters of men; but this judgment, recorded in the characters of men, is not the judgment here referred to. NS285:2
Illustrated by the trial of a child by his parent after chastisement to see if he really will do better. F711
Signifying that the Millennial age arrangements will differ from those of the present and past ages, in that while now judgments (rewards and punishments) are deferred, whereas then they will follow immediately every act and word of obedience or disobedience. R3066:4, 3063:4
The object of the ransom was not to justify sin, nor to bring back the sinner to continue a life of sin, but to afford each an individual trial for life. R408:3
Now the Lord does not judge among men. Earthly prosperity is not proof of divine favor, and earthly adversity is not a proof of divine disfavor. (2 Tim. 3:12; Psa. 73:7) NS285:4
"Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?" (1 Cor. 6:2) We see, then, that the judgment of the world is separate from the judgment of the saints. NS285:2
Obedience of will or intent shall be the first requirement; and as this is obeyed, restitution will commence. As gradually imperfection and weakness shall give place to strength and perfection, correspondingly less allowance will be made for transgressions by the Mediator-Judge. R1261:3
The trial of the world, when Satan and evil are bound (Rev. 20:2), will be less severe, and the prize for which they will be running will be less glorious, than that for which the Church runs. R409:1
They will be made more and more alive, and less and less dead, as the thousand years progress, and none will get the resurrection life until they are raised to the condition of perfection--perfect life in the image of God, which was lost by Adam. R4989:6, 4794:1, 3410:2, 3026:3, 2833:2, 2714:5
Condemnation is no more the equivalent of judgment than damnation is. The process of judgment will result either in justification or in condemnation, according to the merits or demerits of each case. R1330:1*
Be judged again--they were tried and condemned once already through Adam, and a second chance for life comes to all through Christ Jesus--an individual chance. R408:3
They will come forth from the grave to have the truth testified to them, for their acceptance or rejection. Their final judgment will be based upon their course under trial after the truth has been testified to them. R1478:6, 1359:2
It will be a restitution by judgment, or a resurrection by or according to judgment: a judgment according to their obedience or disobedience. R1853:5
Of judgment (Revised Version); coming forth to shame and contempt, which will continue until he shall, under the judgment of that time, learn the lesson and form a better character; or, refusing to do so, be cut off in the second death. R5396:5
A resurrection effected by "judgments," disciplines, chastisements, which will develop in them character. R5017:6, 2613:4, 722:5
Illustrated by the case of Julian Renfro, 21, a Higher Critic, who challenged God to strike him deaf and dumb, or blind. A moment later he collapsed without the power of speech, afterward expressing in writing his faith in the Lord. R3388:6
To be disciplined, to receive stripes in proportion to the willfulness in which they have cooperated in their own downfall into mental, moral and physical degradation, but to be helped by the stripes, to be corrected in righteousness, if they will. R3795:5
In that searching judgment there will be a reckoning, even for every pernicious word (Matt. 12:36). Then the masses of mankind who will to obey are to be gradually raised up to perfection of being, as well as of knowledge. R1654:1; F665
While judgment will pass against one who fails to make progress and will cut short his further opportunity, the same judgment, by the same Judge, will operate favorably to all who seek righteousness and make progress in harmony with the laws of the Kingdom. R4794:1
In the new trial or judgment, the same principle as in Adam's case will hold true again--the redeemed are appointed to life if they will obey the great Law-giver; they are not "appointed" to die, and none will die except as willful sinners in the second death. R2823:1
The "times of regeneration" (Matt. 19:27,28) are the same which St. Peter styles the "times of restitution" (Acts 3:21), the times or years of the Millennium, the times of "resurrection by judgment." R4556:3
"God hath appointed a day [1000 years--2 Pet. 3:8] in the which he will judge [grant trial to] the world in righteousness [equity] by that man whom he hath [afore] ordained [the Christ]." (Acts 17:31) R3028:6, 1505:2; NS285:1
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| 30 I cannot do anything of myself; as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my will, but the will of him that has sent me.
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Of mine own self – Our Lord Jesus in all matters acts as the representative of the Father, Jehovah, in the work of salvation. E35
Do nothing – When he was risen from the dead, he no longer said, "I can of mine own self do nothing"; but on the contrary, he then declared, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matt. 28:18) R745:4
On so important a question as the equality of the Father and the Son, we must not rely upon any man's testimony except that of the inspired writers of the Scriptures. R5747:6
As I hear – Of my Father. R5378:3
I judge – I speak. R2318:6
Testimony is to be taken. This indicates that the destiny of those who come up to judgment (verse 29, Revised Version) is not fixed beforehand. HG336:6
My judgment is just – That the judgment will be fair and impartial, and with due consideration for the circumstances and the opportunities of each individual, is also assured--by the character of the Judge, the Christ. R2612:6, 1383:6
Not mine own will – The Father and the Son are one in mind and purpose because Jesus gave up his own will and took the Father's, just as we must give up our will, mind and spirit and receive the Father's if we would be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord. R296:3
Though tempted in all points like as we, his brethren, he ignored his own will and all suggestions from others contrary to God's plan, and obeyed God implicitly. Therein lay the secret of his success. R1125:5; HG292:6
Self-denial, self-renouncing and fasting in the highest and fullest sense of the word is enjoined, with fasting from both good and bad fleshly desires in the interest of the new creature and for effective service. NS154:2
He submitted himself to all the Father's will and thus proved his loyalty. R5421:6
The will of the Father – Therefore he and the Father were one. ( John 10:30) SM493:1
Jesus' claim was that he was "a Son," an obedient son. R369:5
There was no disloyalty on the part of Jesus--he never said he was the Father. CR290:2
Hath sent me – Claiming no higher honor than to be the Father's agent and messenger. HG297:2
Instead of being the Father masquerading as a man, Jesus was the Logos, the Word, or Message of God, whom the Father had sanctified and sent into the world to be the world's Redeemer. R5378:6
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| 31 If I bear witness concerning myself, my witness is not true.
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I bear witness – In the next several verses Jesus refers to a few witnesses: himself, verse 31; "another," verse 32; John, verse 33; his works, verse 36; the Father, verse 37; the Scriptures, verse 39. R2011:6*
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| 32 It is another who bears witness concerning me, and I know that the witness which he bears concerning me is true.
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There is another – This means that there are two persons, for in no other way could one exalt and honor another. R4165:2
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| 33 Ye have sent unto John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
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| 34 But I do not receive witness from man, but I say this that *ye* might be saved.
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| 35 *He* was the burning and shining lamp, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
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A burning – Some lights are cold, austere, unsympathetic; but the kind approved of the Master was the burning kind--warm, glowing, sympathetic, helpful, intensive. R4967:3; CR125:3
Shining light – The Apostle distinguishes between the messenger of the light and the light itself. Here our Lord speaks of John the Baptist as a burning and shining lamp (mistranslated light). A totally different Greek word [phos] is used when our Lord is spoken of being the Light. ( John 1:4) R2409:2
For a season – When he had announced Jesus as the Messiah his work soon began to wane, as he had testified it should do, saying of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease." ( John 3:30) B260; R968:5
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| 36 But I have the witness that is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given me that I should complete them, the works themselves which I do, bear witness concerning me that the Father has sent me.
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The Father hath given me – He ascribed always the honor to the Father. He was merely the Finger of God. R5920:2
Recognizing our Lord Jesus as a god, a "mighty God" and that the Scriptures clearly tell of his greatness, they also tell of his full harmony with the Heavenly Father, Jehovah, and his full submission to the Heavenly Father's will in all particulars. R4051:5, 2726:1
The same works – Teaching that since he came, his work and the Father's are one and not distinct one from the other. R52:4*
Bear witness of me – Bearing out the thought that the miracles that our Lord did were only intended to establish his identity, and not with a view of establishing a precedent for the healing of the world or the Church. R3495:5
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| 37 And the Father who has sent me himself has borne witness concerning me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor have seen his shape,
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Which hath sent me – Proving that the Father and Son are not one in person. If they are two persons, which was first? The names themselves explain: Father signifies sire, life-giver; Son signifies offspring. R1904:5
Nor seen his shape – Seeing with the natural eye and hearing with the natural ear are not all there is of seeing and hearing. "No man hath seen God at any time" ( John 1:18), yet all of God's children have seen him, known him and held communion with him. B122
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| 38 and ye have not his word abiding in you; for whom *he* hath sent, him ye do not believe.
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| 39 Ye search the scriptures, for ye think that in them ye have life eternal, and they it is which bear witness concerning me;
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Search the scriptures – Our Lord's words express the mind, the will, the Spirit of God. Hence we have continually set before us, as necessary to our victory, the study of the Word of Truth. E204
He who has not a knowledge of the divine revelation, the divine plan, cannot have a Scriptural hope, cannot have the legitimate results of such a hope, namely, the anchorage of the soul, sure and steadfast. (Heb. 6:19) NS505:4
Only by coming into a condition of heart-harmony and teachableness, and then by a full consecration receiving the holy Spirit, can we hope to understand the divine message and obtain the eternal life it promises. R4334:4
Under divine providence apostles, prophets and teachers are necessary, indispensable. But no words of man are to be taken as instead of the Word of God. Man's presentations are to find acceptance only in proportion as they are found to be in harmony with the Scriptures. R4334:4
The Jews came to Christ with their doubts; his reply was not for them to pray, but to search the Scriptures. Prayer and intellectual activity cannot be separated. R653:4*
God has so much more to tell us than we have to tell him, let him speak much, long and often through his Word. R597:6*, 317:1*
More of a reproach than a command or invitation, "You search the Scriptures because you think by them to obtain everlasting life, and these very Scriptures you are searching also testify of me." R2011:6*, 692:1*
In them ye think – Strictly scrupulous in the slightest ritual performances, in the observance of these forms they thought they had eternal life; but now he who was to bring life and immortality to light had come. R358:4*
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| 40 and ye will not come to me that ye might have life.
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Ye will not come – No one can expect to be taught of God while in that self-sufficient and dishonest condition of mind which boasts of knowledge and faith which it lacks. R2965:5
Although obedience to the laws of Christ's Kingdom will be enforced, no man's free moral agency will be interfered with: these words will be true of those who then know of and fail to gain life, as it is true of some now. R2051:4
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| 41 I do not receive glory from men,
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| 42 but I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
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The love of God – We are to distinguish between natural love and the love of God. All mankind has some share of natural love--self-love, love for family, friends. But the love of God is different--unmerited, sacrificing love. R2648:2
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| 43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another come in his own name, him ye will receive.
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In my Father's name – Our Lord Jesus in all matters acts as the representative of the Father, Jehovah, in the work of salvation. E35
Ye receive me not – Not because of a lack of prayer, but because they sought honor of another, and not the honor which cometh from God. (verse 44) R653:4*
In his own name – Boastingly. B357
Him ye will receive – Papacy's unparalleled success, as a counterfeit Christ, deceiving the whole world, has amply fulfilled this prediction. B357
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| 44 How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and seek not the glory which comes from God alone?
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How can ye – Upon no class does this trial come with greater force than upon ministers. With them it means truly the loss of all things--reputation, friends, often those of the family circle, and the present means of earning a living, and necessitates the turning to something new and untried. R956:5*
Believe – Continue in proper discipleship. R4208:1
Honour one of another – Great power has been, and to some extent still is, in the hands of ecclesiastics; but, in the name of Christ and his gospel, it has been, and still is, selfishly used and abused. D61
The Protestant clergy receives much of the same homage and reverence against which the reformers of the sixteenth century protested. It is a general weakness of fallen human nature to take all the respect, honor and authority others are willing to accord. R1135:6
Everything is done to impress upon the people the idea of the superior learning, dignity, and sanctity of the clergy. R956:1*
There are many consecrated ones, desirous of the prize, begotten of the spirit, who are partially overcome by the allurements of the world. They try to walk a middle road--to keep the favor of God and the favor of the world, forgetting that "the friendship of the world is enmity with God." (Jas. 4:4) A214
A temptation comes to the Lord's people to guide their course not entirely by the Word of the Lord, but with a deference to the sentiments of others. This is the fear of man that brings a snare. (Prov. 29:35) R4208:1; D61
Hindering some of even God's true servants from faithfulness, while apparently many of the under-shepherds never had any interest in the Lord's flock accept to secure the golden fleece. HG715:4
The "wise and prudent" prefer honor one of another rather than that which cometh from God only. Instead of coming out more and more boldly for truth on unpopular subjects, they put their light under a bushel until it is gone out. R2639:6
He that values reputation more than truth, how can he believe? R24:6*
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| 45 Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom ye trust;
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Even Moses – God dealt with only one man in connection with the making of that Law Covenant, Moses, who stood in the position of father to the whole nation, the nation being regarded and treated as children. R1725:3
In whom ye trust – As in Jesus' day believers in Moses rejected Christ, so now we find those claiming to trust in Christ, who reject Moses, in spite of Jesus' having endorsed him. R691:6*
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| 46 for if ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me.
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Had ye believed Moses – Equivalent to saying that in the deeper sense Moses, in telling of the Seed, covers the Gospel in its fullness, though deeply hidden. This dept of Moses' writings is the cause of the Jews' rejection of Christ, as well as of the modern Christian rejection of Moses. R691:6*
The manner of the unbelief of the Jews was that of failing to see the spirit of their sacred writings. To them the truth was veiled, because of the veil upon their hearts. R692:4*
Disbelievers in Moses are of necessity disbelievers in Christ. To reject Moses after Christ has endorsed him is not characteristic of a believer in Christ. R691:3*
All who believed Moses and were taught of God were able to receive him when he was present in the flesh. R40:1*
He wrote of me – There is, it may be safely said, more gospel in Genesis than in Matthew. This fullness of the gospel was given in Genesis in the sense that the undeveloped seed contains all that can be produced from it. R692:1*, 67:3*
The method by which Moses wrote of Christ was not direct statement, but by figure, type and allegory. Even in his most direct words he did not say Christ, though that was what he meant. R692:3*
In the Law, in types. R4352:3; B177
Moses wrote of the ransom (1) in every sin offering enjoining the life of the beast; (2) when he told of how God clothed the guilty pair, expelled naked from Eden, with coats of skins; (3) in the narrative of the offering of Isaac; (4) by showing the ratifying of the typical Covenant with blood representative of his own; (4) by showing the necessity that the firstborn be under the blood of the Passover lamb; (5) in the types of the Day of Atonement; and (6) in the typical Jubilee year, announcing the times of restitution of all things. R692:6
Moses taught restitution in type, in the Jubilee arrangement, in which land and all possessions lost were fully restored. R413:1
Moses, in some particulars, in some of his transactions, was a type of our Lord. R4058:1
Proving that Moses did not die 500 years before the Pentateuch was written, or that writing was unknown in his day. Q633:3
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| 47 But if ye do not believe his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
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His writings – The Lord thus authenticating the reliability of the Mosaic record, as opposed to the concepts of the Higher Critics. R3724:4*
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