7.

Behold what thy Lord saith to thee: "The hour shall come," saith He, "and now is." "The hour shall come," yea, that very hour, "now is, when"--what? "when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and they that shall hear shall live." They then that shall not hear, shall not live. What is, "They that shall hear"? They that shall obey. What is, "They that shall hear"? They that shall believe and obey, they shall live. So then before they believed and obeyed, they lay dead; they walked, and were dead. What availed it to them, that they walked, being dead? And yet if any among them were to die a bodily death, they would run, get ready the grave, wrap him up, carry him out, bury him, the dead, the dead; of whom it is said, "Let the dead bury their dead." ¹ Such dead as these are in such wise raised by the Word of God, as to live in faith. They who were dead in unbelief, are aroused by the Word. Of this hour said the Lord, "The hour shall come, and now is." For with His Own Word did He raise them that were dead in unbelief; of whom the Apostle says, "Arise thou that sleepest, and rise up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." ² This is the resurrection of hearts, this is the resurrection of the inner man, this is the resurrection of the soul.