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  document.writeln("<span class=\"body\"><b><span class=\"headings2\"><span class=\"actsititle\">Will the Dead Live Again?</span></span></b><br>");
  document.writeln("<span class=\"actsilinks\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.print()\">Print this page</a></span>");document.writeln("<br><div id='actsartcl1'>");document.writeln("<p class=\"myparagraph\" align=\"left\">A<span class=\"body\">t the Battle of Waterloo in  1815, the French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies under  the command of Wellington.  The people of England  depended on a system of semaphore signals to find out how the battle was going.  One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester    Cathedral.</span></p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\">Late in the day it flashed the  signal:</p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\" align=\"center\"> &#8220;W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N &#8230; D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D &#8230;.&#8221; </p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\">Just at that moment a sudden  fog cloud made it impossible to read the complete message. The news of defeat  quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was gloomy when they  heard the news that their country had lost the war. Suddenly the fog lifted,  and the remainder of the message could be read. The complete message was:</p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\" align=\"center\"> &#8220;W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N  &#8230; D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D ...<br>T-H-E &#8230; E-N-E-M-Y!&#8221;</p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\">It took only a few minutes for the good  news to spread. Sorrow turned into joy, defeat turned into victory!</p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\">So it was when Jesus was laid  in the tomb on the first Good Friday afternoon. Hope had died even in the  hearts of Jesus&#8217; most loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion, the fog  of disappointment had crept in on the friends of Jesus. They had &#8220;read&#8221; only  part of the divine message. &#8220;Christ defeated&#8221; was all that they knew. But on  the third day&#8212;Easter Sunday&#8212;the fog of disappointment lifted, and the world  received the complete message: &#8220;Christ defeated death!&#8221; Defeat was turned into  victory&#8212;death into life!<sup>1</sup></p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"headings7\"><strong>Did Jesus Rise Again? </strong> </p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\">As I&#8217;ve mentioned before, when Joy, my wife, and I  were in Jerusalem  last year, we had the opportunity to visit the tomb that is believed to be the  tomb in which Jesus was buried following his crucifixion. According to the biblical  record, Jesus was buried in a wealthy man&#8217;s unused tomb, and, as our tour guide  pointed out, it was evident that this  tomb had belonged to a wealthy person. As such there is every chance that this  was the actual tomb in which Jesus was buried. When exiting the tomb there was  a sign that said, &#8220;He is not here. He is risen!&#8221; On this fact the entire  message of Christianity is based. But how can we know if it is true. Did Jesus rise  from death? </p>");
document.writeln("                  <p align=\"center\"><span class=\"headings2\"><img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-left.gif\" width=\"20\" height=\"19\">Christ defeated death! Defeat was<br>");
document.writeln("                    turned into victory&#8212;death into life!<img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-right.gif\" width=\"20\" height=\"19\"></span></p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\"><em class=\"headings7\">Consider  the evidence.</em> On the third day after Jesus&#8217; crucifixion&#8212;Easter Sunday&#8212;as  the day began to dawn, &#8220;Mary  Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.&#8221;<sup>2</sup> There they were  met by an angel who said  to them, \"Do not be afraid, for  I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen,  as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His  disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you  into Galilee; there you will see Him.\"<sup>3</sup></p>");
document.writeln("                  <p class=\"body\">There were many others besides the two  Mary&#8217;s who were able to verify that Jesus had risen from the dead. On at least nine  occasions Christ appeared to his followers after his death and burial. Jesus not  only appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in the garden on Easter  Sunday. He also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road, to  all the apostles except Thomas, to the eleven disciples with Thomas included,  to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee, to the five hundred followers to whom  he gave the Great Commission, to James, to the eleven disciples at Bethany just  before his ascension to heaven, and to Paul.<sup>4</sup></p>");
document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">As Josh McDowell&nbsp; pointed out:&nbsp; &#8220;Of the  four major world religions that are based on personalities rather than  philosophies, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. In 1900 BC Judaism&#8217;s Father Abraham died. In 483 BC  Buddhist writings say Buddha died \"with that utter passing away in which  nothing whatever remains behind.\" June 6, AD 632 Mohammed died. In AD  33 Jesus died but came back to life appearing to  500 people over a period of 40 days.<sup>5</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p align=\"center\">                    <span class=\"headings2\"><img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-left.gif\" width=\"20\" height=\"19\">Of the four major  world religions only Christianity<br>");
document.writeln("                  claims an empty tomb for its founder.<img src=\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-right.gif\" width=\"20\" height=\"19\"></span></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">Jesus&#8217;  resurrection assures us that he has conquered death once and for all. This is  the hope of the world in that all who believe in Jesus will also rise from  death. This is because when Jesus died on the cross, he died in your place and  mine to pay the just penalty for all our sins so we could be freely forgiven  and given the gift of eternal life.</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">Christ\'s first coming 2,000 years ago is an indisputable  fact of history. Jesus is as real a person as was Julius Caesar. The secular  historian, Josephus, who lived in and wrote about civilization in Bible times,  also verifies the historical Jesus. Had it not been true, Josephus&#8212;writing to please the Romans&#8212;would never have  verified this fact.</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">Equally profound is the  assurance that Jesus is coming back to earth again. Jesus promised he would return. His disciples were troubled  when he told them that he would soon be leaving them, so he assured them saying,  \"There are many homes where my Father [God] lives, and I am going to  prepare them for your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and  get you, so that you can always be with me where I am going.\"<sup>6</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">When Jesus left earth, two angels gave the same promise. Two  angels appeared to the disciples and said, \"Men of Galilee, why do you  stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you  into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into  heaven.\"<sup>7</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">And almost every writer in the New Testament confirms this promise.  According to one Bible scholar there are 308 references to Christ\'s second  coming in the New Testament alone. This promise pulsates throughout the entire  Scriptures right through to the last page and the last word. \"Yes, I am  coming soon,\" Jesus said.<sup>8</sup></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">The critical issue is to make sure  you are ready for Christ&#8217;s return which is just as certain as was his first  coming 2,000 years ago. That day may be much closer than we think. As Jesus said,  &#8220;And this  gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the  nations, and then the end will come.&#8221;<sup>9</sup> Today, via all the modern means of communication  the good news is speeding to the ends of the earth as never before. Jesus is  coming again. What if it were today, would you be ready?</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\"><span class=\"headings7\">For Help: </span>To be absolutely sure that  you are ready for Christ&#8217;s return, I encourage you right now to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, ask for God\'s forgiveness for all your sins, <span class=\"body\">and make a commitment of your life to Him. The following prayer will help you to do this: </span></p>");
document.writeln("<p><span class=\"body\">\"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner  and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus  Christ, died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Please forgive me for  all my sins. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as my Lord and  Savior. I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please give me the desire  to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for  dying on the cross for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for  hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, Amen.\"</span></p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"body\">If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it,  please let us know by clicking on the <a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php\"><strong>\"Yes to God\"</strong></a> link below and filling in the form and we will send you, without  charge, a copy of the e-brochure, <em>How to  Grow</em>, to help you in your Christian life.</p>");
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document.writeln("<p class=\"small10pt\">1.  Hewett, James S., Editor, from <em>Illustrations  Unlimited</em>.&nbsp; &#8220;The Fog Lifted,&#8221; p. 166.  Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton,   Illinois. &nbsp;&nbsp;2. Matthew 28:1 (<em>NKJV</em>).&nbsp; 3. Matthew 28:5-7 (<em>NKJV</em>).&nbsp; &nbsp;4. Mark  16:9; Luke 24:34; 24:13-21; John 20:19,24; 20:26; 21:1; 1 Corinthians 15:6;  15:7; Luke 24:50,51; and 1 Corinthians 15:8.&nbsp;  5. McDowell, Josh. <em>Evidence that Demands a Verdict.</em> Page 180. San Bernadino, CA:  Here&#8217;s Life Publishers, Inc., 1979. &nbsp;6. John  14:2,3 (<em>TLB</em>).  &nbsp;&nbsp;7. Acts 1:11  (<em>NIV</em>). &nbsp;8. Revelation 22:20 (<em>NIV</em>).  &nbsp;9. Matthew 24:14 (<em>NKJV</em>).</p>");
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  document.writeln("<p style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;\">This and other articles by Richard (Dick) Innes <a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/articles/\" target=\"_blank\">can be read online</a>.<br><br>Copyright &copy; 1990 - 2024<br /><a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/\" target=\"_blank\">ACTS International</a></p>");
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