neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption," affirming
that David in that Psalm speaks of the Resurrection of Christ.[130]
Jesus Himself often foretold, both figuratively and directly, His own
resurrection, as when He spoke of the coming destruction of the Temple,
and connected it with the death and resurrection of His body;[131] or
when He told the disciples that in a little while they should not see
Him, and again in a little while they should see Him.[132] The place
which this doctrine holds in the Christian faith is shown by the
numerous references to it in the Epistles.

The Apostles had not grasped the statements of Christ in such a way as
to lead them to look with confidence for His return, or to gather hope
of His resurrection. On the contrary, they did not expect His
resurrection, and, when they heard of it, they could not believe it to
be real.[133] Yet, convinced by the evidence of their own senses, they
came to hold it fast as the fact that crowned all their hopes in life
and death. Although the preaching of "Jesus and the Resurrection"
exposed them to persecution and martyrdom, they nevertheless continued
to proclaim a risen Lord. "If Christ is not risen," says Paul, "then is
our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain,"[134] and he goes on to
admit that if the Resurrection had not taken place, he was altogether
mistaken in the view of God's character set forth in his preaching and
epistles. Peter makes a similar statement: "We are begotten again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."[135] It is His victory
over death that confirms the truth of His claims. He is proved to be the
Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.[136] So important a fact
was it regarded in connection with their work, that when they met to
select a successor to Judas in the apostolic college, it was held to be
essential that no one should be appointed who was not able to testify
that he had seen the risen Lord.[137] Paul regarded this doctrine as so