RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (VII)

RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD

SCRIPTURE:

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. John 5:28-29

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Corinthians 15:51-57

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:5-6

OBSERVATION:

The sixth of the key foundations written in Hebrews is the Resurrection from the dead. There are actually two great resurrections in Scripture. The first resurrection comes at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus, when He returns on the clouds with great power and glory. There will be the trumpet call of God and the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The second resurrection happens at the end of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ with His saints, when everyone will be brought back to life again to be judged before God, and anyone whose name is not found in the Book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire to everlasting torment.

What will happen at this first resurrection? Paul describes an incredible change where those in Christ will receive new bodies which are imperishable and spiritual. This first resurrection will include those in Christ who died earlier as well as those in Christ who are still living when Jesus returns. Our current bodies are weak and perishing, decaying constantly as we grow older, but the new bodies that we will receive in Christ are invincible, immune to disease and sickness or any kind of deterioration. We get an idea what this new body will be like by looking at our Lord’s actions after He rose from the dead. He could suddenly appear out of thin air in the presence of the disciples, seemingly able to pass through walls and over great distances in a short time. Yet He could also eat, and His disciples were able to touch Him. He also bore on His body the marks of His suffering at the hands of the Romans soldiers and from the cross. He was also able to fly, ascending up to Heaven in front of the disciples. Blessed and holy that have part of the first resurrection. What are these resurrected for? They will form the world government with the Lord as the Head, and will have various levels of authority given them based on how well they served the Lord faithfully during their lives on earth.

How about the second resurrection? There is great fear here in knowing that one may not find his name written in the book of life and be thrown into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Who are those who find their names written in the book of life? Firstly, it is called the Lamb’s book of life, meaning that it is those who follow the Lamb who will find their names there. Secondly, in the book of Revelation, it describes those whose names will not be found in it - those who are unclean, deceitful liars, cowardly, unbelieving, sexually immoral, idolators and practicians  in magic arts. Thirdly, speaking to the church of Sardis, Jesus said that to those who overcome, He will never blot out of the book of life. This also means that some whose names are already in currently can have it erased from it. We need therefore to make sure we press on and overcome in being faithful to Him till the end.

APPLICATION:

The First Resurrection is our great Christian hope for the future, and because of it we look forward to the Second Coming of Christ, when He will come to redeem all things, starting with us who are in Him. It is also a great deterrent for us to beware lest we miss this great resurrection. The Apostle Paul Himself made sure He was faithful to God, lest he himself be disqualified after preaching to others. How then can we ourselves not carefully work out our salvation with fear and trembling?

Let us never forget nor take for granted this great hope of the Resurrection that we have, looking forward every day to the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever grateful for His calling, always pressing to be faithful in our service. Even so come, Lord Jesus!

 PRAYER:

Precious Lord Jesus, we look forward to Your glorious coming! We so thank You for calling us to this glorious hope! Keep us safe O Lord, and committed in our hearts to follow You until You come, no matter what the cost. We praise You and love You and thank You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen!

The curtains, the earthquakes and the resurrections

The curtains, the earthquakes and the resurrections

Scripture:

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Observation:

The moment Jesus died, several powerful events occurred consecutively. Firstly, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Secondly, there was a great earthquake. Thirdly, as a result of the earthquake, tombs were opened and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. When the Roman centurion and all his soldiers saw all that happened they were terrified and exclaimed “Surely he was the Son of God!” Watching from a distance were also many women, among them, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Lord’s mother, and also the mother of James and John.

What was the significance of these events? The tearing of the curtain symbolizes the removal of the barrier between God and man through Jesus Christ, who has enabled all who believe in Him to come into the Holy of Holies and meet God by virtue of the blood of Christ. We have direct access to God the Father, able to pray to Him and have Him hear our prayers. We don’t need any priests or human intermediaries, for Jesus Christ has made clear the way to the Father.

The incidence of the earthquake is often interpreted as a sign of judgment. While the death of Jesus Christ has opened the door to the path of salvation in His name to all who will believe, His death also means that all who do not accept Him will also be eternally condemned.

As for the third sign of the resurrection of many holy people who had died, it is clearly symbolic of the promise of resurrection of all believers who will rise again at the second coming of Jesus to eternal life with the Master.

Matthew’s note on the women who followed Jesus reminds us of the great faithfulness, courage and loyalty of women, who fared far better than the disciples who shied away in fear at the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.

Application:

Thank God that He has made the way clear for us to come to God the Father. The way has been made clear at great cost, paid dearly by the blood of our Lord Jesus. We must never take for granted but greatly value this privilege of coming to the Father and we must do so in humility and gratitude.

In beholding the death of the Lord, we must also in all clarity understand that the gospel is a two edge sword, bringing death to those who do not believe, and life to those who will believe. Likewise, in remembering the resurrection of the saints from the dead, we look forward to our own resurrection in Christ Jesus, be it after our earthly deaths or even while we stand on the earth as the Lord has promised.

Prayer:

We thank You and praise You, Lord Jesus, for what Your great sacrifice on the cross for us has done. We have clear access now to God the Father. We are able to come to Him by Your precious blood. We are now able to commune and have reverent fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

We thank You too, O Lord, for the promise of the Resurrection, that all of us might have hope, even beyond death. Let this hope always remain strong in our hearts, even as we look forward to Your second coming. Keep us strong, and faithful we pray. You hold all things in Your hands. Blessed be Your holy name. In Jesus name, Amen.

God of the living

God of the living

Scripture:

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh.  Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. Matthew 22:23-32

Observation:

First, there were the Pharisees and the Herodians who tried to catch Jesus on the question concerning the imperial tax. Then, that same day, came the Sadduccees who tried to press home their belief that there is no resurrection.

Smugly, they presented the hypothetical case of the woman with seven husbands, and the question of which husband she would belong to at the resurrection. To them, there was logically no resurrection since such a ludicrous situation could not be allowed to happen according to the wisdom of Mosaic law.

However, the Lord used the opportunity to press home some very important points about the afterlife. Firstly, at the resurrection, there will be no more marriages between people. Marriage is an earthly institution, divinely ordained for life on earth alone. Secondly, at the resurrection, people will be like the angels in heaven. Angels do not marry each other, but serve God wholeheartedly in their individual capacity.  Finally, the Lord then addresses the whole error of the Sadduccee concept of no resurrection by declaring how in Scripture, God declares “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. God’s declaration is present tense, indicating that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are all very much alive, albeit in Heaven.

Application:

Close your eyes and meditate for a moment on the afterlife, on the resurrection of the dead. Our life on earth is fleeting, passing quickly like a breath of air. Some may say everything ends when we pass from this earth, drifting into nothingness. However, Jesus says that this is not so, and that there is a resurrection. He even describes how life at the resurrection will no longer involve marriage but that people will be like angels

Consider the Lord’s words to the Sadduccees “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God”. Do we know the Scriptures and the power of God? To know the Scriptures, we need to spend time reading it, meditating on it, reciting it even from memory. The Jewish concept of meditating on Scripture in the Bible is likened to the digestion of the cow, chewing it, swallowing it, regurgitating it to chew again and swallow. That’s how deeply we need to meditate on and think of Scripture.

Some are good in the Word but lack the power of God while some have high experiential knowledge in moving in the power of gifts of the Holy Spirit but are not grounded in the Word. We need both to be balanced and effective in the long term for the Lord. The power of God is something that comes from faith. It is in believing and calling upon God that we begin to see miracles, prayers answered, and God moving in divine ways in our lives. A lot of this stems from desire. How badly do we want to see God work miracles in our lives?

God is God of the living and not of the dead. We who walk after the Holy Spirit in Jesus name have life. We who walk after our own sinful desires are dead. If God is our God, and He is God of the living, we too must walk in life.

Prayer:

We praise You and thank You, Heavenly Father, for the time that we have here on earth. Forgive us, Lord, for our tendencies to fritter time away, to run after the pursuit of worthless things. Draw us and teach us, Lord, to use our time wisely, for the days are evil. Forgive our sin, and lead us to new paths and new callings. Help us O Lord, and reveal Your truth to us in Your Word. Breathe life into us O Lord, that we might experience Your power and presence in our daily lives. Help us love Your Word, teach us to learn from Your Word. Let it be so alive in our everyday walk, praise Your holy name. In Jesus name, Amen.