''If a man dies, shall he live again?''
This is the cry, not only of Job but of many today- Job 14:14. Jo later came to
the place of faith when he declared '' I know that my redeemer lives''- Job
19:25.
One of the central truths of the gospel is
that Jesus rose from the dead and His resurrection guarantees ours. The
Pharisees believed in resurrection; the Sadducee did not; the Greeks who lived
in Corinth were probably divided in their view. Some Greeks believed that the
soul lived on in a shadowy existence in Hades while others thought that death
ended it all. Also, false teachers arose who denied the literal resurrection of
Christ.
Paul countered the false teachers by
reminding the Corinthians of the many witnesses who saw Jesus after He rose.
Many of these were still alive and their testimonies still available. Then Paul
declared that Christ had not risen, the gospel would have been false and our
Christian hope meaningless. But the fact is, Christ has risen from the dead.
Paul then compared the first resurrection, the resurrection of life to a
harvest- Jn. 5:29. Harvest is the first-fruits of that harvest, the guarantee
of a great harvest to follow. Then the main body of the harvest will be the resurrection
of the believers at the Christ coming- Jn. 5:23.
Jesus' resurrection makes it certain that
every believer will live beyond the grave. This event eliminated the sting and
victory of death for all who trust Christ. It is a great source of hope for the
living.
Paul made a contrast between Adam whose
disobedience brought sin and its wages into the human race, and, Christ whose
resurrection brought the assurance of eternal life to all believers.
As humans, we share the attitudes of Adam
and we sin as he did. He chose deliberately to go against a holy God who placed
him in an ideal environment, supplied every need , and wanted only good for
him. Since then, every individual has made wrong choices that go against God
and are contrary even to what they believe is right.
Some have referred to death as a friend
bring relief from suffering. But the bible still looks at physical death as an
enemy, an enemy that in the final consummation of God's plan will be brought to
an end. We can face the threat of death without fear because we know we shall
rise again. The unbeliever loses everything he has worked for when he dies. But
if our aim is to glorify Christ and live for Him, He will resurrect us to live
and reign with Him. Death cannot rob us of anything we are really for. At the
same time, we recognize that all our hope and inheritance is a gift of God's
free grace.
Bertrand Russell, the English philosopher,
before his death penned the words, '' There is darkness without, and when I die
there will be darkness within. There is no splendour, no vastness anywhere;
only triviality for a moment, and then nothing''. Such is the conception of
many who are without the hope of eternal life. Death is an empty void with no
purpose of meaning. For many, death brings terror. Images of the ''grim
reaper'' and the vast, dark abyss of the ''other side'' looms in their minds.
Just as the bare grain is sown and the
hull decays in the ground but the life within it springs forth as a wheat
plant, so the body is buried and decays, but, God brings it forth as a brand
new-body. These bodies will present a strong contrast to the mortal body that
dies. At death, our bodies show that results of a deterioration and decay that
began as soon as we are born. At death, the body is humiliated in that all its
strength is gone and reduced to total weakness. It may also show the signs of
sicknesses and diseases. But the new bodies of the believer will be immortal
and incorruptible, not subject to death and decay. They will be full of glory
and the supernatural power of God which causes it to meet with Jesus in
the air. It will be like Christ's resurrected glorious body.
Revelation 20:12 makes it clear that the
first resurrection includes two groups. The first group includes faithful
believers who are the over comers of the church age; they are those who stayed
true by keeping the hand of faith in the hand of Jesus and will be given
thrones and judgments or ruler ship- 1 Jn. 5:4; Rev. 3:20-22, 5:10. This is the
main body of the harvest and includes all who are resurrected and given new
bodies at the time of Rapture. The second group includes those who have been
martyred because they refused to take the mark of the beast. These might be
compared to the gleanings after the main harvest; they complete the harvest.
With them, the first resurrection will come to an end. The rest of the dead
will not live till after the millennium is over.
Those who take part in the first
resurrection will reign with Christ throughout eternity. After the final
judgment of the wicked, they will enjoy the glories ad blessings of the New
Jerusalem and the new heaven and earth. The wicked will be cast into the lake
of fir prepared for the devil and his angels. Life after death is not a theory,
it is a reality. It is appointed unto men once to die and after that judgment-
Heb. 9:27. Eternal values are the only ones that really matter. Life is not
meant for food and drink; It is doing the will of the father.
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