Our Resurrection
The most important event that will ever occur in this world will be the resurrection of the dead; the resurrection of all of the dead, regardless of their race, their national origin, or their religious beliefs. Jesus said, "Do not be astonished about this, for the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and will come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil to the resurrection of condemnation" John 5:28-29 Berkeley Version).
Jesus also said, "When The Son of Man comes in His glory...All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats...Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you...Then He will say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels...these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" Matt. 25:31-46 NKJV).
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36 NKJV). Both the promise of everlasting life and the promise of everlasting punishment will be realized when Jesus returns and the resurrection of the dead takes place.
Only those who have turned to the Lord in repentance and faith, before they die, will be counted among the righteous! In Hebrews, we read, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...approach the throne of grace with confidence..." (Heb. 4:7-16 NIV). Tomorrow may be too late!
As a young boy I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and to come and live in my heart. Now, seventy years later, that experience is just as real today as it was then! The following explanation describes exactly why such an experience is a guaranteed promise of an everlasting future.
This is what Paul told the believers in Ephesus, "You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession"(Eph.1:13,14 NIV). Paul adds, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God , with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:30 NIV). "The day of redemption" is the resurrection!
Paul spoke of , "resting in the hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began" (Titus 1:2). This is a reference to the tree of life which was in the Garden of Eden. There was also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but God had warned them not to eat of its fruit. However, they did eat of the forbidden fruit and they were driven out of Eden and away from the tree of life, "Lest they eat of that tree also and live forever" (Gen. 3:20-24).
Paul wrote, "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12). Just as sin brought death to everyone, Jesus, by His death on the cross, provided a remedy for sin and death. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself...For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:19, 21 NKJV).
The Apostle John had a vision of our future home. He wrote, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" (Rev. 21:1 NKJV). John saw God and our Savior sitting together on their throne. Out from their throne flowed the river of the water of life, which ran down by the tree of life, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. (Rev.22:1-2).
When Moses wanted to see God, he was told that, "No one can see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20). However, we will be able to see God after we have been resurrected from the dead. Those still living when Jesus returns will experience their transformation at that time.
Jesus settled an argument concerning the resurrection by explaining that in heaven the righteous will be like the angels of God. (Matt. 22:24-30).
When will all this take place? Paul wrote, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile...but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep...for as in Adam we all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him" (I Cor. 15:17- 23 NIV). When will our resurrection take place? When He comes!
Paul wrote, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...this mortal must put on immortality" (I Cor. 15: 50-52 NKJV).
The words, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God", help us to understand John 3:1-5, where Jesus talked to a prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus. This Jewish leader, like the disciples, worried about God's promises to Israel. The last question the disciples asked Jesus was, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kngdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).
Jesus, knowing what was on Jewish minds, began to speak about the kingdom of God to Nicodemus. " Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." We should remember that Jesus will not tell his loved ones to enter the kingdom of God until after the resurrection!
The resurrection is a birth. Jesus is called the "First born from the dead" in Col. 1:18, and in Rev. 1:5 (NIV). Jesus' resurrection was His second birth! The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Who has heard such a thing? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?" (Isa. 66: 8). Yes, resurrection is a birth! Our resurrection will be our second birth! Jesus was not talking to Nicodemus about how he could be saved, but how he could "see" and "enter" the kingdom of God! Nicodemus was a righteous man according to the old covenant, but he needed to understand that Israel's promises would be fulfilled by the resurrection.
Long before Nicodemus was born, David, king of Israel, wrote, "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness (Psm 17:15 NJKV). John and Paul both agreed with David's view of the future.
John wrote, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (I John 3:2 NKJV).
Paul, in his great resurrection chapter, wrote "Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly Man" (I Cor. 15:49 NKJV).
Jesus allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross so that we who have lived in sin will be able to enter into that kingom which He has gone to prepare for us.
When Jesus was crucified, two thieves were crucified with Him. One thief did not believe in Jesus. The other thief believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be, and he said to Jesus, "Remember me, when You come into Your kingdom." Jesus replied, "You will be with Me in Paradise."
Like the thieves, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. If we turn to Jesus just as that thief did, we will be accepted, too. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17 NKJV).
To whom shall we turn in order to get right with God? Directly to Jesus! Jesus said to His disciples, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14: 6 NKJV}.
Believing in Jesus means believing in every thing He taught! His disciples have left us the only reliable record of those teachings. That record is called the New Testament. Everyone who wishes to follow Jesus should have a copy of the Bible, or, at least,. a copy of the New Testament.
He lived and died for every one of us; now it is our turn to live for Him.
Knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior will change your life, for now and for all eternity!
AMEN