J. Preston Eby |
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. [Acts 23:8] I don't know if we have sat down and pondered what we have been taught. I know in all my years as an assistant pastor, bible teacher, student, disciple, minister's son and the time in between have I really pondered the resurrection of the dead until the Lord brought me to the revelation soundly concluded that He indeed is Saviour of all mankind. I don't think I ever heard a sermon on the resurrection of the dead, or even an explanation of the first fruits, first, and second resurrection of the dead mentioned in Scripture. With all that time, I would have thought this subject would have brought up a couple times. Oh yes, I heard of the resurrection of the dead, it is mentioned in Scripture but is it really important? Indeed it is! In fact the Bible has one entire chapter dedicated to it alone. Read 1 Corinthians 15 and be astonished by the message Paul had preached. Not only had Paul preached the resurrection of the dead he was persecuted, arrested and stoned because of it! The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. [Acts 4:1] A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. [Acts 17:18] In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. [Acts 17:30-33] Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. [Acts 23:5-7] Paul was not just preaching that Jesus was risen from the dead, no he was actually preaching in Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead. Not only did He know and witness the risen Christ, but it was his hope as well. However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. [Acts 24:14-16] So somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. [Philippians 3:11] But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. [1 Corinthians 15:12-19] So just how important is the resurrection of the dead? Without it, our hope is hopeless and in vain. You see, Paul was not just teaching us to trust in Jesus Christ, he was preaching the resurrection of the dead because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. He said, if our hope is for this life, we are to be pitied more than all men. Where was Paul's hope? It is in the resurrection of the dead. This might not make sense to many people, there have been many preaching the resurrection of the dead has already happened. If this is so, then there is no more hope for anyone afterwards. In fact, to preach there is no resurrection of the dead, or to even preach that it had come to pass was called wickedness by Paul. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." [2 Timothy 2:17-19] The book of Hebrews is thought to have been written by Paul but even if not, he says that the elementary principles of doctrine is based on the resurrection of the dead. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. [Hebrews 6:1,2] Not only this, he describes the prophets of old awaited the resurrection of the dead and some endured destruction, capture, and death so that they could even attain a better resurrection. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. [Hebrews 11:35-40] What is so important about this elementary doctrine which has been lost to us by traditional Christianity? Why has it not preached and understood by mainstream Christianity? What did Jesus have to say about the resurrection of the dead? About the resurrection of the deadhave 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." [Matthew 22:31,32] Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." [Luke 14:12-15] Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." [Luke 20:34-38] What is so important about the resurrection of the dead, that Jesus Christ himself preached it for mankind, Paul preached it for all mankind and the author of Hebrews preached it was all mankind. What is its significance? You will have many people preach that the resurrection is spiritual, but if Jesus only rose in spirit then how does He have a body? Even Paul said that when the dead are raised, they are raised with a body that does not die. But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 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 dishonour, 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 15:35-38, 43-44] When Thomas doubted, Jesus presented Himself in body which was tangible and able to be touched. A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." [John 20:26, 27] So my friends, with all this focus why have we not been taught about the resurrection of the dead? What does the resurrection of the dead bring that Paul said could not be attained in this life? The life Paul waited for was not in this one because if that is so then the dead in Christ have died in their sins, but in the resurrection of the dead. With the resurrection of the dead, and Christ as its first fruits witnessed by the apostles, we have complete perfection and freedom from sin. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to Godthrough Jesus Christ our Lord! [Romans 7:24, 25] So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable and decays, but the body that is resurrected is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour and humiliation; it is raised in honour and glory. It is sown in infirmity and weakness; it is resurrected in strength and endued with power. It is sown a natural (physical) body; it is raised a supernatural (a spiritual) body. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. [1 Corinthians 15:42-44] Without the resurrection, we are consumed by this body of death and we remain and die wretched! Freedom does not come in this life (though we live by faith in hope the Son of God) but in the resurrection of the dead which Christ Jesus is the first fruits. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, we do not settle for a flesh which is consumed by sin but a body which is raised imperishable clothed in righteousness. So how many disciples and apostles think that perfection can be attained while we are still alive in this physical body? None. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fadekept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. [1 Peter1:3,4] I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the first resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [Philippians 3:10-12] This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part 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. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) [Revelation 20:6,7,5] Those who walk the course and labour and strive in Christ in this life are rewarded in the first resurrection. So what is so important about attaining the first resurrection of the dead? What is so important about the resurrection of the dead? It is important, more than we ever realized. Is this your hope? |
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"In the first five or six centuries of Christianity there were six theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa, or Nisibis) were Universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality; one (Carthage or Rome) taught endless punishment of the wicked. Other theological schools are mentioned as founded by Universalists, but their actual doctrine on this subject is not known." "The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge" by Schaff-Herzog, 1908, volume 12, page 96 |
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