Tuesday: Death in the New Testament
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 4th of June 2024
Read John 11:11-14,21-25; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. How do the New Testament writers’ descriptions of death compare with those in the Old Testament?
Both the Old and New Testaments use the symbolism of death as a sleep. At least 53 times in the Bible, the word “sleep” is equated with death. The Bible writers concur that there is no conscious existence in an immortal soul that leaves the body immediately after death.
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The New Testament adds another dimension, one already hinted at in the Old: the glorious resurrection at Christ’s return.
The Gospels emphasize that eternal life is in Christ alone. All the demons in hell cannot rob believers of their assurance of eternal life. Christ conquered death on the cross. The grave can no longer hold its victims. Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee that all believers will one day be resurrected from the grave at His return.
Look at these words of Paul: “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Corinthians 15:16-18, NKJV). How does one make any sense of these verses if the dead, at death, already are in the bliss of heaven? What does Paul mean that they “have perished” if, in fact, they already are in heaven?
Instead, Paul’s whole point is that Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our resurrection and that without the Resurrection, “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins,” and the dead remain in the ground, perished.
These verses fit in perfectly with other Bible texts about the hope we have in the resurrection at Jesus’ return when we will receive the “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4, NKJV). If, however, the dead already are in heaven, why does Peter speak of an inheritance “reserved in heaven” for us? Clearly, New Testament believers eagerly looked forward to the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead, and this hope inspired them to faithfulness in the trials of life.
Why is the resurrection such a powerful hope for the Christian faith? What if we had the cross but no resurrection? What hope would we have? Why, then, is the resurrection such an important part of our faith?
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The resurrection is one of the underlying themes of the New Testament. Admittedly the word itself is used mostly negatively to characterise the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection, spirits, or angels. However, the theme is dominant, and Paul writes extensively on the topic. Here is an example:
There are two other ideas associated with the resurrection:
This notion of death and resurrection implies that we who have this hope should live our lives in Christ now so that it provides a beacon of light for those who do not believe. It is not about the textual argument, but about the transforming grace of Jesus now.
Why is the resurection such a powerful hope for the Christian faith?
The simple answer is the resurection of the faithful in Christ, which is a rescue from death to eternal life is promised to us who believe.
You should have seen the smile on their faces as Douglas McArthur said, I will be back, to those he could not take with him, they were given hope. Then when he returned as promised they jumped for joy. Smile and be joyful all ye who believe in Christ, some day soon we will jump for joy. As we rise above the clouds, we may even shout for joy? I am told we will sing with a joyous message that no one but us can sing, because we have experienced salvation. A rescue like none other.
John 14:1-3
Revelation 7:9-10
John, I too would have thought McArthur delivered his I shall return speech in the Phillipines. It was in fact delivered to the Australian press at a small railway station in South Australia called Teworie on 20/3/1942. There is a plaque mounted there to remember his passing thru. But to his credit ,as history shows , he did return!!
This is a difficult subject, not to my understanding, but to those Christian’s who still cling to the teaching of the soul that goes to heaven when death occurs. They do agree to what Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15:51-54 referring solely to the body which will then be resurrected incorruptibly when Jesus returns.
I attend a non- Adventist bible study group with whom I share many biblical truths- the participants are real faithful christians, however, on subjects as such, when I present a biblical truth, then I‘m the one who’s on the wrong side of the page. Others always have the notion, that Adventists have invented their own bible truths to be utterly rejected.
Has any of you had such an experience and how do you deal with it?
I have had several discussions with friends who are dedicated Christians as well. Satan is the great deceiver. He knows the scriptures well. For every bible truth that we hold dear, he has a false doctrine. People are taught that the Sabbath was for the Hebrew people, or some beliefs were for another dispensation, or Jerusalem is the Holy city, or Jesus' coming will be secret, or the loved ones in the grave are in Heaven, or how to baptize. The list goes on. Before the bible was in print and available to the common people, sincere Christians were warned not to read it because only the priests can explain the scriptures. By then the false teachings had already entered into the worship halls. See previous lessons.
Jesus said: Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:39
Acts 17:9-10 tells us about the believers in Berea who searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Our hope is in the Word of God. Before we open His Word, we should ask in our prayer for the Holy Spirit to teach, and to guide us into all truth. "Thy Word is truth".
We can be thankful that The Word is (and will become before Jesus comes) a witness unto all nations. Every serious believer will hear the truth and be able to take the stand with those who choose to follow Him instead of receiving the mark of the beast.
We are His witnesses! Prayer changes people.
I consider the statement attributed to Jesus and recorded in the New Testament: “I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live”, to be the most concise, most plainly stated and easily understood affirmation of life after death that those seeking answers can find - John 11:25.
It does not speak to when the believer lives again, but this is, in my opinion, not as crucial as knowing that human kind can live again after death. This statement affirms the identification of Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life.
To me, the application of this statement is even broader than just the life which the believer receives after death; it addresses that even as I live in my body now, I am able to die and to be resurrected. When I die to self, I will be born again as a new creature. I believe that - the believer’s final resurrection starts in this life. _ 2 Cor.5:14-21.
As this life we live now as born-again believers is lived in Jesus Christ - our resurrection and life lived in this life, is the foreshadowing of the type of life we live after the final resurrection. We are being assured that we will always have our life in Christ Jesus.