Friday: Further Thought ~ The New Testament Hope
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Thessalonian Letters,” Pages 255-268; “Called to Reach a Higher Standard,” Pages 319-321, in The Acts of the Apostles.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“The Romans,” wrote Stephen Cave, “were well aware of the Christians’ belief that they would one day rise bodily from the grave and did everything they could to mock and hinder those hopes. A report of a persecution in Gaul in 177 CE records that the martyrs were first executed, then their corpses left to rot unburied for six days before being burned and the ashes thrown into the river Rhône — ‘Now let us see whether they will rise again,’ the Romans are reported to have said.” — Stephen Cave, Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization (New York: Crown Publishers, 2012), Pages 104, 105.
This little object lesson in theological skepticism, however dramatic, is beside the point; it proved nothing about the biblical promise of the resurrection. The Power who raised Jesus from the dead can do the same for us as well, regardless of the state of our body. After all, if that same Power created and upholds the entire cosmos, He certainly could translate the living and resurrect the dead.
“‘Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him’ [1 Thessalonians 4:14], Paul wrote. Many interpret this passage to mean that the sleeping ones will be brought with Christ from heaven; but Paul meant that as Christ was raised from the dead, so God will call the sleeping saints from their graves and take them with Him to heaven. Precious consolation! glorious hope! not only to the church of Thessalonica, but to all Christians wherever they may be.” — Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 259.
Discussion Questions:
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If the dead who died believing in Christ are all with Him already in Heaven, why would Jesus have to come back the second time? Revelatiop 20:6 says "Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection." Wich means there will be dead people who will resurrect when Jesus comes back... The main point is that a God who created us, never left us alone to our own destiny. He had a plan even before our nature chose wrong, and this plan will be carried to the end! I want to be part of those who will be gladly standing, to face my Creator with happiness, because I know He is able to transform what I cannot.
Thought in response to DQ #1:
Gal 2:20 (NIV) “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
The questions at the end of today's lesson seem to be missing the point; at least that’s the way I see it. All of them ask how “we” can prove to someone who believes in immediately going to heaven when they die, that they are wrong. Shouldn’t our focus be on teaching about Jesus? If someone is ready and searching honestly for truth, isn’t it the job of The Holy Spirit to lead them? In Jeremiah 29:13 it says it perfectly. It’s a promise to anyone who is sincerely looking for truth. That is how we teach someone what they need to know, and only the Holy Spirit knows when they’re ready for an important truth. We can show all the proof texts in scripture, but if their heart is not ready, it will make no sense to them. Yes, the Holy Spirit may use us, but we too have to be listening to Him, not planning what text we think they need to read next. I hope this doesn’t seem negative; I just think we need goals.
Karen - I whole heartedly agree with your conclusion that man cannot prove spiritually based Truth to others by 'talking about it'. Talking about Truth, yes, but proving it to the spirit within man is the work of the Spirit of Truth - John16:13.
In all my conversations, no matter the topic, I have found this to be so. We share God's Word/Truth/Light of Life, but the listener's spiritual eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit of Truth, and accepting truths comes about then.
The 'New Testament Hope' shakes the whole world to its core! It represents the age-old hope that man is given the opportunity to live again and so dispels the fear of death and dying. Eastern religions speak about this as well, but their religion recycles physical life over and over again until Nirvana is reached.
For us who believe the Gospel of the Father of Jesus Christ, the doors are opened to enter heaven immediately when waking up to the call of God’s Trumpet. Yes, this hope has ‘driven civilization’ since its inception by our first parents as they raised their children in the knowledge of God to become His faith-children.
In spite of all the differences within the body of believers about the how and when of our resurrection, we who believe in Jesus Christ and have our life in Him have one consolation; we all will find ourselves gathered into the heavenly family of God - faith-children who followed their heavenly Father all the way home.
Are we on a quest for eternal life?
A favorite book of mine is Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit. One of the characters, who became immortal after drinking from a hidden bubbling spring, wishes he could have died with the rest of his family. He says he feels like a “rock stuck at the side of the stream”. Without mortality, Tuck feels separated from the rest of the world, like a rock, where all those whom he loves rush by him, like the stream.
For me, the point of life is also relationship. Sharing everything with my Creator. The point of heaven and eternal life is continuing the relationship that has started here into forever together. Immortal life without God would be horrible. And God has clearly shown us that eternity without us would also break His heart.
It reminds me of when the children of Israel in the wilderness were told by Jehovah that He would send an angel to go with them to continue their journey (after the golden calf worship), but that He would not go with them Himself... and the people and Moses answered that they did not want the Promised Land without God! (Ex. 33:3,4,15).
Are we on a quest for eternal life? Or on a quest for a deeper relationship with God?...and eternal life just happens to be a part of that because of God's love for us.
There is no hope at all since death is the end of everything. To the non-believer, the only hope is this one lifetime on earth. Therefore, the non-believer understands that this life is all we have and there is nothing to lose. Basically, there are only two decisions the non-believer has to make: (1) make a difference or (2) throw everything away. If the non-believer wants to make a difference in the world then he or she would have to pay it forward. How? By making the right moral decisions for the next generation to come by leaving the planet behind a little bit better than yesteryears. For example, respect authority, get good grades at school, continue graduating in different levels of education, or go to a trade school, maybe on the job training to develop a skill, use the knowledge learned in school by applying them in the real world, developing your skills in the real world so you can make improvements to society, etc. If the non-believer wants to throw everything away would want to cause harm to the community, partake on violence, treat others with disrespect, lawless behavior, attacking authority, etc. The two decisions the non-believer makes places their hope (only hope) in them since this life is all it has to live and offer. Personally, I like the non-believer who wants to make the world a better place to live in which is the Christian responsibility (stewardship). The only difference is the Christian believes that life does not end at death because of Christ.
When we accept Christ we are justified before His Grace (justification), but it doesn’t stop there. After baptism, we have to go through the process of sanctification of Christian maturity. As christians, we started out like babies drinking milk to understand the love of God from studying and reading scriptures (1 Corinthians 3:2). As we continue to study God’s grace, mercy, and justice, we no longer drink milk, but eat the meat of God’s words to understand the scriptures even clearer about His salvation, character, and love (Hebrews 5:14). This is called christian maturity (sanctification) for spiritual and physical growth (development). We must walk with God everyday for our Christian developmental growth to continue on. How? By (1) talking, (2) listening, and (3) connecting to Jesus (please read my comment on Sunday’s lesson by what I mean to walk with God). When we are developing our Christian character and growing toward perfection, then our fruits of the spirit are ripened for harvesting (Galatians 5:22; Revelation 14:15). This is how we gather our extra oil for readiness (sanctification) when the bridegroom comes (Matthew 25:1-13). Jesus is coming back to harvest a chosen people ready to receive heaven either translated or resurrected (glorification). Those who profess to be christians, but remain unchanged, underdeveloped, growth malfunction, still a baby christian for 30 plus years, endangers themselves by not gathering enough extra oil or being fully ripened when the Lord returns at the last day.
The secret rapture doctrine teaching is so wrong on many levels because it contradicts Christ’s words of coming back again to translate the living and resurrect the dead. These so-called religious leaders misquote the verse found in 2 Corinthians 5:8 like how Satan misquotes God’s words to fit our satisfaction. Paul is explaining that being absent from the body makes my next conscious thought to be in the Presence of the Lord. When a Christian dies, their next conscious thought is the resurrection of the dead on the last day of earth when Jesus returns (John 6:40). Basically, the righteous dead are sleeping in the Lord from their graves, then their next conscious thought (awake from sleep) is the Presence of the Lord.
I want to refer back to my comment from Week 3 Thursday’s lesson to help understand that the dead are asleep as opposed to being up in heaven. The bible truth that the dead sleep should be comforting to the living for three reasons: (1) The pagan concept of hell does not exist, (2) no more pain and suffering, and (3) the after-life view from the Eastern tradition/religion does not exist. Reason (1) has led people away from their Catholic and Protestant churches because of their religious belief in the idea of a pagan hell mixed with bible truth. Yes, hell is real, but it is reserved only for Satan, his angels, and the lost, which is known to us as the second death (Matthew 25:41). But, if you mix pagan beliefs with bible truth distorts the character of a loving God. And, many people don’t want to worship a God that puts the lost in a place of hell fire where it never ends for them (lesson 10 will help us understand the concept of hellfire). This reason alone discourages many people to go to church because they are afraid, fearful of worshiping a God resembling the Greek god, Zeus, who will zap you with his thunderbolt. Furthermore, a loving parent should be comforted in the fact that their child is not in some purgatory limbo state or in a hell chamber suffering from a sin of a human lifetime compared to eternity. Reason (2) comforts the living knowing that their loved ones (saved or lost) are finally at rest and asleep in death. When we see our aging grandparents suffering from physical pain, or your child having cancer, or maybe, knowing someone suffering from deep depression, mental illness, or some incurable disease, it is comforting to know that he or she is no longer experiencing those anymore, but at long last resting from their pain. It hurts and pains us to not have them in our lives alive, but at the same time it hurts seeing them in that awful excruciating condition. I remember when my younger sister’s pet dog was sick due to old age in dog years or maybe it was some other serious ailment. The veterinarian advice was to put the dog to sleep. When my sister’s dog was put to sleep, it hurt me so bad inside I cried so much more than I did when my grandma passed away, imagine that. But, I saw how my sister’s pet dog was suffering alive and it was hurting all of us. Although the passing of my sister’s pet dog hurt the family so badly, it was comforting to know of not seeing her suffer from her languishing pain when she was still alive in her state of condition. Reason (3) that the pagan idea of an after-life does not exist is comforting to know because if I die or a loved one passes away doesn’t have to see me or loved ones left behind suffering the trials of life or the bad decisions made on earth watching from a so-called paradise above looking down on earth. How can an after-life concept of heaven be heaven, when you're watching your loved ones having a hard time living on earth. Heaven will be a living hell if this was the case. Thank God for the biblical understanding of the human nature of death because it makes much more sense and comforting compared to other worldview theological teachings of death. Furthermore, if the righteous dead are in heaven now, then it does not make sense for Jesus to take them out of heaven to come back to earth again. If the righteous dead already have a body up in heaven, then there is no need for Jesus to resurrect people on earth if they are already in heaven as a glorified entity.
The Old Testament Hope was looking forward to the atoning sacrifice and death of the Messiah. But, the New Testament Hope is looking back at the resurrection of Jesus, the Saviour of the world. The Old Testament hope gave us access to heaven by the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins (Micah 7:19). The New Testament hope gave us the assurance to live again after death by the resurrection power of Christ. Also, the translating power of Christ if we happen to be alive when He returns (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).
I wholeheartedly support everything that Reggie has shared on this subject, but I feel that someone needs to directly address the second part of the question. Does 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 say that we receive "an incorruptible and sinless nature" at Christ's second coming? For three reasons, I don't think so.
Firstly, the entire passage (1 Corinthians 15:35-55) is about what kind of body we are to receive in the resurrection. While there are passages, such as Romans 7, where Paul uses language such as "this body of death" as a metaphor for our spiritually fallen nature, with its inherent bent toward evil, I can't see any reason to take this language so literally as to read a spiritual or moral component into the obviously physical context of 1 Cor. 15:35-55.
Secondly, while the KJV calls our new bodies "incorruptible," and the English language has since evolved to where the word "corrupt" is always used in the moral or ethical sense, the context of this passage clearly tells me Paul's intended meaning is that our new bodies can neither die nor decay (i.e. they are imperishable). To suggest an "incorruptible nature" is to propose that we are to receive something not even accorded to Adam and Eve at creation -- a nature incapable of being corrupted by sin. Their natures clearly did become corrupted. Our never sinning against God again, will be a free choice.
Thirdly, Romans 8:29 and Ephesians 1:11-12 tell me that God has guaranteed the eventual perfection of the character of those who trust in the merits of Christ -- to the point where Paul even uses the word "predestined." And Philippians 1:6 tells me that this "good work" is to be carried forward and "completed" during this life, the time leading up to "the day of Jesus Christ."
I am not suggesting that we could be perfect if we just tried harder to keep God's law. That is literally impossible and, God knows, we already have enough legalism in the church. However, I am suggesting a deeper confidence in the power of God's love to transform our deepest motives and character.
Seventh-day Adventist pioneer Ellen White was sometimes at pains to warn us not to be content to live a selfish, indulgent life now, using our sinful nature as an excuse, and then expect to receive a sudden change in our character at the coming of Christ. Referring to the work of grace, in the heart and life of the Christian, she called immortality "the finishing touch." (Counsels for the Church, page 215)
AMEN! We are not spiritual automatons on earth and we will not spiritual automatons in heaven or on the new earth. Our experience on earth will have taught us terrible and very hard lessons of the knowledge of good and evil, and this knowledge will "predestine" us to make our choices on God's amazing grace and love, forever and ever.
If we do what the Apostle Paul counsels for us to essentially identify with Jesus' "Flesh and Bones," then we are already on our way for His Father (our Father too) to give us an incorruptible body that will never die. The Old Testament also had hope such as we have in the New Testament such as in Psalm 103:1-14 where King David wrote and said that "As far as the east is from the west thus far God has removed our iniquities from us," to me this is the same as saying that in Jesus, God sees us having never sinned at all; and where the Apostle Paul in the Romans 8:2 that "The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death," goes very much along with what King David wrote in Psalm 103. So God saw all who placed their faith in all that the Sanctuary services signified as having never sinned at all just like He sees us also when we place our faith in Jesus who fulfilled all that those animal sacrifices and services signified. By faith in Jesus, the Father sees us as being flawless and perfect and sinless. Wow what a God we serve!