Friday: Further Thought ~ The Old Testament Hope
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Visions of Future Glory,” Pages 722-733, in Prophets and Kings.
Modern science teaches that all matter is composed of atoms, themselves made up of two smaller particles, quarks and leptons, which are believed to be the building blocks of all physical reality.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
If, then, at the core the physical world is quarks and leptons, couldn’t the God who not only created and sustains that world just reconfigure the quarks and lepton when the time comes to resurrect us? Mocking the resurrection, atheist Bertrand Russell asked what happens to those whom cannibals ate, because their bodies are now part of the cannibals’, and so who gets what in the resurrection? But suppose the Lord simply grabs quarks and leptons, the ultimate building blocks of existence, from wherever, and, based on the information that He possesses about each one of us, reconstructs us from those quarks and leptons on up? He doesn’t need our original ones; any will do. Or, in fact, He could just speak new quarks and leptons into existence and go from there. However He does it, the God who created the universe can re-create us, which He promises to do at the resurrection of the dead.
“The Life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first resurrection, and until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall sound and the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every sleeping saint will be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious jewel, who is known to God by name. By the power of the Saviour that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead.” — Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1143.
Discussion Questions:
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As a scientist, I get uneasy when I see theologians mentioning quarks and muons (and any other particles from the zoo of subatomic particles) I freely admit that I myself have limited knowledge of these particles. I did my science degree during the time when these particles were being discovered and the ideas were too new to make their way into BSc syllabi. Yet theologians confidently step into the area with ideas of immortality and eternal life.
We have no inkling as to how God is going to bestow immortality. The whole of the observable universe goes through various growth-decay cycles and scientists even postulate that whole of reality could collapse into a big "unbang" meaning that existence would cease.
So I discard my scientific postulates and observation and ask my mind to accept what Isaiah said:
... and I add John's comment
... and Paul's:
I am reminded that none of these scriptures offer any explanation of the physics but there is a suggestion that if we have the right relationship the physics will work out right as well.
A few more thoughts about OT references to death and resurrection….
(1) The Garden of Eden story shows that though humans were created in the image of God, this didn’t include that they would by nature live forever. After Adam and Eve disobeyed, God sent them from the garden, lest Adam “reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (Gen. 3:22). That tree offered life Adam didn’t yet have. Even before the Fall, eternal life was a choice for us to make and receive regularly through faith and action.
(2) Ezekiel saw a vision of dry bones clacking together, resuscitated and reanimated to life by God’s word (Ezek. 37:7–10), which represented God’s people returning to God’s land (Ezek. 37:12). Israel’s captivity in Babylon was a death as a nation, and their return would be a type of resurrection.
God provides “resurrection” for all types and forms of death in this fallen world, like mortal danger, famine, disease, loss, barrenness, separation, divorce, abandonment and exile. We see this in the OT. For example, when God overcame the barrenness of the patriarchs’ wives (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel) and of Hannah, Ruth, etc., he was bringing life to a dead womb and to the family line. God brought Jonah back from near death in the belly of the whale. Also He saved three friends from burning alive inside the blistering furnace, Daniel from being torn apart in the lions’ den, the Jews from genocide in Haman’s plot. How many times did God “resurrect” the Israelites from certain death in the wilderness? Not even their shoes wore out!
(3) Jesus learned about resurrection from the OT. “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. . . . As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God?” (Matt. 22:29-33).
(4) Without the promises of resurrection in the Old Testament, God’s people would have died thinking God had failed to fulfill his promises. God promised the land of Canaan to the patriarchs and their offspring forever (Gen. 12:7; 13:15), however Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all died “not having received the things promised” (Heb. 11:13,16). How, then, will God keep His word to the patriarchs? By raising them from the dead. We join Abraham in being heirs of a New World! (Rom. 4:13,16-25).
Dear Esther, I believe that God intended for Adam and Eve to live forever when he created them, and that was the objective of the tree of life. But when they disobeyed, they were no longer entitled to the fruit of the tree of life anymore; they could not be allowed to live forever in their state of disobedience - that is why the Lord intends to "make all things new."
Dear Brother Lawrence, Yes, I agree with you that God has always intended that humans live forever…”not willing any to perish” 2 Peter 3:9. That is part of being created in His image. “Intended” is a great word because it is different than “forced” or “thrust eternal life upon them”. Thank you for adding this.
For me the aha thought this week is that living forever with Him has always been a choice God gives us. He gave us working consciences and working livers and such….and unless we say “no” to them and deaden those, those are in all humans automatically. But eternal life, God’s dream and hope for us, requires us saying “yes” to Him by the faith He gives us, requires us eating His Body, drinking His Blood, reaching out for His Fruits of the Spirit, digesting “this day our daily bread”. God placed an object lesson in the Garden, a Tree of Life to eat from, only one tree giving eternal life, another symbol pointing to Jesus. Jesus is the only way to eternal life (John 14:6; 4:14). Jesus has always been offered as a choice. What a gift!
An interesting thought that aligns with the imagery of the fellowship offering and the Passover. Blood is often referred to as the "river of life," but was forbidden for consumption in the OT, yet Jesus asked his disciples to symbolically drink his blood and eat his flesh. The imagery is extended in Revelation 22:1-2 with the River of Life and the Tree of Life which emanate from God's throne.
What this imagery means in our lives now and when we dwell in the presence of God is a matter for thoughtful consideration.
I’m not a scientist like you Maurice but I‘m a financial manager. However the last 4 years I taught chemistry, physics and biology as a retiree and wondered greatly anew how marvelously God has created us and everything in this life.
My comment on what B. Russels mockingly mentioned about the bodies whom cannibals ate generates further thoughts of disintegration such as cremated bodies.
We hear stories about the ashes being scattered over lakes, mountains and parks. Some companies have even specialized in turning the ashes into jewelry.
If B. Russels would be alive today, he would pose his question differently with reference to a resurrection of a piece of jewelry.
As a believer, I do not need to make analysis of how in those cases God is going to resurrect, although it is not fathomable as a human how indeed this would happen.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 gives me good assurance what God is able to do.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Corinthians 15: 52-53
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Hi, Amina. Thank you for your thoughtful remarks.
To take your ideas, and those of Maurice, a bit farther, I am frankly amazed that anyone even has the least concern about what becomes of our mortal remains, as if God were planning to use any of the same matter in our resurrection.
In the same way, God can give us any body He pleases. Although I believe it will be recognizable in form, our new body will not even be of the same kind as before.
God speaks things into existence out of nothing.
I trust that, if God can work a miracle of grace in my heart, so that I don't spoil heaven for everyone else, then bringing me back from the dead will be a proverbial "piece of cake!"
We probably need to be less concerned about the physical makeup of our bodies at the resurrection, i.e. is the body the same one that died. We really don't want that body. If you have an amputation of an arm or a leg, you are still the same person. It's the "essence" of who you are that you want to be resurrected. If it's a clone of me, it will look like me, but it won't BE me. I fully believe in the unconscious state of the dead, but I also believe there's a continuity of "me" that is, so to speak, held in the hand of God when I die. That's why in I These 4:14, Paul writes that God will bring with Jesus those who sleep in Jesus.
Yes. We are more than sub-atomic particles, atoms, and molecules. Life occurs at the cells. Yet we are something more than tissues and organs. What really makes us, us? Our thoughts, memories, personalities, and characters? If we have dementia, then what?
I believe in the resurrection from the Old Testament testimony too. Job 19:26-27. Psalms 71:20. Daniel 12:2. There are many other references. Yes I agree it is like looking through sunglasses, compared to the New Testament on the resurrection where we see God's power of resurrection clearly. However the Old Testament believers had a strong belief in the Messiah too, to come. Therefore it seems to me their hope was also built on the resurrection. We see clearly because of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Another thought is, God spoke through the patriarchs and prophets to give them hope. Isaiah 26:19. Life is worth the living because He lives. Psalms 72:15. Isaiah 57:15.
When I look up to the heavens and gaze at the stars at night, I am in awe of the God I worship. In Psalm 8:3-4, “3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”, KJV. Therefore I have no concern of God’s awesome power to recreate us again through His resurrection power for the righteous dead, or His translating (changing) power for the righteous living. The vast space of the cosmos makes our solar system and planet earth a tiny speck of dust across the endless universe. Yet, this speck of dust is cherished by the Creator Himself in Jesus, who loves us dearly to death (literary) by becoming human to save us from our sins. The miracles of life we see everyday and “life” is a miracle in itself, gives me no doubt that my loving Saviour has the power to miraculously resurrect me again. Christ performed many miracles on earth and can do the same for us with His resurrection power. For He alone is the Life Giver, so therefore, choose life. In other words, choose Christ.
Hebrews 11 enriches my understanding of the Old Testament Hope because they were looking for three hopeful miracles to happen: (1) the coming Messiah, (2) the resurrection of Christ, and (3) the second coming of Christ. Miracle (1) of the Old Testament Hope was the first coming of Christ to happen because He will be the promised seed to redeem back humanity, including the natural world, back to restoration. How will Jesus restore back the lost paradise of Eden and the Tree of Life again? Jesus had to live the perfect life without sin by keeping God’s commandments. The first Adam fell short by disobeying God’s commandments whereas the Second/Last Adam (Christ) fulfilled God’s commandments (1 Corinthians 15:47). What was the hope in miracle (1)? The miracle hope was that Jesus Chirst lived a perfect sinless life in a full blooming sinful world, whereas the first Adam sin/disobeyed God in a perfect world. Miracle (2) of the Old Testament Hope is to have a second chance of life because He is Risen from death. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins where we can be newly restored wholly again from our lost human condition. Christ became the unblemished sacrificial Lamb in order to pardon our unforgiven sins covered by His blood. When we are covered by His blood, then the final enemy, Death, passes over us (Exodus 12:13). What was the hope in miracle (2)? The miracle hope was that Christ’s sacrificial life offering was accepted by God the Father to pardon our sins by being covered with the robe of righteousness (Christ’s perfection). When we are wearing the robe of Christ’s righteousness allows us to be near and accepted by God the Father (Matthew 22:11-12). God the Father only sees Jesus in us because we are covered by His blood and robe of righteousness. This miracle is so powerful because sin and God, the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9), cannot coexist, but separated. When Christ yelled out to the heavens asking why His Father had forsaken Him was due to the fact that the sins of all ages from the past, present, and future weigh down on Christ’s shoulder on the cross. And in that grueling hour, Christ was separated from God the Father because of sin (Matthew 27:46). Praise, the Lord! Christ was victorious over the power of death. When He lives, we live. Miracle (3) in the Old Testament Hope is the second coming of Christ (the Return of the King). When Jesus returns with His angels from the heavens above, the righteous dead sleeping in Jesus will awake from their sleep when they hear His voice to rise up from the grave (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). We can get to see our dead loved ones alive again by the resurrection power of Christ. As I stated in last Wednesday’s topic, It will be a great joy and feeling to see our dead grandparents, parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives, and friends, etc., live again during this great reunion when Jesus returns, an epic moment in earth’s history. What was the hope in miracle (3)? The miracle hope is that we will have a newly restored real body. It's not the same body that will age, rot, decompose, and turn to ashes and dust, but a heavenly body recreated to live eternally eating from the Tree of Life (1 Corinthians 15:52-54).
The Old Testament Hope guarantees us to live again through the resurrection power of Christ. The reason why we die is because of sin (Romans 6:23). It was never meant to be that way in God’s original plan. Thank God He introduced hope. The blessed hope was Jesus. The Old Testament church along with the New Testament church hold on dearly to this powerful hope. As I think about the estimated 2 trillion galaxies out there in the cosmic universe mentioned in the first discussion question. Jesus Christ literally died (think about it), the Life Giver. And, when the Life Giver stops living, then all creation and every lifeforms created across the endless cosmos are lost, dead, and cease to exist because the power source Himself was turned off. Christ is the ultimate power source of life. So, please don’t turn Him off. Rather, keep Him “On” by choosing Christ and live.