Monday: The Hope of Resurrection
At Creation, the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
As a result, man became a living being
(Gen. 2:7, NKJV). As long as God maintains the breath of life in the living creatures, they are alive. But when He takes away their breath, they die and return to dust (Ps. 104:29, Eccles. 12:7). This is not an arbitrary decision of God; it is the inevitable consequence of sin. But the good news is that, through Christ, there is hope, even in death.
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
Read John 1:1-4. What is implied in these verses that shows us the power of Jesus to raise the dead?
Christ has life in Himself, for He is the life (John 14:6). He created everything and has the power to give life to whom He wills (John 5:21). Thus, He can raise the dead.
How does resurrection happen? See Luke 8:54-55.
According to the Bible, resurrection is the reversal of death. Life is restored when the breath of life comes back from God. That is how Luke explained the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter. After learning that the twelve-year-old girl had passed away, Jesus went to the house and told the mourners that she was sleeping. Then He took her by the hand and called, saying,
(Luke 8:54-55, NKJV). At Jesus’ divine command, the life principle imparted by God returned to the girl. The Greek term that Luke used, pneuma, means Little girl, arise.
Then her spirit [pneuma] returned, and she arose immediatelywind,
breath,
or spirit.
When the Bible uses it in relation to human beings, it never denotes a conscious entity capable of existence apart from the body. In this text it clearly refers to the breath of life.
Death is so common that we take it for granted. How, though, can we learn to trust in God’s promises about eternal life, even though for now, death seems to be the victor?
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Man and animals both die,their breath departs from them the same way.Where then does the difference comes in, animals dont have hope;man has hope of ressurection through Jesus Christ in whom our hope lies.He has already done it for us,lets keep our hope alive.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He still has the same attributes that He had at creation. He is the same through Whom everything exists and holds in place. Using the same power that He used to calls things into existence, He will call the dead in Him from their sleep and grant them imperishable bodies. How wonderful it will be in that day of great re-union!
When I studied this before giving my life to Jesus, all the questions I had about about the reward of the saved came together in this topic. It made so much sense to me. My mother died a few years ago. In her final moments, as the family was saying goodbye, I held her hand and whispered in her ear, "Mom, I love you and I will see you resurrection morning. She squeezed my hand as confirmation. What a blessed hope!
Most of the the New Age Movement teachings center on the immortality of the soul and near-death experience.Could somebody explain to me this near-death experience thing?
The interesting thing about "near-death" experiences is that they are all quite similar - whether the individuals are Christians or atheists. They all seem to feature a light at the end of a tunnel-like vision, which people interpret as Christ or heaven. No one sees hell at the end of the tunnel - no matter how bad they've been or what they believe!
Scientists have explanations for the various near-death experiences. Among other things, they can replicate some of these experiences by stimulating certain areas of the brain.
A sermon by Mark Finley on the state of man in death, including story of a boy re-appearing after dying.
Also see, "Heaven Is for Real, but the Movie Is Not," by Doug Batchelor.
"Near-death Experiences - Are They Real?" by Sabbath School lesson editor Cliff Goldstein in the April 2013 issue of Signs of the Times.
there is hope after sleep death especially to those who died after accepting Jesus as their personal saviour. During that time life will be restored when breath of life will come back from God. For now death will continue defeating us bt the time will come when we shall defeat death and all those who slpt will wake up.
I over heard a lady at my church talking to another lady. With a smile on her face she said, "Jesus is coming very, very soon." I do believe we haven't given up hope even though we have heard this for the last 33 years (Forever Faithful). Heart warming for every one of us.
Those who have died in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air, explained so wonderfully in 1Thessalonians 4:16,17,18. I like 1Thessalonians 5:16,17,18 also, it explains how to live and die in Christ.
For those who need their hearts warmed even more read "Early Writings" the chapter on 'Deliverance of the Saints' You can find it in 'Spiritual Gifts, Vol 1' also, and near the end of the book 'The Great Controversy' is a rendition too.
As the day of glory is nearing, the blows from the enemy seems stronger...Every time we have a conversation , we hear about people dying; but we have the firm assurance that God will return the breath of life to those who believed in Him and served Him with all their heart.When Christ comes back , He will call His followers to come out from the grave.
The one who owns us is the soul provider, it only takes one to bealive in Him and have life, and not just life but eternal and abundant life Amen!!!