The first major event that awaits all of us (male or female, young or old) is death. After death comes the intermediate state. In the intermediate state, the souls of believers will be with Christ in heaven while the souls of unbelievers will be in torments in hell. While the souls of believers are in heaven worshipping God and having fellowship with fellow glorified saints, at the same time they are all eagerly waiting for the redemption of our body. In simple words, there Christians wait for the resurrection.
What is the resurrection?
Resurrection is the opposite of death.
- In symbolic, poetic language, death is sometimes described as “being struck down, fallen, bite the dust.” The word resurrection literally and basically means “to stand up again.”
- The simple definition of death is the separation of the body and soul. Resurrection, therefore, is the reunion of the body and the soul.
In simple words, therefore, a day will come, a day in the future, when our souls will be reunited with our bodies. This is the resurrection. And this we believe!
When is the resurrection?
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
The resurrection is an event in the future. Though it hasn’t taken place, yet it shall surely take place. It will take place at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and before the Final Judgment.
Who will be resurrected?
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth–those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28-29). Everyone will be resurrected!
How will the dead be resurrected?
The apostle Paul gives a detailed answer in 1 Corinthians 15:36-50. Read it! I will just summarise his answer below:
Look at the seed. You sow the seed. You bury it deep in the ground. As far as your naked eyes are concerned, it is gone and dead. After some time, a plant comes up in the very place you have sown the seed. Do you know and can you fully understand how this is done? Yet it was done and is still being done!!
What is the relationship between the seed and the plant? Same, same but different! There is a ‘sameness’ between the seed and the plant, and at the same time, there is a ‘difference’. If the seed had not been sown, the plant would not have grown. In other words, the plant comes from the seed. If the plant is an apple tree, it is because the seed is an apple seed. Here is the ‘sameness’ between them.
However, looking at the seed and the plant, they look so different. They are so different in so many ways that you are tempted to say that they are two separate, distinct, unrelated entities. In other words, at the resurrection, our bodies will be the same body as this body. Therefore, we shall be able to recognize one another. But our resurrected bodies will have qualities that far exceed this body that will appear as if it is a totally different and unrelated body.
By God’s power, He will cause the dead to be resurrected. The resurrected body of believers shall be incorruptible, glorious, with power and spiritual. And with that body shall we spend all eternity, in heaven!
I Believe In The Resurrection. This affects how I handle bereavements. I sorrow at the loss of loved ones, but if they are the Lord’s, I look forward to a blessed reunion after the temporary separation. There is joy and hope, in the midst of sorrow. The hope is real only when they and I are both believers in Jesus. Is this your hope? Is that hope real?
WEI En Yi