Death and Resurrection
Dearly beloved of God, there are sixty-five scriptures in the Word of God that reveal that dead people are in the state of death. The Word of God teaches that they will remain in the state of death until the Lord Jesus Christ raises them to life at his coming.
Our hope is in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who will deliver us from death.
The wealth of God’s Word reveals that God gave the Lord Jesus Christ the power to raise the dead to life again when he returns. He is the only one that God has given this vast power over death.
God made Jesus both Lord and Christ after his resurrection from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and was seated at God's right hand in the heavenly realm. He is the only one with the authority and power to make the dead alive.
Where does the belief that if you if you have been “good enough,” when you die you will immediately go to heaven?
The Greek philosophers, Pythagoras who lived from 570-490 B.C., Socrates who lived from 469-347 B.C., and Plato who lived from 427 B.C. to 347 B.C. are credited with this philosophy. Plato is recognized as the one who made the belief popular.
These philosophers taught that the soul is immortal and never dies. At death it lives on in the afterlife either in heaven or in the burning fires of hell. This is Greek mythology, not the teaching of God's Word. The Pharisees embraced their teaching during Jesus Christ’s lifetime.
Actually, the belief originated long before this. Genesis 3 reveals that the old serpent, the devil was the first to say, “You shall not surely die.”
After the garden, the belief can be traced to Babylon, Egypt, and to the eastern religions. In fact, most, if not all pagan religions embrace the belief in one form or another.
Where is the mention of God’s Word as the foundation for this belief? It is not found there.
Did God give these philosophers this teaching which contradicts the rest of the Word of God? No.
Did they teach the revelation knowledge that God delegated the power over every grave to the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? No.
If we embraced the revelation truth of God’s Word concerning death and resurrection, all the confusion would disappear. The confusion results from mixing pagan views with God’s revelation.
I Corinthians 15:20-24
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man [Adam] came death, by man [Jesus Christ] came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ’s, AT HIS COMING.”
There is no release from death and no resurrection from the grave except by the Lord Jesus Christ, and it will take place at his coming; and make no mistake about it, he is coming!
John 3:13
“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man Which is in heaven.”
Jesus Christ is the only man in heaven today. He is Lord both of the dead and the living, and every grave will come forth at his command when he comes. God, his Father, gave him this vast power. Death is not forever for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:18
“I am He That liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [Greek: "hades," the state of death. "Hades" is used in the same way as the Hebrew word "sheol"] and of death.”
Keys open that which is locked. The Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died, and who rose again, and lives for evermore has the keys that will open every grave, and His Father also has committed all judgment unto him.
If the dead are alive today, why did God give "the keys of hell and of death" to the Lord Jesus Christ? If life follows death automatically why does God say that the Lord Jesus Christ must raise "the dead in Christ" when he comes?
Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory over the condemnation of the law, sin, and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Lord Jesus Christ comes, death will be swallowed up in victory for those who believe in him. Rejoice forevermore, dearly beloved, he is coming!.