Basic HTML Version
declared (Acts 24: 15). A resur–
rection is the
only
hope for man–
kind!
For an in-depth biblical exami–
nation of this vital subject, request
our reprint series " l s This the Only
Day of Salvation?"
How Can You Be SURE?
The Bible reveals a great future for
the immortal, born-again sons and
daughters of God . But how can you
know that what the Bible says is
reall y true, that we will live
again?
Hanging in the Tate Gallery in
London is a touching painting by a
mid-19th-century artist.
It
shows a
young woman standing deep in
thought by the grave of a dead
loved one. The painting bears the
title
The Doubt: Can These Dry
Bones Live?
This question has
occupied the thoughts of mankind
for millennia.
On a stone gravemarker near the
woman's feet líes a sprouting chest–
nut, symbolic of life-possibly the
art ist's veiled answer to the ques–
tion posed by the painting's title.
On the gravemarker is carved a
simple but confident inscription:
Resurgam- "1
shall rise again!"
A powerful statement, that! But
how can you be sure?
A ncientl y, God 's servan t Job
asked , " If a man die, shall he live
again?" (Job 14:14). Job knew the
answer : " ... all the days of my
appointed time will 1 wait, till my
change [to immortality] come.
Thou [God] shalt call, and 1 will
answer thee .. ." (verses 14- 15).
Job knew there would come a
time when God would call him
from the grave and give him eterna!
life. "For 1 know that my redeemer
liveth," J ob declared, " and that he
shal l stand at the latter day upon
the earth: and though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet [apart
from] my fiesh shall 1 see God"
(Job 19:25-26).
Why was Job so confident? Read
it again:
"For 1 know that my
redeemer liveth
...
"!
Chrlst's Resurrection-a Type
We can know that there will be a
resurrect ion to immortality by the
very fact that , in one case, it has
already happened. And the very
one resurrected-Jesus Christ-
Mey 1985
will be the means to our resur–
rection.
Christ's resurrection after three
days and three nights in the grave
was a type or forerunner of the res–
urrection God promises to all who
obey him. The apostle Paul was
inspired to write:
"But if the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell
in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken
[enliven] your mortal bodies by bis
Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom.
8:
11).
Jesu s Chr ist guarantees it!
Notice what he says in John 11 :25:
" 1 am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth in me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live."
Jesus was the "firstborn among
many brethren" (Rom. 8:29), the
" firstborn from the dead" (Col.
1:18), the "firstfruits of them that
slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). These verses
obviously imply that others are des–
tined to follow him.
Chrlst's Resurrectlon-
Fact, Not Fictlon!
One final but supremely important
point remains.
Sorne disbelieving critics have
alleged that Jesus' resurrection is
mere fable and fabrication, with no
basis in fact. This is a serious alle–
gation.
Notice in 1 Corinthians 15:17-18
that everything hinges on the real–
ity of Jesus' resurrection: "And if
Christ be not raised , your faith is
vain [meaningless or empty] ; ye are
yet in your sins. Then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ
are perished ."
If
Jesus did not rise from the
dead, we are without hope! But
J esus did rise from the ·grave! The
crucifixion of Jesus was not behind
closed doors. His death was wit–
nessed by hundreds. It is men–
tioned not only in the scriptural
accounts, but in secular records as
well.
Likewise, Jesus' resurrection is
attested to by many
hundreds
of
eyewitnesses who saw him after he
was raised . Sorne even ate and
drank with him and conversed with
him at length!
The apostle Paul states:
" ... God raised him from the dead:
and he was seen many days of them
which carne up with him from Gal–
ilee to Jerusalem, who are bis
wit–
nesses
unto the people" (Acts
13:30-31 ).
In 1Corinthians 15:4-8, Paul elab–
orates: " And that he was buried , and
that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: and that
he was seen of Cephas [Peter] , then
of the twelve: after that, he was seen
of above five hundred brethren at
once; of whom the greater part
remain unto this present. ... After
that, he was seen of James; then of
al! the apostles. And last of al l he was
seen of me also...."
As Luke summarizes in Acts 1:3:
"To [the apostles] also he shewed
himself alive after bis passion by
many infallible proofs, being seen of
them forty days, and speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of
God."
Men do not become martyrs to
what they know to be fa/se!
The
belief of the early Christian Church
was absolute, based on personal tes–
timony or eyewitness testimony.
J esus did rise from the dead! The
fact of bis resurrection is as firmly
established as the assassination of
Julius'caesar! And he, Christ, like–
wise, "shall change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto bis
glorious body ..." (Phil. 3:21 ) .
This is our destiny, if we choose
to accept it!
New Horizons
As resurrected, glorified, immor–
talized saints-born into God's
family as bis divine children- we
will "inherit all things" (Rev. 21 :7)
and "shall reign [rule or govern]
for ever and ever" (Rev. 22:5).
We shall inherit the vastness of
the entire universe!
It
will be ours
to work with through eternity. The
words of Hebrews 2:8 will at last
come to pass: " Thou hast put all
things in subjection under bis
[man's] feet. ..."
There will be new worlds to build,
new horizons to conquer, an entire
universe to mold and shape! And to
accomplish it we will be granted
undreamed-of powers and abilities,
unhampered by the physical limita–
tions of time and space. Nothing will
be beyond our potential!
This is the fantastic future that
is offered us. What will you do
about it?
o
27