The Resurrection Of Christ

We shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection...

This is the First post from Chapter 9 of Friends With God: Life After Death, in which we are exploring what God tells us about the various things that may happen to us when we die.

Immortality- Death Is Swallowed Up In Victory!

Why did Jesus come to Earth? The Angel Gabriel told Joseph very clearly, and it is also the meaning of his name:

And she shall bear a son, and you shall call His name JESUS:
for He shall save His people from their sins.
(Matt 1:21)

The name Jesus means saviour, and the purpose of having this name is that He shall save His people from their sins.

What is it about our sins that we must be saved from?

There are many verses that tell us that sin results in death. Yet it is evident that the death we are saved from is obviously not physical death, as we are told:

“it is appointed for men once to die , but after this the judgement”. (Heb 9:27)

We are all going to die, so we are not saved from our physical death. The promise of God is to give us eternal life:

God has given to us everlasting life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has (eternal) life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have (eternal) life.
I have written these things to you who believe on the name of the Son of God,
that you may know that you have everlasting life
(1John 5:11-13)

As we all die physically, when and how do we receive this everlasting life? Continuing in Hebrews we will see:

And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgement, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And to those who look for Him He shall appear the second time, without sin to (provide) salvation. (Heb 9:27-28)

It is the second time that Christ appears when we shall be provided with salvation, by being saved from eternal death through being given the gift of eternal life. This is why John said “I have written these things to you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have everlasting life.

We need to know that we have everlasting life in us now, but it is not evident at the moment because we will die physically. Even so, we do have everlasting life in us- but this eternal life will only be granted to us when Christ returns to this Earth:

However, there is often an exception to the rule! For not all people will actually physically die!

Paul tells us that those converted Christians who are alive at the time of Christ’s return to the Earth, will not actually physically die:

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we (who are still alive) shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

"Death is swallowed up in victory." "Oh Death, where is your sting? Oh Hell, where is your victory?
(1Cor 15: 51-55)

The dead in Christ will be raised to life at the last trumpet, which Paul told the Church at Thessalonica, is at the return of Christ:

But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep (Christians who have died), that you be not grieved, even as others who have no hope (who don’t believe in Christ).
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him all those who have fallen asleep (died) in Jesus (those who are dead yet believed in Jesus). For we say this to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not go before (be changed to immortal beings) those who are asleep (dead).
For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we shall ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1Thes 4:13-18)

Christ’s Resurrection Pictures Our Resurrection

We who have died shall be resurrected from the dead, at the time of Christ’s return, to immortal spirit beings, in the same way as Christ was resurrected back to life from the dead:

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection… (Rom 6:5)

The first resurrection happens at the return of Christ. Then the dead in Christ shall be resurrected from being dead and changed to being immortal, and rise to meet Christ as he comes down from heaven.

Then those who are alive shall subsequently be changed to immortality, and shall consequently rise to also meet Christ with them.

Two Kinds Of Death

The death we are saved from by Jesus our saviour is therefore not our physical death, as we know that all people are going to die- except for those few who are alive at Christ’s return.

Jesus tells us that there are actually two kinds of death:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
But rather fear Him who is able to destroy (kill) both soul and body in hell.
(Matt 10:28)

We therefore have two possible deaths: the first death kills the body but the second death kills both the body and the soul. We are saved by Jesus from the second death:

An understanding of the identity and nature of the soul is therefore essential to understand the reward of the saved, and particularly what happens after death.

Matthew 10:28 tells us that the soul is something that endures beyond physical life, however it also tells us that the soul is not an “immortal soul”, as God can destroy it.

Something that can be destroyed is, self-evidently, not immortal. Also, if we now actually have an immortal soul, why do we need to be given eternal life?

“For the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

This second death is for those who don’t follow Christ’s example:

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matt 16:24-26)

• We can lose our soul, it can die eternally.
  Which means we will not exist anymore.
  Neither in heaven, nor in hell.
  Not at all.

We are told the same thing in the Old Testament:

• He who keeps the commandment keeps his own soul;
  he who despises His (God’s) ways shall die. (Prov 19:16)

• Behold, all souls are Mine.
  As the soul of the father, also the soul of the son, they are Mine.
  The soul that sins, it shall die. (Eze 18:4)

God does not want to spend any part of eternity with someone who does not love him with their whole heart, mind, body, and soul:

…and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30)

The big question is “When will this death of our soul happen?”. And similarly, “How can we stop it happening?”.

The First And Second Resurrections From The Dead

As we have seen, both those who have died in Christ, and those who remain when Christ returns, will be in the First Resurrection, and will, respectively, either be resurrected back to life as immortal beings, or have their physical bodies changed to eternal spiritual bodies.

However, there is also another resurrection, for all those who do not know God. It is at this time of the second resurrection of the dead that the judgement comes to them: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement”. (Heb 9:27)

This second resurrection fits with the idea of a general resurrection of the dead, which is mentioned throughout the New Testament: Matt 12:41-42, Luke 11:31-32, 20:34-36, John 5:28-29, 11:25, Acts 4:2, 24:15-21, 1Cor 15:12-42, Phil 3:10-11, Heb 6:2.

Please take the time to read these verses, for you will see that in this second resurrection God will call back to life all those souls that had once died:

And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the word of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years”. (Revelation 20:5-6, New Living Translation)

Therefore, not only are there two types of death, but also two types of resurrection, (separated by one thousand years) which correspond to what Jesus said:

Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of (eternal) life, and those who have practiced evil to the resurrection of judgement. (John 5:28-29)

Similarly, when Paul was on trial he spoke of two resurrections:

But I confess this to you, that after the Way which they (the Jews) call heresy, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the Law and in the Prophets. And I have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:14-15)

We therefore have two resurrections, but interestingly the term “second resurrection” is never actually used in scripture. There is no doubt an important reason God has chosen not to use this term, but it does make it difficult sometimes to distinguish which resurrection is being discussed in scripture. Sometimes it is clearly the first, other times clearly the second, and sometimes it is just the general idea of a resurrection that is being explained. It is essential to read the context, and to have a grasp of the characteristics of each resurrection in order to distinguish which event is being spoken of.

The Judgement Seat of Christ

Paul tells us how both those who are in the first and second resurrections will be judged by Christ:

For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. … for we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Rom 14:9-12)

But what does it mean to stand before the judgement seat of Christ?

• There are at least eight different words rendered judgement in scripture, and it is often worth looking up these words to clarify what exactly is being spoken about.
  I won’t go into any detail here, but Appendix 177 of Bullinger’s Companion Bible gives them all, which include:
  Discernment, Opinion, what is Right or Just, Penalty or Vengeance, a Day,
  a Separation and The Seat of judgement.

We are told that at this judgement seat of Christ every one of us shall give account of himself to God. That judgement process is just like in our court system today. We stand before the judge, and he asks us why we did something, then he determines if we are guilty or not, and what punishment should be given to us.

However, those who are in the first resurrection, stand now before the judgement seat of Christ:

For the time has come for judgement to begin at the house of God. (1Peter 4:17)

Those who are “just” (who have been justified by Christ) are in the first resurrection to eternal life, which happens at the time when Christ returns to the Earth:

Then we have the second resurrection, at the end of the one thousand years of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth. What happens then is that all those people who did not know Christ in this life will be resurrected:

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.
And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hell delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:11-15)

In summary: we have two books, one book records what people have done in this life, the other is called The Book of Life. This second resurrection is when both these books are opened and judgement occurs by reading what is in the record of their life. Then the Book of Life is opened and “And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Opening The Book Of Life

What is the point of opening the Book of Life? Is it just to see who is written in it, or is this the time for people’s names to be added to the Book of Life?

If those in the second resurrection are being judged by what they have done in their first life, then there is no way that they could have their names already written in the Book of Life, as they did not know God at that time. (Acts 17:30-31)

So how do you get your name written into the Book of Life? Can people’s names be added at the time of the judgement of the second resurrection?

Is the Book of Life opened only to see if those who are resurrected have their names written there or not? Or is it opened to also add names from those who were not called during this life?

These and many other issues regarding the resurrection from the dead will be addressed in future posts from this Chapter 9 of Friends With God.