Walk of Life, Day 20 April 2022, Thoughts On Hope On Resurrection Of Christ

Hope Of Everlasting Life
^“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

The journey of a soul after it leaves its mortal body is called Afterlife. Each religion has different beliefs on this subject. Egyptians were the first civilization to believe in afterlife. They believed that being mummified and put in a sarcophagus (an ancient Egyptian coffin) was the only way to have an afterlife. That’s why huge pyramids were built to bury the pharaohs with all the artifacts and jewels so that they might enjoy a rich afterlife. Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists mainly believe in reincarnation where a soul is reborn into this world and is given a new body. The deeds of previous life determines the kind of body in which the soul will be reborn. The concept of heaven and hell is common all around the world.

Judaism however believes that when a person dies, his or her spirit goes back to God and the body returns to dust. The soul does not exist anymore to have any life after death. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7

• Job in his suffering hoped for some transformation after death.
  “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes.” Job14:14.
• He even hoped of being raised from the sleep (death).
  “So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.” Job14:12
• He hoped that his relationship with God which was broken due to his sin would be restored after death.
  “You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.” Job 14:15
• He acknowledged that he is a sinner and hoped that God in his mercy will not judge him by making his sins go away.
  “Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.” Job 14:16, 17

Jesus’s Resurrection is the only answer for what Job hoped for. Various beliefs do not guarantee about what happens after death. The simply reason being that one has to come down from heaven to tell you what happens in there or one has to die and come back to life to tell what he/she experienced after death. Lord Jesus meets both these conditions.

It is God’s will that mankind should have everlasting life. It was given to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Death came into the world as the result of sin of God’s son, Adam. Same way the resurrection of the dead also comes from God’s son, Lord Jesus who lived a life without sin on earth.

• When the final trumpet is blown, Kingdom of God will be established.
  “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15
• Then the dead will be raised for judgement.
  “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” 1 Corinthians 15: 52.
• Our physical bodies will be transformed into spiritual bodies as the body with flesh and blood cannot enter heaven.
  “ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15: 44
  ^“I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” 1 Corinthians 15: 50
• Everyone are judged according to their deeds.
  “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12
• Those whose names are written in the Book of Life will not face second death. For the one who sits at the right hand of God intercedes and presents them faultless in God’s presence to receive everlasting life.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3