chapter two
Death and Resurrection
In my journey to know God through His Word, I learned that it is imperative that we allow
the Bible to interpret itself and not to force external interpretations on Scripture.
With this foundation, we are taught that…
“The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
Please don’t let this Scripture pass you by unnoticed. For when God created man it was the combination of “dust of the ground” and the “breath of life” that made man become “a living soul” or a “living being”, as in other translations.
So, what is the “breath of life”?
“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Job 33:4
“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.” Job 27:3,4
The “breath of life” is the “spirit of God” that gives us life.
Death, by biblical definition, is the reversal of creation…
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7
When we die, our body returns to the earth and the “spirit of God”, which is the “breath of life”, returns to God “who gave it”.
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4
This “breath of life” (Gen 2:7), this “spirit of God" (Job 33:4), that is within us all, breathed into us from our very beginning, is indeed a blessed gift given to us by our Father, through Jesus. It is the very gift of life itself, and our life is the only true gift we can return. As such, as Stephen was being stoned, he was “...calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).
When we die our body returns “to the earth as it was” and “the spirit” returns “unto God who gave it” (Eccl 12:7), hence, even Jesus who died for our sins “...cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit” (Matt 27:50).
So where are our loved ones now? - According to Jesus they are asleep.
“...Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” John 11:11-14
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself…
If Lazarus went straight to heaven as a consciously aware spirit, then why would Jesus declare that he was asleep? That Lazarus was dead?
If Lazarus was in heaven, in perfect paradise, then could it be considered a cruel act for Jesus to bring him back to this sinful earth?
If Lazarus was in heaven, why is there no biblical account of what he experienced? As also with the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7:11-15) and the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:35-42)?
My simple and biblical answer to these questions is that they were not in Heaven. As Jesus clearly stated, Lazarus was sleeping in death awaiting the resurrection. A doctrinal truth that all His followers understood, including Martha who said unto Jesus “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24).
In the book of John, Jesus repeated this truth four times…
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:39
“And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44
“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:54
So, when is the last day?
“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.” 1 Corinthians 15:22-23
“…then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.” NLT
The “last day”, the time that “all who belong to Christ” who are resurrected from their “sleep”, occurs at the second coming of Christ. This is also the time of the “last trump” …
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52 This time of Christ’s return and the resurrection is clearly taught in 1st Thessalonians…
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
The bible clearly teaches that the dead are sleeping the sleep of death, unaware of time itself, for “the dead know nothing” (Eccl 9:5), awaiting the “first resurrection”.
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection...”Revelation 20:6
Although God’s Word is clear on the state of the dead, that they are sleeping until Christ returns, often the “thief on the cross” is cited to refute this doctrinal truth. As such, it would be remiss of me not to quickly address these often-cited passages.
“And he [the thief] said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.””Luke 23:42,43
The way this reads, both the thief and Jesus died and ascended to heaven that very day. But did Jesus ascend into heaven that very day? For two days later, meeting Mary at the tomb…
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” John 20:17
By Jesus’ own admission, he had “not yet ascended” to our heavenly Father. So, what of his promise to the thief on the cross? Well, the discrepancy is simple. The ancient Greeks did not have an equivalent to our modern device of punctuation, as such the earliest manuscripts contained no punctuation. The text therefore could reasonably read…
“Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”
That is to say… “Assuredly, I say to you today [today, at this horrific moment in time, as I hang here next to you on this cross], you will be with me in paradise.”
Yes, the thief on the cross will be with Jesus in paradise, but it was not to be on that day, for first he’s to “sleep in death” (Ps 13:3) until Christ’s second-coming, “unto the resurrection of life” (Joh 5:29). And, just as Jesus was resurrected in the flesh, which He clearly made known…
“Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” John 20:27
…we too shall be resurrected in the flesh.
“...after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!” Job 19:26
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28,29
Despite popular opinion, the bible gives us a clear understanding that the deceased are “sleeping in death” until either the “resurrection of life” that occurs at Christ’s second-coming (1Cor 15:23), or the “resurrection of damnation” that occurs one thousand years later (Rev 20:5).
That being clear, we are also taught that there are some people in heaven now… those being Enoch, who was “translated” (Heb 11:5), Moses, who was resurrected (Jude 1:9), Elijah, who “went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11), and those resurrected at the cross (Matt 27:52).
As I previously mentioned, I’m fully aware of the emotional relationship we may hold in believing our loved ones are now in heaven, but, in line with what protestant reformer Martin Luther had expressed, if only we could see the true beauty in God’s plan of redemption, as we rest in death and then all come to Him together, united in the “first resurrection”. Not only would we be more prepared to face the deceptions we’ll shortly discuss, but we would find comfort knowing that our loved ones are truly ‘resting in peace’.
“Death… in Christ is indeed not death, but a fine, sweet and brief sleep, which brings us release from this vale of tears, from sin and from the fear and extremity of real death and from all the misfortunes of this life, and we shall be secure and without care, rest sweetly and gently for a brief moment, as on a sofa, until the time when He shall awaken us together with all His dear children to His eternal glory and joy… for since we call it a sleep, we know that we shall not remain in it, but be again awakened and live, and that the time during which we sleep shall seem no longer than if we had just fallen asleep.” (Martin Luther 1493-1546 - Lenker, J. N. 2000)✞-------------------------------------
“The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
Please don’t let this Scripture pass you by unnoticed. For when God created man it was the combination of “dust of the ground” and the “breath of life” that made man become “a living soul” or a “living being”, as in other translations.
So, what is the “breath of life”?
“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Job 33:4
“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.” Job 27:3,4
The “breath of life” is the “spirit of God” that gives us life.
Death, by biblical definition, is the reversal of creation…
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7
When we die, our body returns to the earth and the “spirit of God”, which is the “breath of life”, returns to God “who gave it”.
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4
This “breath of life” (Gen 2:7), this “spirit of God" (Job 33:4), that is within us all, breathed into us from our very beginning, is indeed a blessed gift given to us by our Father, through Jesus. It is the very gift of life itself, and our life is the only true gift we can return. As such, as Stephen was being stoned, he was “...calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).
When we die our body returns “to the earth as it was” and “the spirit” returns “unto God who gave it” (Eccl 12:7), hence, even Jesus who died for our sins “...cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit” (Matt 27:50).
So where are our loved ones now? - According to Jesus they are asleep.
“...Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” John 11:11-14
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself…
If Lazarus went straight to heaven as a consciously aware spirit, then why would Jesus declare that he was asleep? That Lazarus was dead?
If Lazarus was in heaven, in perfect paradise, then could it be considered a cruel act for Jesus to bring him back to this sinful earth?
If Lazarus was in heaven, why is there no biblical account of what he experienced? As also with the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7:11-15) and the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:35-42)?
My simple and biblical answer to these questions is that they were not in Heaven. As Jesus clearly stated, Lazarus was sleeping in death awaiting the resurrection. A doctrinal truth that all His followers understood, including Martha who said unto Jesus “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24).
In the book of John, Jesus repeated this truth four times…
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:39
“And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44
“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:54
So, when is the last day?
“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.” 1 Corinthians 15:22-23
“…then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.” NLT
The “last day”, the time that “all who belong to Christ” who are resurrected from their “sleep”, occurs at the second coming of Christ. This is also the time of the “last trump” …
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52 This time of Christ’s return and the resurrection is clearly taught in 1st Thessalonians…
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
The bible clearly teaches that the dead are sleeping the sleep of death, unaware of time itself, for “the dead know nothing” (Eccl 9:5), awaiting the “first resurrection”.
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection...”Revelation 20:6
Although God’s Word is clear on the state of the dead, that they are sleeping until Christ returns, often the “thief on the cross” is cited to refute this doctrinal truth. As such, it would be remiss of me not to quickly address these often-cited passages.
“And he [the thief] said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.””Luke 23:42,43
The way this reads, both the thief and Jesus died and ascended to heaven that very day. But did Jesus ascend into heaven that very day? For two days later, meeting Mary at the tomb…
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” John 20:17
By Jesus’ own admission, he had “not yet ascended” to our heavenly Father. So, what of his promise to the thief on the cross? Well, the discrepancy is simple. The ancient Greeks did not have an equivalent to our modern device of punctuation, as such the earliest manuscripts contained no punctuation. The text therefore could reasonably read…
“Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”
That is to say… “Assuredly, I say to you today [today, at this horrific moment in time, as I hang here next to you on this cross], you will be with me in paradise.”
Yes, the thief on the cross will be with Jesus in paradise, but it was not to be on that day, for first he’s to “sleep in death” (Ps 13:3) until Christ’s second-coming, “unto the resurrection of life” (Joh 5:29). And, just as Jesus was resurrected in the flesh, which He clearly made known…
“Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” John 20:27
…we too shall be resurrected in the flesh.
“...after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!” Job 19:26
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28,29
Despite popular opinion, the bible gives us a clear understanding that the deceased are “sleeping in death” until either the “resurrection of life” that occurs at Christ’s second-coming (1Cor 15:23), or the “resurrection of damnation” that occurs one thousand years later (Rev 20:5).
That being clear, we are also taught that there are some people in heaven now… those being Enoch, who was “translated” (Heb 11:5), Moses, who was resurrected (Jude 1:9), Elijah, who “went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11), and those resurrected at the cross (Matt 27:52).
As I previously mentioned, I’m fully aware of the emotional relationship we may hold in believing our loved ones are now in heaven, but, in line with what protestant reformer Martin Luther had expressed, if only we could see the true beauty in God’s plan of redemption, as we rest in death and then all come to Him together, united in the “first resurrection”. Not only would we be more prepared to face the deceptions we’ll shortly discuss, but we would find comfort knowing that our loved ones are truly ‘resting in peace’.
“Death… in Christ is indeed not death, but a fine, sweet and brief sleep, which brings us release from this vale of tears, from sin and from the fear and extremity of real death and from all the misfortunes of this life, and we shall be secure and without care, rest sweetly and gently for a brief moment, as on a sofa, until the time when He shall awaken us together with all His dear children to His eternal glory and joy… for since we call it a sleep, we know that we shall not remain in it, but be again awakened and live, and that the time during which we sleep shall seem no longer than if we had just fallen asleep.” (Martin Luther 1493-1546 - Lenker, J. N. 2000)✞-------------------------------------