Resurrection of the Dead and Eternal Judgment

"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the teaching of immersions, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment ...," Hebrews 6'1-3.

"I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE"

Way back in the past a man named Job was convinced of three major spiritual understandings: the person of God, redemption and resurrection. His intuition told him that he was redeemed and therefore he had a spiritual relationship with God. And, that one day he will be raised from death. He expressed his conviction with this amazing statement:

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job 19'25-27.

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In laying the Believer's spiritual foundation, the elementary principles have been about living life on earth according to Christ's New Covenant Kingdom of God. But now the writer leads his readers, by the Holy Spirit, to Resurrection of the Dead and Eternal Judgment.

As always, the first person to go to for the spiritual understandings involved is the Lord Jesus. And He begins with this awesome foundational statement:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life," John 5'24.

It is a profound understanding and yet the simplist of Believers could grasp it. Jesus says there's no eternal judgment for those who hear and believe in Him. And that's absolute. (However, Believers will be judged as to their spiritual legacy at another time.)

Paul confirms it further, by the Holy Spirit, in his letter to Timothy and us:

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the good news according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the good news," 2 Timothy 1'8-10.

For Believers death has been abolished. Eternal life is their's every day and immortality for them is vivid. So, passed from death to life means that eternal life starts here.

Nevertheless, we still physically die. However, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15'22). Jesus goes on to explain to explain further:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation," John 5'25-29.

So, in the order that the Lord gave, there will be the Resurrection of Life and the Resurrection of Condemnation.

The Resurrection of Life will be of "those who have done good". Some would say that means "good works". There are unbelievers who do really good works. No, this is different. It's the good that "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me", as "... he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3'21).

They are "the righteous acts of the saints". Revelation 19'6-8 says:

"'Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.'
And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints".

These Believers are hearing and believing and doing every day. And Paul describes that to the Ephesian Saints:

"... you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast".

So, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" who is our resurrection and our life (Ephesians 2'1-9,1'3).

The Resurrection of Condemnation will be of "those who have done evil". The apostle John reminds us that ...

“... God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed,” John 3'17-20.

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful ..." Romans 1'28-31.

Nevertheless, God is merciful and "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord," Romans 5'20-21.

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HIS RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL

The Lord's own resurrection is absolutely essential to Believers. For "... if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up - if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,"  Corinthians 15'12-20.

A MARVELLOUS MYSTERY

"Behold,

I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, 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 shall be changed," 1 Corinthians 15'51-52.

And:

"... if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord," 1 Thessalonians 4'14-17.

Hallelujah!

RESURRECTION TODAY

Sometimes preachers speak about Believers living "resurrection life". But how does that come about? Strange as it may seem, it comes about by dying.

By definition, those who have received Christ through hearing and believing the Good News, have rejected self. At that point their heavenly Father, by the Holy Spirit, gives them the spiritual understandings of identifying with Jesus' death and resurrection. And immersion in water symbolises His death and resurrection.  Therefore:

"If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection," Romans 6'5.

"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life," Romans 6'4.

This newness if life is the resurrection life of Christ's New Covenant Kingdom of God. And that's all about living in the understandings of being righteous in the sight of God and justified by God by what the Lord achieved for those who believe. 

By the Spirit, Paul confirms this. He points to Abraham's response to God's promise of him and Sarah having unnumberable offspring when they were unable physically to have even one: "... he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness," Genesis 15'6. Paul continues:

"Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of  God.," Romans 4'23-25, 5'1-2.

REJOICING IN CERTAINTY

So there's rejoicing in the glorious Kingdom reality of Christ's resurrection life every day because resurrection is all summed up in the divine person of Jesus. And that was revealed because a man named Lazarus died:

"Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.'
Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again. Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'
She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world',” John 11'21-27.

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Peter, the elder-apostle, finishes with this: "... we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot  and blameless," 2 Peter 13-14.

Α-Ω

Next: Let Us Go On To Perfection?