The Resurrection of the Dead: The Great Hope of Believers

Do you know there will be a resurrection of all the dead one day at the end of the age? After that, each person will go to their eternal destination.

We are soon approaching the easter season. It is a wonderful time to meditate upon the efficacious death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We often hear much taught about the death of Jesus for our sins. But rarely do we hear teachings on what his resurrection means for our future resurrection from the dead.

Below are 7 wonderful truths about the resurrection of the dead and why it is the great hope of all believers in Jesus Christ:

1. There shall be a resurrection of both the righteous and wicked

The Bible makes it clear that all the dead shall rise at the end of the age. Jesus said that those who have done good (those who believe in him) will experience the resurrection of life. And those who have done evil (rejected him) will experience the resurrection of judgment. The first group will have eternal life in heaven in their resurrected, glorified physical bodies. The latter will face eternal death and separation from the God they rejected in the lake of fire. This will be in their resurrected and eternal physical bodies.

“Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”

John 5:28-29

Paul said in his defense before Governor Felix, “And I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” (Acts 24:15).

There shall be two resurrections at separate times. The righteous shall rise first and reign with Christ during the millennium before the judgment day. That is the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6). On the day of judgment, the wicked shall rise. This will be after the 1,000-year reign of Christ. They will then be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:1–8).

Sadly, the wicked shall die twice: physically here on earth and eternally in the lake of fire.

2. The resurrection is an utter defeat of the power of Satan and his power over death

Jesus did not only die to save us from our sins. He also died to destroy the devil who held the power of death since the fall of Adam. Jesus came to free humanity from the power of death as well as the power of sin.

Jesus took on a human body and died on the cross for mankind’s sins. He then rose from the dead on the third day. By his resurrection, he effectually conquered death and its power which had kept mankind in torment and bondage for 4,000 years. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” There was no hope for life beyond death before Jesus came to earth.

3. Jesus took the keys of hell and of death

In his revelation to John the Apostle, the Lord Jesus told him, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18). Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross was an utter defeat of Satan and all the power he exercised over mankind since they gave their dominion to him by sinning against God. Satan had a claim to the souls of mankind because of sin; death and hell were his power over mankind. Jesus died to reconcile us back to God by taking the keys of hell and death from Satan.

Jesus rescues those who believe and trust in him from the power of hell and death. He grants them eternal life, freeing them from the power of death. Death will be conquered once and for all at the final resurrection. It will then be cast into the lake of fire. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Revelation 20:14).

“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?’ “

1 Corinthians 15:54-55

4. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, and we after him

Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. “And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).

Paul also refers to him as the first fruits of those who have died. Jesus did not just resurrect from the dead alone. God raised him from the dead, demonstrating what would thereafter happen to those who believe in him, of whom Jesus is the firstborn. Jesus died to bring many more sons to the Father (Hebrews 2:10). He is our first-born brother. What happened to him, will happen to us as well at the end of the age. All who die in Christ will be raised from the dead. They will have glorified bodies like their firstborn brother. Hallelujah!

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.”

1 Corinthians 15:20-23

In his defense before King Agrippa, Apostle Paul also said, “But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen: that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22-23).

5. Our faith is futile without the resurrection of the dead

The cornerstone of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is so central to the faith that Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian church wrote that our faith is futile without it. We are to be pitied more than all men if our hope in Christ is for this life only.

On the contrary, our hope in Christ is mainly for the world to come where we will spend eternity. Not only will we rise from the dead and receive glorified physical bodies, but we will live forever in the new heaven and new earth that God has prepared for the righteous.

“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith. In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.”

1 Corinthians 15:13-19

6. Our born-again loved ones are asleep and not dead. We shall see them again at the resurrection

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Apostle Paul offers some wonderful words of hope and comfort regarding those who die in Christ. He tells us not to mourn over our saved loved ones as those who have no hope. This is because we will see them again at the resurrection. As such he says they are asleep, not dead.

Paul reminds us that the dead in Christ shall rise first and Jesus will bring them at his coming, and those of us who are alive at his coming will meet them in the air. What a glorious reunion that will be!

“Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

7. The resurrection is the believer’s great hope and expectation

The hope of rising from the dead one day and receiving our incorruptible resurrected bodies is the great hope of the believer. Believers will not live eternally with Jesus as Spirits but in our glorified physical bodies. God will restore everything to how it was before Adam and Eve sinned. He will make all things new. He will create a new heaven and a new earth, and we shall live forever in our glorified bodies.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.”

Philippians 3:20-21

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.” And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.”

Revelation 21:1-7

Do you want to be part of the first resurrection?

God has prepared a wonderful future and eternity for those who love him. I pray that none of us shall miss heaven. Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? He is the only way to heaven and to experience the first resurrection of the just.

“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”

Revelation 20:6

If you would like to learn more about how to be born-again and have eternal life, click here.

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Have you given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? He loves us so much that he, our creator, left heaven and came to earth, died for us on the cross taking our sins upon him so that we may be forgiven and receive his righteousness. He conquered death by rising from the dead and made a way for us who were dead in sin to be reconciled back to the Father (God). What’s more, he has prepared a wonderful home for us in heaven, where those who love him and obey him will spend eternity with him. Learn more here about how to be born again and have eternal life after this brief life on earth.

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