Being Easter Weeked, resurrection from the dead is on the mind! For just a moment, I want us to try and wrap our minds around how surreal resurrection is. We, of course, read of Jesus resurrecting from the dead in all of the Gospel accounts, we read of people in Jerusalem resurrecting from the dead when Jesus died, we read Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11, as well as Jesus raising a young girl from the dead in Mark 5, Matthew 9, and Luke 8.
Imagine being there. Imagine seeing someone take their last breath, you begin to mourn and come to terms with the reality of losing one you love. After days of pain, loneliness and grief go by, they are back, healthy, talking, laughing, walking around like death never happened. Can you imagine the joy, the relief, the disbelief of witnessing this?
On the other hand, imagine being the one raised from the dead.. Of course this is hard to wrap our minds around because we do not know what being dead feels like. But try to imagine being Lazarus, after laying in the tomb for days hear your friend say "Lazarus, come out (of the tomb)". Wow. How surreal. Imagine being that little girl, after dying, you hear a man say "Little girl, get up!" and suddenly, you are not dead anymore.
What does it feel like to be dead? How conscience are you? Is it quiet? Can you feel anything? Does time stop? What does leaving the physical world feel like? What does it feel like to raise from the dead? Do we suddenly just wake up? Again- we dont't know! But I am here to tell you that in a very real, literal, physical way, you will experience being resurrected from the dead. If you live long enough to die, you will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, experience resurrection.
The Bible speaks of final judgement and says that all will raise from the dead. We read of this in 1 Thessalonians 4-5 and the final chapters of Revelation. These passages explain that just before final judgement, everyone will raise from the dead. Everyone whose bodies are in the ocean will come out of the ocean, everyone who is in a grave will come out of the grave. Everyone that has been dead from the beginning of eternity will raise, ALL WILL RAISE! GOOD AND EVIL!
What will this feel like?? We do not know. How will this happen? We do not know. But we know it will happen. In a very real, physical, and literal way, you will wake up. And you will be judged. The wicked will resurrect just to die again. Revelation calls this the second death. This death will never end. This death is eternal. On the other hand, those who have been justified by Christ will raise and never die again. They will live forever (in their resurrected, glorified bodies).
The purpose of this post is to convey the reality of your resurrection. Imagine how surreal that moment will be-- I don't know if death will be quiet, I don't know what we will feel, or hear, or realize while we are dead. But I do know this-- one day your eyes will pop open, and you will wake up, and stand up, and you will be judged by the Lord. Will you live forever, or will you resurrect just to die again?
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