God's Word provides assurance of life after death--though not in a heavenly afterlife as thought by so many! God promises that life will return through a resurrection of the dead. This is how mankind can receive His gift of eternal life.
In the first chapter we dealt with God's gift of physical life. In the
second chapter we discussed death itself. We have learned that we are mortal;
life is temporary. Now we will focus on what happens after death. Even
though our bodies are temporary, subject to decay and death, God has planned
for us much more than just this limited, physical existence.
Thousands of years ago the patriarch Job asked the same question we ask
ourselves: "If a man dies, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14). He went on
to answer the question in stating to God: "All the days of my appointed
time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and
I will answer thee" (verses 14-15, KJV). After death a person is unconscious,
waiting for God to call him from the grave and restore him to life.
What does the Bible say about the remarkable phenomenon of restoration
to life? When will it take place? What else happens at this time? Will
the resurrected still be flesh and blood, or will they be brought back
to a different kind of life?
The answers to these questions go to the core of the meaning of our existence.
As we study the Bible to find the answers, we can be encouraged, motivated
and inspired by God's plan for life after death.
The promise of the resurrection
Paul, as we saw briefly in the last chapter, spoke of a great change that
will take place when he referred to both the resurrection of the dead and
the state of those who remain alive at the time of the resurrection
at the return of Christ. A marvelous transformation must occur before we
can receive the gift of eternal life. The dead in Christ will be resurrected
to an "incorruptible" existence, and those in Christ who are still alive
will be instantly changed from a mortal, physical existence to an incorruptible
state.
