Likewise, it is more reasonable to believe in the resurrection of the dead than reincarnation. Let's look at the difference, taking reincarnation first. Simply put, reincarnation is receiving a new body after one dies; not only once but many times until all the bad karma is cleared. The new body is not the same one that existed before death, but a new one each time. It may not even be a human existence but an animal. Once all the bad karma is cleared, Buddhists believe they reach a state of nirvana - being released from the cycle of rebirths. This seems unreasonable to most people.
Eternal life seems unreasonable as well. We can't seem to make it, as human beings, to one-hundred and twenty years. As unreasonable as it seems, being resurrected is more tenable than reincarnation. Why so? As beautiful as the earth is, and as complex as we are, there must be more than meets the eye! If a few short years is all we have, life is little more than a bad joke by the comedian "Chance".
Repetitive lives would merely be expanding on the bad joke, Time after time, we would live without hope. Like those vampires who never die, and crave to, reincarnated people would crave eternal death. That's not reasonable to me - to crave non-existence... forever! In fact, when I think on non-existence it is the ultimate feeling of loneliness. Even the punishment of hell forever seems little worse than just ceasing to exist!
When did mankind acquire hope, and what is hope? Hope is believing in eternal life - living forever! Hope is existing in a pain-free world where aging is non-existent. Humanists call this place Utopia, but unlike Heaven, Utopia would be temporal. It would merely provide false comfort for a spell; then all is lost thereafter. Belief in the resurrection makes sense because it is reasonable to expect more than what we sense. Just as we couldn't see inside the atom until technology made that possible, we can't see into the supernatural until God makes that possible. You see, the supernatural is becoming more reasonable! There is a whole universe inside one atom. Many enlightened scientists found that unreasonable but now we know it to be true.
Hope was acquired immediately when it ran out! When Adam and Eve were created, hope was not an issue. They never thought of dying because death was untenable. No one had ever died before! Mankind was made with immortality. Why is it so unreasonable to believe that being re-created with an immortal body is possible. Adam and Eve's attitude cannot be called "hopeful" because it was originally certainty. When they sinned, they became mortal. God had mercy on them, and they were re-born as new creatures as their shame was covered by death, ironically. Blood had to be spilled and death ensue for them to have hope. Hope originated with the death of the animal whose blood was shed for them. Ever since, mankind has had hope. How old is hope? It is as old as sin but came with redemption.
I have yet to define what resurrected means. It's a simple thing - restoring a previously dead person back to life! Not with a different body but the same one. Not with a different mind but the same one. Not with a different soul but the same one!
When God said, "Thou shalt surely die," Adam and Eve failed to understand death. They had never experience it before nor thought of it. They thought death was dying that instant. They failed to entertain the notion that sin causes a person to die forever, or more accurately, forever dying. Not only did they become mortal and faced physical death, but they faced spiritual death. God seemed to be wrong about dying, as they ate, but they soon came to realize, that the death they would experience was in the hereafter. Hope is faith in being transformed from dead to living. That event is called the resurrection.
Christians often ask the question, "Are you saved?" Before salvation has any impact, sinners should ask, "Saved from what?" The answer is simple - saved from eternal death. Being saved from death in the hereafter requires being resurrected from the dead! Some theologians would argue that Old Testament patriarchs knew nothing of the resurrection. That is not true. Immediately, Adam and Eve had hope in living forever. The Word said nothing about the verb "resurrect" but that was the outcome of God's grace. I submit that the patriarchs knew very much about resurrection!
For instance, the Pharisees, unlike the Sadducees believed in the resurrection.
Acts 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.The patriarchs had the same hope that we have and the same faith. Their salvation was to come with the resurrection!
Now let us look at Old Testament accounts of the resurrection:
Psalm 51:11 (ESV) Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Daniel 12:1-3 (ESV) “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Daniel 7:27 (ESV) And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’
Daniel 2:44 (ESV) And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
Daniel 12:2 ESV And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Isaiah 26:19 (ESV) Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.Old Testament scripture does speak of the resurrection of the dead. The hope of the patriarchs was the same as ours, and the Way to eternal life was always by Jesus. Scripture says that by no other name can one be saved. (Acts 4:12). That included Jews in the Old Testament!
The slogan "Born to die," is seen often in modern culture. Mankind was never "born to die" but to look forward to being resurrected, and live forever. Mankind was "born to live forever," because God desires that none shall perish. (John 3:16). In spite of our desire to live forever, most will chose not to! I look forward to my transformation - from this weak vulnerable dying body to a glorified one. That is my hope and what keeps me alive. Without the hope or being resurrected life would be meaningless and fatalistic. Thank you Jesus for dying in my place!
By the way, those dead without the hope of salvation, will be resurrected as well - " to shame and everlasting contempt" - or living in hell forever. Salvation is being saved from this punishment.
No comments:
Post a Comment