The Daily Word of Righteousness

First Corinthians, Fifteen, #7

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:13)

Daniel went to a temporary place of rest until the time of judgment in the day of resurrection.

By changing the concept of being raised bodily from the dead to that of flying away to Heaven we have removed both the hope and the fear of the bodily resurrection from the dead, the hope and the fear that we shall meet the consequences of our actions after we die.

We have not fully realized that going to the Lord Jesus, or Abraham's bosom, or wherever we go after we die, is a temporary situation. In the Day of the Lord we shall be brought back from our place of rest in the spirit realm and enter our body on the earth. We then shall be required to give an account of what we have done in our body. We shall receive that which we have practiced during our life on the earth.

It is one matter to look forward to going to live forever in Paradise after one dies no matter how he has behaved as a Christian.

It is another matter to look forward to being raised in the day of resurrection, after we have been in the spirit realm for awhile, and standing before Christ to be rewarded according to our works.

The first is without foundation in Scriptures.

The second is clearly taught in the Scriptures.

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. (I Corinthians 15:13-15)

The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus is so central to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that if Christ did not rise from the dead, the preaching of the Gospel is useless and our faith is useless. Our faith depends upon the Lord's resurrection.

When the Lord's Apostles preached they bore witness that Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father.

Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. (Acts 1:22)

Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Acts 2:24)

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. (Acts 2:32)

Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (Acts 4:2)

And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)

Over and over again as recorded in the Book of Acts the Apostles preached the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. They did not stress the fact that He ascended to Heaven but that He returned to life. The message of Easter is that the Lord was raised bodily from the dead—not that He ascended but that He was resurrected.

To be continued.