“Jesus Lives & We Will Too!”

“Jesus lives!  The vict’ry’s won!  Death no longer can appall me; Jesus lives!  Death’s reign is done!  From the grave will Christ recall me.  Brighter scenes will then commence; This shall be my confidence.”  So the hymnist preaches to us.  This goes well with what the Prophet says in Daniel 12:2-3 as we learn in the last weeks of the church year about the Bible’s teaching on the End Times.  Take a moment to read what Daniel says there.

Genesis 2 teaches us that “God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Genesis 3 teaches us that when God’s first children rebelled against Him, one of the consequences was they would return to the ground from which they came.   The rule of death will be broken when God brings the world to a conclusion.  Death is “the last enemy to be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:26). It will be destroyed by Jesus who, at his resurrection, broke the power of death. On the Last Day, God’s people will rise to eternal life.

But, those who spent their lives avoiding God will experience a different fate in the resurrection of the Last Day. They will hear God say, “Very well, you wanted to be without me; now be without me—forever!” And they will be sentenced to eternal divorce from God—an eternal existence of “shame and everlasting contempt.”  In contrast to the damned are the believers, for whom Judgment Day will be a triumph. From God’s Word Christians have learned to recognize their own sinfulness and need for repentance, as well as their only Savior from sin in Jesus.

Daniel says that Christians will live in glory forever, as they shine like the brightness of the heavens. In the  New Testament, God gives us a fuller revelation of what Daniel prophesied. We know that on Judgment Day we will not only stand before God, but we also have the promise that through Jesus we’ll actually survive that examination.  Through Jesus we can look to a brighter tomorrow, because He’s not only our Judge, but our Savior.  The one who will render His verdict on our lives has already declared us blameless in the blood of His cross.  Thanks be to God that Jesus lives and through faith in His cross and empty tomb we will too!!!