By Gary Ray Branscome
The words, Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; and He was buried, and He
rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1Corinthians 15:3-4), tell us that our hope not
only rests on the fact that Christ died for our sins, but also on the
fact that He, Was raised again for our justification (Romans
This glorious hope is not
only taught in the New Testament, but also in the Old, where we read, Your
dead will live, together with my dead body they will arise. Awake and sing, you
who dwell in the dust: for your dew is like the dew of the fields, and the
earth will deliver up the dead (Isaiah 26:19), and, Those who sleep in
the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2). Having that hope we can say with
Job, I know that my redeemer lives, and that He will stand at a future time
upon the earth: And after the skin worms have destroyed this body, yet in my
flesh I will see God (Job
In dealing with skeptics
who denied the resurrection, Jesus said, Have you not read what God said to
you, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matthew
While the words, Your
soul will be required from you tonight, tell us that the soul departs from
the body at death (Luke
When the dead rise,
the body that is sown in corruption; is raised in incorruption: It is sown in
dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. As there is a natural
body, there is also a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man,
Adam, was made a living soul; the last Adam a life giving spirit. However the
spiritual did not come first, but the natural; and after that the spiritual.
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord
from heaven. As was the earthy man, so also are those who
are of the earthy: and as is the heavenly man, so also are
those who are of the heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy
one, we will also bear the image of the heavenly one (1Corinthians
Now not all of us will
die, But all of us will be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed, for our corruptible nature
must be made incorruptible, and our mortal nature must become
immortal. So when the corruptible has put on incorruption, and the mortal has
put on immortality, then the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up in
victory, will be fulfilled. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where
is your victory? (1Corinthians
The passages just quoted
make it clear that all of the effects of sin will be removed from those who
trust in Christ. Our incorruptible resurrection bodies will have no physical
defects or any traces of age or suffering for all of those things are the
consequences of sin. God will give us beauty for ashes (Isaiah
61:3). Our bodies will no longer be subject to earthly infirmities. They will
no longer be disfigured, corrupt, imperfect, maimed, and unsightly, but will be
perfect in every way. In contrast, because the ungodly remain in their sin, and
are under a divine curse, their bodies will come forth from the grave Unto
shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2). Where their worm does
not die, and the fire is never put out (Mark
Because the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit are One God, what one does they all do. We see that in
connection with Creation, where the words, Dont we all have one father?
Hasnt one God created us? tell us that the Father is our Creator: while
the words, Who created all things by Jesus Christ, tell us that Christ
is our Creator (Ephesians 3:9). We see that again in what the Bible says about
the resurrection, for it is written, Just as the Father raises the dead,
and gives them life; even so the Son gives life to whomever He will
The hour
is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God: and
those who hear will live (John
When Will the
Traditionally the
rapture has been treated as part of the resurrection (not something separate)
and it was not called the rapture. Nevertheless, because many groups emphasize
it, and often treat it as a separate doctrine, we need to look at what the
Bible says about it.
The words, The Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord, tell
us that the rapture [i.e. being caught up] will take place right after the
resurrection (1Thessalonians
Malachi describes the
day of the Lord as, The great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5);
while Joel tells us that, The sun will be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes
(Joel
As to the time of the
resurrection, the words, Every one who looks to the Son, and believes on
Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day,
and the words, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last
day(John 6:40, John 11:24), tell us that the resurrection, and,
therefore, the "rapture" will take place on the last day,
while the words, Man lies down, and does not arise: until the heavens
are no more, tell us that the resurrection will take place after the
heavens are no more [just before the earth is destroyed] (Job 14:12).