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by William
Gray
Forerunner, July 1996
Forerunner, July 1996
The idea
of someone taking something "to the grave," has long intrigued me.
People
speak of taking a secret "to the grave." Other people take cherished
possessions with them "to the grave."
The more cynical among us sigh and say, "You came into
this world with nothing, and you'll leave it with nothing."
We have
heard of eccentrics who have been buried with their Cadillacs, or of certain
fanatical admirers of a sport, movie star or entertainer who wish to be buried
with their memorabilia.
In
history class we learned about the Pharaohs of Egypt who entombed themselves
with all the comforts of home: food, clothing, jewelry, beds, linens — even
chariots and dozens of miniature statues of all their servants!
One
Chinese emperor had life-sized statues of an entire army made to guard him into
the afterlife!
Even in
my own family this idea of taking things with us when we die has occurred.
My father
was buried in what he called his "traveling pants."
Similarly,
many people have asked to be dressed in their best clothes when they are buried
so they make the best impression when they get to the "other side."
On a lighter note, there is the joke where one comic asks
another, "How much did old Howard Hughes leave?" and
the other replies, "He left it all!"
To Dust
We Return
Ecclesiastes 9:5 says, "The dead know nothing."
Earlier
in the book, Solomon had written:
“For what happens to the sons of men also happens to beasts; one thing
befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath;
man has no advantage over beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all
are from the dust, and all return to dust.” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20)
Though Satan had told Eve in Genesis 3:4, "You will not surely
die," God corrected this lie in verse 19: "In
the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for
out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
Genesis 2:7 relates that God Himself "breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being [soul, KJV]."
We should
note that this verse does not say man has a soul, but
that he is one.
This word
in Hebrew, nephesh, is better rendered as "creature"
or as the New King James does, "being."
Nephesh is also used for animals (Genesis 1:20), dead
bodies (Numbers 9:6), even
dying (Job 11:20; Jeremiah 15:9).
Animals
are living, breathing creatures like us. Both men and beasts have the same
physio-chemical existence, and both die the same death.
But there
is a huge difference beyond these similarities!
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according
to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth."
So God
created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female
He created them.
When God
molded Adam of the dust, He shaped him in the outward form of Himself; He gave
this unique form to man alone.
Besides
this, God gave man dominion over his environment, and to do this job, He gave
him abilities like His own.
Man can
think, reason, make decisions and plan. He can originate and evaluate ideas and
bring them to completion.
He can
communicate and express complex concepts that can be understood by other men.
Mankind understands and marks the passage of time. No animals have these
abilities!
But there
is more: Man has a unique ability to imagine and desire life after death (Ecclesiastes 3:11)!
Men want
to live forever! The problem is that without the revelation of God, they
have NO IDEA how to attain it!
Life
After Death
People in
our modern world do not understand death; to them it is a fearful, unknown
blank.
Religions
around the world have sought to explain what
happens after we die, but they all come far short of the truth.
Some say
we go to heaven or hell or purgatory. Others say we are reborn
as another creature — a slug, a fish, a cow or another person.
A few
think we join some sort of cosmic consciousness. Of course, there are also
those who believe that nothingness is the reward of men.
This may seem strange, but Jesus actually thanks God in Matthew 11:25-26 for keeping men ignorant of
these matters: "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have
revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your
sight."
This is
wise of God because the knowledge of man's destiny puts those who understand it
under obligation to strive for it. And most of the people on earth are not
prepared to do so.
We would
be in the same quandary if God had not opened our minds to the truth. Several
of the heroes of the Bible write of their awareness of God's plan for us:
» Job: “Oh, that You would hide me in the
grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would
appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All
the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call,
and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.” (Job 14:13-15)
» David: “As for me, I will see Your face in
righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15)
» Daniel: “And many of those who sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and
everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the
firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and
ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3)
» Paul: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit [which] dwells in you. . . .
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:11, 18)
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. .
. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.” (I Corinthians 15:22, 51-52)
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with
Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be
with the Lord.” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17)
There is
life after death! We find, however, that it is a gift of God (Romans 6:23), and
that it is so precious that He does not give it to everyone without
qualification (Matthew 19:16-21; 25:31-46; Acts 13:48; James 1:12; Jude 20-21).
Man's
Unique Element
Humanity
has one characteristic that other living creatures lack.
Job's young friend Elihu describes this extra element in Job 32:8: "But there is a spirit in
man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding."
When God
breathed the breath of life into Adam, he must also have imparted a spirit, an
essence, that gave humans all those abilities beyond what animals have.
The apostle Paul also mentions this in the New Testament: "For
what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in
him?" (I Corinthians 2:11).
This "spirit
in man" endows humans with the ability to understand, reason,
plan and create.
It joins
with the physical brain and assists in our thinking. The Bible often uses the
word "spirit" to refer to a person's mind,
intelligence or attitude.
What
happens to this spirit in man when we die?
Wise
Solomon had the answer: "Then the dust will return to the earth as
it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
Why does
God take it back? Because — somehow — it is a perfect recording of each
person's entire life!
All the
person's memories, actions, words, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, victories,
defeats, decisions and plans are recorded by man's spirit!
In
today's parlance, we might say it is similar to a multiple gigabyte hard disk
or computer chip that is constantly saving our personal information. This is a
disk that never crashes!
When God
chooses to resurrect us, He will return our human spirit to us, and it will be
as if we had never died (Ezekiel 37:5, 10).
Some, of
course, will be raised to immortality, and they will be completely composed of
spirit, both body and mind (John 3:3-8; I Corinthians 15:35-49; I John 3:2).
Others
will, however, be raised back to physical life — like the "dry
bones" in Ezekiel 37 — and have a chance to receive the Holy
Spirit and prove themselves to God (Ezekiel 37:11-14; Revelation 20:11-13).
Righteous
Character
What will
determine which resurrection we rise in? The record of our lives!
The
character that is recorded in our spirit will be the only thing we
"take through the grave"!
God will
access our lifelong file and make a judgment based upon how we have lived.
Of
course, God's grace is freely given (Ephesians 2:4-9); we
cannot earn it.
We do,
though, have the opportunity to qualify for a reward based on how much we grow
in character (Luke 19:11-27; Matthew 25:14-30).
Jesus says, "In My Father's house are many mansions
[offices, positions of authority]. . . I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).
In His
Kingdom He will place each of us in a position that best suits our strengths,
where He can depend on us to make proper decisions in harmony with God's will.
So much
depends on our every thought, attitude, word and deed! Each second of our lives
is being minutely recorded, so we had better make it a record we will not be
ashamed of!
God has
given us a priceless opportunity to participate in the first — the better —
resurrection (Hebrews 11:35; Revelation 20:4-6)!
It is a
gift that makes the Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes or winning the
lottery seem like pocket change by comparison.
Though we
all stumble along the way, we need to strive to grow in character so that we
can say like Paul:
“The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that
Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:6-8)
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