"Look! I Am Making All Things New"

Restoration to Life

Even though his enemies killed him, the Son of God never lost his right to perfect human life, for he had kept integrity to God.  But, being dead in the grave, how Jesus use this valuable thing, the right to human life, on behalf of  humankind?  It was here that Jehovah performed another miracle, the first of its kind. On the third day of  Jesus' being in the grave, Jehovah raised him up out of death as a spirit creature, immortal. (Romans 6:9; 1 Peter 3:18)   To establish belief in the resurrection, on different occasions Jesus materialized human bodies and appeared to his disciples, at one time to 500 and more of them. None of these, not the apostle Paul who was later blinded by an appearance of the glorified Jesus, had any reason to doubt the miracle of his resurrection. -1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Acts 9:1-9.

After 40 days the resurrected Jesus ascended into God's own presence in the heavens, there to present the value of his perfect human sacrifice as a release  for mankind.  "But this man offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually and sat down at the right hand of God, from then on awaiting until his enemies should be placed as a stool for his feet." (Hebrews 10:12, 13)  The first ones to be released belong to Christ." (Luke 12:32; 1 Corinthians 15:22, 23) These are "bought from among mankind," and hence in the resurrection they become spirit associates of Christ in the heavens.  (Revelation 14:1-5)   However, what of the great masses of mankind who now lie dead in their graves?   When he was on earth, Jesus said that his Father granted him the authority to judge and impart life. He added:  "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs  will hear his voice and come out, . . .to a resurrection." (John 5:26-29) He will restore these to life in the Paradise earth.

Note Jesus' words, "Do not marvel at this." Even so, how can one long dead be released from death and be brought back to life?  Has not his body returned to dust? Some of the particles that made up that body may even has assimilated into other living things, such as plants and animals. However, resurrection does not mean bringing the same chemical elements together again.  It means that God re-creates the same person, with the same personality.  He brings a new body forth from the earthly elements, and in that body he places the same characteristics , the same distinctive qualities, the same memory, the same life pattern that the person had built up by the time of his death. 

It may have been your experience that your house that you loved very much was burned down. However, you could easily have the same house rebuilt, for the pattern of all its beloved details is very clear in your memory.  Surely, then, God who is the Originator of memory can re-create men whom he has kept in his memory because he loved them. (Isaiah 64:8) This is why the Bible uses the expression "memorial tombs."  When  it is God's due time to bring the dead to life again, he will perform a miracle, just as he performed a miracle in creating the first man, only this time he will perform it many times over. -Genesis 2:7; Acts 24:15. 

God will bring mankind back to life, with the prospect of never again dying off the earth. But how is everlasting life on earth possible? It is possible and certain because it is the divine will and purpose.  (John 6:37-40; Matthew 6:10)  The only reason that man dies off the earth today is that he inherited death from Adam.  However, when we consider the infinite variety of wonderful things on earth that man intended to enjoy, a brief life span of less than a hundred years is far too short! In giving this earth to the children of men, God purposed that man should keep on living to enjoy the splendors of His creation, not just for a hundred years, but forever! -Psalm 115:16; 133:3. 

Next time: "Look! I Am Making All Things New"/ The Perfect Government of Peace

From the Awake! magazine