The Mystery of the “Resurrection of a Dead Man”
Li Cheng
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon to you! Thank the Lord for His preparations that have allowed us to communicate the truths of the Scripture here. May the Lord guide us. Today, I want to talk to everybody about the topic “resurrection of a dead man.”
As people who believe in the Lord all know, the “resurrection of a dead man” refers to the time when Jesus returns. This is also a situation we as Christians are looking forward to seeing. Now, just how can a “dead man” be resurrected? Many people would think of chapter 37, verses 5-6 in the Book of Ezekiel: “Thus said the Lord Jehovah to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live: And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.” In the Gospel of John chapter 6, verse 39, Jesus said: “And this is the Father’s will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” In chapter 15, verses 52-53 in the Book of 1 Corinthians, they read: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Furthermore, if people read the literal meaning of the Bible, they will believe: In the last days, when the Lord is about to descend, there will be many great and miraculous things that will occur. With His almightiness, He will resurrect the bodies of the saints that have been sleeping for generations. He will raise them up from their graves, from underneath the earth or underneath the sea. The thousands of skeletons that have already rotted beneath the ground or under the sea will instantly be given new life. The rot will magically disappear and they will enter into the glory. How spectacular this scene would be! … These are also our perspectives and imaginings about the “resurrection of a dead man.” Just how will this prophecy be fulfilled? Is it really going to be as miraculous as we imagine it is going to be? Will the Lord accomplish this matter in accordance with our imaginations?
We all know, God’s wisdom is higher than the heavens. What God does exceeds our thoughts and imaginations. In the Bible, it has been recorded: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, said Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9). As creations before God, we are as insignificant and lowly as dust. We will never be able to fathom God’s work. This is similar to the recordings in the Bible of Jesus talking to Nicodemus about the truth of rebirth: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jhn 3:3). Nicodemus understood the words of Jesus in a literal sense. He believed “rebirth” meant emerging once again from one’s mother’s womb. Using his brain and imagination, he understood a spiritual matter as if it were a matter of the material world. This sort of acceptance is very wrong. Additionally, when Jesus was talking with woman from Samaria, He said, “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst” (Jhn 4:14). At that time, the woman from Samaria did not understand what the Lord was saying. She thought that the water the Lord was offering was the same water that men drank. As a result, she said, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw” (Jhn 4:15). Actually, the “water” that Jesus was referring to was the Lord’s word. He was referring to the water of life. The woman from Samaria only understood the literal meaning of what Jesus said and thus, misunderstood the meaning. From this we can see that God’s word is the truth. It conceals the mystery of God’s work. If God does not reveal these mysteries, our understanding would be very limited. Likewise, if we only understand the literal meaning of the prophecy “resurrection of a dead man,” wouldn’t we be making the same mistake that Nicodemus and the woman from Samaria made? Therefore, when it comes to prophecies, we must maintain reverence, seek more, not interpret the text literally, not rely on our imaginations and notions to decide and furthermore, not rely on our own personal meaning to explain it.
Now, just what does “resurrection of a dead man” refer to? What do “dead man” and “living man” refer to? For thousands of years, not a single person has been able to clearly answer this question. Only God is able to open up these mysteries. Now, God has already returned in the form of the incarnate Almighty God. He has expressed millions of words and uncovered all the mysteries that are within the Bible. Let’s all take a look together at the words of Almighty God. Almighty God says: “God created man, after which man was corrupted by Satan, and this corruption has made people into dead bodies—and thus, after you have changed, you will be different from these dead bodies. It is the words of God that give life to people’s spirits and cause them to be reborn, and when people’s spirits are reborn they will have come alive. Mention of the ‘dead’ refers to corpses that have no spirit, to people in whom their spirit has died. When people’s spirits are given life, they come alive. The saints that were spoken of before refer to people who have come alive, those who were under Satan’s influence but defeated Satan. … Originally the man made by God was alive, but because of Satan’s corruption man lives amid death, and lives under the influence of Satan, and so these people have become the dead who are without a spirit, they have become enemies who oppose God, they have become the tools of Satan, and they have become the captives of Satan. … The dead are those who have no spirit, those who are numb in the extreme, and who oppose God. Moreover, they are those who do not know God. These people have not the slightest intention of obeying God, they only rebel against Him and oppose Him, and have not the slightest loyalty. The living are those whose spirits have been reborn, who know to obey God, and who are loyal to God. They are possessed of the truth, and of testimony, and only these people are pleasing to God in His house. God saves those who can come alive, who can see God’s salvation, who can be loyal to God, and willing to seek God. He saves those who believe in God’s incarnation, and believe in His appearance” (“Have You Come Alive?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
