The Wayside Pulpit No.92
The Joys, the Beauty, & the Glory of Resurrection
The location of
"heaven" is traditionally "up", somewhere "beyond the
blue", and when Christians are about to die, they like to think that they
will travel "up" to be with the Lord in heaven. Certain verses in the
Bible have fostered this impression, and therefore it would be presumptuous to
present any alternative. But wait a minute -
Did the three angels fall
out of the sky to meet with Abraham? Didn't they just appear? And weren't the
chariots and horsemen there all the time? Elisha's servant just needed his eyes
to be opened to see them. Didn't Jehovah dwell in the midst of His people
The Bible speaks about two
"levels" of heaven, depicted in the Bible by the Astronomical
Heavens, and the Aerial Heavens. There are two dimensions beyond our present
comprehension, and the higher one, (the Astronomical) is invisible to the lower
one (the Aerial). Satan and his angels dwell in the Aerial Heaven. He is
"the Prince of the power of the Air". He was thrown out of the
Astronomical Heaven when he fell.
With that little preamble,
let's talk about Resurrection. Paul said that the Lord will "descend from
Heaven", and we shall "meet Him in the Air." Understanding the
figure, the Lord will translate Himself to be visible in the Aerial Heaven, and
we shall be translated from Earth Dimension to meet Him in the Aerial Heaven.
This can take place without us moving an inch from where we are on Planet
Earth. It won't be a case of "little piles of clothes lying about",
or "airline pilots suddenly disappearing". It will be a case of a
sudden transformation here on the earth. This is where God wants His
resurrected sons to be. He has work for all such. They will be His
representatives to govern and rule the peoples of the world in His Kingdom.
Amusing little pictures of people sitting on clouds, with wings sprouting from
their shoulders, playing harps, could not be further from truth and reality.
God's Kingdom will contain
two types of people. The vast majority will be the people of the world, as now.
These will enjoy benefits of a type unknown to this present world, but coupled with
this joy will be a far greater responsibility, that of learning about God,
about righteousness and holiness, about God's demands on human life, as
Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Friend. The Lord Jesus will send His
Ambassadors to accomplish this task. They will have been trained and prepared
for the task, passing through this valley experience, learning of God through
obedience and suffering, until their hearts beat in unison with that of the Son
of God.
When Jesus died on the
cross for all mankind, He reversed the curse of death for all. That
which Adam lost, is now given as a free gift to all mankind. This is the legal
position. It stands firm by law, as any well-versed Lawyer would testify. But
the Bible speaks about certain believers being "equal to angels" in
resurrection. Jesus said that all such would have to reach a certain
"worthiness", and this is something beyond the grace gift of
new Adamic life for all mankind. Herein is the crux of the problem facing all
Biblical expositors. Most fail to see that although Jesus won redemption for all,
not all reach the higher place of ruling with Him from the Heavenly
Dimension. These are the ones whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of
Life. The rest of mankind will have their names "written in the
earth", because they will be restored to the state of Adam and Eve before
they fell. (See Jer.17:13)
What will it be like for
those who "are accounted worthy" to attain rulership? First of all
Paul speaks about "mortality" being exchanged for "immortality",
in other words death no longer has power over them. Then he speaks about
"corruptibility" being exchanged for "incorruptibility",
human bodies that never grow old, but are self-sustaining, energised by Divine
Principle. Then he says that there are "celestial bodies" and
"terrestrial bodies", showing the distinction between the two groups
mentioned above. "God gives to each a body as it pleases Him." Some
will be Celestial Sons, that is, of a Heavenly Dimension, others will be
Terrestrial Sons, like Adam before he fell. The Celestial Sons will be
"equal to the angels", as Jesus declared in Luke
Paul knew that this
dramatic change would not be a "once and for all" change. Yes, he
realised that the sudden exchange of mortality for immortality would be
instantaneous, like "the wink of an eye", but after that further
changes are in store. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor.3:18) There is nothing
static in life, whether on earth or in heaven. With God, there is a continual movement
for us from childhood to adulthood, from Grade 1 to University Level in
learning of Him, from the ordinary human heart to that which "will praise
and be enlarged". (Isa.60:5)
Finally, a quotation from
an ancient Jewish writing known as the "Works of Baruch". Even in
those early days, before the advent of Jesus, holy men of God knew some of the
truths of Millennial Glory, and Resurrection. "In what shape will
those live who live in Thy day? asked Baruch. And the Lord answered and said,
It shall make no change in their form, but as it has received, so shall it
restore them, for then it will be necessary to show to the living that the dead
have come to life again, and that those who had departed have returned. . . .
Their splendour shall be glorified in stages, and the form of their face shall
be turned into the light of their beauty, that they may be able to acquire and
receive the world that does not die, which is then promised to them. . . They
shall be transformed into the splendour of angels. . . They shall behold the
world that is now invisible to them, and they shall behold the time that is now
hidden from them, and time shall no longer age them. In the heights of that
world they shall dwell, and they shall be made like unto the angels, and be
made equal to the stars, and they shall be changed into every form they desire,
from beauty into loveliness, and from light into the splendour of
glory." (Extracts from 2 Baruch 49-51)
It is because of the
exceeding wonder, beauty, and glory of this higher resurrection state, that
Paul laid aside "that which is behind," as he "stretched out to
that which is before", seeking the "upward call of God in Christ
Jesus." The writer to the Hebrews spoke about "laying aside
every weight and the sin which so easily binds us, looking unto Jesus, the
Author and Finisher of our faith." This is the joy that many of the Old
Testament patriarchs knew about, and sought, despising earthly inheritance, and
looking "for the city not made with hands, in the heavens." This is
the vision that grips the hearts of men who desire to be changed from being
"drain pipes" into "golden goblets" for the Lord's Table.
(See 2 Tim.:20-21) All such need to "endure hardness, as good soldiers of
Jesus Christ, not entangling themselves with the affairs of this life . . . for
if one strive for masteries, he is not crowned except he strive lawfully."
Once having seen the vision, it can become the means of transporting them
into the heights of glory. There will be no looking back.