The apostle John started his first letter with the most important message he had made since his call to follow Jesus.

¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; ²(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us,) ³ That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, … that your joy may be full.

He spent nearly four years with Jesus and witnessed him die on the ‘cross’ and after his death, Jesus appeared to him alive. So he knew beyond doubt Jesus was resurrected. He had also seen a man named Lazarus who had been dead in his tomb 4 days brought back to life by Jesus.

⁴³ … he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. ⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. John 11

Returning to the resurrection of Jesus, there were many doubters in John’s day, just as there are today. Here’s an extract from 1 Corinthians 15. A chapter well worth reading that demonstrate’s there were a large number of witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection.

³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ⁵ And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ⁶ After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15

If you are wondering where Jesus is now, that is something else John witnessed. This time he was with the other ten of Jesus’ close disciples. Judas Iscariot of course had committed suicide.

⁹ And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they looked stedfastly as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ¹¹ Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Jesus has been given eternal life as the following quotation from Romans shows.

The risen Jesus has been given eternal life, because he completely overcame sin.

⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. Romans 6

THE TRUTH ABOUT RESURRECTION
A fundamental cornerstone of God’s plan with His creation revolves around the need for men to be resurrected from the dead. This is in complete contrast to beliefs concerning heaven-going and the immortality of the soul.

Now since the truth of resurrection can only be found in the Bible, it is essential that our readers know why we are confident in the truth of the Bible. That confidence is based upon fulfilled prophecy contained in the Bible that can be proved to have been written before its fulfilment.

THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE
So we are going to step aside to quickly give you a simple couple of examples of a fulfilled prophecy. The very interesting full account of these prophecies can be found in Matthew 2.

Soon after the birth of Jesus, we can read wise men wanted to see the child. They came to king Herod and asked,

² Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2

Herod called the priests to ask if they knew about this and they referred him to the scriptures and the prophet Micah who lived over 700 years before Herod’s day,

zProphecy: Micah 5: ²  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Fulfilment: Matthew 2 ⁴  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

It is clear that even the priests, who turned out to be very hostile to Jesus, knew about this prophecy and were expecting the coming of the Messiah – the Jews longed for a king and deliverer from the Romans.

However, Herod saw him as a possible rival and wanted to kill him. So he sent soldiers into the Bethlehem area to kill all the children under two years old. Then came the 2nd fulfilled prophecy.

An Angel warned Joseph of the danger and sent him to safety In Egypt.

Prophecy: Hosea 11 ¹  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Fulfilment: Matthew 2 ¹⁴  When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: ¹⁵  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

So, do we have any proof that these Old Testament prophecies were written before the events recorded in the New Testament took place?

We are very fortunate that in 1947 some very old scrolls of the Old testament were found in caves very near the Dead Sea. You can read about these events in many scholarly documents on the Internet including Wikipedia.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts first found in 1946/47 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine. … Dating back to between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered one of the most important finds in the history of archaeology. … About 40% are copies of texts from the Hebrew Scriptures.”

Above left: Some of the scroll jars that survived at least 2,500 years in the caves.
Middle right: Part of the equally old, 7m 34 cm (24 feet) long Isaiah scroll (Old Testament)
Bottom right: Some of the Qumran caves where the scrolls were found

The above is just a brief reference to the archaeological and scientific research that has proven the Old Testament was written well before Jesus was born.

If you would like more information please go to our article The reliability of the Bible, an earlier, more detailed, article demonstrating the truth of the Bible.

The important thing for us now is that the scrolls contained many prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus written at least 250 years before Jesus was born at the beginning of the 1st century AD.

BACK TO RESURECTION
Now, let us return to the importance of resurrection being a reality. For, the Apostle Paul wrote,

¹⁷ And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸ Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ¹⁹ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. ²⁰ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept**. 1 Corinthians 15

** sometimes the Bible refers to death of the faithful as sleep because resurrection will, for them, be like waking from sleep

Later in the same chapter Paul wrote,

⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. ⁵² 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. 1 Corinthians 15

This “change” is a marvellous process by which God will transform a mortal, corruptible body into an immortal and incorruptible one.

⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15

Resurrection is a two-stage process. First, the body which may have laid in the ground for many centuries must be remade and caused to stand again on the earth. The standing is for a specific purpose – for Jesus to decide who deserves to join in receiving immortal nature and helping him to spread peace, glory and goodness throughout the earth.

¹⁰ … … for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Romans 14

Jesus Christ is the judge and his Father has given him the task of raising the dead who had heard and understood the Gospel. He had said,

²⁸  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5

Also, to selecting the faithful who have “done good” to join him in the Kingdom of God. They are the ‘Saints’, chosen by Jesus and no one else.

⁵⁰ Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. Psalms 50

The covenant for us is our promise to follow Jesus example faithfully.

IT IS THE ONLY HOPE OF SALVATION
There is no mention in the Bible of immortal souls which can continue existence after death.

¹⁶  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. Psalm 115

Just as the leaders of the Jews hated Jesus and brought about his undeserved death, so they hated Paul and strove to get Paul condemned to death by the Romans. Paul, in his defence at his trial, made clear what his hope was.

⁶  But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. Acts 23

Paul completely understood the wonderful reward he hoped to receive

⁸  … (I) count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but rubbish that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3 (NKJV)

WHAT IS A RESURRECTED BODY LIKE?
Jesus is the only example of resurrection so far.

²⁰  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 1 Corinthians 15

He spent some time with his disciples after his resurrection and was able to show them he had a body and was not a ghost or a spirit –

³⁹  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ⁴⁰  And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹  And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? ⁴²  And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. ⁴³  And he took it, and did eat before them. Luke 24

Clearly, his body, though substantial, it was not flesh and blood. And Jesus promised his faithful followers that they will have a truly wonderful new body …

³⁶  Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Luke 20

⁴  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21

WHERE WILL RESURRECTION BE ENJOYED?
Jesus quoted Psalm 37,

⁵ “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5

Which, in the Psalm, continues …

¹¹ … and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalm 37

He was speaking of His Father’s purpose in creating the Earth.

¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2

He designed it from the beginning to give Him pleasure.

¹¹ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4

He was speaking of a complete change of system of government – its laws, its politics, and its administration – which is the Kingdom of God. Jesus will be on the throne in Jerusalem, with his Saints helping rule the territory of his people Israel as their promise king and the rest of the earth as his empire.

This marvellous reward of a transformed body and assisting in building God’s future kingdom on earth is promised to those who hope to receive His promises by following His son’s example in this life. Nothing will come of hoping, however sincerely, for what God has not promised. It is vital to believe and strive for what He has promised. And we have seen the Bible tells us, if we do that, we will have a glorious and satisfying future.

If you would like to know more about these important matters, we have Bible talks and invite you to come and listen to one. They are held every Sunday, God willing, and the coming subjects can be found on the “Sunday Bible talks details” page. We also have more articles and some audio and video recordings covering many Bible topics in our “Bible study” section.