Life after Death

The Promises to Abraham

The Birth of Jesus

Why do we have to die?

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou

return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for

dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. [Genesis

3:19]

Conclusion : Man was cursed by God because of

sin in the beginning and condemned to death on

account of disobedience to the Divine

commandment.

Eternal life beyond the grave is fundamental to the

Christian hope, so what does the Bible say happens

when we die?

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead

know not any thing, neither have they any more a

reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. [Ecclesiastes

9:5]

Conclusion : There is no consciousness after

death.

Death is the end of life and all that is left is a

decaying body as the Bible makes plain in the

following references:

For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate

thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

[Isaiah 38:18]

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for

there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in

the grave, whither thou goest.[Ecclesiastes 9:10]

Conclusion : There is no inner part of our

existence (a soul) that goes on living when the

body is dead.

However…the Bible provides a message of Hope, to

stand again in a future time to be blessed with

undying and sinless nature - the following verses

give us a glimpse of this:

And though after my skin worms destroy this body , yet in

my flesh shall I see God [Job 19:26 – Job’s words in answer to his

friends show his faith in resurrection]

But go thou thy way till the end be : for thou shalt rest, and

stand in thy lot at the end of the days. [Daniel 12:13 – Words in

vision to Daniel foretell of his future]

Conclusion : Life after death lies in the hand of

God to bestow through resurrection upon a

privileged few.

The origins of this Hope, the resurrection to eternal life, are related in the history of Abraham to whom were given great and precious promises :

For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to

thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the

earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then

shall thy seed also be numbered. [Genesis 13:15-16]

Conclusion : Abraham and his numerous descendants would inherit the present day territories of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza strip, Lebanon, Jordan, and parts of Syria and Egypt.

A further development of the promise was given to Abraham because of his faithfulness:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will

multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand

which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the

gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of

the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

[Genesis 22:17-18]

Conclusion : The blessing of Abraham involves the blessing of all peoples through a particular descendant who would triumph over his enemies.

The descendant referred to is Christ Jesus, the

Anointed Saviour, the victor over sin, as the apostle

Paul wrote:

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises

made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of

one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. [Galatians 3:16]

Conclusion : The promise to Abraham is a blessing

to both his natural seed and the spiritual (those

who are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus

– Gal 3:26)

Abraham did not inherit the land of promise during his life, so we conclude he will be raised from the dead to receive it:

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as

to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to

him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet

he had no child. [Acts 7:5]

He will not inherit alone but will be joined by the faithful of all generations who shall inherit the rest of the earth:

For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the

Lord , they shall inherit the earth…the meek shall inherit the

earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of

peace. [Psalm 37:9-11]

The true Christian Hope is thus the same as

Abraham’s and Israel’s, attainable through

faithfully following after Jesus, who has inherited

the promise of eternal life in advance of all others

because of his victory over sin:

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through

faith and patience inherit the promises…Which hope we have

as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which

entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for

us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the

order of Melchisedec. Hebrews 6:12, 19-20

The manner in which Jesus was born is described in

this way:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as

his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they

came together, she was found with child of the Holy

Ghost. [Matthew 1:18]

Conclusion : Jesus’ birth was unique and necessary

to fulfil God’s promise of the seed through whom all

nations of the earth would be blessed – His own

arm brought Him Salvation.

His mother Mary had been forewarned of God’s

choice that she should be the bearer of God’s Son:

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy

Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the

Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy

thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son

of God. [Luke 1:35]

Conclusion : Jesus’ conception was not by natural

means but through the direct power of God, such

that he was both Son of God and Son of man.

Jesus was born a man in nature just as we are and

was subject to all the temptations to sin to which

we are susceptible:

For we have not an high priest which cannot be

touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all

points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. [Hebrews

4:15]

Conclusion : Jesus was not part of the ‘divine

Godhead’ as orthodox ideas of the Trinity profess.

This is a thing impossible and destroys the true

understanding of Christ’s victory over sin.

The way that Christ was victorious over sin in the

flesh is central to true Christian doctrine, for it is

the means by which the faithful can be justified

before God unto eternal life:

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh

and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the

same; that through death he might destroy him that had

the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them

who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject

to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of

angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

[Hebrews 2:14-16]

Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven (Acts 1) will soon return to take up His role as King of all the earth. For the faithful this return will bring the realisation of the One True Hope:

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and

come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice,

because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is

greater than I. [John 14:28 ]

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not

so , I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for

you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come

again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,

there ye may be also. [John 14:2-3 ]