DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION.
1. Death is the result of disobedience.
“The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ Gen. 2:16, 17.” 2. Through Adam’s transgression death comes to all men.
“By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men.” Rom. 5:12. 3. Man is unconscious in death.
“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.” Gen. 3:19. “The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Eccl. 9:5, 6. 4. Spiritual death is a condition in this world.
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” Col. 2:13. “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.” John 6:53. “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Rom. 8:6. 5. The Son of God suffered death for us all.
“When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Rom. 5:6. “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Heb. 2:9. 6. Christ regained life through a resurrection.
“I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Cor. 15:3, 4. “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Rom. 1:4. 7. So we can gain a future life only through a resurrection or translation at the coming of Christ.
“Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For, as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:21, 22. “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 8. Christ has the power of the resurrection.
“As the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth.” John 5:26–29. “I am He that liveth, and was dead: and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades, the grave] and of death.” Rev. 1:18. 9. The resurrection is shown in baptism.
“We are buried with Him by baptism unto death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” Rom. 6:4, 5; also Col. 2:12. 10. There will be two resurrections.
“All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, 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 5:28, 29. “And I saw two thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4–6. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23.