“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26 BSB)
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NKJV)
“And if the Spirit of him who raised our Lord Yeshua The Messiah from among the dead dwells within you, he who raised Yeshua The Messiah from among the dead also will give life to your dying bodies, because of his Spirit who dwells within you.” (Romans 8:11 ABIPE)
…I have been called…
…to help the children of God realize that it is our Father’s desire that as His children we live strong long lives worth living, without limit or end, with nothing missing or broken; therefore He designed us to live lives filled with purity, passion, power, and purpose; as in partnership with Him we expand the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (here and now); regardless of our current age or condition.
One of my primary goals is to awaken the Body of Christ to the impact of renewed youth on life. A major barrier to that goal is the way that most people look at aging and death. We live in a culture of death, and many of us have been indoctrinated with theologies of fear and death. That is why I have been sent to help my brothers and sisters in Christ take a fresh look at aging and death. Leaving aging for the moment, let’s press into death before it presses into us.
Is there death in Heaven?
Was there death on the Earth in the Garden of Eden prior to sin?
Will there be death on the Earth after the New Jerusalem arrives and sin is removed?
If you answered a resounding, “NO!” to these questions then you aced the test. Good for you.
I want to share an insight that I believe the Holy Spirit gave me pertaining to how our Father views death. It came as I was pondering the scene given to us of Jesus praying to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to his death on the cross. Before we look at that scene, please allow me to set the stage by looking at what John recorded Jesus saying to his disciples earlier in his ministry. Jesus told his disciples that he only did what he saw his Father doing and only said what he heard his Father saying (John 5:19 & 12:49). He also told them that when they looked at him they were seeing the Father (John 14:9). You may be thinking, “OK Eric, but what does this have to do with Jesus in the garden?” Glad you asked.
While I was pondering the garden scene the Holy Spirit whispered in my spirit…
… “What you are seeing is how the Father feels every time death takes human life. Jesus saw his Father express the same agony and speak similar words as he sought any other option prior to what took place at Sodom and Gomorrah, the Great Flood, and all other times when death occurs. The Father takes no pleasure in death, it is his enemy.”
After hearing that I went to scripture to “test the Word” and “try the spirit” of the message I believed I had heard within myself.
“How painful it is to the LORD when one of his people dies! (Psalm 116:15 GNT)
“As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?” (Ezekiel 33:11 NLT)
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26 BSB)
Even in the Old Covenant (as expressed in the Old Testament), after Adam transgressed and turned his back on the Father transferring the power and authority of dominion in the earth that had been deeded to him by the Father to Satan (the god of the world), the Father agonized over the loss of life. During a time in which the entire human race (with the exception of Noah and his family) had darkened minds (blinded by Satan), corrupted bodies (corrupted DNA – Nephilim), and were on the brink of extinction due to the level of hatred and violence forcing God to take drastic measures to assure the continuance of mankind and the preservation of the bloodline for the coming Messiah, the Father agonized over the death of even one person.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus demonstrated the heart of the Father toward death and suffering as he agonized over finding any other way to save humanity. He wasn’t looking for a way out because the thought of it was too tough for him to handle. He wasn’t out of unity with his Father. His will was not in opposition or different from his Father. He was actually doing only what he had seen his Father do, and saying what he had heard his Father saying. God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) hates death!
When the Holy Spirit revealed this to me it radically changed my view of death. Like never before, death became my enemy. Death has no part in the life of a believer. I have not only been promised life after death, I have been given the hope and expectation of conquering death completely and never tasting that foul taste in my life now or ever! (Wow! Did I really say that out loud for others to hear? No turning back now.)
But what if you die Eric? What if I don’t?
But everybody dies Eric. Do they?
Remember what Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 NKJV). I can’t lose. It is a win-win scenario. I am going to think, speak, and live life. I am giving no place to death. I don’t fear it and I don’t expect it. The best part of all of this is what Jesus pointed out in the verse that I quoted at the beginning of all of this, and I will paraphrase…
…”By the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit within me as I believe in Jesus, if I die I will live and as long as I am alive I will not die!”
No more death consciousness for me!
That is a lot to think and pray about. More tomorrow. Until then, search the Scriptures and see if what I am saying is true in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 375: Late Life Assignment: Part 11 – The Promise: Strong, Long Lives: Part 7