Part X1.2 - Redemption Of The Body ..

(redemption of the Body - continued) The Gates Of Hades At the conclusion of his defense of the resurrection, Paul quoted Hosea 13:14 : "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades (death is used in other translations), where is your victory?"(1 Corinthians 15:55NKJ). Why would Paul conclude with this declaration if the Lord’s people were not in Hades until the resurrection? It is through the resurrection that death is defeated. It was at the Lord’s resurrection that death was defeated for man, and now death has no eternal hold on man. At the resurrection, the Lord’s words to His disciples are fulfilled: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). The gates of Hades are not the powers and principalities in the unseen world as so many Christians believe. The general view is that the gates of Hades (the powers of darkness) will not prevail against the Church during her 2,000-year history. But there is another possibility that seems more likely. In one of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord: Be gracious to me, O LORD; behold my affliction from those who hate me, Thou who dost lift me up from the gates of death; that I may tell of all Thy praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Thy salvation (Psalms 9:13-14{ea}; also note Isaiah 38:10). A gate is a door or an opening; and in this Psalm, David refers to the gates of death. Also, notice that David saw others gate in reference to Zion and salvation. When Zion comes into view, so does the Kingdom. David saw gates into the Kingdom and the day when Israel finally is delivered when Messiah comes and ushers in the Messianic Era. This is the day of their salvation. In light of David’s use of the gates of death, the gates of Hades seem to refer to doors or openings into Hades; and doors are meant for one thing, either to allow people in or to keep people out. As Hades is the abode of the dead, the gates of Hades refer to the power of death to keep man under the earth once he dies (see Psalms 89:48). When the One who is the Resurrection and the Life declared that the gates of Hades would not prevail against His Church, He meant that He would overcome death, and one day, His Church would follow in His path and be released into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21). Oh, hallelujah! We will be set free at last. O Hades, where is your victory? Christ has the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18), and He alone will release His people from the grave in the first resurrection. This is what the Lord meant when He declared that the gates of Hades would not prevail. At the last trump, all of His people will have been released through the gates and they will enter the gates of Zion, the Heavenly Kingdom. This all occurs when those who have died in Christ are raised from the dead. This is why Paul concluded his defense of the resurrection with this shout of victory. He was merely declaring what His beloved Lord had declared, except he helped to explain what the Lord meant. We must declare with Paul: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). For those who are born again as a new creation in Christ, the gates of Hades will not prevail. The Savior is coming and He will set His people free to enter into the glory of His Heavenly Kingdom, followed by eternity. Heaven is the destiny of those who believe, and the resurrection and being caught up in the air is the way of release into heaven. All who have this hope set in their hearts should join in the cry of the spirit of prophecy: "Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). O Lord, come! (1 Corinthians 16:22NKJ).

Well, after looking at all these Scriptures, where does this leave us in our understanding of the matter at hand? To summarize, the Word of God reveals to us that our salvation is not complete until the Lord comes from heaven. When He comes, He will raise the dead in Christ and will remove to heaven those raised up, along with those who are alive and remain at His parousia. Until that day, when His beloved people die, they fall asleep in Jesus, their spirits return to God, their bodies go into the grave and their souls go to the abode of the dead in Christ. Most likely this is a place of rest and comfort in a portion of Hades under the earth reserved for the Lord’s people. Man was created from the earth, and to the earth he goes when he dies. However, the good news is that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against any of the Lord’s people, for He has the keys of death and Hades. When He gives that great shout, "Come forth," like He did when He called Lazarus from the tomb, all the dead in Christ will be raised from the dead and they will rise in the air. The angels will have brought them to this place of rest, and they most likely will take them up in the air.

Without a doubt, there are still some unanswered questions in the mind of some readers, such as: Where are Enoch and Elijah today? (We are not told. All we know is that they went up. It is interesting that Elijah, who did not see physical death, and Moses, who did see death, were together on the mount when the Lord Jesus was transfigured in glory. They stood with Christ discussing His departure from the earth through the cross. Both appeared in such a fashion that the three disciples who were witnessing this tremendous event knew who they were.) Could there be a lower portion of heaven where the dead in Christ go? (Anything is possible with God; however, we simply are not given any indication. If there is, then at the resurrection the dead would have to descend from heaven to the earth, be reunited with their bodies and then be raised up again. Why would there be a need to give forth a shout to awaken them from the grave, for they would see all that is transpiring? This would create a rather strange scenario. Further, this is not seen any place in Scripture, particularly in the Lord’s death and resurrection.) When He ascended, didn’t the Lord lead captive a host of captives, meaning those who were in the grave (Ephesians 4:8)? (During the ancient days, when a victory was won and the enemy was captured, the enemy was stripped and paraded through the streets. Following this imagery, the captives could not be resurrected saints but rather the enemy that the Lord defeated. As Paul wrote: When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him (Colossians 2:15).) What happened when the tombs opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised (Matthew 27:51-52)? Didn’t these saints ascend to heaven with the Lord? (We are not told. We know they were raised but no mention is made of their ascension to heaven. When the Lord made His final ascension, He was alone (Acts 1:9).) Didn’t the Lord promise that He would go away and prepare a place (many dwellings, mansions) for His disciples, implying that when His people die they will go to heaven and occupy one of these places (John 14:1-4)? (The key to the Lord’s words is found in verse 3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, {there} you may be also." The Lord makes this promise in connection with His greater promise: "I will come again." Christ must come again for this to be fulfilled. His reference to dwellings or mansions is most likely a reference to the New Jerusalem that will be the place of residence for His people during the Kingdom Age. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking {the city} which is to come (Hebrews 13:14).) What about the souls under the altar (Revelation 6:9-10)? Where are they? (There are three areas mentioned in the Bible-in heaven, on the earth and under the earth. These souls, who are unclothed until given white robes, are most likely the dead martyrs from the beginning of the Tribulation who are in the place of the dead in Christ and awaiting their release. This adds weight to the thought that the soul descends into the earth, for they are "under.") In the final analysis, we must leave certain questions in the hands of the Lord and not try to put it all together, as if each piece belongs with the other. The point of all that has been presented is to lay a proper framework for understanding the future Kingdom. If we place all believers in heaven at death, as if they have come into the Reign of the Heavens, then we will not understand the true nature of the coming Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. He must come for heaven to come into view. It is that simple. This is to be the hope of every Christian. However, until that day, if we die in Christ, we have the full assurance that we will be at home with our beloved Lord. It is far better to be with Christ (Php 1:23). This in itself should give us hope because we know that in the day of His parousia, He will raise us up to be with Him-spirit, soul and body. Our hope is in the resurrection and "the seizing," the Heavenly Kingdom that follows, and, ultimately, the Day of Eternity. Let us comfort one another with these words. The New Jerusalem

There is one final word regarding the destiny of believers. Very simply, our destiny is the New Jerusalem, whether we are referring to the Kingdom Age or the eternal ages. The difference between the two periods is where the city of God will reside-in heaven or on the new earth. As it has been shown, our immediate goal is heaven and, more specifically, the Heavenly Kingdom and the New Jerusalem which, most likely, will not be seen from the earth during the millennial reign of Christ. This is our millennial destiny. However, heaven is not our eternal destiny. Our destiny for the eternal ages is the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven, having the glory of God (Revelation 21:9-11) and which will be seen by all of creation. In the eternal ages, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and residing on this new earth will be God’s capital city of the universe. In the midst of this glorious city, which is also described as the Wife of the Lamb, there will be the throne of God and of the Lamb. The throne which is in heaven will come down to earth, and God and the Lamb will reign supreme over His creation from His holy city, the New Jerusalem. As it is written: For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him (Isaiah 64:4). "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and {which} have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).

We have very little comprehension of what glory will be like, but until that day, let us love God and let us wait for the One who is coming from heaven. That day is coming soon. It is the day of resurrection and "the seizing"-the redemption of our bodies. We do not know what we will be like but we know that we will be like Him. Let us encourage one another with this glorious thought as long as it is still today.