Tag: resurrection

The resurrection: Hope for believers and judgment for the unrighteous

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JEFF TURNER

Jesus spoke plainly about a coming day when everyone who has died will be raised, some to life and some to judgment. This statement points toward distinct future events tied to humanity’s ultimate destiny.

For those who belong to Christ, resurrection unfolds in stages: first the church at the moment of the rapture, followed later by believers who endured tribulation, and finally Old Testament saints raised at the conclusion of that period. These together represent the resurrection of the righteous, leading ultimately to eternal glory.

For those who rejected God, however, there is a single resurrection still to come, described in Revelation as the great white throne judgment. This event marks the final reckoning for all who lived apart from God, occurring just before the present heaven and earth give way to a new creation.

Every person who stood against God’s truth will appear before this throne and face eternal condemnation. Christ himself presides over both the resurrection of the righteous and the judgment of the unrighteous.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Revelation 20:12

The blood, the resurrection, and the courage to face anything

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JEFF TURNER

Every doctrine that gives the Christian faith its shape and substance, every promise that anchors the believer’s heart through suffering and uncertainty, every reason we have to approach God with confidence rather than terror, all of it flows from a single source: the redemption purchased by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Remove that from the centre of Christian teaching and the consequences are total. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no restored relationship with God. Without that relationship, the hope we speak of is borrowed language with no corresponding reality. And without genuine hope, human existence is reduced to what it always threatens to become without the gospel: a long, purposeless journey toward a door that opens onto nothing.

But because the blood was shed, because Calvary is real, because Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave and demonstrated that death itself could not hold him, everything changes. The Christian does not stand on wishful thinking.

The blood and the resurrection together produce something in the believing heart that nothing else can: the quiet, unshakeable confidence that we are held.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11

The Meaning of the Resurrection

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AMY TURNER

The Christian faith stands on the truth of Jesus rising from the dead. Without the resurrection, the message of the gospel would have no foundation, and faith would be empty. Christianity is not only a way of thinking, nor is Jesus remembered simply as a wise teacher. Believers confess him as the eternal Son of God who entered the world, took on human life, suffered, and died to bring forgiveness for sin.

Jesus himself promised that if his body was destroyed, he would bring it back to life in three days. No other person has ever broken the power of death in this way. His resurrection is not just a part of the story; it is the very core.

The statement is trustworthy: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

2 Timothy 2:11

The Promise of Resurrection Life

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AMY TURNER

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul describes Jesus as the beginning and the first to rise from the dead in a way that gives Him first place in all things. The Bible shows that other people were brought back to life, such as Lazarus, but their return was temporary. They would face death again.

Jesus, however, was raised in a different way. His resurrection was not only a return to life but a transformation. He was given a body filled with glory and strength, a body that will last forever. Scripture calls Him the first fruit from among the dead. This means He is the beginning of something greater that is promised to all who belong to Him.

When Jesus rose, He showed what lies ahead for those who trust in Him. As He was raised with a body fit for eternity, so one day His people will share in that same kind of life. The resurrection of Christ is both a victory over death and a promise of what is to come.

But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20

Hope Found in the Risen Christ

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AMY TURNER

John 20:13 tells of a moment when Mary Magdalene, heartbroken, stood outside Jesus’ empty tomb. When angels asked why she was crying, she explained her sorrow, believing someone had taken Jesus’ body. Earlier that morning, several women had come to the tomb, only to find the stone moved. Mary ran to tell Peter and John, while others remained behind.

In her grief, Mary could not recognise what was happening. Even when Jesus stood before her, she thought he was a gardener. It wasn’t until he spoke her name that she realised it was him. Sorrow had clouded her vision, keeping her from seeing what was right before her.

Many experience times when pain and worry hide the truth from them. But the resurrection reminds us that death and fear no longer hold the final word.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3