STAND FIRM: Heaven is Better Than We Can Imagine (Part 6)
In the age to come, the Bible is clear that we’re not just souls floating on clouds. When a believer passes, their soul is with the Lord in what Jesus called paradise, but at His return, those who are dead and saved will have their bodies resurrected and made new. Those who are alive at that time will be raptured and given new bodies. One of the amazing things is that those bodies are going to be immortal. Therefore, as we reign with Jesus in His kingdom on earth, we will be immortal while there are also survivors from the end of the age that are mortal. How wild is that!
We’re not left in the dark about these bodies. In the previous article, we looked at how we will be identifiable in the age to come. One of the major places we draw this understanding from is the example of Jesus after His resurrection. Jesus was on the earth in His new immortal resurrected body for 40 days. Looking at His resurrected body, we can begin to gather a glimpse into our future selves. Scripture encourages this. Jesus was called the first fruit of the resurrection. He was even resurrected on the Feast of First Fruits.
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him” (I Cor. 15:20-23 NIV).
Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection. Here are five things that can be seen about His new, resurrected body (and by the way, did you catch this new body will not die?):
• Jesus walked through walls in His resurrected body. “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’” (John 20:19). (Wouldn’t this be fun? Well, not if someone walks in on you unannounced.) We can’t say for certain that our model will have all the Jesus features (He is the Son of God after all), but the Bible goes to great lengths to point out that He is the first fruit. Jesus walked right through the wall of the upper room. He likely didn’t even have to have the stone rolled away from the tomb.
• Jesus disappeared in His resurrected body. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight” (Luke 24:30-31). The context of this account is Jesus walking home with the believers from Emmaus. At first, they did not recognize Him, but immediately after He allowed them to know who He was, He disappeared. Again, we’re not told we get this feature, but Jesus did.
• Jesus said we would shine. “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matt. 13:43). “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus” (Luke 9:30-31). I included two passages, one in which Jesus straightforwardly said we would shine in the kingdom. Someone could make a case that He might not mean that literally, and He might not, but it is interesting that at the Transfiguration it is recorded that Jesus shined. This may not be merely a glimpse of what His resurrected body might be, but of the fullness of His glory when He returns. Revelation 1 and 19 give a strikingly more powerful view of Jesus post-resurrection, and He definitely has features that the resurrected Saints following Him don’t. In this example on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah also shined. Their states could be debated as well. Since Jesus had not been resurrected as the first fruit, they are likely not in that state. Interesting possibility though!
• Jesus looked normal at times in His resurrected body. “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:15-16). The whole previous article was dedicated to how we will look like us in the age to come. Therefore, our resurrected body will look normalish. Jesus was recognized as He appeared multiple times to the disciples. The example above is in the context of Jesus traveling with the disciples on the road of Emmaus again. Jesus looked unassuming during that interaction. This truth needs to be balanced with the potential of our new bodies shining.
• Jesus ate in His resurrected body. “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence” (Luke 24:40-43). To the relief of foodies like me, Jesus ate after His resurrection. There are multiple references of Jesus having food after His resurrection. He broke bread with the believers in Emmaus. He had a fish fry with Peter back at the Sea of Galilee. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because, at the Last Supper, Jesus promised He would drink the fruit of the vine with them in His kingdom. In the Book of Revelation, He invites us to say yes to Him and He will dine with us. This is more than symbolic of salvation because in the age to come, we will have the opportunity to dine with Him.
— Jake is the newest state missionary and would love to share about the work in Northwest Arkansas and encourage your church to stand firm. (standfirmministries.com)
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Jake McCandless
Jake McCandless authors a weekly column titled, Stand Firm and Live Epic, through which he seeks to encourage the modern church to not just survive, but thrive in current times. He also addresses many end-times topics.
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