"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:54-58).

Hatred and pride, the first twin babies of sin, have been roaming planet earth ever since the fall of man. Adam loved Eve, but not enough to not blame her for his bite at the forbidden fruit. Eve loved God, but not enough to not blame Him for her bite at the forbidden fruit. While Adam and Eve were having their babies, Mr. Hatred and Mrs. Pride were planning their own. Genesis 4 verse 8 presents the birth of Mr. Hatred and Mrs. Pride’s first baby whose name is “MURDER”. Murder is the first grandbaby of sin. If “Murder” is the first grandbaby of sin, “Death” must then be the great grand baby of sin.

Although the Bible does not describe the weapon used by Cain to settle his “beef” with his brother Abel, we know for certain that the tragic end result was death. As society evolved, men have made use of several other methods to settle their disputes. Some would lead to death and some not. The weapons used would vary depending on the location, culture, and nature of the disagreement. In Africa, some would use stones, arrows, and poisons. In America, break dancing and deejay competition were the weapons of the 1980’s but they did not terminate the use of knives, guns, court lawsuits, quarter mile car races, and fist fights. In most West Indian islands, the termination of a friendship would occur by the pronouncement of a few curse words.

However, in certain other countries most disputes would conclude in a very wicked and obscure manner. Rather than utilizing one of the weapons mentioned above, a bizarre potion would be used to turn the weaker opponent into a ‘zombie.’ Allow me to deeply define the word ‘zombie.’ In bars, a zombie is a drink made from Lightrum, Jamaican rum, Apricot-flavored Brandy, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, passion fruit juice and powdered sugar over crushed ice however, the human zombie results from a different recipe. It is a toxic mixture composed of puffer fish skin which contains a high dosage of tetrodoxine, dried frog skin, two dead lizards, and pulverized human bones. Nonetheless, It is confirmed by some witchcraft priests that this mixture is not always successful. When applied on the victim’s skin, this potion attacks the nervous system and immobilizes every muscle of the victim causing a death-like state. Since most inhabitants of the regions where this practice is common are aware of this process, the family of the victim would stab the body or even remove the head in order to produce death. This real death would prevent the evil priest from reactivating the intoxicated corpse back into an almost normal state. Satan, in his quest to duplicate God’s resurrection, had fooled many with his false-death and false-resurrection . A zombie is not a human brought back to life but rather it is the devil’s bootleg version of resurrection. The Biblical ‘resurrection’ is not a process nor a philosophy nor a myth nor a ceremony but it is synonymous to Jesus of Nazareth (“I am the resurrection” John 11:25).

What is resurrection?

It is most certainly not resuscitation which is the act of reviving an unconscious person as a result of a heart attack or some other dysfunctional activities of the cardio vascular system. Whether it is a cardiac resuscitation or a cardiopulmonary resuscitation also known as CPR they all are nothing more than artificial respiration. The person’s nervous system never ceased its activities. In other words, the body was still alive but not functional.

Resurrection does not conform to the Zoroastrian view which says that “if the soul’s good deeds are greater than its evil deeds, it enters paradise. If the soul’s evil deeds outweigh the good done while alive, it is cast into hell where it waits for the day of universal judgment. In cases where a soul’s good deeds equal its evil deeds, it is consigned to limbo¹.”

It is the raising of the dead (wicked or just). It is the only hope for God’s followers. Resurrection is Christ Himself. How hopeful we are to know our lives will not end at the grave. How hopeful we are to know that the devil may have put us in the grave but he will not be able to keep us in the grave. “I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Revelation 1:17-18).

Resurrection is the transition from the mortal to the immortal, the repairer of all physical abnormalities, the eliminator of all injustice, the exterminator of all imperfection; therefore, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the mute will speak, all conjoined twins will finally be separated, no more eye-glasses, no more surgeries, no more canes, no more wheelchairs, no more insulin injections, no more death threats, no more stimulus packages, no more disagreements, no more foreclosures, no more poor people, no more prisons, no more genetically engineered food, no more bill collectors, no more AIDS, no more cancer, no more lying politicians, no more fast foods, no more immoral music, no more oppressing powers. Resurrection is the metaphoric process that mimics the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. “ in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (I Corinthians 15:52).

Resurrection is the start of timelessness for the righteous. “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life”(John 6:47). “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (I John 2:17). Resurrection will put an end to all tears, all slavery, all heartaches, all false hopes, and all calamities. Resurrection is to death what water is to dry earth; Resurrection is to death what procreation is to birth; Resurrection is to death what food is to dearth.

Why are there two resurrections?

All men are created equal but not all men will resurrect as equals.

The first is for the righteous. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11). “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6). Our fear ought not to be of the first death but the second death. The resurrection of the righteous is the second greatest event of all times. For Calvary was the First Greatest event. The Greatest and only Achiever was, is, and forever will be He who conquered the Cross and the Tomb by leaving them both empty. Jesus is the only source of immortality.

The second resurrection is for the wicked. We do not want to be among this group. “ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). The second death may be ugly, but everything that leads to it is full of beauty. The cost of food is going up, the cost of tuition is going up, the cost of car insurance is going up, credit card’s interest rates are going up, everything is going up but not everyone is going up to HEAVEN.

How did Jesus give us a preview of the first resurrection?

Jesus knew that the heart of man would remain hardened despite all the inexplicable miracles He had performed. He had no choice but to demonstrate His resurrecting ability to awaken the sleeping faith of His audience as it was His Father’s will. He mentioned the reason why he had to demonstrate his power over death in the book of John: “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe” (John 11:14-15). His plan was to confirm the promise of John 11:25-26 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶ and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

Notice how God increases the impossibility of these resurrections by allowing more time to elapse between the moment of death and the miracle itself. This preplanned process between Jesus, His Father, and the Holy Spirit left no room for anyone to doubt that the Lord will have that same capability on the GREAT DAY OF RESURRECTION (Revelation 20:4-6) even though many will be in the grave for thousands of years. Let us diligently analyze these miracles. The first event, which occurred in Mark 5: 22-43, concerns a young lady who had just died (almost no time elapsed). The second event (Luke 7:12-15) involves a dead person who is being carried in a coffin to the burial ground (in those days, the dead was mourned for a least a few hours prior to funeral procession). The third event involves the death ofLazarus who was in the grave for a period of four days (John 11:17-44). The fourth event demonstrated Christ’s resurrecting power over bodies that were buried much longer than four days: Matthew 27:51-52 "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised." Just as yeast activates the bread loaf to rise, these miracles acted as the “spiritual yeast” that triggered faith within those who were once faithless.

No one needs to read the Bible to know about “death”, no one needs faith to believe that death exists. However, resurrection is a different story. Whether the world knows it or not, whether you go to church or not, whether you are faithful to your spouse or not, whether you know God or not, whether you are poor or rich, whether you are a Christian or not, whether you are mute or deaf, everyone will be resurrected. “ Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him” (Revelation 1:7). Too many people are still looking for proof. Some of us will not believe in the resurrecting ability of Christ unless Lazarus would come out of the grave a “Second Time” to reassure us of his first resurrection. Let us not fall under the umbrella of the unbelievers. Jesus spoke prophetically about those of us who do not believe by proof or sight: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20: 29).

What then if the dead is not resurrected?

Let Paul answer that question. “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. ¹⁵ Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. ²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. ²¹ For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:13-21).

I don’t know about you all but I am looking forward to “…the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). When we travel by car many things may happen on the road before we reach our final destination. The car may break down, we may run out of gas, we may encounter traffic, we might be pulled over for exceeding the speed limit, we may have to do a few stops at the rest areas; however at the sound of trumpet our ascension to the Heavenly Throne will be uninterrupted. Halleluyah!!

John G. Paton, a 19^th century missionary to the South Seas, met opposition to leaving his home in Scotland and going to preach to the cannibalistic peoples of the New Hebrides Islands off the western coast of Scotland. A well-meaning church member moaned to him, “The cannibals, the cannibals! You will be eaten by the cannibals!” Without hesitation, Paton replied, “I confess to you that if I can live and die serving my Lord Jesus-Christ, it makes no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; for in that Great Day of Resurrection, my body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer!”

“But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me.” (Psalm 49:15). “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. ²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; ²⁷ I myself will see him with my own eyes” (Job 19:25-27).

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¹ limbo : an imaginary place for lost, forgotten, or unwanted persons

Whether you are eating, drinking, singing, preaching, whatever you do, do it all for the Glory of God. Live today as if it was the last day you will live for and in Christ.

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW CHRIST!