CHRIST RISEN FROM DEAD PART 2 FOUNDATION OF BIBLE TRUTH.

Three times our beloved lord claimed that ‘He would raise up His own at the last day.’ Only the triumphant Son of God could make such an extraordinary assertion.

No man would assert this! Indeed it was the will of the Father Who sent the Lord Jesus, ’That of all He has given to Christ, He would lose nothing but should raise up that one at the last day.’ The promise is reinforced by the assurance that the Lord Jesus would lose none of His precious ones. (John 6:39) We are safe for eternity.

He added,’ This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in Him may have everlasting life, with the repeated promise, ’I will raise him up at the last day.’ (v40) The resurrection body will be furnished with everlasting life. Allied with this is the Father’s drawing power, for ’No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (v44) The Father attracts us, as a magnet with iron, drawing us by His Holy Spirit, promising the resurrection wonder at the last day. We are privileged people.

Ezekiel prophesied of the rising again of a nation of individuals in the 37^th chapter under the title ’When dry bones live.’ ‘The Spirit of the Lord came upon me and brought me out and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of dry bones.’ The situation appeared hopeless. (v1) ‘There were many of them in the open valley; and indeed, they were very dry.’(v2) All life had dried up; they were white, shrivelled, and faded. When the Lord enquired, ’Can these bones live? ’O, Lord God, you know’ was his cautious answer. How would you respond?

The Lord commanded Ezekiel to ‘Prophesy to these bones, saying to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ So the bones could hear and respond to God’s call. Resurrection promise followed, ‘Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.’ (v5) The lungs will function again with life-giving energy, and the dead shall breathe once more. The musculo-skeletal system will operate again,

“I will put sinews (tendons) on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin

(a total skin graft, by the heavenly Plastic Surgeon) and put breath in you; and you shall live.’ Every word was measured. The final declaration,’ Then you shall know I am the Lord.’ (v6) The Father longs to bring us into a close walk with HIM.

‘’I prophesied as I was commanded,’ there was a noise, suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. (v7) Every bone of the 206 in each adult body differs from the others. Only our Creator could reassemble a valley of dry bones and reconstitute them. Commonly, in post-graduate surgical investigations, examiners will request a full discussion of a rib, with neighbouring structures. The wonder of resurrection life evidenced as ’the sinews (tendons for movement) and the flesh came upon them, and the skin (our Lord is the superlative plastic Surgeon) covered them over, but there was no breath in them (v8).

Christ does more than CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). When the Lord spoke, ’Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ ’So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came upon them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.’ (v10). The mystery was solved. ’Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.’ They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost; and we ourselves are cut off.’

‘Thus says the Lord, ’Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ’Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves. Recognise HE is the resurrection. ’ Furthermore, the miracle is complemented, as the Lord said, ’I will put MY Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your land. You shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord. ’ (v14).

This specified Israel as a nation, restored within their land in 1948 through the Balfour Declaration. Their language was preserved, Old Testament Scripture guarded, their customs intact, and parliament established. Yet, the conversion to Christ (Yeshua) of individual believers is ever-increasing as the second coming of our Christ approaches. Resurrection of individuals as well as this nation is implied in this marvellous chapter.

God’s word warns that in this generation manywill vigorously challenge this priceless truth. ‘Hymenaeus and Philetus’ message will spread like cancer’ (this is sadly understood in the realm of medicine with secondaries from malignancy), ’Who have strayed from the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.’ (2 Timothy 2:17,18)

Why should the devil wipe out this consolidating fact, when we can readily authenticate His death, burial and resurrection? Why attack Jonah’s experience of three days and nights in the belly of the big fish; when our Lord Jesus confirmed it as identical with His own experience?

Paul shocked the Athenians on the Areopagus, claiming ‘God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness, by the MAN, whom He has ordained. ’ Of course this is our beloved Lord. ‘He has given assurance of this to all, by raising HIM from the dead.’ They riled at Paul on hearing this liberating fact; ‘When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked,’ while others procrastinated, ‘We will hear you again on this matter. ‘(Acts 17:31, 32) Why are we so reluctant to believe this glorious truth, when the resurrection of Christ is clearly documented in scripture; and confirmed by every faithful believer?

YOU HAVE A RISEN, LIVING, CONQUERING LORD.

LIVE IN THE POWER OF HIS GLORIOUS RESURRECTION VICTORY.