Everlasting Life Conquers Death

Through a resurrection of the dead, God promises to reunite us with loved ones and offer eternal life to all.
Eventually God’s plan will lead to death itself being destroyed in an awesome future almost beyond our comprehension!

Death has always been humanity’s enemy. It brings loneliness, sadness, disorientation. But it need not be a mystery nor be entirely devastating. Even though it is inevitable, death is not the end. Though at times death seems unfair and arbitrary, it does not thwart God’s plan for eternal life. Through a resurrection God will reunite us with family and friends and extend His promises to all who have ever lived.

Eventually there will come a time when death itself will be banished. Writing about the resurrection that will take place when Jesus returns, Paul paraphrased from the book of Hosea: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades [grave] where is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:53-55). Death will be swallowed up and defeated in the victory of eternal life.

Holding on to this view of the future can give us hope and optimism at a time of great loss. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

A future beyond our wildest hopes

Some people are put off by the thought of eternal life. Some feel this life is painful and difficult enough, so why would anyone want to live forever? Others may think that eternity sounds vague and uninteresting, that if it means they have to give up pleasure in this lifetime it just isn’t worth the effort. They would rather experience all the good times they can for now and worry about eternity some other time.

In all the scriptures we’ve read we’ve seen that God wants to give us an everlasting, eternal, immortal life. We are assured that it is more valuable than any physical treasure (Colossians 1:26-27; Colossians 2:2-3). But exactly what will we be doing for eternity? If receiving eternal life requires effort and sacrifice in this life, is it going to be worth it?

Let’s remember the limitations of our human experience and observation. God is so far above us that it’s difficult for us to understand His ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). What God is preparing to give us is beyond our wildest imaginations and fantasies: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

God is Creator. He plans, builds, implements. He designed the universe and devised His plan and our reward before He even started creating it (Matthew 25:34). He is planning and preparing an infinitely more exciting and rewarding life for us in His divine family (John 14:1-3). We can only try to begin to imagine the incredible and eternally enjoyable life He wants to give us—an eternal life free from human limitations and disappointments, weaknesses and suffering.

Pain, disappointment and death will be no more. Regarding the vision he received of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1), the apostle John wrote: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

From Revelation 21 and 22 we learn that those who receive eternal life will be a family, the children of God, with community relationships in the New Jerusalem. Relationship principles that God is teaching us now will be as applicable then as they are today. That is why God wants us to learn and apply His ways in our lives now. What we can take with us for all eternity is our love and concern for one another.

The full hope and meaning of an eternal existence with God and Jesus Christ is truly beyond our ability to grasp or express. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

John states that God hasn’t revealed everything that He has in mind for us, as we can’t yet conceive of what it means to be fully like the glorified Jesus Christ. Our finite minds couldn’t contain it.

We have seen prophecies that take us into the future about 1,000 years beyond Christ’s promised return. As Paul wrote, we see spiritual concepts and promises in a kind of vague outline as if we were looking through a steamed-up mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12). But someday, as Paul also says in this verse, we will see clearly—just as clearly as God sees everything about us.


God bless you all.
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