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And Death Itself Shall Die
Larry Kirkpatrick ++ Adapted from a memorial service on March 26, 2005
The Christian’s hope is the resurrection. Consider this Bible passage at 1 Corinthians 15:50-58:
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
When Paul tells us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, he is talking about corrupted flesh, damaged flesh, weakened flesh. After Adam and Eve sinned, their humanity was wounded and weakened. What did they do when God came to visit with them? Ran and hid.
When Moses went up on the mountain and met with God, what was the response of the people? Moses’ face glowed after his being in God’s presence; they could not endure even that residual glow. Moses had to wear a veil over his face. When Jesus came He took an unassuming form; He was careful to leave behind His glory. He would walk among men as a man, let people be attracted to Him because of God’s truth, and not for any outward show. He could come here and seek us, but when we turn to Him we still must undergo a dramatic change in order to enter heaven. Corruption cannot inherit incorruption.
But here is the teaching of resurrection. One day the sleep of the dead will cease. We will be changed. Jesus will come for His own. The last trumpet shall sound. That is a war trumpet; it signals the victory of Jesus and the defeat of those who joined themselves instead to selfishness. At the appearance of Jesus and His trumpet blast, all who have chosen this world perish with it. Those who have chosen God’s unselfish world realize at last the promise of eternal life. A deep rumbling is heard, the ground heaves. All nature trembles in commotion. The graves open. Dirt is thrown back, headstones flung aside. Jesus has come! He calls to His waiting ones.
And they answer.
The dead are raised. They are changed. Mortal is clothed with immortality, corruption is forever ended and incorruption is put on. The dark passage through the grave to the resurrection day is ended. The subway discloses its riders. Earth’s dark night is ending. God is winning. Death is swallowed up in victory.
God, the Bible says, is a man of war (Exodus 15:3). Listen to His promise. Speaking to death, He defies. He says, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from Mine eyes” (Hosea 13:14). He warns death that He will not repent, He will not change His mind, He will not accept death as a friend, the grave as any sweet release. These are temporary things for the reign of sin and death is temporary. The Christian’s hope is in God’s promise that He will not turn back at the last and allow death to persist. He is at war with death.
Death is an intruder. It is unnatural. We were not designed to die but to live. Death was no part of God’s ideal plan for humans and for earth. So He taunts death, He provokes it, He declares war upon it, He foretells its termination. In the words of the old Adventist hymn, “Death Itself shall die” (“And pains and groans and griefs and fears and death itself shall die.” #446 O What a Glorious Site Appears).
So comes the divine taunt: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” The book of Revelation in its first chapter includes a vision. An aging John the apostle is in exile on the island of Patmos. Perhaps he is perched on the sea shore looking out longingly from his island prison. Jesus appears. Not in front of him, but strangely, behind him. John hears suddenly the declaration, “I am alpha and omega, the first and the last.” He turns to see who is speaking and He sees and describes to us Jesus. As he falls before Him to worship, our glorified Jesus declares, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18).
Jesus died for us. He rose again by His own power of Deity. He defeated death itself. He declares to John that He, Jesus, has the keys of hell and death. Jesus has ultimate authority over hell (the grave) and death. He can open and no man can close.
He died for us. He can declare, “O death, where is your sting, O grave, where is your victory.” He has the victory. He is the Lord. The Christian who dies, dies knowing this. He knows that the life entrusted to Jesus will be renewed, for him, death is unnatural, the grave, temporary. Jesus is coming again, not incidentally for His deceased followers, but intentionally. He is coming to open up the graves once and for all.
Sin is the problem we face, not the law. The Christian agrees with God about what is right and what is wrong. He knows that the law is a thumbnail sketch of God’s perfect character. He knows he has broken that law, but he also knows that Jesus works in his heart through the Holy Spirit to change him, to prepare him for a different world. That’s what this life is for. This life is granted us to give God time to change us. He could change us in a moment, but He refuses to do that. He has given us a free will, opportunity to choose to serve Him.
And so we do. But the Christian must choose one decision at a time. The end result is a changed person, a witness to the goodness of God. Although Paul has mentioned death he in the end can say, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Christian is given the victory through Jesus. What is more special than that?
The last verse of our passage says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” The Christian has something to look forward to. We can take heart. Paul even says in another place that we do not sorrow as others do who do not have the Christian hope. Our hope is different than the imagination of the world. Yes, Christians die on battlefield earth but let us never forget they rise at the coming of their General Jesus! Although we sorrow at the decease of our loved ones, through the power of God we can be steadfast, we can be immovable, we can be always abounding in the work of the Lord.
Our living is not empty. Our lives are not just curiosities and question marks. We are not set here lacking purpose or direction. God has a hope for you and for me, He has a mission for us. He has a life for us and a place in His plan. Death is an intruder. God does not always intervene to prevent death here and now; then we would never learn how awful sin is. But He is coming, He will intervene, He will remove the stinger once and for all and death itself shall die. And His children who die in Him shall live.
This is our hope. The end is near. The trumpet call is imminent. Where are our hearts? God’s strength is available to us today. Let us too receive His peace and surrender our lives to Him for remaking. Rather than the end, this life can be the beginning. This is how we should think. This is how we should live.
Jesus declares that He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Sometimes people, even believers, live life remembering that Jesus is the beginning, but forgetting that He is the end. We should remember today that He is also the end. Because today is our day of responsibility, there is coming a day of accountability. The same justice that makes it right that Jesus raise the dead who have chosen unselfishness, makes it also right that He will in the end allow to perish those who chose selfishness. Christianity is more than societal drug. God is building people today. He is calling each of us to ready ourselves for liftoff. A different world beckons. Today is the day to begin walking with Him anew. He will strengthen, He will comfort us in sorrow, He will correct all that is broken in this world.
He will call, and all who have been laid to rest in Christ shall answer. Lord, we seek Your comfort here today. And wait. Hasten to return, and wake those who have waited. Be Alpha and Omega and Alpha again. GCO
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