The Great Resurrection
In Memory of Pastor Robb's Aunt - A Devout Christian Woman
The founder of a new religion asked the great French diplomat,
Talleyrand, for advice on how to make converts. Talleyrand said, "I should
recommend that you get yourself crucified, and then die. But be sure to rise
again on the third day."
Suppose you turned on your TV this morning and heard Dan
Rather deliver the following "Special Report," via satellite, from
Jerusalem:
This morning, in the Holy City, a shocking
announcement was made that a body, positively identified as that of Jesus
Christ, was found in a long-neglected tomb just outside the city limits. Rumors
had been circulating all week that a very important discovery had been made. But
this mind-boggling news far outstrips anything we had imagined. The initial
reaction of Christians around the world has been a mixture of bewilderment and
disbelief. No official Church pronouncements have been made as yet, but there
are reports of urgent closed-door meetings being held all over the world. We
will just have to wait and see what effect this discovery will have on the
two-thousand-year-old religion. Some religious commentators already have stated
privately that it appears Christianity will have to take its place on the same
level with other religions of the world. No longer can its followers claim that,
unlike other religions, the tomb of its Founder is empty. Evidently, a
two-thousand-year-old myth has been exploded!
(New Century Version) And if Christ has not been raised, then
our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing.
WORTHLESS
If that is true then - our religion - this Gospel of Christ
has no more value then the idols of the heathen.
Multitude of saints have looked toward the resurrection day
Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. (14) Who gave himself
for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works.
There would be no resurrection for us if Christ did not first
conquer death and rose from the grave.
Stand up again
the core of our belief
Job
Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (26) And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”
How do we know
Israel
Covenant
Hebrews 10:10 “By the which will we are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11)And every priest
standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which
can never take away sins. (12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins for ever, sat own on the right hand of God. (13) From henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (14) For by one offering he
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (15) Whereof the Holy Ghost
also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, (16) This is the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put
my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; (17) And their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (18) Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. (19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) By a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(21) And having an high priest over the house of God; (22) Let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 8:6 “But now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was
established upon better promises. (7) For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (8) For finding
fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (9)
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they
continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. (10) For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (11) And
they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (12) For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. (13)In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the
first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed.”
Not just a spirit
every cell
The body it self shall be resurrected - not a clone, not a
copy or duplicate
Ephesians 5:32 “This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the church.”
Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (26) And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”
Luke 24:1 “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in
the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had
prepared, and certain others with them. (2) And they found the stone rolled away
from the sepulcher. (3)And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord
Jesus.”
Luke 24:23 “And when they found not his body, they came,
saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was
alive.”
Luke 24: 36 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in
the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (37) But they were
terrified and affrighted *, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. (38) And
he said unto them, Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your
hearts? (39) Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and
see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (40) And when he
had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. (41) And while they yet
believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
(42) And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. (43) And
he took it, and did eat before them.”
I Cor. 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.”
Final call
John 5:25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is
coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
they that hear shall live.” (26) For as the Father hath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. (27)And hath given him
authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. (28)Marvel not
at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall
hear his voice. (29)And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation.”
2 Ti 1:10 “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel”
John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished
the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with
thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
John 19:30 “It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave
up the ghost.”
1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory?”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first
The Great Resurrection
Recently my Aunt passed away and went to be with the Lord. She
was the wife of my mother’s brother. Often times we hear of “Southern
Hospitality,” and while I don’t want to anger our southern readers I want to
mention that my Aunt from Detroit possessed the charm, grace and hospitality of
a true lady. Hospitality, grace and charm have more to do with how you were
raised than where you were born.
But, more importantly she was a Christian.
She had been ill for some time and as the time for her
departure drew near I began to think about the resurrection which we Christians
view as one of the core tenants of our faith. Biblical Christians hold dear, the
resurrection of the dead and the redemptive power of the blood of Jesus shed on
Calvary which makes the resurrection possible. If there is no resurrection then
our faith is of no more value than any other philosophy for living.
The Apostle Paul said, “And if Christ has not been raised,
then our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing,” (New
Century Translation).
If there is no resurrection then - our religion - this Gospel
of Christ has no more value then the idols of the heathen.
Multitude of saints have looked toward the
resurrection day
Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
The word resurrection means to “stand up again.”
Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (26) And though after my
skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”
I think many Christians overlook the full impact of the
resurrection. Many people think being a Christian simply means you now have an
eternal living spirit. But if that is all there is to it then the resurrection
loses its impact. The resurrection seems to lose its purpose if the dead in
Jesus have already been given some new spiritual body.
I think we need to understand that the resurrection is a
resurrection of OUR BODY. It will not be a clone, duplicate or a replacement.
Our very bodies will be resurrected to life. Our decayed bodies will be
restored. Your hands, feet and body will receive the life pulsating power of
Almighty God. It will not matter if your body has just entered the grave or if
it has been totally decayed. The power of God will move into the very rudiments
of life and bring your molecules and cells back together in an instance, in the
twinkling of an eye and you will stand up again, (resurrected)!
1 Corinthians 15:35 “But some man will say, How are the
dead raised up ? and with what body do they come?”
Ephesians 5:32 “This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the church.”
Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”
How was Jesus raised from the dead? Was it only a spirit? After the
resurrection his disciples at first thought he was a spirit, but he told them,
a spirit has not “flesh and bones as I have.”
As we can see from these next couple of verses it was HIS BODY that came up
out of the tomb. So in the same manner will OUR BODY come out of the grave. I
can’t explain how it is going to happen. The Apostle Paul said it was a “great
mystery.”
Luke 24:1 “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in
the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had
prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away
from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not
the body of the Lord Jesus.”
Luke 24:23 “And when they found not his body, they
came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was
alive.”
Luke 24: 36 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in
the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were
terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said
unto them, Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ”
I Cor. 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.”
John 5:25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is
coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
they that hear shall live.” For as the Father hath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. And hath given him authority
to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this:
for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
As Christians we have the testimony of Scripture that Jesus
rose from the dead and conquered death. We are also given the assurance that
because Jesus conquered death we can also be heirs of this grace and receive
eternal life. With that comes the resurrection.
But for most Christians all this is based on faith. And while
we are certainly instructed in scripture to increase our faith, we must
understand that the way we increase our faith is through the study of His Word.
How Can We Know
How do we know that God is going to keep his word. He says he
will give us eternal life. He says our bodies will be resurrected from the
grave. But how do we KNOW that he will keep His word.
Judeo-Christians tell us we must have faith.
They tell us the foundation of our faith must in it self be
faith.
But our faith should be built upon the solid rock of His
testimony revealed in history - HIS-Story!
Do We Know?
How DO we know? Is it because the Bible says so? No! We know
because God KEEPS his word! He keeps his covenants, he keeps his commandments
and He keeps His promises. Contrary to what most Judeo-Christians say, (“Christ
came to save sinners”), Romans 15:8 says Christ came “to fulfill the
promises made unto the fathers.” The saving of sinners (Israel-Matt. 1:23)
was in keeping with the covenant with Israel, because Israel was covenanted unto
God to be His people. They were and are God’s inheritance (Psa 33:12, Ex 19,
Isa 44:1) They (Israel) are His people and the “Sheep of His pasture”
(Psa 89:18) Christ is the “good shepherd that giveth His life for His sheep
(Israel),” John 10:11. Luke 1:72 tells us the coming of Christ proved God
remembered His Holy covenant with Abraham.
We are told in Romans 9 that the adoption, the glory, the
covenants, the law, the service of God and the promises were given to ISRAEL!
And in Psa 147:19 we are told that God has shown His word to
ISRAEL and that he has NOT done so with any other nation!
There are many other scriptures we could look at but the point
should be quite clear to Christians. God will keep His covenant.
Therefore we can have faith in the resurrection because we can
look at history and establish our faith.
In fact the whole integrity of Jesus Christ hinges on whether
or not he will keep His covenant with Israel.
Judeo-Christians says he has not.
But let’s briefly look at history.
Christianity is the TRUE religion and the white race are God’s
people (Israel)!
How do I know that? It is simple! Look at the nations of the
world. Can you name a single first world nation that is not white and not
Christian. There is none with perhaps the exception of Japan which, may be under
a natural blessing because it has a strong racial consciousness, (God’s law!).
Can you name a single white Christian nation that is viewed as
a 3rd world nation. No - again!
God has blessed our people. How has the God of India blessed
their nation? Or the God of China or of Africa. Name a single non-white nation
that has been blessed by their heathen Gods. The people in these nations live in
squalor when compared to the standard of living we take for granted.
Truly! our God is an awesome God!
God’s covenant with Israel promised they would be a
multitude of nations, a blessing to the world, mighty in military power and that
they would fill the earth with the praises of God. The sons and daughters of
Europe are the only ones who can fulfill these marks of Israel.
Our people have done all that and more. There is hardly a
place a person can go in the white world and not hear the praises of Jesus
Christ on a TV program or Christian radio station. There have been hundreds of
thousands of Gospel songs written praising God. We sing songs of his birth,
songs of his life, songs of his death, songs of his resurrection, songs of his
love, songs of his power, songs of his Spirit, songs of his blood, songs of his
forgiveness and songs of his grace. We could not live long enough to sing all
the songs that our people offer up to God in praise. And they are still being
written. Everyday new songs to the glory and majesty of God are being written
and sung. It seems that our people (who Judeo-Christians ignorantly call
Gentiles) can not get enough. We cannot write enough Gospel songs, sing enough
Gospel songs or listen to enough Gospel songs to satisfy our soul. There seems
to be an unquenchable need for our people to praise God. Songs of praise for
Jesus Christ pour out of our racial soul like a spring pouring forth its waters
upon the desert.
The evidence is all about us. The blessings of abundant wealth
from the sea and the land and the mountains have been placed at our disposal.
The blessings of science, education, free enterprise, self-government and more
have been poured upon our people.
God has indeed kept his covenant with Israel.
We see it all about us!
We can prove it daily.
Jesus Christ was a part of the covenant, a fulfillment of the
promises given to our fathers.
God is not a liar and He has indeed kept His covenant with
Israel. Therefore we can have the solid unshakable faith of His willingness and
His ability to keep His covenant with us giving us the assurance of our
salvation and resurrection.
The power of that covenant will also be displayed on the day
of resurrection.
Throughout the Bible we are a reminded time and time again
that God is a COVENANT KEEPING GOD!
Judeo-Christians with their NEW AGE brotherhood of man
teachings, claim that God gave up on the Jews and went to the Gentiles. However
for those of us who understand our identity, we rest upon the sure word of Holy
Scripture - GOD KEEPS HIS COVENANTS!
2 Ti 1:10 “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our
Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel”
1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory?”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first
Hebrews 10:10 “By the which will we are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11)And every priest
standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which
can never take away sins. (12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins for ever, sat own on the right hand of God. (13) From henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (1)4For by one offering he
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (15) Whereof the Holy Ghost
also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, (16) This is the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put
my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; (17) And their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (18) Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. (19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) By a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(21) And having an high priest over the house of God; (22) Let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 8:6 “But now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was
established upon better promises. (7) For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (8) For finding
fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (9)
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they
continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. (10) For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (11) And
they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (12) For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. (13)In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the
first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed.”
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