It's Not That Hard!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

I wrote this essay being moved by the death of the young people in South Korea when the ferry overturned (April, 2014).

Also, in our church a young man was taken from us recently.

I pictured the more than 200 high-school students in the closing moments of their life, as they were gathered in one of the rooms of the ferry boat. They could not escape because of the severe list of the ship.

Gradually the majesty of Christ began to drive out the spirit of doom from Satan. One by one students fell over from lack of oxygen, only to awaken in the Presence of Christ.

When the entire group was assembled in His Presence, Christ would say something like, "Greetings to my world. I know each one of you and have a place for you in my Kingdom."

If we love high-school age young people with their vibrant voices and activities, being confident of their superior wisdom, going forth to learn the true wisdom that comes only by experiences, how do you think the Lord Jesus would feel toward them?

So if my knowledge of Christ and His attitude toward teenagers is correct, we have no cause to be concerned about those who perished with the ferry. The anguish and tragedy falls on those left behind. Yet they too will be joined with their "kids" one day if they behave themselves.

Things are so much simpler than the religions tell us.

I suppose for most of us, death is the worst thing that can happen to anybody. The patient may be on life-support for weeks Not too much of a problem. But when he dies! Ah, that is the ultimate disaster!

The truth is, death may be a welcome release from the life-support.

Such ignorance! Death is a problem for the truly wicked and for those who willfully and knowingly reject Christ when God presents Christ clearly to us. We cannot push away Him whom God has chosen to inherit all things!

People do that, you know, and the alternative to receiving and obeying Christ is Hell and the Lake of Fire. But I believe this to be the exception. I wish such people could shake hands with Satan himself, and then decide whether they wish to submit to Christ or live forever with the prince of wickedness and moral filth.

Being an older person, I am looking forward to dying, with the greatest joy, anticipation, and impatience. To think of leaving this cursed, evil world! I have been walking and talking with my Lord for many years now, and He and I live together just fine. This is because I do what He tells me to do, and His commandments always lead to righteousness, love, joy, and peace.

Do you have a better plan than that?

So the truly wicked and rebellious should be afraid of death. But the mass of mankind, including those you may be worrying about, will be happier after death than they were here in this valley of the shadow. Believe it. Christ has removed the sting from death.

And the dead are not far away. I think the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom are drawing nearer to the earth. He sure seems close to me, and some angels are also.

Don't picture your deceased loved ones as far away. They are all around you and waiting expectantly for you to come to where they are. The spirit world really is a wonderful place; not as good, however, as the world will be when the Lord comes with His saints.

Today is resurrection Sunday—Easter. As I pondered the agony of the parents in South Korea, as well as that of the family in our church who lost a son, I suddenly realized something while watching our Easter play portraying the resurrection of our Lord.

Easter should mean more to us than the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead after His crucifixion. It is telling us that physical death is not the end but the beginning of life—at least for those whose faith is anchored in the Lord Jesus.

And perhaps for others also who never heard of our Lord during their lifetime.

This idea that we will live again is without doubt the central idea of the Christian salvation. Not that we will live in Heaven, but that we will live again on the earth as a solid personality, having a body that can eat fish and whatever else tastes good.

I don't believe people who have lost a loved one through death care much about whether they see "him" or "her" again in the celestial realms. The point is to see again, and hear again, and embrace again, the one who is of such great concern to us.

We want to see that curly head, or that mischievous look, or that manly smile, or that boyish grin. We just want to see that person once more as he or she was. Forget the religious guesswork. Can you hear me?

Perhaps I am incorrect, but I do not believe any other religion has the hope of life after death that is as solid as that of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. What other religious leader conquered death?

I am not criticizing anyone's belief. I merely am pointing out that by going ahead of us, the young Jew opened the way for us to live again and, more importantly perhaps, for our loved ones to live again.

There is no other hope as important as that we will see him or her again, a baby perhaps, a school child, a husband, a wife, a grandparent. Will we see that individual again with all his or her personality traits? That is what we want to know. It is the most important question of all, unless we are taken up with some other less important interest, such as money or a talent of some kind.

The testimony of those who have had near-death experiences is that there are no old people in the spirit world. The old are young again. And why not? Growing older in outward appearance has to do with the physical body.

When we draw near to death, as I am, being almost 89 years of age, I am well aware of the importance of other people in my life. I do not really care about anything else, just the family and friends that have accompanied me on this wild ride we call "life."

I do not want those relationships to be severed, except for the few years that are necessary for us to fulfill God's will. I realize fully that relationships with God and people are all that matters. The rest are things and environment, and God can arrange those in a second or two.

Just what does John 3:16 mean anyway? "Shall not perish but have eternal life." I don't believe it means go to Heaven and not to Hell. It does not mention Heaven or Hell. It is speaking of eternal life, that is, a state of being regardless of the situation.

The term "perish" is significant, I believe. It is used in the Bible with reference to the body. I do not know if it is ever used concerning our spirit or soul. The Bible does say we can lose our soul by sinning. It says also we must purge the filthiness from our spirit.

But I think "perish" applies primarily to the body. It is the body that is resurrected into immortality, or ends up in a most undesirable and permanent state.

And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind. (Isaiah 66:24)

Perhaps this is what it means when it promises "shall not perish but have eternal life."

And as for "eternal life":

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (I Corinthians 15:53,54)

So maybe John 3:16 is not speaking about Heaven at all but about the resurrection unto incorruptible bodily life of those who put to death the misdeeds of their body.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

Wouldn't it be a surprise if we discovered our salvation has to do primarily with our body! We are so accustomed to thinking about salvation in "spirit" terms. We have made eternal residence in the spirit Heaven the goal of redemption. We do not seem to care too much about what happens to our body.

The truth probably is that we actually are more concerned with our body than we are with our spirit, in spite of all our religious talk.

It may be true that our religious beliefs are somewhat warped in this area.

You notice that Satan and his demons are attracted to the earth and the human body. They may be more aware of the value of the human body than we are, and are jealous because they do not have one.

Did you know your body is the temple of the Spirit of God?

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! (I Corinthians 6:15)

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (I Corinthians 6:19,20)

We talk about our spirit going to Heaven. Sometimes the "rapturists" say we will just drop the body and rise (our spirit) to Heaven. The truth is, what we really care about is our body.

Think about it. Our physical body is a member of Christ. Our body is a temple of the Spirit of God. The Kingdom of God has to do with the things of Heaven entering that which is physical. When God saw what He had created He said it was very good. He has not changed His mind. He is going to resurrect what He made originally, but only in Christ.

For that matter, if we really are serving Christ, our spirit already is at the right hand of the Father in Christ.

But I am departing from my topic in this essay. I am trying to give hope to those who have been separated from their loved ones by death. Now I am getting into demands which our deceased loved one likely has never met, unless he or she is called to be one of God's elect, a member of the Royal Priesthood. I will explain what I mean in a minute.

This is a dilemma, isn't it? I have spent the last sixty years pondering this very issue. Why did the Apostle Paul set such a high standard for us ("I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.") If this is what it takes to go to Heaven, there will be many unused spaces there because so few people among Christians meet Paul's standards, let alone those who never heard the Gospel.

And a Bride without spot, wrinkle, or blemish of any kind! Whoa!

Paul was seeking to attain to the resurrection from the dead, and urging us to do likewise. Yet he (Paul, can you imagine) said he had not attained his goal. So where does that leave us? Where does that leave the Sally or Armand that we are so concerned about, who were not intense Christians?

The conclusion I have come to, and believe me I have Scriptural support or I would not mention it, is that saved people, by "saved" I mean eligible to be permitted to be a citizen of the new world of righteousness, are in two distinct categories.

First, there is the Royal Priesthood, or true Israel, the Seed of Abraham.

Second, there is the multitude of people drawn from the nations who are the inheritance of Christ and the Priesthood.

Paul devoted much of his writing to the elect, that is, to those whom God has called to be members of the Royal Priesthood.

But the great multitude of people who also are saved to eternal life in their body are not required to meet the demands made of the Israel of God. All that is required of them is that when God confronts them with the Lord Jesus they receive and obey Him.

Let me compare two passages so you will see what I mean when I maintain that the New Testament, when it speaks of salvation, is addressing two classes of people.

First, those who are not of the Royal Priesthood but who will populate the new world of righteousness:

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)

That's all. Just believe and be baptized. And I think this will apply to those who have lived and died and through no fault of their own have never heard the Gospel. While deceased and in the spirit world, if they are confronted with Christ, and believe in Him and obey Him, they will be saved.

Everyone who is saved to eternal life has to do what Christ says, whether they are a member of the elect or just citizens of the new world of righteousness. Absolute obedience to Christ is required of every saved person.

I understand only too well that many Bible teachers will disagree with my position, stating that if an individual does not "accept Christ" while living on the earth he or she cannot be saved.

Imagine a little girl who has died from malnutrition in some foreign land who never has heard the Gospel. She stands before Jesus. Jesus says, "Little girl, you never have accepted me. Therefore you must go to Hell."

Little Maria says, "Jesus, I never heard of you, how could I accept you?"

The Lord Jesus says, "Maria has never accepted me. Away with her into the fire."

The holy angels thunder, "Just and true are your judgments, O mighty God."

Little Maria screams in terror, seeing the demons waiting to receive her.

Her sin was, she never had heard the Gospel.

This is what I was taught in Bible school as the reason for launching out into missionary work.

This is so unjust I really doubt the clarity of mind of those who take such a position.

Not too long ago a teacher in a Christian school advised one of the students that a stillborn sibling of his was not saved because the baby had not accepted Christ.

You can see from the above why I do not have a great deal of faith in current teaching.

The second class of saved people are those who are called to the Royal Priesthood.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1,2)

The New Testament contains numerous exhortations directed toward the people who have been called to be members of the Royal Priesthood. They are not just required to believe in Jesus Christ; rather they are to offer their bodies as living sacrifices that they might prove the will of God for themselves.

They absolutely must decide to set aside their own lives that Jesus Christ might live in them, in their thinking, speaking, and behaving. Anything less than this is not acceptable for a member of the Royal Priesthood. These are God's kings who will govern the works of His hands for a thousand years.

Can you see how the requirement for being a member of the Royal Priesthood is different from the demands imposed on the multitude of people of the saved nations who are required only to believe in Christ and be baptized in water?

Recently a young man of our congregation sought to enter the Special Forces of the United States Navy. He was one of the 39 applicants who passed the tests. The remainder of the 200 who applied were kept in the Navy but were not allowed to continue in the training that the members of the Special Forces were required to undergo.

Perhaps it is this way with God's Israel. If you do not pass the rigorous tests administered to those who are called to the Royal Priesthood, you will be returned to the ranks of the saved. I venture this with caution, because to those to whom much has been entrusted, much shall be required.

There is a problem with this solution. The aspiring member of the Special Forces was not chosen for that position. He or she was only a candidate who had to pass certain tests.

In the case of the Royal Priesthood, the believer is not a candidate. His or her calling is to be a member of the Body of Christ, a governing priest whose ordained destiny is to bring the Presence of God to people.

He is not a candidate for this role. He has been chosen from the beginning of the world by the Lord for the role of ruling priest.

If he chooses instead to lead a secular life, or to remain a nominal Christian, he or she may not be permitted to then return to the ranks of the saved people of the nations. The individual may be barred from the Kingdom of God.

I am thinking now of the person who did not use the talent he was given. He had been chosen to be a ruler, if you will notice. Christ did not say, "You have lost your inheritance as a ruler but you will be received into the new world of righteousness."

Rather, Jesus referred to him as a wicked, lazy servant and sent him into the outer darkness.

In the light of this parable, I am not able to say with confidence that if a member of God's elect chooses not to live as a holy one, a saint, he or she may be released to join the ranks of the saved people of the nations.

Also, think about the destiny of the five foolish virgins. They were not careful to maintain the Presence of the Spirit of God in their life.

As I stated previously, to whom much has been given, of that individual much shall be required.

Now, why all this discussion about the two classes of the saved, the members of the Royal Priesthood (whom we might compare with King David's "mighty men,") and the multitude of the saved, who are the inheritance of Christ and His "mighty men."

Our purpose in this essay is to give hope to those who fear death or who have lost a loved one, not to discuss the two classes of the saved. But someone reading Paul's exhortations to the saints might conclude there is no way their loved one can be saved because he did not meet these conditions. But it simply is not that hard for someone who is not a member of God's Israel, that is, of those chosen to represent God.

There will be a great multitude of decent folks who will be brought into the new world of righteousness as the inheritance of the elect. Christ has promised to "divide the spoil with the strong."

The "spoil" are the people who were not wicked or malicious. Neither were they called to be members of the priesthood. The "strong" are those believers who, through Christ, have continued to do His will no matter what came against them. These victorious saints will inherit the "spoil."

I have learned from experience that the only inheritance of true and lasting value is people. Perhaps that has not been shown to you as yet.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

Your loved ones might be in this group, who are the inheritance of Christ and His co-heirs. In this instance they will be helped to gain righteousness, love, peace, and joy by those who have inherited them.

It is the aggregate of the Spirit-filled bodies of the Royal Priesthood that is the new Jerusalem. The description of the new world of righteousness, found in the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation, is portraying a genuine city, I believe.

But there is no doubt that much of the description is symbolic, telling us of the Presence of God that the members of the Royal Priesthood will bring to saved mankind.

The members of the Royal Priesthood are the Tabernacle of God that will reveal God to the saved people of the nations.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." (Revelation 21:3)

Please stop for a minute and consider the verse above.

What is "God's dwelling place"?

The reference is to the new Jerusalem.

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