Voices In The Wilderness!

We recently discussed the topic of the Resurrection and what that meant for Christians. The change that occurred throughout history once Jesus died and was resurrected. Prior to Christ’s Resurrection, people believed it was the end, darkness. However, after Christ’s Resurrection there was salvation, hope, and life. 

Today, in this age, many of us experienced a family member, friend, or loved one passing or transitioning. And, unlike times of old, we as Christians understand that we can now react differently than those without hope. We in this time after Christ’s Resurrection are comforted and have hope in the future, believing our departed are now with the Lord. So, let’s actually talk about what happens and seek to understand this from a biblical perspective. 

Biblical Historical Perspective

To begin, we must first understand the Bible and its translations. We’ll begin with the Septuagint (LXX), which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament used in Jesus’ era. The Old Testament written in Greek was widely used in the time of Jesus as well as the early church. This is important because the LXX can be commonly thought of as a bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament language and theology. In the Greek, LXX refers to 70 because it’s stated that around 70 Jewish scholars translated the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. It is also understood to have happened around the 3rd -2nd century B.C., in Alexandria, Egypt. 

All of this matters, because we will briefly look at the Greek translation (LXX) or the Septuagint to understand how it impacts our belief of the spirit today. 

Let’s quickly look at how the language and meaning impacted Christian understanding of life and death, then resurrection. 

Ecclesiastes 12:7 “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit (πνεῦμα) returns to God who gave it.” The word, spirit or “Pneuma”, means breath, spirit or wind and is the immaterial aspect of a person or related to God. The understanding is reinforced in Acts 7:59-60, when Stephen is stoned, “he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit (πνεῦμα)…when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

When We Die

Now, given the context, we can understand that the spirit will immediately go to be with the Lord, and the consciousness will remain intact.  Let us be clear, a saved person does not wait unconsciously until resurrection, but is in the spiritual sense immediately in the presence of the Lord.  For further validation, we can also reference Luke 23:43, “And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” This scripture also validates an immediate transition to the spiritual; however, this is not the final resurrected form! 

The Glorified Body – The Final State

The Final state is mentioned in the scripture several times, and is described as a glorified body.  After the resurrection of Christ, the scriptures share many instances of Jesus being seen, but sometimes not recognized (Luke 24:13-31, The Road to Emmaus, John 20:14-16, Mary Magdalene).  Additionally, He has a different form or body. We will see in some of the instances in the scriptures that He eats, shows His hands and sides and invites (doubting) Thomas to touch His wounds. These instances highlight the new “glorified” or resurrected body and Jesus is the model for what is to come for the Saved. Luke 24:36 -43, “Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them…But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit…He showed them His hands and His feet…so they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb…He took it and ate in their presence”. This will occur in the Second Coming of Jesus, which is stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall be with the Lord.” 

Finally, the glorified body will have the following attributes:

1) Incorruptible – it will not decay 

2) Immortal – meaning it will not die 

3) Glorious -no sin, no sickness

The new glorified body will be in the similitude as Jesus’ resurrected body. 

Let us have no doubt, there is hope for the saved, and death for the believer is simply a transition to another aspect of life. So, let us rejoice, and not fear, but have hope for your journey is far from over after death. 

Remember, the Gospel is good news for all situations!