And I will raise him up at the last day
And I will raise him up at the last day: Your reward for being faithful to Jesus in this life
There are many points of view on what happens to believers when their time on Earth is over, be it physical death, or being removed from this world while alive. The former has applied to just about every person ever to live on the Earth. With a few exceptions, they all died. Enoch and Elijah are two examples of people who according to the Bible did not die natural deaths but were taken to heaven alive.
The purpose of this week’s lesson is not to argue the point of the rapture, whether it be pre-, mid-, or post-tribulation, or even the very theology of the rapture, but simply to look at the promise God has made to believers. Even if we experience physical death, we will be raised to spend eternity in God’s kingdom, and this is a fact. Read John Chapter Six and then continue here. To summarise, Jesus speaks to the masses that had been fed the previous day. He tells then that the bread that they ate is just temporary, but that He is the Bread of Life, and that he who takes substance from Him, will never hunger again. He continues to state that it is the will of the Father that Jesus will raise up each believer at the last day. Note that many versions of the Bible use the preposition at when on is implied.
39And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. – John 6:39
40And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. – John 6:40
44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. – John 6:44
54Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. – John 6:54
Four times in a very short space, Jesus mentions to his disciples and the crowd that He will raise up the believer at the last day. What are the conditions to be raised up, according to these four verses? The person must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God so that he may have eternal life. The same person must be drawn to Jesus by the Father. He must associate with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to have eternal life. In short, he must be reborn, according to what Jesus told Nicodemus in chapter three. If these conditions are met, the person will be raised up at the last day. The question is the way the person will be raised up, and what “the last day” refers to.
We need to first understand that the word εσχατη ημερα used in the original Greek refers to one day, not days. Thus, this is a very specific day, and a very especial event will have to take place. Even if a person dies in Christ before this day, at the last day, he will be raised and transformed with an immortal body, as flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Those who are still alive on this day, will be transformed in the same way.
The last day refers to the end of the dispensation of grace (the church age) that we are in now. Once this period has ended, the church’s work on Earth is finished, and believers are transformed and taken to Heaven. Since we do not know the future, we cannot in any way determine the length of this period and therefore we have to be ready for this day as it can occur at any time. After this, the wrath of God is poured out on an unbelieving world.
Many people argue that Jesus never taught the theology of the rapture, and thus this event cannot be assumed from His teaching. The rapture is an event that God revealed to Paul years later, but this does not mean that Jesus did not know about it.
50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In 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. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. – 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Paul first confirms that mere flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Why would this be? We were formed to function on Earth in this life – breathe air, be affected by gravity, and experience time and space. God’s kingdom, where we as believers are headed, does not need any of this. In His kingdom there is no oxygen, there is no gravity, and time and space do not exist. As such man in his earthly state cannot function there. We cannot even overcome the limitations on Earth – if you do not get oxygen, you suffocate. Ask anyone who has been in space. If you fall from a height, it probably kills you, as gravity ultimately wins. You are currently bound to time (you grow, age, and die) and space (you function in relation to the physical world around you).
Paul refers to what is to come as a mystery, something that was not previously known but which God revealed to him. He explains that we will be changed, but changed from what? We are going to be changed so that our mortal bodies are able to escape the confines of Earth, and are able to function in God’s domain, Heaven. Once this has happened, the mortal, corruptible body, becomes immortal and incorruptible. Immortal means it cannot die. Incorruptible means that the body you have now will be changed so that there is no growing old anymore, with all the things that go with growing old.
God revealed this to Paul, and he shares it with the church through his letters. This is an example of progressive revelation in the Bible. That Jesus did not teach it, does not mean He did not know about it. He knew it very well, but the true extent would be revealed later.
Conclusion
The point is this: Are you being fed by the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, and His Word, or do you rely on earthly food, and the false news spread by the world? This life is going to end for all of us, and some, likely most, will find out that they are facing an eternity away from the presence of the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. There are those though, who have made Jesus Christ the source of their lives, get their sustenance from Him, live for Him and will receive the ultimate reward of experiencing eternal life in His presence. This is your hope:
35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. – John 6:35