The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:26
The question of death slumbers and periodically arouses and shouts in almost every experience of life. Falling leaves, wilting flowers, the death of a beloved pet, an accident in which a friend is killed, or the sight of a hearse leading a funeral procession are just a few of the constant reminders.
Man has arrived at many theories concerning death and the afterlife. Most have been the result of ignoring the biblical revelation. Others have been drawn from incorrectly interpreting what the Bible teaches. Death was not a part of God’s original plan for man. It came as a result of the fall of man. Ever since Adam sinned and died spiritually, every human being has been born spiritually dead. It is, therefore, an enemy and “the last enemy to be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Physical death is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body, the material from the immaterial, the temporal from the eternal, the mortal from the immortal, and the physical from the metaphysical. Death and the grave are not the end of man’s existence. God will redeem the righteous from the powers of death and the grave. The righteous will see God face to face after physical death when the glorified spirits and souls of the righteous will be united with their glorified bodies. The spirits and souls of the unrighteous, however, go to torment to await the second resurrection, final judgment, and their eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Daniel 12:2).
Jesus died the death we deserved, and He conquered death through His own resurrection from the grave. Therefore, death has been changed from a period to a comma, a question mark to an exclamation point, a conclusion to an introduction, a final destination to a rest stop, a tomb to a tunnel, and an earthly end into an eternal beginning!
In many ways, death for the believer is the wedding day. Christ is the Divine Bridegroom and we are His bride. He has bought us and we are betrothed to Him! At the moment of death, the engagement is over and the marriage begins, face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). What absolute liberty from the fear of death we will have when these truths fully penetrate our lives. Death cannot separate us from God!
Satan is the master counterfeiter who “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He knows that death does not change anything, but only makes eternally secure the spiritual condition in which he lived his life.
Two of his many deadly deceptions are suicide and the study of death through science, or thanatology. That is why we should expect him to make his final deception and goal-line stand about the point of physical death. If he can be successful at this, he knows that he can plunge the person into a Christ-less eternity!
There are three important questions that you need to ask yourself regularly concerning death: Am I in right relationship with God? Am I in right relationship with others? Am I investing myself in things that will last for eternity?
Only confessing your sin to God and accepting Him into your life can guarantee that you will have eternal life. Your salvation and God’s justification give life where there was death. God’s holy and sanctifying presence will make it possible for you to experience abundant life, which is the earthly experience of eternal life. Decide now!
