1557. The Dead and the Living Will Be Caught Up
The Dead and the Living Will Be Caught Up
"The dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1Th_4:16-17).
We have come to the core of the message. We propose now to prove that there are millions now living who may never die. We must move forward with careful and Scriptural statement.
1. Does the Bible teach that all must die? In answer to this question, we will consider some passages which seem to affirm that all must die.
(1) "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1Co_15:22). This passage certainly refers to physical death, because death is spoken of in contrast to a physical resurrection. "Shall all be made alive," cannot mean "spiritually alive," for only those who believe in Christ are quickened unto eternal life. "As in Adam all die," cannot mean spiritual and eternal death, for the statement is preceded by, "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." Physical death and physical resurrection then, are before us.
(2) "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom_5:12). Here is another passage which, beyond a doubt, includes physical death, and this death is universal; it is passed upon all men.
(3) "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment" (Heb_9:27). While this passage does not say, "It is appointed to all men once to die," yet it does plainly speak of physical death as appointed unto men, generally speaking.
The three Scriptures which we have quoted teach that physical death is the lot of the sons of Adam's race.
Men are born with a body destined to die. Death is written all over it.
The body contains definite marks of decay and of death. This is true universally. There are no exceptions. It is true of the bodies of believers, and it is true of the bodies of unbelievers.
It was true of the body which Enoch and which Elijah possessed, although they were raptured and never actually died.
It is true of the bodies which the saints who are raptured, at the coming of the Lord, possess.
Paul puts it this way, "Though our outward man perish ("is decaying," A. S. V.), yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (2Co_4:16).
What then is our conclusion? Simply this: In Adam, physical death passes upon every man; in Adam all die; and it is appointed unto men once to die. These statements, however, by no means infer that a generation of saints, living at the time of Christ's appearing, cannot be raptured and escape the full dissolution of death. The Lord Jesus Christ will break the power, that like a pall has hovered over the whole race and brought every man with the exception of two, Enoch and Elijah, down to the grave.
2. Does the Bible teach that all will not die? It does. For instance, we read; "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1Co_15:51).
Again we read: "We which are alive and remain unto the Coming of the Lord" (1Th_4:15).
Once more, "I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (Joh_11:25-26).
The Lord Jesus on one occasion said concerning John, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" (Joh_21:22). "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die" (Joh_21:23), although Christ did not say so.
From the Scriptures we have quoted, we learn that while death passed upon all men, and it is appointed unto men once to die; yet there will be a generation of men, all of them in Christ, who will never die. A type of these who pass beyond without dying, is found in Enoch and Elijah, who were caught up through the clouds unto the Lord.
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR