WE SHALL NOT ALL DIE

 1 Corinthians 15:51, “Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed (transformed)".

     We all face limitations. Some may have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Some may be blind but they can see a new way to live. Some may be deaf but they can hear God's Good News of His Kingdom preached. Some may be lame but they can walk in God's love. In addition, they have the encouragement that those disabilities are only temporary. Apostle Paul tells us that we all will be given new bodies when Jesus returns at Rapture and that these bodies will be without disabilities, never to die or become sick. This can give us hope in our suffering. Theres not a single person on earth looking forward to put off the earthly body as myself because I've just been told that I have stage four bone marrow cancer. Just when I was recovering from cervical cancer! Both breasts and throat cancers have been healed from my body by Doctor, Healer Yeshua. Therefore, I really long for the return of my King. I shall not die but live because of my purpose. Believe me!

     For many, it is somewhat believed that our earthly bodies shall all die. This is not completely true. Many years ago, I joined with the villagers in my native home to console with a neighbor who had lost her husband. On that day, there was a lady who was asked to stand and speak to the rest of us. As she continued to talk and quote Bible verse, she asked the crowd to raise their hands. Almost everybody raised their hands but I didnt! Then she confirmed something most people, even the saints erroneously believe, "All these are coffins", referring to every hand that had been raised up. This is not Scriptural!

     Yes, it is true that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place and the Kingdom of God is the governing influence of the King of that place [King Jesus] into our lives.  These bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. Apostle Paul revealed to us a wonderful secret that we will not all die, but we will all be transformed. When? In much less than 1300 days. When the last trumpet is blown. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye. For those in Christ Jesus when they hear the sound, those in the grave [yes, those in the grave shall hear the last trumpet] will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed into bodies that will never die - transformed into immortal bodies fulfilling the Scriptures, "Death is swallowed up [utterly vanquished forever] in and unto victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting"... Hosea 13:14?

     Believers alive at that day of the return of Lord Jesus will not have to die but will be transformed immediately. A trumpet blast will usher in the culmination of all things. All the saints, dead or alive will be caught in the air to meet the Lord Jesus in the air, "For this we declare to you by the Lord's [own] word, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede [into His presence] or have any advantage at all over those who have previously fallen asleep [in Him in death]. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord"... 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. 

    Apostle Paul received this information directly from the Lord Himself. The Jews would understand the significance of this because trumpets were always blown to signal the start of great festivals and other extraordinary events Numbers 10:10. Just like Jesus told Nicodemus that he would not be part of the Kingdom of Heaven unless he was personally born again, I tell everyone, Jesus is coming for such as these. All children will be in the Rapture. Whether the parents are Hindu, Islamic, atheists, scientologist, Rastafarian etc. All children will be taken away by the Holy One, the Spirit. By the way, even He, the Holy Spirit will leave the earth on this day. And if the earth is the way it is with Him around, how then will it look like when the Holy Spirit leaves? Your regeneration is of most importance at this time.

     We know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down, we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands. Before Jesus left the earth for heaven, He said that He was going to prepare a place for us. Didn't He? One day, the Lord Jesus invited me into heaven. While there, He showed me my house. I saw it. It is finished already and it is very beautiful. When I asked Him if I could go in and see it, He declined. But He allowed me to walk on the glassy sea in front of it. I grow weary in my present body and long to put on my heavenly body like new clothing. I groan and sigh and not that I want to die and get rid of this body that cloth me. Rather, I want to put on my new body so that this dying body will be swallowed up by life. For the saints, we will all put on our heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. God Himself has prepared us for this and as a guarantee, He has given us His Holy Spirit. 

     We will still have personalities and recognizable characteristics in our new bodies, but through Christs work, our body will be better than we can imagine. The Bible does not tell us everything about our new body, but we know that it will be perfect, without sickness, disease or pain... Philippians 3:21; Revelation 21:4. According to the teacher [Ecclesiastes 3:11], God has planted eternity in the human heart. Whether you have chosen Him or not. The eternity will either be in heaven with Him or in hell with the devil and his angels. Human beings have an innate sense of transcendence and longing for ultimate reality experienced only in the eternal presence of God. This spiritual desire is addressed by every world religion and cult and [at least secretly] desired by every person. 

     Apostle Paul compares the new bodies we shall receive with the growth of a seed in a garden 1 Corinthians 15:35ff. Seeds placed in the ground dont grow unless they ‘die’ first. The plant that grows looks very different from the seed because God gives it a new body. There are different kinds of bodies  people, animals, fish, birds. Even the angels in heaven have bodies that are different in beauty and glory. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. Our heavenly bodies will be very different from our earthly bodies. And these bodies will differ from each other in glory depending in the accomplishments for Christ we do here on earth. Have you heard it said that our crowns will differ in glory? Our bodies will be spiritual bodies full of glory. Glory! 

     Our present bodies are perishable and prone to decay. So, don't boast or spend so much on them. Take care of it because it is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Our transformed bodies will not be limited by the laws of nature. Our bodies will be different from and more capable than our present earthly bodies. The bodies we will receive when we are transformed will be glorious, like Christ's resurrected body. His Body could go through closed doors and he also ate a boiled fish but He still had the scars to remind us what He did for each one of us. If you could select your own body, what kind would you choose  strong, athletic, beautiful? Apostle Paul explains that we will be recognizable in heaven, yet, it will be better than we can imagine, for it will be made to live forever. We may not know everything our new bodies will be able to do, but we do know it will be perfect, without any infirmities.

     What occurrences in daily life can provide you an opportunity to witness Gods solution to this universal spiritual search? A baby's birth, a parent's death, or the death of a dream all can be springboards for sharing the hope you have in Christ. Dont keep this truth to yourself! On that day of Rapture at exactly 1800 hours, God will send out His angels to gather His chosen ones from all over the world from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. As the dead in Christ are gathered, the chosen ones still living will immediately be transformed. The nations of the earth will mourn because unbelievers will suddenly realize they have chosen the wrong side. Everything they have scoffed about will be happening and it will be too late for them.

     Come Lord Jesus!