RESURRECTION!

R is for redemption.

E is for eternal life.

S is for the Spirit of God.

U is for unity.

R is for restoration and reconciliation.

R is for righteousness.

E is for evidence.

C is for confidence.

T is for transformation.

I is for imperishable.

On Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, my father will have been in heaven for exactly three months. My sweet little momma and I have had lots of conversations about what we think he might be seeing and experiencing. We’ve also thought a lot about the kind of body he might possess.

My dad had a stroke ten years before he passed away, and he was never quite the same after it. He not only lost some of his strength and physical abilities, but he also lost a lot of confidence in who he was and what he could do. It was a “reality check” for him, reminding us all that our physical bodies are going to wear out, break down, and eventually fail.

On December 31, 2023, my dad laid aside that old broken-down body. We watched it be buried in a grave a few days later, but his spirit and soul went directly into the presence of God. One day, together with all the saints from all the ages, God will resurrect his body and change it into one that is imperishable, immortal, and made in the image of the heavenly. That’s the power of the resurrection, and it’s one benefit that I believe every true follower of Jesus looks forward to with great anticipation.

I’d truly like to think that Dad has his glorified body right now, but I’m afraid that’s not what scripture teaches. Consider these three passages.

1 Corinthians 15:49-54 – Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 – But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Revelation 20:4-6 – Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

I believe these passages teach us that we do not immediately receive our new imperishable body, but that all the saints from all the ages will be given this great gift at the same time. The context of Revelation 20 is at the end of the Tribulation when Satan is bound, and the Millennium begins. During these thousand years, there will be two types of people living on the earth–an earth that has been changed and renewed.

All who died in faith before Jesus’ second coming will receive their immortal, imperishable, physical body just like Jesus’ resurrected body, at His second coming. He will bring their souls with Him, and their bodies will be resurrected, changed in the twinkling of an eye, and joined with their souls. If we’re alive when Jesus returns, we will also be changed along with them, as we rise to join Jesus.

Those who remain faithful and do not die in the Tribulation (predominantly the Jewish remnant that God will preserve) will enter the Millennium in their earthly, physical bodies. Because the earth has been renewed, they will live longer lives, even back to the Old Testament days when men and women lived for hundreds of years.

Isaiah 65:20 – No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.

At the end of the Millennium, there will be another resurrection of all who have died in their sins; these will be judged at the Great White Throne judgment and cast into hell. The Bible isn’t clear about when the mortal faithful followers of God who enter the Millennium receive their new bodies, but we know they will receive them, as they will need them to enjoy the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21-22). See this link at the end of this article for two possibilities.

The good news is that even though we might have to wait for our immortal, imperishable bodies, because of the resurrection our spirit and soul will be in the presence of God. And when you think about it, God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). In our spirit state we will be able to worship God in a way we’ve never experienced in our earthly, mortal, perishable bodies! No more distractions of the flesh; we will truly know what it means to worship and intimately commune with God in all His holy presence.

This is why Paul could say it would be far better to die and go to be with God than to remain here on earth. Even if he had to lay aside his body for a while, the presence of God was greater. And that is what my Daddy is enjoying right now!

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 – Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Philippians 1:21-23 – For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

Have you experienced the power of Jesus’ resurrection through faith in Him? Then you have an immortal, imperishable body waiting for you, that is made in the image of the heavenly. I can’t wait! Can you?

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When will people in the millennial kingdom receive their glorified bodies?