ALL SHALL LIVE IN CHRIST
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:22, R.S.V.
At first glance, this verse is unqualified good news. It is the assurance of the resurrection, the promise that Christ has provided life for all the condemned children of Adam. What is more, it affirms that all shall be made alive! According to Revelation 20:5, even the wicked shall be brought back to life at some point in the future.
But since those wicked shall be brought back to life, only then to receive the sentence of eternal death (verses 9, 10, 12-15), it could raise the question of whether such an event is necessary. Why bring a lost person, one who may have suffered terrible pain during his life and died a tragic death, back to life, only to let him live a brief but traumatic span and then cross the dark abyss again?
The graves of this planet are filled with the remains of both the righteous and sinners. In most cases the wicked have died from the same causes as have the righteous. The huge bombs of war, the crumpling of car metal, the ravages of terminal diseases, and the onward march of old age dismantle the bodies of the good and the bad alike.
Some could wonder if being on Christ's side has offered any benefit to Christians in the face of death. For they die too. So Jesus has promised to bring all mankind back to life in order that the spotlight could be focused upon the real issue: What has one done with Jesus, the Life-giver?
For it is at the time of the resurrection of the wicked that each person's ultimate choices shall be revealed. This is when all people shall get what they have really wanted. The righteous shall get eternal fellowship with the One they have loved and admired. With no lingering involvement with the great controversy, they shall be with Him forever. God shall also respect the free choices of those who have avoided and rejected Him. He will not force His life-giving presence upon them. Separation they wanted; separation they will have. They shall die the second death. They will not die because of their sinful behaviors. Jesus' death on the cross covered those; their own resurrection is proof that "in Christ shall all be made alive." But they shall die because they have rejected the Life-giver.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:22, R.S.V.
At first glance, this verse is unqualified good news. It is the assurance of the resurrection, the promise that Christ has provided life for all the condemned children of Adam. What is more, it affirms that all shall be made alive! According to Revelation 20:5, even the wicked shall be brought back to life at some point in the future.
But since those wicked shall be brought back to life, only then to receive the sentence of eternal death (verses 9, 10, 12-15), it could raise the question of whether such an event is necessary. Why bring a lost person, one who may have suffered terrible pain during his life and died a tragic death, back to life, only to let him live a brief but traumatic span and then cross the dark abyss again?
The graves of this planet are filled with the remains of both the righteous and sinners. In most cases the wicked have died from the same causes as have the righteous. The huge bombs of war, the crumpling of car metal, the ravages of terminal diseases, and the onward march of old age dismantle the bodies of the good and the bad alike.
Some could wonder if being on Christ's side has offered any benefit to Christians in the face of death. For they die too. So Jesus has promised to bring all mankind back to life in order that the spotlight could be focused upon the real issue: What has one done with Jesus, the Life-giver?
For it is at the time of the resurrection of the wicked that each person's ultimate choices shall be revealed. This is when all people shall get what they have really wanted. The righteous shall get eternal fellowship with the One they have loved and admired. With no lingering involvement with the great controversy, they shall be with Him forever. God shall also respect the free choices of those who have avoided and rejected Him. He will not force His life-giving presence upon them. Separation they wanted; separation they will have. They shall die the second death. They will not die because of their sinful behaviors. Jesus' death on the cross covered those; their own resurrection is proof that "in Christ shall all be made alive." But they shall die because they have rejected the Life-giver.
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