We can all agree that there are endless questions surrounding, religion, faith, the Bible, and even God. Here, we’ll provide answers to some of the biggest questions of today. And always feel free to let us know any other questions you have and we’ll do our best to answer them!
As Halloween grows ever closer, decorations are going up, costumes are being made (or bought), and candy is being prepared. As a child, trick-or-treating was the best activity. My friends or family and I would go around from house to house, asking the residents for candy. And as always, once everyone got back home, we’d dump our candy buckets and show off our winnings. Some candies would be traded or given away, and others would be kept and saved like it was gold.
Did you have any favorite Halloween candy? Maybe you like the jelly (gummy) worms, eyeballs, and other fun critters. Maybe you liked candy bars and caramels. Or maybe you were one of those weirdos who liked candy corn (just kidding about the weirdo part, you do you).
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It’s October, and do you know what holiday is coming up? Halloween! It’s quite a fun holiday as kids and adults can dress up, eat candy, have parties, and watch scary movies and such. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, goblins, zombies, and plenty of other horrific creatures and scenes decorate houses, schools, and community centers. A popular theme around this time is the dead coming back to life, like this:
Return of the Living Dead Part 2
It’s pretty gruesome right? While this movie is old and the effects look so dated that it takes away the horror aspect of it, the idea of dead bodies rising from the grave is still pretty terrifying. Did you know that in the Bible, Jesus talks about the dead coming back to life?
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
John 5:25
He’s Alive!!
While Jesus talks about the dead coming back to life, do you think he is speaking about a physical resurrection? We do see an example of a physically dead person rising up and coming out of his grave. It’s the story of Lazarus. In John 11 we read that one of Jesus’s friends, named Lazarus, died. You can read the full story in John 11:1-44. Life and death are quite serious according to God and the Bible. Let us understand it much more deeply and clearly from this video.
Healings Leaves
Here is an example of physical resurrection from the dead. Also, we know that Jesus died and rose again as recorded in the Scriptures. Both Jesus and Lazarus give us examples of physical resurrection. The difference between the two is that Lazarus died again, and Jesus did not. Why? Well, we will get to that later. In the meantime, let us understand what Jesus said in John 5:24-28.
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
John 5:24-28
The Resurrection of the Spirit
The Bible is a spiritual book because its author, God, is also a spirit. That means the things recorded in the Bible have a spiritual meaning that’s deeper than what we may see at face value. Do you remember that I said Lazarus died again after coming back to life, but Jesus did not? Are you still curious to know why? It’s because God’s spirit is with Jesus. John 1:1-4 says that the Word is God and gives life. So, Jesus who had that Word, also had God’s spirit in him giving him life.
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:26
What’s the meaning behind this? When we have God’s Word in us, we also have God’s spirit in us, and we live because of that. Maybe you’re thinking of it like this in your head:
Frankenstein
Thankfully, it’s not like that. We won’t have any zombies coming our way. We come to life again in spirit through the words of Jesus.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
John 5:24-25
When we listen to,believe, and obey Jesus’s words, then our spirits will live again. Death came into God’s creation through Adam, but life comes back through Christ Jesus. Even the apostle Paul writes about the resurrection of the dead in 1 Corinthians. He says the second Adam (man) became one who gave life.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus, it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:44-45
That second “Adam” is Jesus, and his words give us life.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
John 6:63
When Jesus died on the cross, there was an earthquake, the temple curtain separating the Holy Place and Most Holy Place was torn in two, and many graves were opened. The dead were raised and went into the city (see Matthew 27:51-53). If we took Jesus’s words about the dead literally, would it make sense? Can the dead hear? No, they can’t. Now, if we understand Jesus’s words spiritually, however, it should make more sense. Jesus often said, “He who has an ear let him hear,” and we know he doesn’t mean physical ears. He was talking about those who can hear and understand the words Jesus spoke. Those who understood who Jesus was, the promised savior prophesied in the Old Testament, believed in him, and then spread that gospel they heard – that was coming back to life spiritually.
What Does That Mean for Us Today?
If we truly call ourselves Christians, as in followers of Christ, we must understand what Jesus taught in the New Testament and what it means for us today. We must also obey it. Paul often talked about dying with Christ, being raised with Christ, and putting on the new self.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-4
The dead coming back to life, in the true spiritual sense according to the Bible, is not just physical resurrection, but our spirits that are dead because of sin come back to life through God’s Word and Jesus’s spirit.
But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Romans 8:10-11
In the Old Testament, God shows us this concept through the prophet, Ezekiel. Let’s learn from it now.
God, Ezekiel, and Skeletons
In Ezekiel 37, God shows the prophet Ezekiel the valley of dry bones. In that vision, God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and God says those bones will come back to life.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:1-6
Maybe you’ve read this story before, but we should know what it means for today. In this story, Ezekiel is seeing all this happen in a vision (it’s a prophecy after all), but we should understand where we are in the Bible. Are we like Ezekiel, or like those dry bones coming back to life? Ezekiel does what God commands, and those bones come back to life.
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.
Ezekiel 37:7-8
Ezekiel sees these bones come back to life, but once they’re fully formed again, they’re just empty shells in a sense. As that last sentence says, there was no breath in them. What does that mean? What is that “breath”? In Genesis 2:7, when God formed Adam, it says God put the “breath of life” in him, and Adam became a living being (or spirit). Was God doing CPR and giving physical breath? No. In John 1:4 God’s word tells us that there is life in the Word. So, when God gives His word to His people, their spirits live again. Let’s continue to see this in Ezekiel’s story.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Ezekiel 37:9-10
When Ezekiel did what God commanded, the breath came into those bodies and they received life again. It also says they became a great army. Why is that? God has been fighting with the Devil for the past 6,000 years. As God and His angels fight in the spiritual world, His people need to fight in the physical world. We don’t fight actual wars with real weapons, but a spiritual war and our weapon is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). But if we don’t have that Word, that breath of life, then we cannot fight. We are just the walking dead.
Thankfully, when we understand God’s words and obey them, we receive that breath of life and live again spiritually. The Words of God aren’t just the Ten Commandments or Jesus’s teachings in Matthew 5-7, but also the prophecies about the second coming, and the testimony of those prophecies when they are fulfilled.
Jesus told us what would happen beforehand, so when it does happen we will believe (John 14:29). Just as Jesus’s disciples believed when Jesus testified the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and lived, when the New Testament prophecies are fulfilled and testified, we should believe. That Word is what gives us life. We are spirit and flesh, but what good is our flesh if our spirits aren’t alive?
Let Us Live Again
So, let us become those who live again – not as zombies – but as true living spirits through God’s Word. We must hear the word of fulfillment when that time comes, and believe it, just as the disciples and others did at the time of Jesus’s first coming. But to recognize the fulfillment, we have to know the prophecies Jesus spoke. We do that by studying God’s Word. If you want to live as God intended for His people truly, then come and study with us. I pray you can come to life again in God’s eyes according to His Word.
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AudioBlog #27 People are Leaving the Church – But Why? –
RE:CONNECT
With more people than ever before seeking answers, meaning, and faith in the face of increasingly uncertain times, churches around the world are faced with dwindling numbers in their congregations. More and more, people are leaving the church. This does not, however, mean that they are turning their backs on God or giving up on finding meaning in faith
Join Nikki and our team over at https://as-it-is-in-heaven.com to explore some of the reasons why this is happening, and why, if we understand the Bible, we might not be surprised! If you enjoy our content, please consider leaving a review on the podcast platform of your choice. It helps others who might also enjoy it to find it. As always, thank you so much for listening. We appreciate each one of you!
RE:CONNECT WITH US
Podbean: reconnect.podbean.com
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Blog: as-it-is-in-heaven.com
Instagram: @asitisinheaven_blog
Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Revelation 7:2-3
Have you ever signed your name on an official document (like a contract)? I’m sure you have if you’ve ever applied for a loan application, banking documents, or some other important slip of paper. When we sign our names on those types of documents, it’s different from autographing a friend’s high school yearbook or some photo. When we sign our names, we are certifying that we will abide by and keep whatever terms we’re agreeing to.
“In the Name of Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, and Ruler of the Realm…”
If you enjoy political, medieval period dramas, then surely, you’ve heard of or seen HBO’s Game of Thrones. It’s based on the book series by George R.R. Martin entitled, A Song of Ice and Fire. In that show, we see all kinds of twists and turns as four major families in the land of Westeros fight over control of the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms.
When you think of the word, “Sabbath,” what comes to mind? For many believers, Sunday is the day in which they give service to God as a day of worship and rest. Today, many families may still run errands, get housework done, see friends or family, or do some other thing. But why is the Sabbath day a day of rest?
It goes back to what God had commanded the Israelites in the Old Testament.
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
2 Thessalonians 3:6, 10-12
“Idle hands are the Devil’s plaything”
I’m sure you’ve heard those words before – whether it was by a parent or teacher – they’re often told to children to keep them busy doing something. Usually, my parents would say that to my siblings and I to keep us out of trouble and make sure we get our schoolwork done. In the world, if you’re working in any profession, an idle worker is unwanted by any employer. If an employee is unproductive and idle, that company may lose money, clients, and eventually suffer. Idle doctors cannot give their patients the best care and neglect their duties. These are some examples we can see around us, but we must now look at what it means according to the Bible.
I’m sure you’ve heard of “The Beatitudes” that Jesus spoke. The sermon on the mount is what most people initially think of when they picture Jesus preaching in their minds. They are wonderful teachings that instruct believers on how they should act in good times and bad. If you haven’t read them before, let’s read them now.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:2-12
In all of these verses, Jesus begins with “Blessed are…”. What does all this mean? How do we become those who are blessed? Let’s try to understand these on a deeper level by looking at Jesus, the one who gave us these teachings.
When you think of a pastor, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of your own church pastor – someone who gives sermons on Sunday mornings. Maybe you think of televangelists that preach on TV. Perhaps you think of Catholic priests or some other denominational preacher. Maybe your pastor is very active in the community, organizing mission trips or leading Bible classes. Or maybe your pastor is making hospital visits or visiting shut-ins. Or maybe you might see pastors in a negative light due to past experiences or certain news reports you’ve read or heard. Regardless of if it’s positive or negative, there are many things a pastor does in the world, at least according to people’s own thoughts or feelings. But what is a pastor’s role according to the Bible?
I love watching all kinds of movies – especially action, Sci-fi, and fantasy movies. One series that has continued for decades now is The Terminator series. In the second film of the franchise, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, an advanced cyborg from the future is sent back to the past to terminate a boy named, John Connor. John and his mother are protected by another cyborg who gives us this famous line:
Copyright Terminator 2: Judgment Day
These two characters are being hunted and will be destroyed (killed), but someone comes and saves them. Doesn’t this remind you of what happens in the Bible? A savior to appear when things seem like all hope is lost?
Previously, we’ve read about what it means to betray God and being destroyed because of that betrayal. Now, let’s learn and understand what God’s true purpose and desire for us as believers is.
We’ve all seen it in the media – whether in books, movies, or television – our protagonist(s) are reaching the climax of their saga only to be betrayed by one (or more) closest to them. Let me show a couple of notable examples.
In both examples, we see someone or a group of people, who helped out our heroes for most of their time and even built a trusting relationship with them, only to have them turn at a crucial moment.
