October 2012: Eternal Life

During September Messy Bible came to the part of Mark’s Gospel (chapter 12 verse 25) when Jesus says “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven”. This gave rise to a discussion about that we know about what happens after we die. In order to ensure that we are not “in error because we do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (in chapter 12 verse 24), we are spending October looking at Heaven and Eternal Life, and so that we might have confidence in, and excited by, what is in store for us.

The way in which we look at our past, our future and our present are all affected by the amazing and liberating truth of eternal life: We look back at moments where we and others have had glimpses of heaven, and look back at those who have gone before us who have gone to heaven. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and a time where there is no more death. We consider our own mortality in the midst of our present life. We are called to have faith now in the one who is the resurrection, so that we may be prepared for the life he gives us. This has practical consequences, particularly in regard to those less fortunate than ourselves. The passages that we shall study are amongst the most hope filled in the Bible:

In 2 Kings 2:1-18 (Thu 4 Oct) we start our learning about being in heaven at the end of our lives with the story of the end of Elijah’s life in which a chariot of fire appears and Elijah goes up to heaven in a whirlwind.

In Genesis 28:10-17 we consider the glimpses of heaven that we have before we die. Jacob “had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven”.

In John 11:1-44 (Thu 11 Oct) we see how Jesus deals with someone who has fallen asleep, and how he challenges those who mourn to believe that he is the resurrection and the life. In 1 Corinthians 15: 35-58 we learn about the resurrection of the dead, with particular reference to the difference that we shall experience in our bodies which start off being perishable, but, when raised, are imperishable.

In Revelation 21:1-8 we look forward to the time when there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. We finish with two stories which Jesus told which teach us that what we do before we die (or fall asleep) makes all the difference to us.

In Luke 16:19-31 (Thu 25 Oct) we hear a story Jesus told about what happens after two people die, one rich, the other poor. In the other, Matthew 25:1-13, we see our lives now as a preparation to meet the bridegroom, which we shall do when we wake up from sleep as he arrives.