Archive for The hereafter

The Golden Psalm

November 16, 2009 at 4:17 pm · Filed under Old testament, Resurrection of Jesus, The hereafter ·Tagged , , , ,

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Reputed tomb of King david

 Psalm 16

“A miktam of David” – well what exactly is a miktam? A footnote to the NIV suggests it is a literary or musical term but no one really knows. One possible meaning of the word is “a hidden treasure” and another is “a golden object”. Thus it has been called the Golden Psalm by some commentators.

And it truly is golden psalm, a real gem which reveals its beauty when it is contemplated. It was used by leaders in the Early Church to teach the Resurrection of Christ.

For example: in Acts 2:25-31 Peter uses this psalm when he speaks to the crowd on the day of Pentecost. He points out that David was speaking prophetically when he wrote this psalm. David says God will save him and will not allow his body to rot in the grave. Peter points out that David did die and his body did decay in the grave. But Jesus Christ did not rot in the grave – his body was raised from the dead, and this psalm speaks prophetically of him.

Also in acts 13: 35 we see Paul using this psalm to speak of Christ’s Resurrection

So we see in this psalm:

1) it applies to David who wrote it

2) it can be applied to Jesus, the Christ, the Son of David.

and also:

3) it can be applied to us a Christians. We are followers of Christ and believers in the God of David.

Let’s look at it now.

 

 

(1) Applied to David

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. ( v1 )

It’s all about David’s trust in God to keep him safe from his enemies.

I said to the LORD, You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. (v2 )

He felt that everything good he had came from God. He was grateful to God for all these things and he delighted in fellowship with God’s people:

As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. (v3)

At the same time he rejected the worship of false gods. It only leads to trouble, he says:

The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. (v4a )

Matthew Henry comments: “those who multiply gods multiply griefs to themselves; for whoever thinks one god too little, will find two too many, and yet hundreds will not be enough.”

I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips. (v4b )

“Libations (or drink offerings) of blood” – when the Hebrews made sacrificed to the Lord they offered the blood of sacrificial animals. But they were not allowed to drink the blood – it was offered to God alone. Their drink offerings were of wine.

But when the pagans sacrificed to their gods, they actually drank the blood of the animals. “I will have nothing to do with that,” David says, “I will not even take the names of the pagan gods on my lips.” Then he goes on to contemplate all the good things God has given him:

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. (v5 )

“Portion” and “cup” refers to food and drink. “Lot” refers to the allocation of land to the various tribes, as does “boundary line” in the next verse. David felt that God had made his lot in life very pleasant, and he was grateful.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. (v7-8 )

He feels God is with him, day and night, to guide and to strengthen him for his daily tasks as he reigns over the nation. He also feels that God will preserve his body from illness and death. and he hints at eternal life.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (v9-11 )

When I read these words I wonder at what some Biblical commentators mean, when they claim that the ancient Hebrews had no conception of the after-life. We are told that it was only at a much later period that they believed in Paradise.

Well here, in this psalm, David says he will experience eternal pleasures with God after he dies. (No doubt these scholars would say that this psalm was not written by David, but by a latter writer in the time of the Exile.)

However, I believe it was written by David and that he did believe in the after-life. It may be true that generally the Hebrews did not have any very clear conception of the life of heaven. But obviously David did – he just could not believe that this wonderful fellowship with God would come to an end at his death. He didn’t see how God would abandon his soul to Sheol, the abode of the dead.

 

 

(2) Applied to Christ

As I said earlier, the first Christians saw this psalm as very much a prophecy of the Resurrection of Christ. His body was not abandoned to the grave – he lay there for two days, and on the third day he rose from the dead. Peter pointed out to his audience of Jews in Jerusalem that the tomb of David was nearby. They could go and see it if they wanted to. David’s bones were still in his tomb, but the tomb of Jesus was empty.

The empty tomb – this is the central fact of the Christian faith. Our faith stands or fails on this fact. Be assured, the body of Jesus will never be found by archaeologists for that body was raised up and ascended to heaven. Jesus is alive and he brings eternal life to all who belive in him and trust in him.

 

 

(3) Applied to Believers

And so now we consider what the psalm has to say to us:

God, the source of good

Like David we can say to god, “Apart from you I have no good thing.” everything good we enjoy – health, friends, family, food and drink, homes – comes from God. And also, there is no good thing in us apart from God. He is the source of our faith, our hope and our love.

Fellowship of the Saints

Like David we delight in the saints who are on the earth. Just as there are saints in heaven, so there also are saints on earth. You will recall the other week we were saying that “saint” is simply the New Testament word for a true Christian. Like David we delight in the company of such people. We receive a blessing from being with them. Hence the need to meet with other believers for worship and prayer and fellowship.

Turn from false gods

Like David we turn our backs on idolatry in all its forms. A false god is not just a pagan deity such as Baal of Moloch. No, anything other than God himself which becomes an object of worship is a false god. So you can make a god of your job, your family, your possessions, your hobbies, your sports, your music, your art, your science.

Thankfulness

Like David we are thankful to God and we appreciate that the lines have fallen for us in pleasant places. Here in Brecon we are in a magnificent part of the country, surrounded by natural beauty. We have a great environment – a goodly heritage.

And what about our moral and social heritage, our traditions of justice and democracy, freedom of speech and of worship? And what about our Christian heritage of worship and teaching, which goes right back to Saint David and includes all the great reformers and preachers of the past. We have goodly heritage and we thank God for it.

God our help

Like David we praise God who guides us in our lives and helps us to make the right decisions. He protects and upholds us so that we are not devastated by life’s storms.

Eternal life

Like David we believe in the life of the world to come. This indeed is really what our faith is all about.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3: 16 )

We can say, “Thank you Lord that because of Jesus we know you will not abandon us to the world of the dead when we have come to the end of our earthly life”.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (v11 ).

 

As it says in the old Catechism, and also in the Confession of Faith: “The chief end of Man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

 

 

 

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Five Resurrections

April 25, 2009 at 8:58 pm · Filed under Resurrection of Jesus, The hereafter ·Tagged , , ,

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Introduction
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live.” 
(John 11: 25)

For the last few weeks we have been reminding ourselves of the Easter story. This Sunday let us consider five great resurrections. The first three are recorded in the Gospels – they are resurrections which Jesus performed in his lifetime. On each of these occasions Jesus raised from the dead someone who was close to someone else. His motivation for this was compassion, but in doing so he showed forth the power and glory of God.

 

Resurrection No 1 – Someone’s daughter ( Mark 5:21-24, 35-43)

Jairus was an important man, the ruler of the synagogue,an influential and wealthy man. He came to Jesus distraught with sorrow and worry.

“My little girl is dying. She’s only twelve years old and she is about to die. Please come and help her.  Please lay hands on her and heal her.”

Jesus saw the man’s need and agreed to go with him to his house. But on the way they were delayed -  another needy person, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years. She touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and she was healed. There was quite  a lot of fuss then, while Jesus spoke to the woman in front of the crowd.

All this time Jairus was waiting for Jesus to come to his house  – he was on tenterhooks. He was deeply anxious and he feared that his daughter might already be dead. When they got to the house Jairus’s worst fears were realised. A man came out of the house and said, “Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher any more?”

Jesus turned to Jairus and said, “Don’t be afraid: just believe.”
Jesus then went into the house accompanied just by his closest disciples. There was a tremendous commotion with people crying and wailing loudly. Jesus went in and said to them, “The child is not dead, but asleep.” They mocked bitterly at him.  Jesus gave an order to clear the house of the weeping and wailing people. Then just with Peter, James and John, and the child’s parents, he went into the room . She was lying there, dead on the bed. Jesus gently took her by the hand  and said, “Little one, get up.”  Immediately she sat up! She looked around in a puzzled way, then walked about the room. They were all completely astonished, amazed and overjoyed. “Give her something to eat,” Jesus said, “and don’t tell anyone else about this.”

So it was that Jairus and his wife and three of the disciples were the only witnesses of this amazing miracle. The time had not yet come for Jesus to proclaim openly  his power to raise the dead.

 
Resurrection No. 2 – Someone’s son (Luke 7: 11-16)

On another occasion Jesus came to the town of Nain in Galilee. His disciples were with him and a large crowd of people were following him. They had seen some of his miracles and heard his wonderful teaching. As they approached the town they met another crowd coming in the opposite direction. It was a funeral procession on their way out to the cemetery. Tragically the deceased was a young man. It was particularly sad also that he was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. So now she had no one in the world. The Lord saw her situation and his heart went out to her.

“Don’t cry,” he said. Then he went up and touched the funeral bier, and the pallbearers stood still. They were aghast – this was an act of profanation. To touch a body, or a coffin, or a funeral bier, was to incur ritual pollution. None but a close relative would do that.

Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

And the man who had been dead sat up in the bier and he spoke some words. Jesus gave him back to his mother. The crowd were filled with awe: “a great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help his people!”

The news was getting out that Jesus was a mighty man of God.

 
Resurrection No.3  – Someone’s brother  (John 11:38-43)

Martha and Mary were two sisters who lived at Bethany. They were friends and disciples of Jesus.  So when their brother Lazarus became desperately  ill they sent for Jesus to come and heal him. But Jesus waited two days before making the long journey from Galilee to Judea. When they got to Bethany they found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Against the wishes of the sisters Jesus had the tomb opened, and with a mighty word of command brought Lazarus back from the dead.

“Lazarus come forth!”

The people  standing around the tomb were transfixed with amazement as they saw a flash of something white at the entrance of the tomb. Next moment, there was Lazarus standing at the mouth of the tomb with his grave-cloths still fluttering around him, and  a napkin wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave-clothes and let him go.”

As a result of this miracle many of those who had come to visit Martha and Mary in their sorrow came to believe in Jesus. And the religious authorities, when they heard about this, plotted to kill Jesus.

Now this was definitely a real resurrection. Yes, to the sceptical mind Jairus’s daughter could have just been in a deep coma (and after all Jesus did say she was only sleeping). Likewise, the widow of Nain’s son had only just been declared dead. In those days people were buried as soon as they died. It was just possible that this  young man was not actually dead, but in a coma.

Yes, to the sceptical mind I say these things might not seem to be real resurrections. But the raising of Lazarus is a different thing -  he had been in the tomb for four days. His body had started to decompose but Jesus reversed the process and brought him back to life. An amazing miracle! No wonder Jesus had said,

“I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  (John 11: 25)

 

 
Resurrection No. 4 – God’s Son

In the Easter season its not the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter, or the widow’s son, or Mary and Martha’s brother we celebrate, but he Resurrection of God’s Son.

All these people Jesus raised were brought back to physical life, only to die a natural death later. (The girl probably married and had a family, the young man was able to support his widowed mother, Lazarus was returned to the bosom of his family but al three of them died later.)

But the Resurrection of Jesus is totally different: he rose with a new, spiritual, glorified body. In his risen form he could appear and disappear at will -  even behind locked doors. He could veil his appearance so that people did not recognise him. But he didn’t return as an apparition, a phantom, a ghost. No, he had a solid existence. He was there in the body. People walked with him on the road, they sat at his feet, they ate and drank with him. On one occasion he sat by a campfire on the lakeside and served them fish and bread cooked on the hot coals. Imagine: a barbecue with the risen Jesus!

At the end of forty days Jesus was taken from their sight to heaven. He is risen and glorified – he will never die again.

 
Resurrection No. 5 – Our resurrection

This is the bit I’m looking forward to!  Jesus raised the three people mentioned in the gospels and he himself was raised from the dead on Easter day. But the good news of Easter is that we shall be raised too!

 We too, on the day of Resurrection, will be given  wonderful, glorious, Resurrection bodies. Like the Lord we shall no longer be limited by the physical constraints of this material world. And yet we shall not be mere disembodied spirits, insubstantial wraiths. No, we shall be more solid, more real, than we are in this life. We shall have entered the ultimate reality of God’s presence.

Now this is all a great mystery, we can not imagine what it will be like,  but the Resurrection of Jesus guarantees it.
The Tomb was empty, the Body was gone -  and Jesus appeared to his disciples.

 The Lord is risen  – he is risen indeed!

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Searching for snails

September 4, 2008 at 11:05 pm · Filed under Christian living, New Testament, The hereafter ·Tagged , , ,

 Mark 10:17-31, Colossians 3:1-10


Introduction

An old fable tells about a crane who was wading in a stream looking for snails when a beautiful swan landed nearby. The crane had never seen a swan before, so he asked, “What are you?” “I’m a swan,” came the reply. “And where did you come from?” the crane inquired. “Heaven,” the swan answered. “What is that?” asked the crane. the swan eagerly began to explain its beauty and glory. He spoke of the new Jerusalem, the city of pure gold with a jasper wall and pearly gates. He described its “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.” At that point the crane interrupted, “Tell me, are there any snails in heaven?” “No, I’m afraid not,” the swan said. “Then I don’t want to go there,” the crane stated decisively. “I like snails!”

 

Looking for snails?

 

The Apostle Paul writes:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-3 )

Now, “snails” in the story could represent the sinful things of this life – lusts, anger, selfish ambition, pride. But they could just as easily represent the good things of this life – things that are not sinful in themselves, but can become a distraction from spiritual things.

You see, the Crane in the story had no interest in the heavenly things the Swan was describing. He just wanted his snails! And many people are like that. It’s not that they are opposed to religion, it’s just that they are not that interested. They are far more concerned about making more money, or attaining that perfect toned body, or finding the right life-partner.

 

There are many good things in life: good food, the world of nature, music, hobbies, sport, art, fine clothes, sexual love within marriage. All these things are good, as long as they don’t become idols.

Are you looking for snails and ignoring the eternal things? God has created you to love him and to worship him forever. Are you fulfilling the purpose of your creation?

 

In our reading from Mark’s Gospel a rich young man come to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life (that is: how to go to heaven). Jesus challenged that young man about his love of wealth. For that man, his possessions were a god. And he was not willing to give them up, even if it would bring him treasure in heaven. Jesus didn’t tell every one of his followers to sell all they had and give it to the poor, but he did tell that young man, because for him money was his god.

 

Only passing through

All the wealth of this world is a tawdry bauble compared to the riches of heaven. And we were created for heaven. So we really don’t want to accumulate too much wealth, it will only tie us down.

An American tourist visited the 19th century Polish rabbi, Hofetz Chaim:

Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?”

“Where is yours?” replied the rabbi.

“Mine?” asked the puzzled American. “But I’m a visitor here. I’m only passing through.” “So am I,” said the rabbi.

 

The life of the world to come

 We know very little about heaven, but it has been aptly described as “an unknown region with a well-known inhabitant.”

 A dying man asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and then he had his answer. “Do you hear that?” he asked his patient. “It’s my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn’t it the same with you? You don’t know what lies beyond the door, but you know that your Master is there.”

Jesus is there: that is the most important thing!

 

Materialistic ideas of the afterlife

 In ancient times people often took a very material view of heaven. For the ancient Celts it was a place of abundance and feasting. And the Norse warriors hoped to be able to fight all day and feast all night, for all eternity in Valhalla.

 In the Koran also, Paradise is described in physical terms:

Therein they shall recline upon couches, therein they shall see neither sun nor bitter cold. Near them shall be its shades, and its clusters hung meekly down, and there shall be passed around them vessels of silver, and goblets of crystal, crystal of silver that they have measured very exactly. And therein they shall be given to drink a cup whose mixture is ginger, therein a fountain whose name is called Salsabil. ….

…. and such fruits as they shall choose, and such flesh of fowl as they desire, and wide-eyed houris as the likeness of hidden pearls, a recompense for that they laboured. Therein they shall hear no idle talk, no cause of sin, only the saying, “Peace, Peace!”

 

This is very different from the Christian view of the afterlife. It is true that the book of Revelation does describe a world in which there is no sorrow or pain or suffering. But it is not expressed in such physical terms as in the Koran. And it is understood that the imagery is metaphorical and symbolic.

 

 “I don’t want to go to heaven!”

 But many people today also seem to have a very physical view of paradise – and not just Muslims. “I don’t want to go to heaven”, they say. “Imagine standing around for all eternity strumming a harp in a long white robe. I’m not even musical – I don’t want to play a harp!”

 But the harp is an instrument of praise. In the book of Revelation it symbolizes the fact that we shall praise God for ever. We shall be taken up with him, in the words of Charles Wesley: “lost in wonder love and praise” .

As for the white robes: they represent the righteousness of the saints. There will be no sin or evil-doing in that heavenly kingdom.

 Again someone might point to these verses:

Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.

(Revelation 22:15)

 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

(Revelation 21:1)

 No dogs! No sea! As one who loves both dogs and the seaside I sincerely hope this is not literally true! But of course, the life of eternity is not just going to be a glorified version of this one. I don’t know whether dogs will be there, or the sea, but I do know that all the joy I have experienced in these things will be there in heaven.

 Moreover when he says “dogs” the writer is not using the word literally. The apostle John uses the word as a term of abuse – as a synonym for evil-doers.

And likewise when he uses the word “sea”. To the Hebrew way of thinking, the sea was a place of turmoil and chaos. It was also a cause of separation. If someone went across the sea they were far away. You might never see them again. So “there was no longer any sea,” could mean “there will be no more separation” or “there will be no more turmoil or chaos in that heavenly realm”.

  

Jesus is there

 But let’s go back to the quote earlier: Heaven: an unknown region with a well-known inhabitant. i.e Jesus

 Or in the words of the children’s chorus:

Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace,

I’ m going to see my Saviour’s face. O heaven is a wonderful place.

 The Lord Jesus is there in his risen, glorified body. We also shall be glorified and the circumstances we shall enjoy in that heavenly realm are beyond imagining.

 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. ( 1 Corinthians 2:9)

 God made us for himself, and we find no full satisfaction in this life. C S Lewis, in his autobiography “Surprised by joy”, tells how, as a child, he would at times experience a sense of joy. Just a glimpse, it seemed, of some greater world. As he went on in life he sought to fulfill these yearnings for joy – through learning and, study, though relationships, though pleasures. None of these things fully satisfied. He found no fulfillment in the things of this world. Eventually he found the answer in Jesus Christ. Then he realized that these episodes of joy had been yearnings for the heavenly kingdom.

 It’s not “pie in the sky when you die”, no, rather, it is as we say in the Confession of Faith: “The chief end of Man is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever”.

  

Conclusion

 When we get to that glorious kingdom there shall be no barriers then. We shall be sinless, we shall not be distracted by worldly charms. We shall be taken up with glorifying and enjoying our God and Creator. And we shall be united with all those who have ever lived and who love God.

 All there shall be like the Swan in the story. But what of the Cranes who prefer to search for snails among the slimy pondweed? There will be no place for them in heaven because they have no desire to be there. They do not love God nor do they want to be with him forever.

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