The Resurrection of the Dead: The Mortal Swallowed Up by Life

The resurrection of the dead is central to Christian theology. If the dead are not raised, everything in this life is nothing more than “dust in the wind.” We’re born, we live, and then we die.

But is that it? We will pass from this life to the next life through death’s door. This is why Paul could write, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). James writes that we “are a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Vanishing into the ether is a haunting nightmare. Purpose is obliterated this side of the grave if this is all there is.

But there is life after death. This is God’s promise. Jesus led the way. But some disagree about what happens after death. When do we get our new bodies? Is it at death, or must we remain disembodied spirits until Jesus returns physically and ends this “terrestrial ball”?

The primary texts in the New Testament about the resurrection of the dead come from the pen of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. These and other pertinent texts are vital to unraveling the mystery of Paul’s argument about what happens after physical death.

For example, what did Paul mean by “those who are asleep,” and “the rest who” have no “hope” (1 Thess. 4:13)? What became of those Old Testament saints (Heb. 11:39-40) who died before Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, and those who have died since? You may never have considered these questions, but they were paramount to the very first Christians. Answering these and related questions puts so much about Bible prophecy into helpful perspective:

• Who are “the dead” in 1 Corinthians 15?
• What is the meaning of “death”?
• Is there more than one meaning of “death” that is relevant to the eschatological context?
• What is the identity of the “last enemy” in 15:26?
• What is the “sting of death” in 15:56?
• According to the New Testament, what is the specific eschatological time labeled as the “last trumpet” in 15:52?
• What is the nature of the “change” mentioned in 15:51-52 and who or what is to be changed?
• What does Paul mean by the “natural” body and the “spiritual” body in 15:44?
• What is meant by the “image of the earthy” (not “earthly”) and the “image of the heavenly” in 15:49?
• Why is it said in 15:50 that “flesh and blood” cannot inherit the Kingdom of God?

These questions and more are the focus of The Resurrection of the Dead: The Mortal Swallowed Up by Life. What is the proper initial historical context in which these chapters and texts—1 Corinthians 15, 2 Corinthians 4 and 5, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18—are to be read and understood?

It's a matter of life and death, in the truest and most important sense of the phrase.

About the authors:

Kim Burgess is a graduate of the University of South Carolina (BA, 1975) and Reformed Theological Seminary (M.Div., M.C.E, 1980). He was awarded a full scholarship in 1980 to do further graduate work at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the field of biblical theology. Thanks to the Internet, Kim teaches students online in the field of biblical theology in both the United States and abroad. He is the author of the groundbreaking two-volume work The Hope of Israel and the Nations. He lives in Roanoke, Virginia, in the beautiful Valley of Virginia. Kim is married with two grown children.

Gary DeMar is a graduate of Western Michigan University (BS, 1973) and Reformed Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1979). He is the author of dozens of books on topics related to history, economics, apologetics, education, and eschatology that include Last Days Madness, Wars and Rumors of Wars, Is Jesus Coming Soon?, Prophecy Wars, 10 Popular Prophecy Myths Exposed and Answered, and others. He is president of The American Vision, a biblical worldview ministry located in Powder Springs, Georgia.

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