What Does This Mean?

Last Things 7c: Wars and Rumors of Wars

[Ninth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

The second sign that Jesus gave to his disciples to show that the world is coming to an end is that there will be wars and rumors of wars. (Matthew 24:6-7, Luke 21:9)

The first time we read this prophecy, it strikes us as rather strange. After all, there is nothing unusual about wars and rumors of wars. Nations have gone to war throughout history. In fact, this creates a constant problem for people seeking to determine the year of Christ’s return. They cope by admitting that, yes, there have always been wars, but that wars will become more frequent and intense as we draw closer to the end. They do have a point, since Jesus describes these signs as labor pains. At first, labor pains come far apart. The closer one gets to birth, however, the more frequent and intense they become.

The difficulty with this reading is that wars do not follow a steady pattern. Sometimes they come one after another; other times, years pass with relatively few. Most Romans living at the time of Jesus experienced Rome’s peace and knew little of war firsthand. Yet only a few decades later, the Jewish people would see war in all its horror as the Roman legions crushed a revolt in the Holy Land. In our own era, the two deadliest wars in human history took place in the first half of the twentieth century. Nothing like them has occurred since, thank God. The wars fought by us and other nations since then have been far smaller.

So, if wars cannot help us determine when Christ will return, why did Jesus give this sign?

Jesus answers that question himself: “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6). Wars are not signs that Christians should panic. Nor are they clues for calculating dates. Rather, they remind us that all is not well in the world. Human beings were created to live in peace with God and with one another. Because of sin, however, the world is filled with hatred, violence, greed, and the desire to dominate others.

Like earthquakes, famines, and pestilences, wars are part of the labor pains of this present age. Labor pains are painful, but they are not meaningless. They point to what is coming. Every war and rumor of war reminds us that this fallen world is passing away and that our hope cannot finally rest in any earthly kingdom. The kingdoms of this world rise and fall. Empires come and go. Peace treaties are made and broken. Yet the kingdom of Christ endures forever.

These signs remind us that the world is cursed and that it will one day pass away. They keep us from growing too comfortable in our sin and call us to repentance and faith. When nations rage, and the headlines are filled with news of conflict, Christians need not despair. Jesus told us these things would happen. Instead, we cling to him and look forward to the New Heavens and the New Earth, where war will cease, righteousness will dwell, and we will live forever in the peace of God that has no end.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7b: Earthquakes and Famines and Pestilences

[Seventh in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

Before the world comes to an end, Jesus told his disciples that there would be earthquakes, famines, and pestilences. Fearful things and strange signs would appear in the heavens. (Luke 21:11, Matthew 24:7) As with wars and rumors of wars, these signs aren’t of much help in predicting the Second Coming of Christ. After all, disaster is part of the curse that Adam and Eve received for committing the first sin. St. Paul describes creation as subject to futility, groaning like a woman in childbirth. (Romans 8:20-22) Jesus uses the same image for these very signs: “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:8)

Pastor Hans Fiene observes that, because of the fall, creation is cursed and has been turned from harmony with us to hostility toward us. The world that once gladly yielded its fruits now resists us with disease, floods, famine, fire, storms, drought, and every kind of disaster. To survive, human beings must exercise dominion over it.

These signs were present from the very day Jesus predicted they would be. Even as Jesus died on the cross, an earthquake struck the Holy Land and the sun went dark during midday. Famine struck during the dark days of the AD 60s and 70s. Throughout the millennia that followed, natural disasters have destroyed countless lives.

Many Christians have concluded that these events will become more and more frequent as we get closer to the Second Advent. Perhaps. The problem is that we will never know for sure whether such events indicate Christ’s return in our generation. The key to understanding what these events tell us is to realize that they describe the whole age from the Ascension to the Second Coming. They are not like the prophecy of the Virgin Birth, the town of Bethlehem, or the precision of Psalm 22 describing the crucifixion.

Instead, they are signs of a creation in labor. Just as labor pains remind a mother that the child is coming, so earthquakes, famines, pestilences, and disasters remind us that this present creation is passing away and that a new creation is coming. Every earthquake, famine, pestilence, and disaster reminds us that this creation is fallen and that our hope cannot finally rest in this world. The groaning of creation points forward to the day when Christ will make all things new.

These signs remind us that the world is cursed and will one day fail. They keep us from becoming too comfortable in our sin and warn us to repent and cling to Christ. For the same Lord who foretold these birth pains also promised the new heavens and the new earth that will follow them.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7a: The Signs of the Times

[Eighth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

As winter approaches in many areas of the world, plants and animals begin preparing for changes in their home climate. In the American Midwest, the leaves on many trees change color and fall from their branches. The Canada geese first fly in circles and then most head south for the season. The juncos, small sparrow-like birds, are the last to leave where I live and the first to arrive in spring. When these things happen, you can expect winter weather, and cold will not be far behind.

The date of Christ’s return is unknown to us. Jesus taught that even he did not know when it would happen — only the Father in Heaven. (Matthew 24:36) Yet we do know Jesus’ return is near. He told his disciples that they know summer is near when the fig tree starts to grow leaves. They knew — and we know — that time is growing short because we see the signs of the times that the Lord gave them.

Yet the signs of the times are not specific events, nor are they like variables in some prophecy algebra problem — you know — insert the invention of television, the establishment of the modern nation of Israel, the identity of the anti-Christ, and the use of bar codes, and then you know the year of Christ’s return. These signs are like those that identify the season — they tell us the kind of times that we live in. A checklist counts events; a season is known by its character. These signs tell us the world is passing away. Jesus made the same point to the crowds: they could look at a cloud rising in the west and say rain is coming, and feel a south wind and say it will be hot — yet they could not interpret the present time (Luke 12:54–56).

Since Jesus told his disciples they would see these signs in their generation, what is taking so long? Over two thousand years does not seem like soon — at the very gates — to us. But those are Jesus’ own words: “So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates” (Matthew 24:33). St. Peter explains this to us. The return of Christ is not measured on our human calendar. It is on God’s scale. For the Father, a thousand years pass like a day passes for us. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

We had a similar experience. On a long trip with young children, they often ask, “Are we there yet?” We say, “soon.” But while an hour or two is soon for us, it is very long for the children! He waits for the last person who will be saved to repent. And we should be glad for it — it includes us!

Yet still we remain alert. We do not know when that day will come, and the great marriage feast of the Lamb will begin. We want to be ready for that party!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #9d: Writing Through Tears: Christian Obituary, pt. 3

[Eighteenth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

It begins and ends with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The funeral service starts with a baptismal remembrance. At the graveside, we pray and rejoice in the resurrection promised to our deceased loved ones in their baptism. The obituary should be no different.

“Jason Matthew Kaspar, a baptized child of God, died (situation may be included) on Blurnsday, Septober 32, 20xx, (location), having lived [x] years upon the earth (sometimes years, months, days, and hours are calculated).”

Use Baptismal names up front. Short forms and nicknames are suitable in the body that follows. We ought to use baptismal names at the start and in the funeral, reflecting the name God used to claim us. He knows the day He called you by name, forgave your sins, and placed faith in your heart. He knows the name by which you were called.

“Jason was born on [date, location], baptized in the Name of the Triune God on [date, congregation], confirmed in the Christian faith on [date, congregation], graduated from [name of high school, college, technical school, or such institution] on [date], was married to Mandy on [date, congregation], enjoying and toiling [x] years as husband and wife together. [They were blessed in their union by the birth(s) of [x] child(ren)]. He was ordained into the office of Holy Ministry on [date], serving the people of God [x] years in full-time ministry and [x] years of pulpit supply in retirement.”

A listing of significant dates shall include the most important ones: those involving the Christian life in faith. This is also a good spot for a military service record and/or other public service like law enforcement, elected office, service organizations, term as king or queen, and the like. It makes for better reading to list activities dryly here and expound on them in the following section.

“‘Pacco Kappa’ as he was called by little ones struggling to learn their intervocalic ‘s’es and terminal ‘r’s…” [Fluffy details and glowing remembrances go here. Please avoid making the deceased sound like a flawlessly angelic figure in need of no savior. Definitely avoid saying they deserve admission into the heavens by dint of their deeds or character.]

In my case, this will be a short section. The life-and-times bit is very important to the surviving family. It will likely be the hardest part to write. No one will likely get everything they want into the obituary. Space limitations and the memory-blurring power of immediate grief will almost certainly truncate the information contained herein. Survivors, don’t beat yourselves up about a perfect remembrance. The years to come and your memories will serve far better than these paragraphs.

“He was preceded in death by [expand or abridge this section as desired], and all the host of those have died in the faith.

He is survived by [living relative and descendants are listed here, close/beloved acquaintances are also appropriate].

We, the surviving family, with certain confidence, entrust our son, brother, grandson, friend, pastor (list exhaustively), into the arms of Jesus Christ, who called him by name on [baptismal date], and who is the Resurrection and the Life.”

The conclusion should absolutely recapitulate our only true hope and promise. No comfort exists outside of Jesus and his work for our loved ones, which has now been delivered! Double down on what gives lasting comfort: the deceased was promised salvation in baptism. And they have it today!

Details for visitation, funeral service, interment, and memorials may follow. These announcements aren’t exactly “part” of the obituary. They’re more like obituary-adjacent material. Do your survivors a solid. Start working on your own obituary today. Even just a collection of dates and basic details will help them immensely.

Let us confess Jesus Christ, certain of the resurrection.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Last Things #9c: It Has Pleased Almighty God: Christian Obituary, pt. 2

[Sixteenth in a series of posts on last things]

Encore Post:

The death announcement is as much a part of an obituary as it can be without being in it. The announcement quickly identifies the deceased and where they currently reside. The hopelessness and unmitigated grief in death for unbelievers is the opposite of what we get to confess as Christians. Here is a great standardized format of how we ought to speak of our loved ones in death, commonly used by many pastors in the LCMS. I learned it from my vicarage supervisor, Rev. Robert Smith, formerly of the CTSFW Library.

“It has pleased Almighty God on September 8th, 2022 to call into His presence Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, who, baptized in the name of the Triune God, trusted in Christ, whose tears are gone and whose sorrows have been turned into joy. We pray God will comfort those who mourn her death with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!”

“It Has Pleased Almighty God to call into His presence…” Our temporal death is a release from our bondage to the sin that remains in this flesh before the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. Our Lord loves us and is pleased to see us delivered from this vale of tears. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to die for your sins. It shouldn’t surprise us to hear that our death and deliverance into His presence is His will and our blessing.

“…Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor …who, baptized in the name of the Triune God…” The pagan world has convinced us we can only find comfort in memory. In Christ, that’s not so. In the announcement, we say why we should take comfort. Memory can help us. But the only certain comfort, the only true comfort, comes from the knowledge that God has kept His word. He has saved the Queen, Aunt Hildegard, and Uncle Fritz. He saved them through their baptism, preserved them in the Christian faith, and delivered them to Himself.

For the death announcement and the obituary, it is good to use their full baptismal name. Nicknames and/or titles may follow. Your baptismal name is the name God used when He called you His own and put faith into your heart. This is also true of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.

“Who… trusted in Christ, whose tears are gone and whose sorrows have been turned into joy.” Everyone who lives a Christian life has lived from the moment of their baptism in faith. They are forgiven and renewed in that same faith by the Lord’s continued blessings in His absolution and His Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins. In that promise, Jesus has brought her from this vale of tears into heavenly joy.

“We pray that God will comfort those who mourn her death with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead.” We’ve developed a lazy social media habit of saying, “prayers.” It’s hollow, keeping up an appearance of faith. Christians and non-Christians alike share the sentiment, revealing its emptiness. Dear Christians, we pray in specificity. In death, we pray for comfort to the survivors. Their comfort comes from the Lord. It flows from knowing God’s faithfulness to us.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!” He has delivered Elizabeth from death into eternal life. He will do the same for you. That’s the comfort of the resurrection. This separation through death is temporary. We will see it resolved in Christ with our own eyes on the last day.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.” (Psalm 116:15-16)

Let us confess Jesus Christ, especially in death.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Last Things #9b: Christians Don’t “Pass Away:” Christian Obituary, pt. 1

[Sixteenth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

The expression “pass away” is a ubiquitous term among English speakers. It’s a euphemism meant to be kind, to soften the blow of death. I’m certain. No one uses “pass away” to mislead anyone. But the term conceals reality. And it fails to confess the great news for Christians in the bitterness of death.

A euphemism is simply a good-sounding word to use in place of a term that may be profane, uncomfortable, hurtful, or off-putting. The Greek root of “euphemism” means nearly the same: good speaking. Good speaking conceals or softens uncomfortable things.

I can’t speak to the origin of “pass away” as a common euphemism for death. The funeral industry has certainly embraced it. Again, this isn’t a malicious use of the euphemism. They are likely trying to protect people’s feelings. But there may have been a theological driver here, too.

For some folks, we may not be able to speak confidently about their state after death. Without evidence of Christianity, there’s no hope of salvation or resurrection to eternal life. We should and do hope that something is hidden from us. But some dwell in sin and separation from God by their own doing.

Other Christian traditions place great importance on our actions regarding God. A Baptist may be disinclined to trust in infant baptism. They believe that, contrary to the Scriptures, a person must make a public confession as an adult and be baptized for the first time, or again, as an outward sign of the internal decision to accept Jesus. When a Romanist or a Lutheran dies, the Baptist may not have a full-throated confidence in their rest in Christ. This finds confidence in the works and words of man, not God.

We begin the funeral service by remembering baptism. That’s the key fact for Christianity. Pastor starts, “In Holy Baptism [the deceased] was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all his or her sin. St. Paul says: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3) The congregation speaks along, “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. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” (Roman 6:4)

But I digress. Let’s get back to the euphemistic “passing away” as a term for death. Do the scriptures speak about passing away? Yup, they sure do.

“Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.” (Job 30:15) This is negative. For Job, all the good things of his life before his affliction have passed away.

“I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.” (Psalm 37:35-36) This is negative. In the Psalms, wicked things, wicked people, and the brokenness of a fallen creation pass away.

“[The Assyrian’s] rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,’ declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 31:9) This is negative. The power of Israel’s oppressor is the thing passing away.

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches… Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” (Amos 6:4a, 7) This is negative. In the minor prophets, what passes away is wicked or sinful.

(See also – Job 6:14-16; Job 11:16; Job 34:18-20; Psalm 90:7-9; Psalm 102:3-5; Psalm 148:5-6; Isaiah 2:17-18; Jeremiah 8:14; Daniel 7:13-14; Nahum 1:12-13; Zephaniah 2:1-2)

Speaking in the way the Scriptures speak, we are saying that those things which pass away are wicked, evil, sinful, oppressive, or in need of destruction. We ought to speak well of those who have died, even in our simple expressions.

Those who rest in Christ have not passed away.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Last Things #9: The Ofrenda Zone

[Fourteenth in a series of posts on last things]

Encore Post:

In Hispanic culture, there is sometimes a familial practice of setting up an ofrenda (offering altar) for the home visitation upon a loved one’s death. The individual found may remain up for as long as grieving persists. For example, an elderly person might leave the ofrenda of their child, who preceded them in death, up for the rest of the years of their natural life.

In more traditional homes, you might see a family ofrenda, which bears the photos of generations of deceased family members. This type of ofrenda typically doesn’t come down.

In other cases, the individual ofrenda or family ofrenda may only be set up for the celebration of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), November 1st and 2nd. Day of the Dead festivities come from extant pagan ancestor-worship practices of the Aztecs and other Central American tribes. Upon their conversion to Christianity, ancestor worship remained to varying degrees.

Make no mistake, the ofrenda is an altar of worship to the deceased. Placing a crucifix nearby doesn’t change that. The offerings in particular reveal this. Various food and drink offerings are set on the ofrenda for the dead. But the “required” items are: water, bread, and coins. These confess a specific, non-Christian eschatology (understanding of things pertaining to the end times).

In Aztec religious beliefs about the afterlife, the dead must undergo a journey to the land of the dead. The journey is long, through a barren land. So, the offerings are for the journey. Many pagan cultures worldwide share similar views.

Christianity teaches differently. For us, upon our death, our souls are immediately delivered to heaven to rest, awaiting the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. On that day, the souls of all believers will be reunited with their glorified bodies to dwell forever in the new Jerusalem with Jesus.

About now, you might say, “But, Pastor Kaspar, I’m an Anglo. We don’t do these things. What does this matter to us?”

Many of us have an Uncle Fritz with one of these. Uncle Fritz lost his wife 15 years ago. He put her ashes on the mantel at home, or on a sofa table in the hallway. Her picture is there too. He and the kids periodically place little mementos on the table or mantel. This is basically also an ofrenda.

The only real difference is the occasional attempt by ofrenda users to sanctify the paganism with a crucifix or a statuette of St. Mary’s Sacred Heart. The non-remembrance altar doesn’t even get religious recognition.

These altars to our deceased loved ones are a bad idea. They teach us to think about death differently than Scripture teaches. It’s best to place our dead to rest, among their brothers and sisters in the faith, in a permanent spot. Let their bodies rest undisturbed until the day of resurrection.

Remember that although death separates us in this life, we are still united in the faith. Specifically, when we celebrate the foretaste of the feast to come in the Lord’s Supper, a spectacular reality descends to us. In that moment, singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” with all the hosts of heaven, we commune with all the saints in heaven.

It’s not a little pagan altar to my mom that gets me close to her. It’s the Lord gathering the faithful around His altar, which brings us back together for a moment, a foretaste of the eternal feast awaiting us in His kingdom, for the sake of Jesus’ death for us. That’s what brings us closer to our dearly departed loved ones.

Let us confess Jesus Christ, even in death.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Last Things #8: Pennies From Heaven?

[Fourteenth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post:

“Pennies from heaven,” “a cardinal on my fence line,” and “someone looking down on me” are a few examples of seemingly innocuous things even faithful Christians will say regarding the dead. We’ll hear folks speak of the dead as if they are still interacting with us here on Earth. I don’t believe for a second that most folks realize what they’re saying or intend to promote heresy in any way. However, it’s incorrect and needs to be addressed.

The first concern here is that our loved ones at rest in Christ are sending love notes to us from their rest in Christ in heaven. As I’ve discussed before, our deceased loved ones are finally free from the taint of sin. Dwelling only in blessedness and righteousness, they have a dim view of the world, still corrupted by sin and our part in it.

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” (Revelation 6:9-11)

I thank the Lord that their awareness of us is probably hidden.

In Luke 16, we have the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In torment in Hell, the nameless Rich Man is allowed to see Abraham and Lazarus. He speaks with Abraham. There is no interaction between him and Lazarus. The rich man sees nothing else of Heaven or Earth. And Abraham defines their positions thusly, “…between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26)

Now, the second concern here is the attribution of godlike powers to those who have been taken on to glory in the heavens. In this case, Aunt Hildegard is “smiling down on me.” We’ll hear of her sending a rainbow, of a cool breeze in the summer heat, a rainstorm in a drought, sunshine to break up a monsoon, a pristine snowfall on a winter’s night, or some other weather anomaly.

We’ve made blessed Aunt Hildegard into nothing more than a pagan weather goddess. By applying god-like power to her, we diminish the Lord of the heavens and the earth. And we seek to pull her out of salvation in heaven with Jesus. Instead, we’d see her moved into a pagan pantheon and a lesser god status there, too.

The real error: finding peace and comfort in this life, not the promise of the resurrection. There’s no promise our loved ones will hear us now. But we will see them again at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. That’s a little sad, and a whole lot OK.

Real Christian comfort comes in knowing that our loved ones have received salvation bought for them by the death of Jesus. That’s the same salvation promised to us in our own baptism. It will be delivered in full on the day of our death. The day when we too inherit the crown of salvation bought by Jesus’s blood and righteousness.

In our grief, let the Lord be the King of Salvation.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Last Things #7: Between the End of Your Time and the End of Time

[Seventh in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Post:

The question that most haunts our lives is the question of life after death. What will it be like? Will our spirits wander the earth, becoming the ghosts of popular imagination? Will they gain new bodies to work off negative karma? Merge with the whole universe or become a spiritual guide for others for a while? Will they go to a dark underworld forever? Will they go to a place to purge their remaining sins before being fit for heaven? Or will they cease to exist entirely when our bodies die? The Scripture tells us firmly “no” to these things. None of these fates awaits us or our loved ones. Nor is our hope the pagan notion of a soul immortal by its own nature; our life is given through Jesus Christ alone.

It may come as a complete surprise, but Scripture tells us very little about what happens to us when death rips our souls apart from our bodies. Most of the passages that speak about the end of things focus on the second coming of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the bodies of all people, the glorious transformation of our bodies into our eternal, spiritual bodies, the last judgement, and eternal life for the saints and eternal death for the damned. The few things it tells us are often vague, sometimes speaking of their intermediate state (the theologian’s term for the time between death and the resurrection), and other times of our glorious bodies. There is even some doubt whether, from the perspective of the soul, there is any experience of waiting at all — it may be like waking from sleep — even though Scripture affirms their conscious blessedness with Christ.

No matter which description fits a Christian at the moment of death, for a Christian, eternal life begins before death, when God adopts that person as his own son or daughter. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even if he dies, yet shall he live. And he who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26; see also John 3:16, 5:24). They commend their souls into the hands of God. (Acts 7:59, Luke 23:46) For those without faith, death brings with it eternal separation from God, kept under punishment until the Last Judgment (2 Peter 2:9), after which eternal punishment in Hell with Satan and his angels awaits.

So, what can we conclude about the life our loved ones who departed in Christian faith enjoy now, while waiting for the resurrection of their bodies? They are with Christ in Paradise (Philippians 1:23, Luke 23:43). The angels carry them to be with him and others who died in the faith. (Luke 16:19-31) There, God will comfort them and dry every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16-17, 21:4) They are at rest from their labors, as Christ rested in the tomb on Holy Saturday. The deeds they did with faith in Christ will follow them. (Revelation 14:13) They are free once and for all from the Old Adam or Old Eve that plagued them in this life, and their sins are cleansed from their souls. (2 Timothy 4:18) They will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father (Matthew 13:43).

What is certain is that, as glorious as life is in the presence of Christ now, the best is yet to come. When their souls return with Christ at the second advent, he will raise their bodies from the grave, reunite them with their souls, and transform them to be fit for eternity (1 Corinthians 15:42–44; Philippians 3:20–21). Life in the world with Christ is good, at rest with Jesus better, but by far the best is yet to come. On that day, God will once again look at all he had made, and now redeemed, and say, “Look! It is very good!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #6: Why do Christians (Still) Die?

[Sixth in a series of posts on Last Things]

Encore Posts:

In Holy Baptism, Jesus unites Christians with his death and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5) Our sins are drowned in its waters, washed away forever. His death is our death, and his resurrection guarantees our resurrection. In his wounds, we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) Yet every Christian will suffer and get sick. Except for the Christians alive when Christ returns, all people alike, rich and poor, evil and saintly, will die and their bodies decay. Jesus promised Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) So, why do all Christians — including Mary, Martha, and Lazarus — still die?

The answer is very simple, but not very satisfying. The wages of sin is death. (Genesis 2:17, 3:17-19, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:10, James 1:15) God’s wrath punishes our rebellion with physical death (Psalm 90). Sin infects us through many means. We inherited original sin when we were conceived. Just as DNA is passed on to us, from parent to child, ultimately from our first father, Adam, so also is original sin passed on to us. (Romans 5:12) So, we continue to sin much daily. God’s sentence for this rebellion is that the soul that sins will die. (Ezekiel 18:4)

Our old Adam and old Eve, the sinful desire within us, called by Scripture the flesh, fills us with emotion and overcomes even our common sense. The world calls on us to fit in and thus abandon God’s will for us. Finally, the devil tempts us and tries to intimidate us into looking to our own interests. Baptism saves us but does not free us from the sinful flesh. The struggle between these forces on the one side and our new nature on the other lasts as long as we live. (Romans 7:14-25; Galatians 5:17) Only our death or the return of Christ ends this lifelong battle.

For those who suffer the death of loved ones, there is no tougher trial than the grief that follows. So, let there be no illusions: death is no friend. It is the last enemy to be defeated. (1 Corinthians 15:26) So, why does Scripture tell us: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Because Jesus died and rose again from the dead, the seal of the grave is broken forever. Now, for a Christian, death is the gateway to everlasting life. (John 5:24) Suffering comes to an end for them. Sin is removed from them. In death, God destroys the sinful flesh once for all, so that they may arise completely renewed. (Apology XII, 153; Formula of Concord, Epitome I, 10) Their sorrows are turned to joy forever. (Isaiah 51:11, Isaiah 26:19) He wipes every tear from their eyes. (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 7:17, 21:4) No one can snatch them from his hand. (John 10:27-30) They see God face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12) and live in the arms of their savior. They rest from their labors (Revelation 14:13). What was sown in dishonor will be raised in glory. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) He will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

So, Christians still die because they still sin. For them, however, death brings the blessings of eternal life. So we who miss them greatly grieve, but not as though without hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) The musings of Dr. Martin Luther at the death of his daughter Magdalena say it well: “I am joyful in spirit, but I am sad according to the flesh. The flesh doesn’t take kindly to this. The separation troubles me above measure. It’s strange to know that she is surely at peace and that she is well off there, very well off, and yet to grieve so much!” (AE 54: 432, no. 5498).

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana