The life after death- in the Bible

When we talk with other people -most of them although they claim they are Christians- they are completely hopeless when they hear about death.  But dying doesn't mean the end of life forever like many think. Those who don't have interest in searching the Bible may think that  there is no hope and that the future is unclear, uncertain. People would read every magazine they see that looks interesting or discloses secrets of a famous person, but there is a very little interest in reading the Bible. I wonder if a famous actress dug herself out of the grave and came back to a studio saying ; 'Guys I am back to life!,- every news would be talking about it. More- if she said 'Guys, I have something for immortality!'- wouldn't everybody want to know about it?

So why the fact about Jesus resurrection isn't speaking to people so much that they would hold on to hope of coming back to life manifested in Jesus?

The thing is most people are not really taught about it too much. There are lots of Christian churches that would only talk about Jesus as Him being born as a baby and then at Easter time- about Him crucified and risen again- without teaching what was the whole purpose of  it.

You would say; He was risen from the dead but what about me? I have no peace, no hope. I am trying to live my life in a good way but still I have no clue what will happen to me when I die. So we would rather avoid thinking about the whole story.

But if you  look into the  Bible , you would be surprised  how many great things are still possible in your future.

You can be sure you can have  life after coming to Jesus. And it is not about this life only but the life after you died. Life forever.

"Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me has eternal life." John 6;47

In order to be sure you have life you have to come to Jesus. Don't think about Him as a baby from the 'Christmas story'but accept Him as your powerful Lord and Savior.

You won't be sure about what will happen to you after you die, until you come to Jesus. 'Playing' the religious life without coming to the Son of God, won't bring you peace and hope.

"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. " John 5;39

You start with coming to Jesus, then you can read about the whole future the Bible is talking about. You will find out that Christ promised to come back and that there will be a time with  Him as a king on earth, time in which all those who belong to Him, will reign with Him for 1000 years.

You can see that you will be alive again  if you are to reign with Him during that time on earth.

The Bible says that if you – as a true believer in Christ- die before the return of Christ, you will be risen from the dead at His coming and you will receive the nature of what Christ received after His resurrection - He was the "firstborn from the dead" (Col.1, 18). The nature which Christ received, isn't subject to the death , it is as the nature of angels. Luke 20;36 talks about the 'righteous in Jesus' resurrected; " they can not die, because they are equal to the angels."

The body of Christ was transfigured - He could walk through the door, move through space (John.20, 26), He ate with His disciples (John.21, 13) - but He was not a ghost, but a person in a physical body.

 (John.20 , 27).

 In the Philippians we read, that "the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body." (Phil.3, 21)

You can be sure of your resurrection if you belong to Jesus;

“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;11

We read about that also in Revelation (chapter 20), that talks about  two resurrections: the first one - when Christ returns to earth (v. 4), and the second one -after the 1000-year period of Christ reign on earth (v.13).

In the first (v. 6) case the reward for the righteous will be their immortal life that Jesus spoke about 

(Luke.20, 35-36).

“But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”

Paul also writes about that in 1 Corinthians 15; 23, the first resurrection is at the time of Christ's coming.

There is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

Not all people will have their share in the first resurrection ( at His coming). Those who are subject to God's judgement because they rejected Jesus who could save them- they won't see life.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." John 3;36

Jesus said;

"Whoever rejects me, and receives not my words has a judge: the word I preached,  will judge him in the last day" (John.12, 48). 

 

If you trusted Jesus as your Lord, you will not be judged into condemnation.

”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." John 5;24

Those who are subject to God's judgement will be resurrected after 1000 years of Christ reign on earth

 ( second resurrection).

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.”

"Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire which is the second death." Revelation 20;14-15

"Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for thousand years."

                                       Christ 's Kingdom -1000 years of reign on earth

The period of 1000 years between the first and second resurrection will be a time of great blessing on the earth but before "God will be all in all" (v.28)-as Paul says in  1 Corinthians.15- Christ must "destroy all dominion authority and power; because He must reign, until He has put all His enemies under His feet "(v.24-25).  Finally, Christ's kingdom will cover the whole earth.

(Satan will be bound for a thousand years.) Christ will reign over the nations (mortal men), together with all the faithful (whom He will raise from the dead at his coming.  (1Corinthians.15, 23) 

 

"... they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him thousand years "

(Revelation 20:6). 

They will accompany Christ in the introduction of a new order when He returns. They have their share in so called 'the first resurrection'.

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert. " Isaiah 35;5-6

“Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
he work of their hands."             Isaiah 65;20-22

Eventually -after 1000 years -there will be perfect world, when the death will be totally destroyed.

                                          The Judgment of Satan

"When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20;7-10 

                                         A New Heaven and a New Earth

                                 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.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  Revelation 21;1-5

All will rise one day

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will 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;28-30
This is one of the great devotions  Charles Spurgeon wrote based on these words spoken by Jesus.
Have you ever thought about the magnificence of what this means? One day Christ will raise all the dead out of their graves. All does not only mean all whose bodies are actually in the grave at this time, but all who ever have been buried, all who have ever existed. Try to imagine all the people who lived in the earth, who lived before and after the flood.
Think of the all Adams descendants from Tarshish to Egypt, people in  Nineveh, Babylon, Chaldea, Persia, Greece, Rome. These were vast empires of men. Then the Saxons and the Franks and Celts, yet these nations were only some of a numerous group of nations. Think of the whole continent of Africa, people in India and China and Japan. Out of all who have ever lived  not one will be left in the tomb. We can say the same words as the psalmist did  of  another matter;
 " Such knowledge is too wonderful to me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it." Ps 139;6 

How has God marked all of the bodies , how has He tracked the remains of each one?  More of this  - He even knows all the stars and knows them by name. Billions of billions  of stars in every galaxy!

How will Jesus Christ  be able to raise them all?  We do not know it  but He will do it for He declared it and God has purposed it.
Jesus proved this fact that He can raise the dead ones to life  on several occasions in His lifetime; at the gates of Nain where He met the funeral procession  of the widow's son; then in the room of the dead daughter  of Jairus, and again at the tomb of the almost-decaying  Lazarus. Jesus had power to raise  the dead ones to life when He was on earth and He still has power to speak to those who have passed away and command them back to life.
"For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will".
John 5;21

 " All that are in the graves will hear His voice." All the righteous and the wicked,  no single individual will be omitted.
We all we see Him coming again in His glory; Revelation  1;7
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and every eye will see Him,
even those who pierced Him;
    and all peoples on earth will mourn because of Him.
So shall it be! Amen."
As`surely as you are alive right now, you will stand before the once- crucified Son of Man. It is not possible that you will be forgotten. We must all rise without a single exception. This is an amazing truth, and we should not doubt it.  We may be in awe of this and admire  the Lord who will  bring it to pass.
The first voice you will hear after you 'wake up' to life again, will be the voice of Jesus Christ himself.
 He knows everybody by name.

 For those who  don't want to hear the voice of Jesus Christ now, they  will surely  hear  it  then  whether they  wish  it or not.
"You may plug up your ears today, but there will be no doing  that in the Day of the last  trumpet, on that day,  you will have to hear." Charles Spurgeon.
 If you do not  respond to His voice this life, you will hear only the  summons of  judgement. Those who hear and obey His voice they  hear the summons  to mercy and  life with Christ. We all will become subject  to the power of God's omnipotent command and will appear before His sovereign judgement seat

The judgement, the  future resurrection  to life, seems to us  temporarily far away as we are busy with the present.
But Christ said; "The hour is coming(...)"  In God's mind the day of resurrection  is very near.
It may be thousand years off , yet to God it is only one day ( 2 Peter 3;8) 
"Christ wants us to try to think God's thoughts about it, He does not wants us to consider any amount of time  to be long , since time is very short by its own nature  and will be regarded it that way by us when it is past and the day has arrived. It is practical and wise for us to  come face- to face with  what is inevitable  and act as though it was as soon as tomorrow that the trumpet would sound  and we would be judged." Charles Spurgeon.

This day is appointed for all of us for the Scriptures  says;  Acts 17;31
"For he has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."
 If people weren't going to be risen and be accountable for what they have done in their lives, think about the evil ones just sleeping forever and never paying for what they have done, would you call it a justice? Definitely not!  We all have to face the Lord.

Speaking about the resurrection the second part of  John 5;28-30  is sometimes confusing for some believers as it talks as if we were justified by works;
v.30" (...)those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned."
Will men  then be saved by their works?  No, by no means! Salvation is completely  the gift of grace
or else Jesus wouldn't have to die for us.
But the judgement will be guided by our works. We are justified by faith but not by the dead faith.
 The faith that justifies  is that which produces holiness  for without 'holiness' no man shall see the Lord. (Hebrew 12;14)

Knowing that there is life after death should help us to be aware that our actions are not confined to this present life so we shouldn't be careless about them. They are reaching far, they are casting influence  across an eternal destiny." Charles Spurgeon.

 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." 2 Corinthians 5;10.
 

The holiness is the evidence of your  faith because the faith without any works is considered dead.
 "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.  You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.  And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." James 2;14-26

But there is a promise that by abiding in Christ you will be producing good fruit. Your heart will change if your life will be with Christ. (John 15;5).


Those who trusted and obey  Him  -they don't have to be afraid of the Judgement Day as Christ  is able to keep them from stumbling  and   present them before  His glorious presence with great joy without fault.
 ( Judy 1;24-25) 

What really happened during the Last Supper?

The Last Supper we usually remember as breaking and sharing the bread and  sharing the cup of wine as remembrance of  Jesus body broken and Hid blood shed for forgiveness of sin..We see twelve  apostles sitting at the table with Jesus among them.
What else was taking place at the table when the cup of new covenant in  Jesus' blood  was  passed from hands to hands?
"When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you,
I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22;14-16

Have you ever thought about what Jesus said at the table before the Passover meal started? He said He 'eagerly desired ' to eat that Passover before He was to suffer.
He had desire to spend the last hours with His disciples. Knowing that the worst was just a few hours away, that the 'pain' was  waiting at the door, He wanted to use that time  for the fellowship with His friends.
Think about it how would you feel knowing you are going to be betrayed and suffer soon? Would you withdraw into yourself and have pity on you and feel too upset to hang out  anybody around?
I can imagine I would definitely feel like that. I would be too stressed up to enjoy any party.
But let's look at Jesus. Of course  He was  feeling stressed up but the main thing   is- He was focusing on the  well-being  and  good spirit of His friends.

He talks about praying for Simon Peter;
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”Luke 22;31-32

He gives the privilege for His people to ask in prayer for what they need;
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." John 14;13-14 
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15;7 


He is promising the Holy Spirit to come as a Helper and Comforter;    
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever." John 14 ;16

He is promising His presence;
 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." John 14;18-19

He is encouraging His friends' hearts. He wants them to have joy and peace.;
v.27 " Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
 "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15;.11
“I am coming to you( Father)  now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."
John 17;13

What an encouragement! He is preparing His disciples to have hope, to have faith. Notice -He is  praying  both  for them and for.... YOU!.
" I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message". John 17;20 
His focus are the people who responded to God and who believe His words. He makes sure they know the way to follow; " You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14;4
“I am the way and the truth and the life(...) v.7

He makes sure they have His promise they are not left abandon that one day He is coming for them;
 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."  John 14;3
He is encouraging them not to give up and to be aware of the hard times to come;
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16;33

He is washing His disciples' feet, showing them to serve one another, as He served them. He gave them a command for  having love for each other.

Before He leaves to pray for the strength for Himself to endure the cross, His main focus is you!  It is not only those twelve people at the table  but also YOU. If you know Him, He wants to leave you fully equipped in the knowledge you should have, in the things you should understand, in the hope you should hold on, and in the promised return  to look forward to!
All for those whom He loves. But among all these people at the table there is  somebody who  'kills' the joy of fellowship.
There is a betrayer - Judas- whose eyes are too blind to see Jesus' love  and his heart to hardened to understand the need for the Savior!  He chooses what looks good for the eyes. Money for which he will later loose his soul forever. 
After the disciples are all  'set'  there came time to Jesus to pray for His  own strength and  asking  the Father if  it was possible to remove that coming suffering from Him.  Jesus surely knew what He was going to face  so His sweat  ( we read) was like the drops of blood. But He didn't turn back. He didn't give up. He didn't ask  His father for legions  of angels for His protection. ( as He said He could have! Matthew 26;53)
He also might have said, 'that is too much! You guys cost me too much!' But there was  no ' too much' for God. His love is great enough. He wanted our redemption at all costs! That is how much He didn't want  you to die with  eternal death. He doesn't want  you to end up like  Judas with his  soul  lost. He wants you to choose life that will be completely new  with Him and He offers beyond that. Jesus' resurrection was a sign of a triumph over death. From that time on, death  has  no power any more  over those who are safe in  Jesus.
He  promised;  “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  John 11;25-26

The living Jesus

I remember first time somebody told me about Jesus and salvation. I thought my friend was really 'religious'. Just because I had never heard before anybody talking about Jesus so much I thought the person must have  been super 'religious'.
 I also recall her explanation to me about the difference between trusting  in God and religion. At that time I had no clue what she was talking about  as it seemed that both topics were pointing to one.  Before I really got to know Jesus,  believing in God seemed a religion.What made the difference is when I finally put my trust in Him and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.
 He just answered  my prayer after I cast all my burden upon Him saying that I didn't have peace in my heart and I wanted to be sure I was saved and that I was following His call. Then  the peace came into my heart  about which I  also read  in the Bible;
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. It is not as the world gives that I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”
John 14;27

I realized Jesus was true and living.
Then  I knew  what my friend was talking  about. There is a  big difference between  knowing the  true God  and religion. Religion  is  only holing on to man -made regulations  or holding on to different man made -rituals, doing different things to impress an unknown God, aiming to your salvation on your own.  Religion is for those who want to be religious but Jesus offers life! No rituals to hold on to.Salvation is free.
You are not  saved by offering any animal sacrifice to God, you are not saved by fasting or reading the Bible constantly, you are not saved by going to the church or because your parents baptized  you as an infant and put a name " Christian"  in your documents so you belong somewhere. Jesus doesn't  call us to a new 'religion' but to life. He never mentioned a word 'religion' about trusting  in Him.
You would say everybody has life so what is the difference? What did Jesus mean by life?

What  we think about life -is what relates to out earthly temporary existence. Life in which God has no authority over us. " Let us eat and drink  for tomorrow we might die." Death will destroy everything, it is the end. So let's have as much fun now as possible before that end comes. That is how many understand 'life"
"But if there is nothing more to life than that, no meaning, no purpose, no knowledge of God, no Christ, how pathetic life becomes." somebody already said.
We are more than just the  bodies, we are  also souls Surely life is more than food!

There are many  religions but only  one person through whom we are saved- Jesus Christ. Only one man who died and rose again- Jesus. Only one person with the given authority over death and life- Jesus. Only one  person that  can give you peace and meaning in your  life- Jesus. Only one  person who demonstrated power over the rules of the nature- Jesus.

People  throughout  the centuries weren't dying for a lie.They weren't dying for an uncertain fact. They were dying for their faith, that they couldn't deny as they experienced real presence of Jesus in their lives. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
And The Life was revealed and we perceived and we testify and we proclaim to you the Life Eternal, that which was with The Father and was revealed to us."
1John 1-2

  If Christ didn't  rose from the dead, if nobody experienced any changing power that gives hope and new life - Christianity would be built on a lie.
If there had been no resurrection, the Christian church would never have come into being.There would be no meaning to life whatsoever. Even the Bible says;
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 1 Corinthians15;19
There is a true hope beyond the earthly life.First of all there is no fear. Death is no longer the end and time is no longer the enemy. When you know Christ you know life is forever. The purpose of it Jesus stated in His prayer;
 "And this is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent."  John 17;3
Life is yours for taking. You take it by faith in the living Christ. You can't believe in a dead Christ. Only the living Lord can save you. Eternal life - "now and forever." It is offered freely, but how many of us take it seriously?
 We care about things like our house to be paid off  in 20- 30 years,about our life insurance, but what about eternal insurance in Jesus? We think about our little  kids going to college in 20 years, but what about us  in 40, 50, 60, 70 years from now? At some point we will face  God  and eternity. For some it will come sooner, for some later. Eternity either with God, or apart from God in a darkness..

Life without Christ  is actually  very scary! Very uncertain. You want to hold on to it as much as possible, preserve it with all possible means but no matter how much you try, you won't be able to keep it forever.  There is a story in the Bible.
Jesus talked to people who came to Him complaining about  ' innocent'  people killed in an accident;
"Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no!
But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  Luke 13;4-5
Without a Savior the future is very uncertain, life very fragile.
Forgiveness  and life is offered now. Don't wait, don't put it off before it is too late.


No teacher has ever said anything like that  " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth".  Have we ever thought about that?
What does it really mean? All power is His as He is the risen Lord. Because  He is the risen Lord, He is the Savior of the world. He said " I am the resurrection and the life"
Do we forget why we celebrate Easter?  Put the  eggs, and the bunnies aside, it is celebrating victory over death! He is risen, He is alive! Death could not hold Him. He is victor. He is the resurrection. He is triumphant over death.
" I am alive forevermore...and have  the keys of hell and death." Revelation  1;18

Remember the knowledge about Jesus doesn't save you. You might know all details about His life  and still be missing the life  He is offering.  Christ is life and gives life to those who take it, but we must want it. We must mean it. This is no gift for which you say ' thank you' and put it away in a closet. Salvation was purchased for you by a very high price, it cost God's Son to shed His blood.
 Jesus comes to us when we really mean it. Then we can experience a new transformed life, full of hope with the living Lord.
Then we can say; He is REAL!

Second coming of Christ

"The prophecy  about Messiah, based on books of  Daniel, Isaiah, Zachariah"
"The One coming back"
Prophet Daniel  had a vision  "I kept looking into  the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven  One like a son of man was coming  and he came up  to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and  a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations  and men of every  language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which  will not be destroyed."
But then we also know  from the prophets that the Messiah  will have to meet the other  requirements ;he will be the descendant of David, born from a woman, one  from  among  his brothers, born in Bethlehem. How is that all possible, prophet Daniel  showing  him coming in the clouds of  heaven to conquer  and rule , as the one to whom  was given everlasting dominion and a kingdom. Prophet Isaiah  talks about the one who will  be  born of  a woman ( Isaiah 7;14), having the earthly life like ours, coming in a gentle and humble way to suffer (Isaiah 53) .  The only way  for all these verses to be  true  is that there would have to be two separate comings. The first followers of Jesus  didn't understand that either, until after Jesus' death and resurrection when he told them that the Messiah came to suffer first before entering his glory.
Isaiah 53  talks about a servant who had to suffer and  die   before he was glorified and gives a purpose for that;
v.3 " the one despised and rejected by men" v.5 “wounded for our transgressions, crushed because of our sins, the punishment  that brought us peace was upon him and by his wound we are healed“
The verse .6  explains ;  ” We all like sheep went astray, we turned each one to his own way, yet Adonai laid on him the guilt of all of us."v.7 "led as a lamb to the slaughter....he opened NOT his mouth"
v.8. "cut off from the land of living,  for transgressions of my people  he was stricken”,
v.11. ” My righteous Servant shall justify many , for he shall bear their iniquities“
As the verse 10 says; He made his soul offering for sin .He made his life a quilt offering, sacrificed for us so that we may have  God's  forgiveness and life. Forgiveness of sins that we have in his blood shed for us.
Isaiah talks about him having his life back; "  He shall see the labor of his soul, and be satisfied."
In the  verse 12  Isaiah  said; ” Therefore I will assign him a share with the great, he will divide the spoil with the strong for  having exposed himself to death and being counted among the sinners."
Some Jews saw that  the Messiah  would  have to suffer but they did not see his death  and resurrection. Just before  what we now clearly see as a classic prophecy about his suffering and death, comes Isaiah 52;13  which speaks of the exaltation  of the Messiah " See my servant will act wisely, he will be raised  and lifted up  and highly exalted"
While Daniel 7;13  speaks of  'son of man' coming in the clouds of heaven to bring justice,  Isaiah  also talks about the same suffering servant who will bring justice  (verse  42;1 ) says;   "Behold  my Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom my soul delights! I have put my Spirit upon Him, He will bring justice to the gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise his voice to be heard in the street (...) He will bring justice for truth."
We will read later about why all the scriptures haven't been fulfilled yet. All the great promises are still to come.
Old Testament scriptures talk  about Messiah' glorious time in the future to come.  Why  couldn't  it all together be accomplished  at once?  Had he come to bring justice right away, nobody would stay alive!
For it says; "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God."  We  had to be justified by him to have clean heart,  he had to die  in our place, by that sacrifice we are saved from God's wrath.  Restoration of hearts  by forgiveness of sin comes first. He said himself  " This is my body given for you ...this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" Luke 22;19-20
We can rejoice in the hope and peace we have in his salvation, many people are lacking living without Christ.
Ignoring that fact, we wonder why ALL the prophecy about Christ hasn't been fulfilled yet . Even Jesus' disciples asked him the same question;" When they had come together, they asked him saying "Lord will you at this time restore  the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them '  It is not for you to know  times or seasons which the Father  has put in his own authority. But you shall receive power when  the Holy Spirit  has come upon you  and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea  and Samaria  and to the end of the earth."  Acts 1;6-8
So   'Now'  it is  time of salvation. He took  upon himself the sins of  us  freeing  all  who would accept His payment.
Who would be just enough to live forever?  Without the Savior, nobody would!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that
whoever believes in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life"  John 3;16
His promise about everlasting life to those who trusted in Him was supported by  his authority to give life; apart from healing others, he raised Lazarus and Jairus' daughter back  to life. He was risen back to life after his death on the cross.
" John 10;17-18  "Therefore my father loves me, because  I lay down my life  that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I  lay it down of myself  I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again."
The roots for our beliefs are the same ; God's promise about the Messiah to come who would 'save ' their people.  We can choose to see only one side of the whole picture skipping the suffering part, and expect only the glorious future or we choose to see the whole picture- all scriptures   put together like a  big puzzle. The first followers of Jesus were Jews who watching Jesus' life were able to see in him the lamb of God. They saw him being ascended to heaven on clouds, and angels coming down saying; " Man of Galilee, why do you stand  gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus  who was taken up  from you into heaven  will so come in like manner  as you saw him  go into heaven."    Acts 1;11  " Behold he is coming with clouds  and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes  of the earth  will mourn because of Him.Even so, Amen." Revelation 1;7
Look  also how  does  Zachariah talk about the Messiah  coming as  the deliverer  of Israel.
  Zachariah  12-8-11
" In that day the Lord will defend  the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the one who is feeble  among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord  before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy  all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the  inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit  of grace  and supplication then they will look on Me  whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him  as one mourns  for his only son  and grieve for him as one grieves for  a firstborn. In that day there shall be  a great mourning  in Jerusalem."
The question is 'why would they cry and mourn? Who  was pierced??? Who suffered like the  Isaiah 53 talks about? Who justified many by suffering for our sin?  (Isaiah 53;11) By whose wounds we are healed?? Based on Isaiah 53;5, who  would have to  be "raised  and  lifted  up  and highly exalted " ?   If the only one thing the Messiah was to accomplish was to come as the glorious deliverer of the nations, why  it talks about him first raised and lifted up?
All scriptures in the Old Testament are  pointing to  Christ, all events relate to Him, all stories written have a meaning  so that we would recognize Him;  Abraham willing  to offer his only Son as the sacrifice, Joseph' life  in affliction, rejection by his own, saving  their  family and people when they came to him  in need in the 'trouble years'  and  at the end he revealed himself to his family that he was one of their own.
The same it says about the Messiah; before he comes  there will be really bad times, nations gathering around Jerusalem, his own people will finally recognize Him;  Zachariah 12;10  " They will look on Me , whom they  pierced..."
He is like an Noah's ark -in Him everybody can hide before the coming wrath of God.He is our  Passover lamb,  his shed blood for us keeps us from eternal  death. The Jewish  feast of Bikkurim ( first-fruits) points to Him. Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus raised from the dead  is the 'first-fruits'  of those who have fallen asleep."  1 Cor 15;20
Feast of Unleavened Bread points to Him as Jesus called Himself  " the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." John 6;50  "Eating" as the symbol of trusting in him.

Authority of Jesus Christ in Heaven and on Earth

"The great authority of Christ"
How many of us think about real purpose of  life? The questions about the purpose and our destiny are in so many of our minds. Most people  are just satisfied in achieving their own  goals  and enjoy only the present time.  Did God have any purpose in creating us if our goal was just to live that short life on earth and then die and be forgotten? Are we all scrod up? The answer is surely no.

 The Bible tells us clearly more  about  much greater things . It talks about our restoration, about the restoration of all things.
The creative purpose of God to redeem the mankind  was in the very beginning.
 It was all planned with wisdom before this present  creation. Jesus as the redeemer was  God's plan and all things came into being through him.
He  is the ultimate  expression of   God and His love for us. His plan was expressed in pieces  and parts in history, as people acted  and in prophecy, as people spoke.  The plan was being expressed  as Abraham set off to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, about which we read in the Old Testament.   In John 3;16 we read that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life." Then as Moses lifted up the serpent on the desert Old Testament) - so is the Son of Man  (Jesus) lifted up by God so whoever believes in Him has everlasting life.
We read in  the prophecy in the Isaiah that the Servant of God would be pierced for our transgressions, we read in Psalms about all he faced on the cross. No coincidence,  coming of Jesus was planned by God and He  foretold  him in so many ways throughout  Old Testament scriptures.  God   wasn't to surprise  anybody with  sending the savior as  if  He made up His mind to redeem us from our sin  in the middle of our life' history.   He clearly foretold him to us.   Christ is a real person with a real meaning.  We  can understand this important meaning  in our lives  by studying the scriptures about the  authority given him by God  both  in heaven and on earth.
He said " all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" Matthew 28;18
"The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son. So that  all many honor  the Son  just  as they  honor the Father who sent him." John5;22-23
"The Father loves the Son, and  has given all things into His hand." John 3;35

In  the above verse  "He has given all judgement to the Son" , we see  that it will be Jesus Christ  who will judge all men and that thereby all men will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.
That is what we saw in Philippians  2;10-11
 "Every knee will bow down  and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord , to the glory of God the Father."
 Jesus Christ the one who was judged, condemned  and executed by men,  raised from the dead  seated at the right hand of God-will be the one to finally judge all men.

.Every person who has ever lived will be judged by him.  But there are 2 different  'finals'. Believers in Christ will be judged for what they have done in the body, but they are not the subject to God's condemnation.
"For we must all appear  before judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 2 Cor 5;10
For those who trusted Jesus, the judgement is not for death and condemnation;
"Very truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word  and believes Him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life." John 5;24
Those who listen to Him and trusted him, those who are born again are justified.
God didn't sent Jesus to die on the cross just in vain. He offered you and me the way out, to avoid God's wrath.
So all unrepentant people, all who don't want to know him, who rejected Him,they will be subject to God's wrath.
"(...) he who does not believe  the Son  shall not see life  but the wrath of God  abides on him. " John 3;36

John 12;48  " He who rejects  Me, and  does not receive My words, has that which judges him- the word that I have spoken  will judge him  in the last day."

More about Jesus as the judge we read in John 5;27-29;
v.25." I tell you the truth, 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."
                                We see that it is Jesus Christ who will call people  to new  and everlasting life.
v.26." For as the father has life  in himself , so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself."
v.27 " And He has given Him authority  to execute judgement , because He is the Son of Man."

It will be Jesus Christ's voice all people will hear in their graves and it will be Him to decide who is to live  and who is to die;

v.21." For just as the father raises the dead  and gives them life , even so the Son  gives life to whom  He is pleased to give it."
v.28 " Do not be astonished at this, for the hour is coming  when all who are in their graves will hear  His voice."
v.29 " and will come out -those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
This is what is commonly known as the resurrections of "the just" and "the unjust". The Bible clearly says that all people who have ever lived will get up  from the dead.

We can be sure His judgement is just as He is always doing God's will;
John 5;30 " I can do nothing  on my own, as I hear I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek  to do not my own will  but the will of Him who sent me."
Because  Jesus Christ  works in perfect harmony  with his heavenly Father, there will be justice for all.
v.19." Jesus said to them;'Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing  on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing,  for what ever the Father does, the Son does likewise."

"Who do you say I am"?
Jesus of Nazareth put this question  to His followers nearly 2000 years ago, and  the question still hangs in the air, requesting the answer  from every person living now. But is it not just to know who He is in general but who He is for you. Your time on earth, your life now is to accept Him as your Lord and savior.  This the the only way out given by God  to avoid His judgement and not to be condemned but have new life.
It is not the life of limitations but the life of abundance.   " I have come that they may have life,, and that they may have it  more abundantly." John 10;10