End-Time Insights

Paul linked the bodily resurrection of believers to the New Creation since both are integral to the promised redemption – Romans 8:1-23 . In Romans , Paul declares that there is “ now no condemnation ” for anyone who is “ in Jesus .” This happy condition is because the “ law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set them free from the law of sin and of death .” And his letter also links the salvation of believers to the inheritance of Christ and the redemption of the creation itself - [ Photo by Terry Tan De Hao on Unsplash ].

At the heart of Christian hope is the future resurrection of the saints at Christ’s return and the arrival of the new heavens and the new earth .  Central to the New Testament concept of salvation is  redemption . God will not abandon what He first created. Instead, He is recovering what was enslaved by sin, decay, and death. But at the end of His redemptive acts, the end state of all redeemed persons and things will be vastly superior to their original state, and this is epitomized in the bodily resurrection - [ Photo by Tim Peterson on Unsplash ].

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean resurrection and the termination of the last enemy, death .  Certain men in Corinth denied the future bodily resurrection. In his response, Paul stressed the necessity for the raising of the dead by appealing to the  past resurrection of Jesus  as the precedent for the future resurrection of believers who will be raised when he “ arrives ” in glory. And that final event will signal the termination of death – The death of Death . - [ Photo by Simeon Muller on Unsplash ].

The arrival of Jesus in glory will mean the resurrection of the dead, the commencement of the New Creation, and the final judgment .  Several Greek terms are applied in the New Testament to the return of Jesus at the end of the present age, including  parousia (“arrival”), erchomai (“coming”), and epiphaneia (“appearance”). But regardless of which term is used, in each instance, it is singular and refers to only one “ coming ” of the “ Son of Man. ” Nowhere does Scripture refer to two or more comings of Christ - [ Photo by Christian De Stradis on Unsplash ].