The second coming of Jesus Christ - Resurrection of the dead, Lord Jesus [good book club books .TXT] 📗

chosen and faithful, and this mother will confess her sons; well sons of the New Jerusalem, the one made by the Word from above.

Excerpt from God’s Word, at the feast of the first martyr and archdeacon Ştefan, (Stephen) from January 9, 1994.

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The sequel of this document will soon be published, after the translation, as the original one has over 80 pages, r.n.

 

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                        On the same theme from other sources

 

„By the resurrection of the flesh do understand the charitable works of true neighborly love. These will be the flesh of the soul and will rise, simultaneously with the soul, on the soul's youngest day in the spirit world upon the true trumpet call of this My teaching as a superior ether body destined for eternal life. Even if you had a hundred times carried a body on the earth, you will have only one body in the beyond, namely, the one we have discussed. - Do you now understand this?”

Peter said, “Yes, Lord and Master, it is now clearer to me than ever! But I can still remember a text by a prophet which said something like this: You will meet your God one day in your flesh, therefore keep it pure and do not make it unclean by all sorts of sins! You will never see the face of God in a sinful body! That is approximately how the text goes, and it is hard for human reason to interpret it differently. How, then, is this to be understood in its true sense?”

I said, “Just like the previous one! You will never see God in your body, means as much as: In your good works according to the well-known will of God you will see your God, because it is only the works which the soul performs with its body, which has simply been given to it as a tool, which give a soul either honor before God or also the opposite. Pure works give purity, unclean works impurity. Pure thinking in compliance with pure knowledge and otherwise chaste and clean behavior alone without works of neighborly love are by far not sufficient to provide the soul with a spirit body and, therefore, with a contemplation of God.

For he whose soul is still so blind that he fails to understand that it is not just knowledge but chiefly the works done in compliance with pure knowledge and faith that give true permanency to the soul, is still in a pitiful condition and like a man who is quite capable of building a house but cannot decide to set to work, although he has great quantities of the best building materials on hand. Say, will he ever own a house in which he can find shelter from the uncontrollable forces of the raging elements when the winter storms come?

What use to you in a storm are all the best-founded knowledge and understanding about what well-built walls of a house can offer as resistance to a storm, as a result of which those living in the house are fully secure from its power, if you do not own a house and on your travels across the harsh desert of your life you cannot reach any other one anymore?

Yes, My dears, knowledge and faith however pure has no firm walls which can protect you in times of storm; but the works of true love for one‘s neighbor can indeed. They are the true, enduring body of the soul, its house, its land and its true world. Remember this well, not alone for your own sakes, but also above all for the sake of those to whom you will preach the gospel after Me! If they will ever know and believe the word of salvation, admonish them to do the true works of neighborly love that I so often bid you do.

For truly I tell you: If someone says he loves God but does not heed the misery of his poor brother, he will not ever behold God in his flesh! For the Pharisees and doctors of the law also say that they serve God in the fullest measure and sense and that they continually reconcile sinful mankind with God through their prayers and sacrifices. On the other hand, they rob the people, and neighborly love is far from them. Of what benefit is this? It benefits neither the Pharisees nor the people.

For one thing, God has never needed any human service, much less any burnt offerings of slaughtered animals. However, God looks kindly on the sacrifice offered Him in good works of love by true neighborly love and always gives His blessing in such a case. - Do you now understand, Peter, what it means to see God in your flesh?”

Peter says, „Yes, Lord, now I am perfectly clear; for You, oh Lord, have now shown it to us so clearly that we have seized it already with our hands and feet. We thank You for it! But now we are back at the place again – yet instead of midday it will already be closer to evening!”

I say, “That matters nothing! We will take some bread and wine and then head on our way immediately! Therefore let‘s go the little path only very quickly!”

From THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN - BOOK 5, chapter 238.

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Said the innkeeper: “Yes, I now pretty much understand it, although I must admit that this subject is something new to me and in a way unheard of. So one can forget about the final rise of the flesh in which all Jews firmly believe. That is why they bury the corpses at certain cemeteries and are of belief that they will be awakened by the angels on Judgment Day and will be reunified with their souls. What Your are teaching will hardly be believed by the Jews. I do believe it because you, o Lord, told us so and explained it thoroughly. But if somebody else had explained it to me I would scarcely believe him because that diverts too mightily from the current belief. And still I have to openly admit that, according to experience things cannot be otherwise. What are you old and new disciples saying to this?

Said one of the Greek Jews: „As far as we are concerned, we are entirely of your opinion. We, too, do see the truth of what has been said, but also the difficulty of presenting this new teaching as comprehensible and true to the people of our time.”

Said I: „I did not give you this teaching so that you should pass it on to the Jews. If you want to teach it to somebody else, you may do so anyway, but it does not matter at present whether or not he believes it. Later on My true followers will in any case be led into all truth and wisdom by My Spirit which will be poured out over them.

It can be easily comprehended that the physical body, once it is dead, cannot ever rise and be revived in all its parts. Should this be the case, on the said Judgment Day, all the parts cast off by the body during the whole, sometimes rather long, life would also have to be raised and revived, such as the hair, the nails, the lost teeth and all the coarser skin particles lost through washing, likewise the drops of blood and sweat shed under sad circumstances and many another thing the body has shed in the course of time. Now imagine a human form revived with all this on Judgment Day, - how ridiculous it would look!

Man at different times has a different body. For instance, the body of an infant is different from the body of a boy, that of a youth is again different, that of a man is different and, again, that of an old man is completely different. Well, assuming that the human bodies will be completely revived on some Judgment Day, the question must arise whether all the physical forms from childhood to old age collectively, or one after another, or even one only, shall be revived.

Another important question arises, namely: With the Romans and Greeks, the Egyptians and many other nations of this earth the corpses are burnt until they are reduced to ashes. In other places they are cast into the sea, devoured by sea monsters and so become part of their bodies. Once such a sea monster dies, it is in turn eaten by other animals of the sea. What is supposed to be revived of these bodies on Judgment Day? Through burning the greatest part of the body has been reduced to smoke and vapour and has been united with the air, and the flesh of the bodies cast into the sea has, with everything else, become part of the sea creature and has, therefore, passed into a wholly different being. Who, then, is supposed to sort out and reassemble the formerly human body-constituents from the innumerable animal bodies, from the water, the air, the minerals and the plants and worms?

Even granted God could do this, the question still remains how this would benefit a free soul. Truly, every soul once relieved of its heavy body would be extremely unhappy if it had again to enter a heavy body — and this for all eternity!

Besides, this would be forever irreconcilable with the eternal order of God, because God Himself is a pure Spirit and men are also exclusively destined to finally become godlike pure spirits forever. What shall the bodies then benefit them?

Yes, men will also have bodies there, yet not physical, coarse, material ones but completely new, spiritual bodies arising from the good works they have done here on earth in compliance with My teaching now given you. («There are also heavenly[12] bodies, and earthly[13] bodies; but the glory of the heavenly differs from that of the earthly.»  (Corinthians 1: 15/40.) «It is sown as a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body just as there is a spiritual body.» (Corinthians 1: 15/44.) «For this reason, the Good News was preached even to the dead,[14] so that they might in the flesh undergo the judgment that faces all human beings but [then] live in the spirit as to God.[15] » (Peter 1: 4/6.))

If this is so, how can anyone think that by the resurrection of the flesh the future restoration to life of these material bodies is to be understood? The resurrection of the flesh are only the soul's good works for the benefit of the fellowmen while in this flesh, which alone give the soul true, eternal life.

Therefore, whoever listens to My teaching, believes in Me and acts accordingly, him I shall Myself raise on his Judgment Day, which occurs immediately after the soul's exit from this body. The time of transformation will be so short that no one will notice it, for the transformation will take place swiftly and instantly.

I now think that also this matter should be quite clear to you. If anybody still has a question or has some doubt, he should speak!”

 From THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN - BOOK 6, chapter 54.

 

[1] Or “celestial”

[2] Or “terrestrial”

[3] It is unclear whether these are physically or spiritually dead individuals.

[4] Or more literally “live as God does in spirit” where spirit seems to be used as a reference to the spiritual realm.

[5] Most other translations read “they came to life.” (Compare Revelation 2/4; 13/14; also