ALL OF THE DEAD SHALL RISE

All of the Dead Shall Rise!

1. A politically correct church.

Sixty yeas ago while in college I had thoughts of going to China as a missionary. But the door was closed against foreign influences. Mau Zedong was in many ways extreme, yet he did some things that were good. He forced the population to learn to read & write. This was so they could read his propaganda, but it enabled them to read other things also. And Mau sent out "barefoot doctors" (we call them PAs) to bring medical care to the countryside.

In 1951, a Chinese man initiated the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, in order to remove foreign influences from the Chinese churches and to assure the government that the churches would be patriotic to the newly-established People's Republic of China. The movement allowed the government to infiltrate, subvert, and control much of organized Christianity. Mau opposed all religions, but Christianity is very tough and resilient. "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus Himself is God The Son, Redeemer, Liberator, High Priest, Sacrifice, Alive Forever, Coming Again.

This year's Beijing Olympics will be very different for many Christian ministries. The Chinese government has placed a ban on foreign missionaries and will only allow Chinese chaplains approved by the government into the Olympic Village. Despite these restrictions, many Christian ministries, athletes and coaches, are preparing to share the gospel in more subtle ways at the Games. Published reports indicate the Chinese government- approved church plans to distribute 20,000 Bibles in English and Chinese to Olympic athletes and visitors. More than half a million people are expected to attend the Games— including 10,500 athletes representing over 200 nations.

Pray God to open a Door by these things. "Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" Luke 10:2 (NKJV)


2. Essential truth.

Two doctrines the Chinese Government (political church) seem to object to are: 1) the Second Coming of Christ; 2) the Resurrection of the dead. But these are two essential doctrines of Christianity.


a) Christ is LORD and will Come Again with great power and glory.

"But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, 'I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!' Jesus said to him, 'It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" Matt 26:63-64 (NKJV)


b) We are to receive new life.

Paul wrote: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor 15:51-52 (NKJV)

Jesus said: "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." John 5:28-29 (NKJV)

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess 4:16-18 (NKJV)


c) The Apostles continually preached about Christ's death and resurrection.

"Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.'" Acts 17:2-3 (NKJV)
"Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him....." Rev 1:7 (NKJV)


d) Christ Jesus is the Second Adam.

"For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." 2 Cor 5:14-15 (NKJV)

We recognize that One Man died for all men. Which means Christ’s death was for all. Verse 15 explains this. All men take part in his death, (but this does not mean that all will be saved). Compare Romans 5:18-21. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

If you take Christ-on-the-cross seriously, you will see that Jesus died for all, Jew and Gentile. If you imitate (emulate) Christ, you will no longer live for yourself, but you will live for Christ. For this reason, you become a Christian by being baptized into Christ’s death. "buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses," Col 2:12-13 (NKJV)