Revelation 1:17-18; Behold I am Alive Forevermore

Revelation 1:17-18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Death is the greatest impasse for mankind. Man is born to die. None can escape. But for the Christians, we are born-again to live forevermore. This is what God wants us to see. When the Christian dies, the Bible says, he is asleep, one day, when Christ returns, he will awake again! Christ’s words are meant to rekindle the hope of eternal life in our hearts!

The resurrection is not just one aspect of the Christian faith but it is the cornerstone. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is the greatest event in history because it signifies the blessed truth of man’s redemption. It is why we worship and singing praises to God because it signify the reality of eternal life.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead then His death on the cross would have been meaningless and our faith in vain. But because did rise from the dead and lived, therefore, we who believe in this gospel have life, eternal life and overcoming life, the power over sin to live victoriously for Him. 

What’s the benefit of the resurrection? The resurrection provides our justification. What does justification mean? It means that we are just before God, or righteous before God, or holy before God, or perfect before God. How can that be? Because Jesus bore all our sins in His death and because His sin-bearing satisfied God, God gave to us all His righteousness. Justification is God crediting the righteousness of Christ to us, imputing the righteousness of Christ to our account. Because God raised Him from the dead, God was affirming the completeness of His sacrifice for sinners. Because He bore our sins, we are then given His righteousness. We didn’t earn righteousness; we didn’t earn holiness; we didn’t earn perfection, it came because we believed in the resurrection of the Christ. [Ryle]

Here is the testimony of John seeing the living Christ more than 40 years after His ascension to affirm the truth of the resurrection. Amen.