There is only one religious leader who died and came back to life and that was Jesus Christ. As many as 500 people witnessed seeing Him after His death and resurrection. His disciples saw Him rise into the clouds as described in Acts 1:8 – 11. A day is coming when He will return the same way He left, coming from above through the clouds. His supernatural experience of leaving this world provides evidence that what Christ taught we can believe, that He was the Son of God.

It is difficult for many to believe that Christ died and came back to life. The Bible tells us the apostles at first did not believe. Prior to death Christ had a body the same as any one of us. However, He came back with a different body and initially He was not recognized. God will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body when Christ returns the second time (Phil. 3:21). We are told that we will have a body that will last through eternity. We will be recognized but if we were ugly and scarred, we will be given a perfect body pleasing to the eye. I doubt if it will have tattoos on it!

When Christ returns to earth to rule for a 1000 years not only will our bodies not be the same but the earth will be different than it is now. “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” Rev. 22:3 – We are told that earth will become perfect and a utopian paradise like the Garden of Eden. Romans 8:20 – 21 – “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”

Why should a child of God fear death? Many do not feel comfortable in believing they have been saved and have been forgiven. It isn’t unusual for Christians to have fear based on past guilt, a feeling of unworthiness or a belief that we probably deserve punishment. In many cases it is a lack of trust in God and possibly we have a devil that wants to defeat us. The Bible tells us that Satan works on people’s fears and tries to deceive us into believing we have not been accepted as a child of God.

Ephesians 1:13 – 14 – “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Our proof is being sealed by the Holy Spirit. It is our guarantee that we have been forgiven, redeemed and have become adopted into the family of God. If we do not have the Spirit of God within us we do not belong to Christ. And when the Holy Spirit enters us He brings the promise of glory to come. The Spirit is the guarantee of coming immortality, a guarantee of our inheritance and the pledge given to believers by God to assure them that the glory of the life to come, promised in the gospel, will actually happen.

It is difficult to overcome legalism. Many believe you must work your way to heaven. Do we feel like we have lived up to God’s standards? We must sincerely rely on the promises of God and never on our feelings, which can deceive us. We must accept we are saved by faith and not of works.

I Corinthians 15:51 reads: “Listen, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” And verse 55: “Where O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?” Physical death can be our doorway to heaven where our spirit and soul shall live with God, Christ and positive-loving people forever. Should we be fearful to walk through death’s door? Not if we have accepted God’s promises.

God tells us there will be a time when the world, as we know it, will end and a different new world will exist. Those of us who believe in God and the Bible want to know what we might expect when the end happens and what will this new world be like. Isaiah 11:10 – “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” Christ will reign and all nations will live in perfect peace and live according to His ways. I certainly do not dread the end times regardless how bad they will be. I am looking forward to living throughout eternity in a resting place that will be glorious with Jesus in charge rather than living with Satan and his emissaries who are running this place.

This new world will not be boring. King David, Washington, Einstein, Edison, Ford, and others made a difference. Don’t you think God can create things we could only dream about? God created the enjoyment of marriage. He will do whatever it takes to keep us happy with peace and joy in our hearts. Some of us will die and go to Heaven where God has had years to prepare mansions for us to enjoy. Others will be caught up into the air and return with Christ to populate the earth under His control. He will be able to control the weather as He did on the Sea of Galilee. We will have an economic system that will be fair to all. We will have jobs and responsibilities. We will be given new immortal bodies that will never get sick or die because of how we think, live and what we eat will preserve us.

Revelation 21:1 – 5b – “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!”

Who ever thought heaven would be boring and there wouldn’t be fun things to do doesn’t know God. I just hate dieing to get there. I would prefer to be raptured and meet Christ in the air with plenty of other Christians, return to an earth that has been uncursed, rehabbed and miss heaven.