Death in the Kingdom?

When Jesus establishes the 1000 year kingdom on earth, will the people here also live 1000 years or will there be death and shorter life expectancy? Will He bring beings back with Him to live in that period?

Yes - death will occur, but there will be longer life expectancy, according to Isaiah 65:20: No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

The context of the passage is the millennial kingdom, and a straightforward reading indicates that yes, there will be death. Death itself is finally eliminated at the END of the 1000 year kingdom of Christ, according to Revelation 20: And when the thousand years are ended… Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (verse 7 and 14)

Fighting Over Moses' Dead Body?

What is the deal with Moses’ body (Jude 9)?

Jude 9:

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." 

What is the dispute about Moses' body? We have to go back to Deuteronomy to get the details surrounding Moses' death.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6 says:

 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD,  and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 

Notice from the text: God Himself buried Moses. And apparently in the heavenly/spiritual realm, there was a dispute between Michael the angel and Satan the fallen angel over Moses' body.

God buried Moses so no one knew where his body was. And we know if God wanted it secret, Satan would want to keep Moses' body around publicly. Why would Satan want that? Israel had a tendency to focus on the past, inappropriately. For example, look at Numbers 11:4-6. "Oh, we wish we were slaves again! The food in Egypt was sooooo good! Now we are in the middle of the wilderness, suffering!"

If Moses' body were kept around, I believe 100% Israel would have started worshiping it. Sound crazy? Well, remember the golden calf they worshiped while Moses was on conference with God? They had that tendency. Further, they would have been tempted to be stuck in the past, the "good ol days of Moses" instead of moving on under Joshua like God intended. 

So Satan thought keeping a stumbling block around Israel by keeping Moses' body around would surely get God's people off course. God sent Michael to take care of it, according to Jude 9. And Moses' supernatural burial remained a mystery, to Israel's benefit.

When Facing Death...

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. -1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

It’s been a bit of a sad month. I have had to say goodbye to some good friends. And I don’t mean, “Goodbye, have a nice vacation.” I mean, several people I have done ministry for and with have graduated to glory. It’s a two edged sword of sorrow and joy. Sorrow because, selfishly, I am going to miss these people. But joy because these people were all born again believers. Recipients of the promise of God in Christ to forgive sins and provide eternal life. So, as James MacDonald says about the departed in Christ, “they are having a good day!”

So this is just a reminder. For me, definitely. For you if it applies. (If it doesn‘t now, it will some time soon.)

A reminder of what?

1. I am not uninformed. Notice Paul’s first statement. He is saying we are not ignorant about those who have died. I don’t need to sit here and wonder “Where are they? What’s it like there? Are they happy? Will I see them again?” God gave us His Word to take the guess work out of what it's like to step into eternity.
    
2. I am not hopeless. Paul reminds us that Jesus died and rose again. This is not just a fact in history, this is the core of my faith. This is what keeps me going. This is what makes it all worth it. This is my very hope. If not for the death of Jesus for my sins, and the resurrection of Jesus to give me eternal life, this life is meaningless and death is horrifying. So there is grieving, sure, but not grieving like people who don’t know the Lord. Because we know better. See #1.
    
3. I am to encourage others going through this. Look at that last phrase. Encourage one another with these words. We will always be a people dealing with death (that is, until Christ returns for us, as Paul mentions). We will see loved ones die - after many years, after few years, through illness, through tragedy… it’s always happened and it will continue. So in the face of such sadness, I am to remember to encourage people with the living hope that we have in Jesus Christ. You be an encourager, too.

Thank you, God, for these reminders.
p.s. - not uninformed

A Life and Death Decision

Jesus Christ does not turn bad people into good people, He turns dead people into alive people.

The Bible tells us we are dead in our sin (Ephesians 2:1). Not just wrong in our sin, not just evil in our sin…dead. Our problem is so much deeper than being people who make mistakes. We are spiritually dead and separated from God. And leaving the earth in that state puts us in a place of being eternally separated from God.

The Bible uses other words to describe our condition.

Not only are we dead, we are weak, or helpless (Isaiah 64:6). We can’t even do anything about our condition. No doctor, no medicine, no surgery, no seminar, no religious activity can fix it. This flies in the face of everything we want to believe. We want to think that we have the ability to fix ourselves. Dead people can’t fix anything.

We are also ungodly, or lawbreakers (1 John 3:4). This is bigger than jaywalking or littering. This is violating the holy standard of a Holy God! “I am not that bad! I know people much worse than me.” God isn’t comparing you to them. He compares you to His standard, which is holy perfection.

We are also, by nature, God’s enemy (Romans 8:7). Let that one sink in! I wouldn’t want my neighbor to be my enemy, he could do some harm. I wouldn’t want a Navy Seal to be my enemy, he could do even more harm! But the Almighty God of the universe…! That is the last thing I would want, but by nature, we are enemies of God!

And this is what makes the Gospel of Jesus Christ so glorious. Through Jesus Christ and Him alone, God turned all this around.

Read Romans 5:6-11, notice I highlighted the words I just mentioned, and I also highlighted what we have become through Christ.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We were helpless, but God provided the power in Christ, and in Him we are strong (Colossians 1:11).

We were sinners, but God provided the substitute in Christ, and in Him we are righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).

We were God’s enemy, but He provided restoration in Christ, and in Him we are friends of God (James 2:23).

We were dead, but God provided life through Christ (Romans 6:5).

What side of the cross are you on? Have you cried out to God for the restoration that He offers freely through Christ, believing in what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead?

Do you want to remain a dead, helpless, sinning enemy of God, or become an alive, strong, righteous friend of God?

A choice must be made. It is literally a matter of life and death.