Resurrection or Translation?

As we approach the Easter season, it's appropriate to study again what he has to say on this tremendously significant subject.

Robert  S.  Hamilton, M.D.,  is a physician practicing in Conrad, Montana

PAUL  was  no  coward.  When  he  had something to say, he usually didn't hesitate to  say  it.  Especially was  he  forth right  and  unhesitating  about  what  he believed.  This  characteristic is  nowhere better  exemplified than  in  his  under standing and teaching of the promise of immortality. As we approach the Easter season,  it's  appropriate  to  study  again what he has to say on this tremendously significant subject.

The  New  English  Bible*  version  of 2  Corinthians  4:13  to  5:10  helps us understand  that  there  were  three  certainties that Paul claimed he knew.

Certainty  One—"We  know  that  so long as  we  are  at home  in the  body we are  exiles  from  the  Lord"  (2  Cor.  5:6). In  our  present  condition  we  are  physically  separated  from  God,  exiled  in  a sense. The main purpose of the gospel is to  enable us to break this separation.

Certainty  Two—The  second  certainty the writer of the Epistle presents is  phrased  this  way:  "If  the  earthly frame  that  houses  us  today  should  be demolished, we possess a building which God  has provided—a house not made by human  hands,  eternal,  and  in heaven" (verse  1).  In other words, when the body is  demolished  by  injury  or  disease,  one dies  and  the  soul  ceases  to  be.  The "house"  decomposes to  dust. How do we then  possess  another  building?  One  of the scriptural promises is that the righteous  dead  shall  live  again.  And  living again  should  make  a  body  or  "house" necessary  according to the  Genesis formula (body+breath  of  life=soul).  So the saved  person may be  confident now that  should  he  die  he  "possesses"  a building  in  escrow,  if  you  will,  in  safe keeping  until  such  a  time  as  he  needs it, which in his case will be the resurrection day. The new body, house, or building  will  be  endowed  with  immortality from  the  very  start.  It is  designed  and arranged  in  heaven  without the  touch of the human hand.

Certainty  Three—Paul  expresses his  third  certainty  in  2  Corinthians 4:14  and  15:  "We  know  that  he  who raised  the  Lord  Jesus  to  life  will  with Jesus  raise  us  too,  and  bring  us to  his presence,  and  you  with us."  Thus  the promise  of  a  literal  future  resurrection was  a  certainty  to  Paul.  It  is  evident that he was confident that all the righteous  who  had  preceded  him  and  who would  follow  him  in  death  would  one day be resurrected  and  brought  into God's presence.

Along with Paul we must realize that we  live  a  sternly realistic life.  It is true that  our  humanity  is  in  decay  (2  Cor. 4:16).  Our  earthly  frames  will  be  dis solved  (chap.  5:1).  We  are  oppressed (verse 4). We groan indeed (verses 2 and 4) with our present troubles (chap. 4:17). We  yearn for the change  (chap.  5:2), all of  this  because  of  the  separation  from God  that  sin  imposes.  These  are,  admittedly,  undesirable  aspects  of life. But this is life!

But not all is  so  gloomy, for there are hopeful  and  happy  aspects  that  make life  well  worth  while.  Paul  wrote  that we  are  being  renewed inwardly  day  by day, so we  do  not lose heart (chap. 4:16). Our  eyes  are fixed  on  things  that  are unseen,  for  what  is  unseen  is  eternal (verse  18).  Our  troubles  really  are slight,  and  we  know  that they  will  be short-lived and their outcome an eternal glory  that  far  outweighs  them (verse 17).  Hence,  like  Paul  we  should  never cease  to  be  confident  (chap.  5:6).  Also God  has given us His  Spirit as  a  pledge of  this  promise  of eternal life  (verse  5). So  we,  by  faith, live  on these  promises with the  ever-present  guidance  of  the Holy Spirit. What is faith but believing, trusting  in  God,  and  being willing  and perfectly  contented  to  do  God's  will? Faith indicates that we  are  happy with God.  And this is the real life!

Would  you  rather  die  and  later  be resurrected  to  eternal  life?  Or  would you  prefer  to  be  translated  to  eternal life,  never  to  die?  It appears that Paul considered  this  question  and  that  his answer was  the  same as  ours would be. He  preferred  and  wanted  to  be  translated  into  eternal  life!  And  his  friends had  the  same  desire.  Here  is  how  he stated  it:  "We  do  not want to  have the old  body  stripped  off"  (2  Cor.  5:3,4). It becomes  clear  that  they  did  not  want to  die  and thus be involved in the inter mediate state awaiting the resurrection, for  again he  repeated,  "We  do  not want to have the old body stripped off. Rather our  desire  is to have the  new  body  put on  over it,  so  that our mortal part may be  absorbed  into  life  immortal"  (verse 4).  In fact, "We yearn to have our heavenly  habitation  put  on  over  this  one  in the  hope  that, being thus clothed we shall  not  find  ourselves  naked"  (verse 3).  Rather than experiencing death and the  decomposition  of  the  present  body and  passing  through  an  intermediate state of awaiting the resurrection of the body,  Paul wanted  to  have  the  habitation  of  heaven,  the  immortal  body simply put on over his present body in a momentary  transition  from  this  life  to life  eternal.  This  is  termed translation without seeing death. And it sounds like Paul  not  only  desired  such  translation but yearned  for it.

However,  Paul  realized  that  although  he  desired  translation  very much,  it  likely  would  not  be  his  experience. Perhaps he realized that much must  transpire  before  Christ's  return and the consummation of all things. But he  was  happy  with  his  second  choice, the  promise  of  a  resurrection,  for  he wrote:  "We  are  confident,  I  repeat,  and would  rather  leave  our  home  in  the body and go to live with the Lord" (verse 8). Notice  that  leaving  the  body  is  an altogether  different  expression  and thought  than  having  the  heavenly habitation  put  on  over  the  present body.  It  clearly  refers  to  the  death  of man.

At  death  the  so-called  intermediate state  begins.  What  was  Paul's  under standing of the intermediate state? Was it  an  immediate  going  to  and  living with the Lord? Not so. In this expression Paul  was  stating the sequence  but not the  timing;  for  he  had  a  clear  under standing  of  the  sequence  of  death,  the grave, and the resurrection.

Notice  how  plainly  he  spells this out in  his  letter  to  the  Corinthians:  "But Scripture says, 'I believed, and therefore I  spoke  out',  and  we  too,  in  the  same spirit  of  faith,  believe  and  therefore speak  out;  for  we know that  he  who raised  the  Lord  Jesus  to  life  will  with Jesus  raise  us  too,  and  bring  us  to  his  presence, and you with us"  (2 Cor. 4:13, 14). Paul would someday die, and at various  times  so  would  the  readers  of his letter. Paul would be raised one day, and along with him  so would the readers of his  letter,  and  together,  then,  they would be brought to God's presence.

This  reflects  Paul's  first letter to  the Corinthians  where  he  clearly indicates that  the  resurrection  of  the  redeemed will be "afterwards, at his coming, those who  belong  to  Christ"  (1  Cor.  15:23). In  1  Corinthians 15:52  Paul speaks again about life  after death at the time when the last trumpet sounds.  "For the trumpet  will  sound,  and  the  dead  will rise immortal." 

Resurrection of the Redeemed

In  another  letter,  this  one  to  the Thessalonians,  he  states,, "For  this  we tell  you  as the Lord's, word:  we  who  are left alive until the Lord comes shall not forestall  those  who  have  died;  because at the  word  of command,  at the  sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet-call,  the  Lord  himself  will'  descend from  heaven;  first  the  Christian  dead will  rise  ... to meet the Lord in the air" (1  Thess.  4:15-17). What a meeting and what  a  greeting  are  in  store  for  the Christian dead!

Though  it  seems  Paul  could  hardly draw  himself  away  from  thoughts  of translation, still he was a practical man, understood  priorities,  and  made  the statement that he made it his ambition, wherever  he  was,  here or  there, to  be acceptable to God.  Like Paul we, too, do not  see  God,  but  faith is  our guide just now.  And  knowing  that  "we  must  all have  our  lives laid  open  before  the tribunal  of  Christ  where  each  must  receive what  is  due  him  for  his  conduct in the  body,  good  or  bad"  (2  Cor.  5:10), we  should  look  with  confidence  to  the promise  of  Christ's  coming  and  deter mine  to  be  either  among the  Christian dead  waiting  for His  return  or  among the  Christian  living  who  greet  their coming King.

 

*  The texts in this  article  are  from  The New  English Bible. © The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics  of  the  Cambridge  University  Press  1970.  Reprinted  by permission


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Robert  S.  Hamilton, M.D.,  is a physician practicing in Conrad, Montana

March 1976

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