Eternal Life In The Age To Come

In Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said some pretty spectacular things. “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”

One of the things I think we sometimes forget is to look at things in context. Sure, I suppose we could say that the “age to come” is in heaven after people die. God has lots of rewards stored up for us in heaven, so that statement would make a lot of sense at face value. The problem is with the last phrase Jesus uttered–“and in the age to come eternal life.” When Jesus made that statement he had yet to go to the cross, die, and rise again. At that time he and all of his disciples were technically still in the Old Testament Age. It was only after his death, resurrection, ascension, and I would even argue another ten days later on Pentecost when Holy Spirit came in power that the new age began. Thus, when Jesus was promising his disciples they would live forever, I don’t think He was just saying that they could live forever in heaven after they died. That would contradict many of the other things He had told them previously. No, Jesus was saying that after he rose and destroyed the power of death over their lives and they entered the age of the New Covenant, they could have eternal immortal life free of death in every form.

Am I saying we are already living in the age to come? Not necessarily—otherwise how would they have had time to receive one hundred times more of what they have given up in the present age? What I am saying is that we could be, and if nothing else that we have relegated many of the promises of God, and most especially those regarding eternal life, to a far off heaven-when-you-die reality instead of a Kingdom-here-and-now version that Jesus spoke of. In fact, Jesus prayed in the Lord’s Prayer for “your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it [already is] in heaven” for a reason. It wasn’t so we could jet out of here and go somewhere else, but so we would transform earth and make it like heaven, ushering in the age that has not yet come because earth hasn’t become like heaven yet.

This is a serious challenge for many because it flies in the face of so many things we have been taught. And yet, those things we have been taught often fly in the face of what Jesus directly said and demonstrated. Jesus taught that we are not supposed to die. He taught that if we die we are supposed to get raised from the dead and keep living. He explained publicly that while the forefathers of the Jewish people ate manna, literal bread from heaven, and still died, that those who ate of Him, the bread that came down from heaven, that they would not die.

In all honesty, a single article like this doesn’t have sufficient length to explain what Jesus was talking about, nor to answer all of the questions that arise when opening this subject up. That’s why I’ve written a book that discusses the subject quite extensively. The Gospel of Life and Immortality is a one-of-a-kind book that begins by explaining how God led me into this particular perspective of the gospel message. The second chapter is dedicated entirely to looking at what Jesus taught on the subject so we can be incredibly clear that this is in fact the true gospel message and not “something else,” and from there we look at the Old Testament, Paul’s teachings, and much, much more. Toward the end the book covers very practical considerations, answers common questions not otherwise answered in previous chapters, and gives some practical steps we can take to walk this out in our lives. If this subject has gotten you curious, questioning, or hungry to hear more, click the book title to pick up a copy of The Gospel of Life and Immortality today!

There Is No Such Thing As Normal Wear And Tear

One of the things we have gotten used to in everyday life is that thing have a “shelf life”—that everything eventually wears down and dies. We expect this with our appliances, food, vehicles, houses, and everything else we own. In fact, we are fairly quick to say as much when we talk about our bodies and our health as well. I can’t tell you how many of my patients at the hospital tell me things to the effect of “well, what can you expect when you get old? Things wear down and stop working right.” They say this in response to pain and health problems they have found they and others tend to experience as they grow older. And while I understand this experience is common, this isn’t what God has promised us in Christ Jesus. In fact, it isn’t even what God designed for humans to experience when He created mankind to begin with. In other words, this idea of “wear and tear” may be common, but it isn’t normal. There is no such thing as normal wear and tear.

When we look at the Bible, we see this in a few different places, but most notably we see it in the lives of the Israelites after they left Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 8:4 says, “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.” (some translations say “blister” instead of “swell”). Deuteronomy 29:5 says, “Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.” Two different places we see the Bible explain that God caused their clothes to remain in good condition without growing threadbare and their feet taking no damage from all of the walking.

Think about it—what clothing do you know of that you can wear regularly for 40 years and have it still be in a good, usable condition? I’m not talking about your favorite shirt you had when you were a teen that you still wear but have to wear another shirt under it because it’s basically see-through, but an actual good-working-condition piece of clothing. Unless you’re in your early 20’s reading this, then you don’t have any clothing from back then because we find that our clothes wear out.

But the Israelites didn’t have this problem. They didn’t have to make new clothes the entire time they were on the journey, and they didn’t have to wait for damage to their feet and legs from overuse to heal before they could continue their trek. Not only that, but that was what the Israelites experienced under an inferior covenant than the one we live with. Think about the implications it has for our lives.

If there is no such thing as normal wear and tear, then what kinds of things do we experience in our lives that we shouldn’t be experiencing, and what should our life experience actually look like? I cannot tell you how many people who hear me talk about life and immortality and God’s plans for us to live and not die tell me things like “Just wait until you’re older” or “Come talk to me once you’ve gotten a few more years under your belt.” What I don’t think people realize when they say these things is that I’m well aware of our common life experiences. What I am not is stupid. I understand that most people die. I understand that commonly people age and have health problems as they get older. In spite of that, the Bible tells us that we need to shift our beliefs to better align with what God is saying and doing in the earth, so I expect that is what we should be focusing on, not arguing with me over how things commonly tend to happen.

It doesn’t matter what our common experiences are, we need to learn to walk in faith instead. We need to be people who say “my experiences will be dictated by my faith” instead of “my faith will be dictated by my experiences.” I cover this topic of “common experience” versus “normal experience” in my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” which I wrote to help people walk in this revelation to a greater degree. It can be really difficult when all of life is shouting at us that things are hopeless, that nothing we do will work to stop death, and that decay is our inevitable doom. But in Jesus Christ, none of those things are true. We have the greatest hope of all mankind because Jesus has truly defeated death, hell, and the grave through His sacrifice once and for all, and now our job is a work of faith—to believe on the One that God has sent so that we can be saved, healed, delivered, and set free in every way.

Life Through The Lens Of Immortality

The revelation of immortality in Christ Jesus, while technically preached by Jesus himself, is otherwise a fairly new revelation for the Body of Christ. Certainly there have been men and women throughout history who have both believed and accessed this reality, but for most of the rest of us, it is either entirely new or something we are on the journey to apprehend. For those who are skeptical or downright rejecting of this gospel message, it can often be because they believe it is inconsequential, a “side issue” in Christianity, or somehow unrelated to living out our faith. I suggest, however, the exact opposite—that the revelation of immortality is the primary means by which we as followers of Jesus Christ can walk in all the promises of God.

Yes, that’s a pretty bold statement, but there’s a reason good reason that I am saying this. Consider first of all that the primary issue mankind faces is that through the fall, sin entered us, and through sin, death—for as the Bible tells us, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Now, when you understand that’s the primary problem that Jesus came to solve, every *other* problem becomes subsidiary to that. And in truth, it they really do—it’s just a matter of mindset.

Consider that all poverty is death in your finances. Relational brokenness is death in your relationship. Job loss is death in your employment. Even things like being unsure about what to do in a situation and needing wisdom could be viewed as death of your inner peace. Ultimately, most problems in life can in some way or other be characterized as a manifestation of death. Why does this matter? Because immortality is the solution.

How? Immortality is the result of the life of Jesus Christ constantly flowing in and through us, sustaining us in an ongoing manner. In every way that Christ sustains us, death is incapable of manifesting. As Jesus sustains us in our finances, we experience abundance there. As He sustains us in our relationships, we have vibrancy between one another. As He does the same with our jobs, our peace, with our belongings, our bodies, and more, we have abundant life, fruitfulness, and grace abounding in every area—all as a result of the life that Jesus Christ brings and constantly releases to us!

So how do we access this? First, it requires us to shift our mindset to understand that death is actually the problem, then to understand that Jesus is and has always been the solution for death in all of its forms. Second, we have to believe that He provided the solution for us to live forever. As we do this, and as we pursue immortality in our bodies, we will find it carries over into every other area of our lives. There are a few reasons for this. First, as we live in a greater measure of all God has for us, it will naturally touch every aspect of our lives. Second, it has to do with our faith. As we increase our faith and enhance what we expect from God, we will ultimately receive the results. Third, we have been positioned on earth and given dominion over it, so when we take dominion over death in our own bodies, how much more will that dominion extend to creation around us? Consider that death is really the biggest challenge that mankind faces. I mean, demons are a problem, but we’ve been given authority over them and can make them submit and flee in Jesus’ name. But death? That’s really where people get challenged. If you stand in front of a demon and start commanding them, you’ll notice that they respond (even if not always how you expect) to the name of Jesus. But if you stand in front of a dead body to raise it back to life? Well, historically speaking, most often nothing happens—which is part of why I wrote the book Faith To Raise The Dead, to help equip the Body of Christ to overcome in those situations. Overall I do believe there are a few reasons people tend not to return when we pray to raise them, but the point I am making here is that death is honestly a huge challenge for most believers, and in many cases a bigger challenge than dealing directly with the demonic.

If we really want to break through our faith-barriers and all that holds us back in life, then we have to increase the stakes. We must challenge our faith—and the best way to do that is to go after the BIG enemy, death. After all, the Bible tells us that death is the last enemy to be destroyed. That doesn’t mean we can’t have victory over it here and now—it just means that we have to put some effort into it, and we have to start setting our sights higher than we have before. There is a saying (I’m not sure who said it first) that goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” The idea here is similar. If you set your sights, and your faith, on immortality, defeating death in your body, then you have set your sights so incredibly high that at that point, anything else is easy in comparison. Furthermore, even if for some reason you don’t fully apprehend it, your faith is already going to be high for what God can do and you will certainly see Him move in every area of your life accordingly.

If you want to learn more about the promises of God in scripture regarding immortality, pick up a copy of my new book The Gospel of Life and Immortality today. The book is over 300 pages of rich content—explaining the scriptures, offering useful tips on how to navigate real-world issues, and providing practical steps to help access this revelation. It’s great for personal learning, and for those who are ready to dive in as a group, it can be gone through chapter by chapter in a group setting as well. Grab your copy and one for a friend today!

The Gospel of Life and Immortality — Now Published on Amazon!!

Hey Friends of Eden! I am excited to announce my newest book, The Gospel of Life and Immortality, has now been published on Amazon in both Print and on Kindle!!

The book takes the reader through a fairly logical progression explaining what the Gospel of Life and Immortality even is by looking at what Jesus taught on the subject, where we can find these truths in the Old Testament, Paul’s teachings on the subject, and much more. I also do what I typically do in my books, which is attempt to address down-to-earth aspects of the subject, as well as practical steps we can take to walk in this revelation.

I began writing the book multiple years ago, and the past year and a half in particular has been a challenge to get the book finished and ready to print (Originally I had planned to publish it last fall and ran into a series of setbacks). You may have observed that this subject is growing in popularity, and it will continue to do so because this is a major subject that is on God’s heart to share with the Church right now so that we can walk in all that God has prepared for us.

The book title is taken from 2 Timothy 1:10-11 where Paul states that God appointed him an apostle, teacher, and preacher of the gospel of life and immortality. Many years ago God spoke to me and confirmed that this, too, was something He has called me to do—to spread the message of life and immortality in Christ Jesus. I am excited about this book because it is an important step in what God has called me to do. Within the pages of this book are a transformative message, albeit a challenging one for most. It goes against much of what we have historically been taught about life and death, but I systematically go through the scriptures to unveil this revelation that God has saved for this hour. Pick up a copy of The Gospel of Life and Immortality in Print or on Kindle today!

Hearing God: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers

Since my buddy Kyle died this summer, I have been struggling to a certain degree with raising the dead—not in deciding whether to move on or give up on his resurrection as much as with finding an answer and a fruitful way forward in my own heart. I have been wrestling with how to become actually-effective in raising the dead. I have been wrestling with how to become whom I must become to carry the miracle-answer in any situation of need. And I have been dealing with the discouraging fact that every time I pray to raise the dead, the only thing that my Heavenly Dad says to me is how much of a great job I am doing, even when they haven’t returned yet. I suppose I should find what He tells me encouraging but it simply tells me that there is nothing different that I could be doing to be more effective than I am and have the resurrections occur—and to me, that’s rather discouraging.

Well, my buddy Steve reminded me recently of something that I already know, but where in our conversation he helped put it in context of this specific situation—namely that there are rules that govern how God can and cannot communicate with us based on where we are at and how we are able to hear Him. In any given situation it isn’t that God isn’t willing to talk to us, but sometimes He is limited in what He can successfully communicate with us. I have written more in-depth on this subject in a recent article called The Rules of Speaking With God, but I’ll share some details here that relate to where I am going with this article in a different direction. It isn’t that God is limited—its that we limit what we can receive. There’s a reason Jesus told his disciples “there is more I have to say to you than you can now bear.” It’s because they had to become different and grow their weight-bearing capacity before they could handle deeper and heavier things. It is likewise with us, and God has to help grow us from where we are to where we are heading in order to handle things God already wants to teach us and reveal to us right now. The fact is we simply aren’t ready, whether by our unbelief (meaning He will tell us things and we are unable to believe, receive, and/or understand it based on our deficits) or by means of some other lack in our lives. Sometimes it is that the demonic successfully block the messages God is sending us, whether that an angel is carrying a message and they block that angel and/or steal its message, or some other kind of blockage. However it happens, there is limitation in the spirit that reduces or influences God’s ability to successfully get the messages through to us when we ask.

While that is frustrating and at times disheartening, it means that we have to learn to change how we do things. Sometimes we are asking a question but it isn’t the right question, and based on the rules we need to start asking different questions to get the answers we need. Sometimes we are asking the right kinds of questions but we need to stop being broad and get more specific. And sometimes the question isn’t the problem but our level of growth and maturity is—so we must grow in certain areas before we will be ready to receive the answers to our questions. There are different ways we can get around some of this, and while little short-changes the need for growth (other than impartation, and even then it doesn’t fix everything), we can use certain strategies to overcome and move forward.

I was talking to my friend Hope this evening (the evening after I talked to Steve) about this very thing in regard to physical healing. She has been believing God for her healing for years, and God does answer with miracles at times for her—more than most people I know. And yet, she still has dealt with a lot of physical pain and suffering. What I told her is a strategy we can use in any area, but just target it toward the relevant things we are seeking and engaging. What I told her is that while she wakes up every morning with a faith and expectation that her healing has just manifested, she then discovers each day that it has not happened yet. Sure, we can say let’s just continue in that vein and one day eventually it will, and that is generally true. However, it is also safe to say that what she is doing literally isn’t working, so to continue to do that and expect a different result without changing anything might also be unwise. What I suggested she do is in addition to continuing to wake up in faith each morning that healing has come, to begin to ask the Father how she can partner more directly with Him to see it manifest.

What are the wisdom steps she can take right now to help herself on the journey?

What are the things God is trying to teach her or tell her right now that she hasn’t asked about that would move her closer to her healing?

What lessons does God have for her that will help her grow into her healing?

What are the things that are holding back or delaying or preventing the healing from manifesting?

As we start to ask different questions, something about engaging God differently allows Him to move differently. I don’t entirely understand why that is because I don’t quite understand the rules that govern how this works, but there are rules and this is why it works this way. When we stop just expecting or praying for one thing repetitively and start addressing the problem from different angles, we will find ourselves moving closer. Think of it as trying to push through a hurricane to reach the eye of the storm—pure force will make that exceedingly difficult if not impossible. However, if instead of trying to push straight into the eye and/or push against the wind forces, what if someone went at a slant in the direction the wind was moving but consistently inward? While I recognize actual hurricanes have a number of variables that would make this not work, the concept example is what I am going for. Consider that changing the approach from something that is inherently incapable of working to a different method creates an opportunity that didn’t exist before. Asking the Father different questions, praying a different way, and approaching the situation differently all will change us in ways that cause the answers to start to filter through, our prayers to become more effective, and the situations to begin to change. From a perspective of the Law of Sowing and Reaping (I explain this in depth in my book The Power of Impartation), if we start sowing differently, we will start reaping differently. And the end result will be growth, forward movement, and answered prayer!

It’s Time To Step Out and Raise The Dead!

I tend to write about the things that occur to me, which means the subjects I write about tend to vary over time. A number of years ago I was writing much more about certain types of miracles—gems and feathers manifesting supernaturally, as well as the Bible in Dalton, Georgia that was producing oil for a time. These days I have been much more focused on raising the dead and the gospel of life and immortality—the latter partly because I am finishing writing a book on the subject and partly because it’s something the Lord has called me to preach and teach. The former has been on my heart for a number of reasons as well, one of them being the current situation we find ourselves in both as a nation and worldwide.

Last year we were told there was a deadly pathogen that we must rearrange our entire lives to hide in fear from, we were told a combination of scientifically proven and nonscientific nonsense “rules” that would “keep us safe”—from a pathogen with a low mortality and known drug treatments which have been (and continue to be) suppressed. I have been saying over the past year that we need to get better at grasping the revelation of who Jesus is as the One Who Defeated Death and as such learn to become effective in raising the dead, but I had a dream one night that, to me, further accentuates this point.

In the dream, I was speaking to a pastor. This pastor told me that there are no nurses in churches across America on Sundays because they are all busy working with the sick and dying when they need to be in church to recharge themselves because of it. The dream was short, but the message to me was somewhat clear: things are going to get much worse before they get better.

The highly-experimental shots that people have been taking this year have caused some very-predictable mutations to the initial lab-designed pathogen and the results have been ugly. Just from what I have personally seen working with patients, the damage to the body seems to be worse than the first time around, and many hospitals are still resistant to using some of the drugs that have been proven to be effective—which means more people are dying who don’t have to. Furthermore, as more people continue to get the jabs and they develop boosters and more, I expect this trend of increasing mortality to continue. It used to be that in America it was difficult to locate people who have died to be able to pray for them. I suspect that time is coming to an end. The bad new is that means a LOT of death. The good news is that we have an opportunity to step out in faith and see what God wants to do to reverse it. But it’s going to take each of us actually stepping out of our comfort zones to do just that—ask to pray for dead people and then do what it takes to make that happen.

Faith often looks like risk, and the truth is that whether we step out in faith or choose not to, we risk something either way. On the one hand we risk not seeing the results we seek, but on the other hand we risk never seeing God move in miraculous ways and destroying death. There are risks in either direction, but risk is impossible to escape, so we might as well embrace the kind of risks that produce life.

This may be a very new idea to some people, and it may not be a new idea to others, but you may just never have actually stepped out to try it. Or maybe you have, but you’d like to learn more about the subject. Well, here’s what I recommend:

Read my book Faith to Raise the Dead and Tyler Johnson’s book How to Raise the Dead, or for a quick-reference guide, grab a copy of Practical Keys to Raise the Dead.
Attend a training with the Dead Raising Teams led by Tyler Johnson of One Glance Ministries.
If unable to attend in person, buy his School of Resurrection audio series, invite some friends over, and have your own virtual DRT training.
Head over to the Raise The Dead Initiative page of our website for additional links and resources.
Start looking for opportunities to pray to raise the dead. As you put yourself out there, opportunities will open up to you (pets included!).

Revealing the Seed of Immortality

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of life and immortality—my favorite being 2 Timothy 1:10-11 in which Paul directly states that he has been given the gospel of life and immortality as a message from God to teach and preach. And yet, there is something about being physically immortal that remains a challenge to us, largely because very few people successfully have accomplished the goal to date (Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus being three solid scriptural examples). One of the parts of this gospel of life and immortality that is so confusing is that the scriptures seem to suggest we have already been given this body in seed form—a promise or unveiling of things to come. We’re going to get an idea of what that might look like in the natural, as well as a practical step we can take to see it displayed in our lives.

The book of Isaiah has some pretty interesting verses that speak to the topic of immortality. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” This verse sounds straightforward, but the implications are impressive. God renewing someone’s strength so he or she can run without limit and walk endlessly without fatigue is not possible without divine power flowing endlessly through the body. In other words, in order to consistently surpass the physical limitations of the human body, it requires a body that isn’t human. This passage is somewhat veiled, but it hints toward the idea that God provides bodies for us that do not wear out, grow weary, or lose strength in any way.

There are other passages that speak to a transformation of our human bodies and what our physical experience will be like. It is first mentioned in Isaiah 49:10a where the prophet says, “They will neither hunger nor thirst . . .” Interestingly, Jesus echoes this same comment in John 6:35 saying, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” We need to remember that hunger and thirst are indicators of a chemical lack within our bodies—a lack of energy-producing food or a lack of the water that is used in many chemical processes in each cell of our bodies and which makes up a large percentage of the body matter both inside and outside of our cells. A less-scientific way of saying that is that hunger and thirst demonstrate that we have a need that cannot be sustained without outside help, and when we meet that need with food or water, we stop being hungry or thirsty. What both Isaiah prophesied and Jesus declared of himself is that in Christ we can live in such a way as to be so fully sustained by the energy of God, with our physical bodies, that we won’t require food or drink ever again.

And yet, while these are just a few of the practical ways this promise of bodily immortality will manifest itself, it seems that very few people successfully apprehend this scriptural truth. I believe we are entering an era of time where this will become much more widespread, but it is important that we understand we have already been given a seed of that promise. Romans 8:23 states, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” The Bible is clear that our bodies are meant to be redeemed, but the Holy Spirit is given to us as a form of firstfruits—elsewhere in scripture explained as “a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:22).” 1 Corinthians 15 is probably the most renowned chapter in scripture discussing the immortal body, but even it mentions our immortal bodies being given in seed form. 1 Corinthians 15:37-38 says, “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.”

Now, understanding we have been given immortal bodies in Christ in seed form, part of our task is the process of unveiling, what 2 Corinthians 3:18 calls “being transformed into his image from glory to glory.” One physical activity we can do to test this out, or in some ways actively engage our faith in this area, is to fast. Normally when we fast it is to abstain from food and/or drink in order to gain some kind of goal, but this is a little different in that we aren’t fasting to obtain immortality. Rather, this type of fasting is to reveal it. We are putting our faith in what the scriptures tell us about never being hungry or thirsty, and are testing it out to see if we have arrived yet. After all, if we never stop eating long enough to try it out, how will we know when we have arrived? Likewise someone could do the same with intense exercise to see if they are able to push past normal limits, running or walking with unending energy.

While doing these types of things we are putting a demand on our faith to unveil the immortality we have been promised in scripture. Think of it a little bit like chiseling a sculpture out of a rock. The image exists as potential in the rock, but it takes a process of unveiling or removing the extra rock piece by piece so what lies underneath becomes fully visible. I believe that bodily immortality in Christ can be a bit like this for the Body of Christ as a whole. As we continue to pursue this in faith, even doing things such as fasting or exercising to engage our faith and put a demand on the seed of immortality within us, we will discover that we will eventually find that we can go without food or drink or can perform physical activities at otherwise-impossible levels. This does not mean that we engage in unwise and reckless behaviors to test God, but that if we decide to test out God’s promises in scripture that we do it with wisdom, monitoring our hearts and our bodies as we engage our faith for immortality to be revealed in us.

Finally, I want to leave you with an admonition that Paul gave at the end of 1 Corinthians 15 as he closed out his thoughts on the subject of immortal bodies and being physically transformed. He said, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).” Paul recognized the labor was not in vain, and neither shall ours be as we continue to pursue everything Jesus Christ purchased for us through His precious blood, not limited to but certainly including our immortal transfigured physical bodies.

To read more on this topic, pick up a copy of my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” available on Amazon.

The Glaring Failure of the End Times Church

Most Charismatic and/or Charismatic-leaning churches and denominations tend to agree that we are in the “End Times.” The point of this article isn’t to argue whether we are or aren’t in that era, but to look at a serious failure of the Church as a whole—a failure that for reasons I don’t understand hasn’t managed to correct itself in roughly 2,000 years.

To see what this glaring failure is, let us take a look at John 11:23-26, which says:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’

See it yet? If not, let me share it with you.

Even though 2,000 years ago, while he was here on earth,Jesus corrected someone on their end-times beliefs, we are still looking toward a last-day resurrection instead of living it out right now. Yes, the glaring error of the church is our end-times view of the resurrection.

Think about it—in John 11, Martha is upset her brother has died. She says to Jesus “I know I will see him again when everyone gets resurrected at the end of time.” Jesus replies by basically saying “Yeah, I get that, but not only can he live right now, but he will live right now” and then goes on to demonstrate then and there what he just told Martha by raising Lazarus from the dead.

The thing I can’t understand is why, 2000 years later, we are still so focused on the end-of-days resurrection that most people completely ignore Jesus’ response to Martha. It has huge implications for our beliefs! He didn’t argue with Martha’s theology or tell her there wouldn’t be an end-of-days resurrection, which leaves us to assume that there will be one. However, we have passed over the fact that Jesus ignored it because when He is present, an end-times resurrection becomes completely irrelevant. How so? Let’s take a look at what Jesus replied to her.

“He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” In normal-day language, he said “If you die, then you will be raised from the dead and live again, right here, right now. If you are still alive and believe in me then you will never die.”

News flash! The Church has been so focused on the last-day resurrection that we have all but completely ignored the fact that Jesus literally told us that if we believe in Him then we never have to physically die!! And if we don’t die, we will never need an end-times resurrection. Think about the ramifications of that! This is the glaring failure of the end-times church—we have learned to give up when Jesus has told us over and over again that He has planned something totally different for us.

If we don’t actually have to die physically, then wouldn’t we start living our lives differently? Instead of planning for retirement for when we grow old and feeble, would we start making plans like Caleb in the Old Testament? He wasn’t reclining on pillows while someone woke him up after his mid-morning nap and wiped the drool from his chin. While he was in his 80’s he both commanded and led a war charge to take over a new territory—not the picture of someone who had one foot in the grave.

If people like Caleb in the Old Testament can access this while living under an inferior covenant, isn’t it time that we, the children of God, living under the new covenant that gives life, do far better? It is time we get the revelation of the gospel that Jesus and Paul preached—the gospel of life and immortality (2 Timothy 1:10-11) that says that because Jesus has taken the keys of death, hell, and the grave and has destroyed the written code of laws set against us, that we are no longer subject to physical death and have the right and authority to command life into any and every situation. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. It’s been 2000 years, isn’t it time we started doing something about it?

To read more of God’s plan for our future and how to get there, grab a copy of my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” available on both Kindle and in Print on Amazon.

Unmasking the Lie of Premature Death

Raising the dead is an un-touchy subject—in that most people don’t want to touch it. For those of us who aren’t afraid to engage what Jesus commanded us to do, there are a lot of theological roadblocks that often get tossed in our way. A few of the more prevalent ones are “Is it God’s will?”, “Is it the will of the deceased to be raised?”, “Are they unsaved?” (as though we should only raise them if they are, and if they are saved then let them go). All of those have very rationed, biblical answers (all of which end with “be obedient and raise the dead). We’re going to tackle a different one today, unmasking the lie of premature death.

There is a belief out there that says “It’s okay to die, but only if it is not premature.” The other side of that coin is “We are only supposed to raise the dead when it is premature death, and the rest of the time we should let them go.”

What even is premature death?

In theory, premature death is when someone dies before their “appointed time”—so let’s look at that. What does the Bible say about our appointed time to die? Scripturally speaking, the notion that any of us have an appointed time to die comes from Hebrews 9:27-28 which says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Now, when read in-context this passage is saying that Jesus died once for us, as us, in place of us to bear all of our sin. However, most people like to quote verses 27 without the second half of the sentence (v27 ends with the word “judgment”) and in so doing entirely skew the meaning. For believers, we did die once, already, through Christ in baptism (Romans 6:1-7 elaborates on this quite clearly). So even if we ignore the context of this passage and just focus on the “appointed time to die”, as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice we no longer have an appointed time to die—as Jesus already took our appointment.

Furthermore, the entire “appointed time to die,” scripturally speaking, has always been in context of the wages of sin being death (Romans 6:23), not that God needs us to die in order to exit the earth. Nevertheless, people still like to believe that we are required to die, and incorrectly use Hebrews 9:27 as their proof-text. The other references that are less-commonly used, those of Ecclesiastes 3:2 and Psalm 90:10, are based on the writers’ observations about the lives of people, much like how a scientist would observe things and then write down what they saw. Those passages are not a prophetic pronouncement about what all humankind is destined for, but simply a recording of observations. In fact, the entire book of Ecclesiastes is written from the context of Solomon sharing his earthly observations and temporal wisdom, not that of a divine seer who has delved into the mysteries of God.

How do we know if someone died prematurely?

Normally, the notion is that someone has had a premature death if they died young. And if you thought “wow, that’s pretty ambiguous,” that’s because it is.

Profoundly ambiguous.

Most people who believe there is a “time to die” apply it to situations in an extremely illogical manner. They pretty consistently say that if someone is young then it wasn’t their time and if they are old (which usually means 65 or older), then it probably was their time to go. This entire idea is illogical in nature, not to mention incredibly arrogant. I mean, who is the person who gets to decide whether it was “someone’s time” or not? It’s pretty arrogant to think that we get to decide when it is other people’s time to die. When Job, in his arrogance, was accusing God of not being just, do you know what God’s response was?

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:1-7)

God did nothing for two whole chapters except throw questions at Job that he was incapable of answering because he was a human with the limited knowledge, power, and capacity that humans have, and not the Almighty Creator-God of the Cosmos. God basically spent His time saying “And who exactly do you think you are??”

Once we start breaking down the “time to die” concept, it is applied in an incredibly arbitrary manner based completely on supposition and not on some sort of knowable information that can be consistently applied. In fact, it is pagan belief systems that believe our life-length is determinable, not Christianity. For example, in Greek mythology, the Fates (or Norns in Norse mythology) determine the length of your life by spinning a string, your “life line”, and when they decide your string gets cut, you die. It is entirely arbitrary based on whatever those god-beings feel like at that time, and if they feel like cutting you off in your twenties, they are fully within their rights and powers to do so. Good thing we don’t belong to their kingdom!

What does the Bible say about death and age?

If we wanted to know what the Bible says about death and age, we would find it says the opposite of most people’s beliefs on the subject. According to 2 Timothy 1:10, God has abolished death in Christ. Abolished it! It is no longer legal. Romans 8 goes into great length to explain that we no longer live under the law of sin and death but rather the law of the spirit of life. As explained above, the OT verses that refer to a “time to die” are not pronouncements of that-which-shall-be, but scientific human observations of what they saw happening around them. In fact, there is a prophecy that is a pronouncement of things to come which states:

“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people . . . (Isaiah 65:20-22a)

The prophet Isaiah foresaw a day when death would be extremely uncommon, as people would be living multiples of hundreds of years long at minimum. Furthermore, this falls entirely in line with the teachings of Jesus. There are numerous verses in scripture that speak of this reality of long-life, but that isn’t all. There are many verses where Jesus explained that those who followed him would, in fact, never die (John 6:50, 51, 54, John 8:51, John 10:10, 28, John 11:26). Actually, get this. Do you realize that the most-quoted verse in the entire Bible speaks of this? John 3:16 says, “God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believed in him would not die but would live forever (emphasis mine).” John 3:16 literally states that we are not supposed to die!!

So what should our response to all of this be?

Honestly, it’s quite simple. All death is “premature death” because according to scripture, we aren’t supposed to die. John 10:10 says that it is the enemy who brings death, and 1 Corinthians 15:26 also refers to death as God’s enemy. If we truly believe what the Bible says, the only response we can have to death, regardless of age, is one thing:

Raise the dead.

Don’t complicate Jesus’ simple command in Matthew 10:8 and add provisos or conditions such as premature death, if the person wants to come back, or any of the other highly spiritual-sounding but highly religious and extremely disobedient excuses people come up with. If we truly want to do the will of God, then it is time to move past the lie of premature death and simply be obedient to Jesus’ command to raise the dead.

If you are interested in learning more about how to step out in faith and raise the dead, I recommend the following:

Read my book Faith to Raise the Dead and Tyler Johnson’s book How to Raise the Dead, or for a quick-reference guide, grab a copy of Practical Keys to Raise the Dead.
Attend a training with the Dead Raising Teams led by Tyler Johnson of One Glance Ministries.
If unable to attend in person, buy his School of Resurrection audio series, invite some friends over, and have your own virtual DRT training.
Start looking for opportunities to pray to raise the dead. As you put yourself out there, opportunities will open up to you (pets included!).

When “I’m Sorry” Isn’t Good Enough

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By reading just the title of this article, it’s likely you expect this is going to be a message about forgiveness, but it isn’t. It’s about something else entirely, something very near and dear to my heart, and about an encounter I had that I will probably never forget. It was actually very hard for me at the time, and has continued to be to a certain degree, but let me tell you a short story and I’ll explain.

Over a year ago, my best friend texted me to connect with a woman local to me whose baby had just died. I won’t go into all the details of the tragic situation, but it was a premature baby who was only about a week or so old. My wife and I went to the hospital and spent over three hours praying with the family over this child and commanding the life of Heaven back into it’s precious, tiny, cold, feeble body.

I will never forget that night. I personally spent two and a half hours holding that child as we prayed, commanded, decreed, worshiped, and did our level best to stay in a place of faith, expectation, and love as we attempted to partner with Heaven to bring this child back to life. A few hours in, the Holy Spirit began nudging me that it was time to close down this session of prayer. Let me tell you, there is no easy way to say to a family who is believing alongside you in faith (or really, we were believing alongside them) that “we’re done here.”

And let’s be honest, that’s not actually what I said—I was a lot more tactful and gentle. As the Holy Spirit was leading me to close things down for the evening, there were some other very real and practical needs the family had to address as well, and I do believe based on all factors involved that it was an appropriate time to close out that particular session of prayer. It didn’t mean that we couldn’t continue to pray after we left the hospital, nor that we couldn’t hold another prayer session later, but being the one responsible for making that decision is hard. Even harder is to have to say “I’m sorry” to the family when the loved one doesn’t return.

Sometimes saying “I’m sorry” just isn’t good enough. It wasn’t good enough for them, and it still isn’t good enough for me.

I won’t say this encounter haunts me exactly, but it did stick with me, and it will probably always remain a strong memory. It was really hard, and I have had to spend intentional time with God healing my own heart as a result.

There are defining moments that we have in life—moments that we can look back upon that change us. They might change how we view certain things, or alter decisions we make for the future. I have said “I’m sorry” to families on multiple occasions, and it is never easy. I have gone through my own grieving process with each loved one who doesn’t return, regardless of whether I knew them or not. But after holding this child’s lifeless body for multiple hours, saying “I’m sorry” has ceased to ever be good enough. It’s not that I ever found it acceptable before, but that encounter marked me.

Jesus paid a very clear price, with his own body, signed and sealed in his precious blood, so that we might live. Abundant life is God’s gift to us, and it is our job to step out in faith and release His power and presence in every situation to reveal His love in signs, wonders, miracles, healing, resurrection, and everything else that any situation needs. In this situation, a baby needed to be raised from the dead. And while I spent a lot of time encouraging, praying, loving, and attempting, the end result was still the same. One more family continuing to grieve over a death that shouldn’t have been.

On the one hand, if we step out in faith then regardless of the outcome we are a success in God’s eyes. In fact, the only thing God kept saying to me when I was holding that child and asking Him “What do I do next to partner with You? What’s the next step?”, was how much of a wonderful job I was doing. Yet, while I am a success in God’s eyes, I remain at least a little bit of a failure in my own.

While that can be its own message about changing our perspective to see ourselves how God sees us, there is a very practical side to what I am saying. The hard fact is that the baby didn’t get raised. And that is a hard fact, because what it means is that in that situation, when someone reached out and asked for help, when I showed up to manifest God’s solution, that solution didn’t come.

Why does that matter to me so much? Because I realize that if Jesus had been standing there instead of me, the outcome would have been entirely different. And I’m not okay with that.

We are meant to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this age. When Jesus needs to show up, it’s my job to go as His ambassador to release the delegated authority I have received from Him and fix the problems in front of me. In Matthew 10, Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to go and pray hard for God to show up. He told them to go and raise the dead. In that circumstance, and in most situations, scripturally speaking it actually is my job to fix the problem.

I wish to live in a world where regardless of the problem, I have reached a place in my spiritual journey where it doesn’t matter what the problem is, I can release God’s power to solve it. 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us that we are being taken from one level of glory to another as the Holy Spirit transforms us. I firmly believe that both I personally and we as the church need to level up to a place where it doesn’t matter the time, place, or problem, but that we are able to successfully meet the need and bring the solution in Jesus’ name.

To that end, at least as far as raising the dead goes, I recommend the following:

Read my book Faith to Raise the Dead and Tyler Johnson’s book How to Raise the Dead, or for a quick-reference guide, grab a copy of Practical Keys to Raise the Dead
Attend a training with the Dead Raising Teams led by Tyler Johnson of One Glance Ministries.
If unable to attend in person, buy his School of Resurrection audio series, invite some friends over, and have your own virtual DRT training.
Start looking for opportunities to pray to raise the dead, whether pets or people.

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