Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Death of Moses,” pp.
469–480, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Voice of Stern Rebuke,” pp.
129–142; “A Prophet of Peace,” pp. 237–243, in Prophets and Kings; “The
Centurion,” pp. 318, 319; “The Touch of Faith,” pp. 342, 343; “ ‘Lazarus,
Come Forth,’ ” pp. 524–536, in The Desire of Ages.
“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath
the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s
assurance of eternal life. ‘He that believeth in Me,’ said Jesus, ‘though
he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ Christ here [in John 11:25, 26]
looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be
translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ
was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would repre-
sent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His
works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who
Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a
conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal
life.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 530.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Many people died during the prophetic ministries of Elijah
and Elisha, as well as during Christ’s own earthly ministry. Only
a few were resurrected. (See Luke 4:24–27.) Thinking, too, about
the experience of all of the dead, whether resurrected in the past
or at the Second Coming, what difference does it make, at least in
regard to what it was like to be dead?
Ë Many writers over the centuries have written about the
futility of a life that ends always in death. Along with other liv-
ing creatures—chickens, beavers, oysters, et cetera—we all die.
However, for humans, in a sense our predicament is worse than
for the animals, because we know that we are going to die. (See
Eccles. 9:5.) Chickens, beavers, and oysters don’t. Why, then, is the
promise of the resurrection so crucial to us?
Ì If you think that the soul is immortal and that the dead, espe-
cially the righteous dead, live on in heaven after they die, what
need is there for the resurrection at the end of time?
Í If someone called and asked, “Is Sally there?” you might answer,
“Yes, but she’s sleeping.” If, however, someone called and asked, “Is
Sally there?” you are not going to answer, “Yes, but she’s dead.”
Why not? What does this teach us about the nature of death?
