Summary: In his first letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul had to address their chaotic and ungodly practices. He confronted and corrected them as to how a true church should model itself on the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ, including a reminder about the resurrection and its importance.

As the days draw closer to the return of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Luke 21:28; Titus 2:13), the enemies of the LORD, both human and demonic, are doing their best to turn people away from the truth of the Scriptures and that there is no salvation for anyone except through Him (Isaiah, 64:6; John 14:6; Acts 4:12). More people are content to embrace the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil (2Thessalonians 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 4:3). The majority of humanity is content with themselves to be the objects of worship, offering sacrifices to the false gods of “tolerance,” “convenience,” “self-esteem,” “self-exaltation,” and more recently, “entitlement.”

This is nothing more than the foundation of satanism, the epitome of pride, arrogance and selfishness, with its reprobate motto: “Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” (Exodus 20:3; Romans 1:28-32).

The remnant church and its dwindling number of authentic followers of Jesus are being bombarded constantly with not only what I have just described but also with rank unbelief and skepticism that grows nastier and more vindictive, putting us on the defensive in defending our faith (1 Peter 3:15) against attacks that are verbal but, in increasing cases, physical as well.

The need to keep our armor on and continue the good fight of faith is getting more wearisome, and it often appears to be a futile battle against a well-organized enemy who just won’t give up (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Timothy 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8).

A major target in the battle for souls is the issue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Skeptics, often armed with theology degrees and puffed up “knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), continually attempt to discredit and destroy the idea that Jesus of Nazareth is God in the flesh and that He did rise from the dead as He taught and promised to not only His disciples but to all who would follow Him then and now.

The questions I have before we proceed further into this issue are, “If Jesus is not Who He claimed to be, and the Bible is errant in this claim, then why did any of you skeptics even bother to obtain degrees in Biblical Studies if you didn’t believe in any of it in the first place? Why did you waste both time and study on Him if He lied or deceived us? Would He even be the object of study, salvation, and scorn if His body were still in the grave? What’s your point in all of this? What do atheism and skepticism offer that is any better?”

When we read 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul deals with a similar list of objections and questions concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ and why it mattered to the church then and to believers throughout the course of civilization. The skeptics Paul faced were not the Greek sophists and philosophers of Athens (Acts 17:16-34) but in the troubled Corinthian church. Paul addressed this issue with both fact and assurance but also presented to them the dystopic alternative if Jesus was dead and corroding in a tomb somewhere in Israel.

In examining the history of Christianity, let us go back to the original source, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. What did He do and say that validated His claim to be God Incarnate and Someone in whom we could put our faith and trust?

When He told Martha at the tomb of Lazarus, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25), He proved so by calling to Lazarus, “come forth!” (11:43), bringing him back from the dead, doing so in public, and showing everyone that He was Who He claimed to be. He had raised other people from the dead in front of eyewitnesses, demonstrating His power and authority (Matthew 9:23-26; Mark 5:35-43; Luke 7:11-17, 8:49-56).

Scripture tells of other times when God brought people back from the dead (1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 4:35, 13:21; Matthew 27:52; Acts 9:40). However, it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that became the doctrine of every apostle, the faith of every true follower, the source for the martyr’s courage, the theme of all true preaching (2 Timothy 4:1-5), and the power behind every evangelist who devotes themselves to the work of the LORD.

The eyewitness testimony of what Jesus said and did is not only confirmed by His apostles (John 20:28-31), but as we will see in this look at Paul’s defense of the resurrection, others will also confirm it both within and outside of Scripture.

If you are in the category of skepticism, as were some of the Corinthians and most of the world today, then I would ask that you be a part of this examination and conclusion of the most important and controversial event in history, an event that, if true, involves you and me in terms of how we live now and where we will stand in terms of eternity.

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In case you missed it, there was an earthquake in Northern California on December 20, 2022,  of magnitude 6.4 that killed two people, injured over a dozen others, and caused considerable damage. After the initial quake, there were dozens of aftershocks. A 5.4 moderate aftershock on New Year’s Day in the same area caused more damage to roads, homes, and already frayed nerves. And early on January 25, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake followed by a strong aftershock rattled Southern California, awaking thousands of people. The quake was centered approximately 17 miles southwest of the magnitude 6.7 Northridge Earthquake of 1994, which killed 72 people and caused more than $20 billion in damage.

Worldwide, there have been at least 145 earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.3 or greater over the past year. Quakes with less than 2.0 have been recorded in the thousands on the U.S. West Coast alone. There is a prediction that a major quake of at least 9.0 is due along the San Andreas fault. It’s said this occurs about every 500 years, and the last major one was in the 1700s.

Volcanic activity has increased in various locations, and severe record-breaking weather patterns are taking place like never before. Lest we forget, there was a huge locust infestation in Africa a couple of years ago that spread all the way into Asia.

For those “scoffers” of 2 Peter 3 who say nothing has really changed, but everything is the same as it always has been, the above issues are only a few of the changes we have seen over the past couple of years.

America was founded on Christian principles, and one of the Rights listed is the Freedom of Religion. There are numerous and varied secular groups that have interpreted this as freedom from religion. Our Lord and Savior did not force Himself on anyone but allowed all to personally choose whether or not to accept Him. That has not changed today and never will.

However, there are various groups that are obviously Satan-inspired and are doing everything to push the “alphabet” agenda and gender-related issues. Drag Queens are being allowed in some schools for “story hour,” even in the lower pre-teen grades. This is seen as a new progressive normal. However, at the same time, any programs that relate to Jesus are being shut down as “hate” speech. Supposedly, anything that is about Jesus is damaging to the minds of our youths of today.

Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and others stated there would be false prophets in these last days. They will bring “ear-tickling” messages designed by Satan to draw believers away from the Lord. There are some previously Bible-based churches today that have allowed “teachers” to twist the word of the Lord to make the members more at ease in attending their services. They avoid any reference to sin, and at the same time, try to “modernize” God’s word. They definitely avoid anything related to end-time prophecy.

Just a few verses about the Word of God. Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Next is 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” (ESV – any emphasis mine)

There are those who try to convince others that Jesus was just a good prophet but is not really God. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 10:30, “I and the Father are One.” And then 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

As for being indwelt by the Holy Spirit after receiving and accepting Jesus as our Savior, Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.”

In John 14:15-17, we have the promise of our Savior about His true followers receiving the Spirit; “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Jesus’ commandments are based on love, and the two that He references cover all the ones given in Moses’ time. Matthew 22:37-40; “And He said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and Prophets.”

So, if we love our Savior, Father and Holy Spirit, we will never sin again, right? Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23 all say differently. As long as we’re in human form, we will sin. We do what we can to eliminate habitual sin, but when we fall, as we all will, God has given us 1 John 1:8-9; “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We don’t have a license to just keep on living as before, but we have an absolute pathway to forgiveness promised by the Father. Also, this does not relieve us from any possible consequences of our sins. We are still subject to discipline by God as given in Hebrews 12:6. It’s the same way our human parents disciplined us for doing wrong, but the motive was to lovingly correct us and not meant as abuse.

The thing is, now is not the time to ignore all that is happening in this world. We are seeing the pages of Bible Prophecy being revealed to us daily. For believers, it’s actually an exciting time, even though the actions are troubling. We’re being shown that God’s word is true and accurate, and the next major event on the prophecy timeline will be the Rapture.

We don’t know the day or hour, but we do know the “beginnings” were about a decade ago. Also, before the evil antichrist can appear, the Holy Spirit will be removed, and all He indwells will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air. That’s 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

Today is a very good time to consider where you want to spend eternity; Heaven or hell. It’s totally your choice, and the Father will accept either one you make.

This world is but an eyeblink compared to eternity which never ends. No matter what Satan tries to tell you, all the treasures you may acquire here aren’t worth one second of our Heavenly Home. Jesus is never far away and will take your call right now. Once you are truly a part of His flock, your forever will be absolutely wonderful. As given in John 14:1-3, Jesus Himself will prepare a place for you when you call out for Him to forgive you and be your Savior.

Hoping to see you when we are lifted up to see Our Lord in the air soon. It could be any minute now.

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