Victory Swallows Death

When Jesus came up out of “Death” the possibility of a real life after death became available to the people of this Earth. Every Christian should feel the excitement of this fantastic victory. One prophet said this: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 25:8 (KJV). Let the celebration begin.

Of course, the celebration will not actually begin until the faithful are gathered together with Jesus in the future. Paul said: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own… Phil 3:20-21 (NLT). When we get our glorious new body we will really celebrate. 

There are times when a Christian will feel guilty that Jesus suffered so much pain for us and we will enjoy the happiness of going straight to Heaven. But no other human ever had the power to do what Jesus accomplished 2000 years ago. The Bible says: …you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. Acts 2:23-24. Jesus did it because He loves us. 

Jesus died and went into the horrors of death until the Father reached down and brought Him back on resurrection morning. This was a display of the immense power of God and proof that the victory has been won by Christ. Death could not possibly stand against the power of God. Because of this powerful event no Christian will ever enter into Death or Hell. When our time comes we will be taken right past death and Hell into the presence of Jesus. 

His victory is intended to bring us freedom from all sin. All we need to be part of this wonderful miracle is faith. Paul testified: For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. Phil 3:9-10 (NLT). The life of a Christian from start to finish is about faith. We begin with our faith and we will finish with an even greater faith. 

Every Gentile in the world should know that the New Testament includes us into the Jewish family of Jesus Christ. Their prophets can become our own prophets. The Bible says: I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.” Acts 26:22-23. The victory of Jesus is available to Gentiles. 

The first step in most Christian lives is our baptism. This is a witness to other people that we have embarked on a life of faith. But it also has great meaning to us. Baptism symbolizes that we believe God will raise us from our own earthly death. The Bible says: For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Col 2:12 (NLT). 

Yes, someday soon we will hear the trumpet sound and we are to look up. Our Redeemer will arrive in total victory to take us home with Him. We love this verse: It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die… 1 Cor 15:52-53.

Jesus won the victory over death in our place.