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Lesson Ten -- The Death of Death
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will
redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where,
O grave, is your destruction? (Book of the Prophets, Hosea 13:14)
This book began with the "birth of death" and now
we come to the "death of death". Death will one day
cease to exist, because death is unnatural. The main reason that
it seems to be a natural part of life to us today is that we
have lived all of our lives with death. We know nothing else,
and so we think it is normal. But it is not normal.
Death is not a part of Allah's creation. Death is a sentence
which Allah imposed on creation as a penalty for sin, as the
Scriptures say:
The soul who sins is the one who will die. - 18:20
The wages of sin is death. - Holy , Romans 6:23
In this way death came to all men, because all sinned. - Holy
, Romans 5:12
Death has been with us ever since our forefather Adam ate the forbidden
fruit, disobeying Allah's direct command. Eternal life in Paradise
had been offered to Adam and , but by sinning they threw
it away. There were two trees in the middle of Paradise which
were very significant. The tree of the knowledge of good and
evil contained the forbidden fruit which brought death. The other
tree was the tree of life which could give them immortality.
However, once Adam and sinned, they lost the right to eat
from the tree of life:
And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one
of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach
out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and
live forever." So the Lord God banished him from the Garden
of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After
he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden
of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth
to guard the way to the tree of life. (, Genesis 3:22-24)
Even though our first parents lost the right to eat from the
tree of life, Allah has been at work throughout the centuries
to restore what was lost. In qiyamat, this work of restoration
will be completed. John, one of Isa's companions and a prophet,
was given a vision of the future in which he saw the tree of
life restored:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as
clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of Allah and of the
Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each
side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops
of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the
tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there
be any curse. (Holy , Revelation 22:1-3)
To each person a personal invitation goes out to partake of
the tree of life, but conditions must be met:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
congregations. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat
from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of Allah. (Holy
, Revelation 2:7)
With an obedient heart, we must listen to what Allah's Spirit
is saying through his holy word. We must be overcomers by means
of our faith in Prophet . He is the one whom Allah chose
to die in our place for our sins. He rose again and is a living
Saviour. He will come again to judge and reward us. Do you believe
this? If you have accepted as your Lord and Saviour,
then you will have the right to eat from the tree of life in
Allah's paradise.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
In the beginning Allah created the heavens and the earth.
Allah saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (,
Genesis 1:1,31)
The present heaven and earth which were created "very
good" and beautiful, have been scarred by sin, decay, and
death. You can look in any direction and see a world which though
beautiful, is infected with death and decay. Things don't get
better and better. Left to themselves, they go from bad to worse.
This is because death is everywhere present in our world. But
look at what will happen to death in the day of judgment after
Isa's kingdom:
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged
according to what he had done. Then death and the grave were thrown
into the lake of fire. (Holy , Revelation 20:13,14)
Death and the grave (or place of dead spirits) will be consumed in a
fiery lake and never appear again. At the same time that Allah
will destroy death, he will also remake his creation. The old
heaven and old earth, will give way to a new heaven and new earth.
Everything that is tainted by sin and death will be changed:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer
any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from Allah, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"Now the dwelling of Allah is with men, and he will live
with them. They will be his people, and Allah himself will be
with them and be their Allah. He will wipe every tear from their
eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated
on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" (Holy
, Revelation 21:1-5)
Allah will make all things new. Death will die, and eternal
life will be the portion of all those who trust in Prophet Isa
Masih as Saviour from sin. But wait! Allah has even now begun
his new creation. His new creation exists in the hearts of his
people, as it is written:
If anyone is in Masih, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come! (Holy , 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Would you like all the "old" to be gone? The old
sins, the old fears, the old shame, the old guilt? Then look
to Prophet Isa the Saviour and intercessor to make your life new.
He can take away the shame and guilt of your sins. He can exchange
the fear of death with courage and joy about the future. He came
to give you eternal life, and is alive to intercede to Allah
on your behalf. Welcome him into your life today.
Isa said, "I have come that they may have life, and have
it to the full." (Holy , John 10:10)
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QUESTIONS:
-- Choose the most correct answers
1. Death entered creation
a) as a result of Adam's
sin
b) to help us appreciate
life
c) because
it is a normal part of life
2. The original beauty of creation will be restored
a) if enough people
believe in the one true God
b) when people become
more concerned about the environment
c) in qiyamat,
when Allah himself renews the creation
3. The tree of life which gives eternal life,
a) was only in the
original paradise and is now lost forever
b) will be restored in
qiyamat
c) is a myth
d) is an apple
tree
4. The promise of eternal life is
a) only for those who
do their prayers regularly
b) for those who die in
service for Allah
c)
for all who accept Isa
Masih as Saviour from sins
d) for all
people both believer and scoffer
5. In the day of qiyamat, Allah will
a) destroy death
b) create a new heaven
and new earth
c) take away all crying
and pain for his people
d) all the
above
6. Prophet can make your life new,
a) in qiyamat
b) right now if you are
willing
c) only if
you clean your life up first
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