Death: “The Christian’s Finest Hour”
The Paradox of Modern Eschatologies
by Don K. Preston
Just recently, I attended the funeral of a fine Christian lady. The minister did a wonderful job of speaking of the woman’s faith, her Christ-like spirit of helping others, and of the surety of her reward in heaven. In fact, the minister related that he had heard one of his childhood minister “heroes” speak of the death of a Christian as “the Christian’s finest hour.” He confidently stated that the death of this good sister was in fact her finest hour. I must confess that I was struck with the irony, the paradox, the true conundrum of that preacher’s lesson.
I have said for years that modern ministers, have two theologies when it comes to death. On the one hand, when preaching the funeral of a faithful Christian, they confidently affirm that the Christian has received their reward, they are in heaven with the Savior, they are truly at rest. In fact, the death of the Christian is their finest hour! However, in many cases, you might hear that same preacher (I have personally heard this!), in the following weeks, say that physical death is the enemy, and that until the coming of the Lord at the end of human history, even the Christian does not have their reward! Perhaps even more disturbing is that in many amillennial churches, in contrast to their funeral sermons that affirm the deceased is in heaven, these same ministers will affirm that the faithful Christian has gone to Abraham’s bosom– not heaven!
Does anyone see a problem here? There is a very real theological problem here. The problem is real, it is serious, it is disturbing, but, goes seemingly un-noticed by so many believers. This article will seek to explain the problem and demonstrate how what the above mentioned minister said is true, and yet, how devastating to modern eschatologies it really is.
I need not document the fact that all futurist eschatologies believe that physical death is the death introduced by Adam, and that physical death is the death to be overcome through the resurrection of 1 Corinthians 15:22: “As in Adam all men die, even so in Christ shall all men be made alive.” The story of redemption is the story of the deliverance from the death of Adam.
It goes without saying that if you start at the wrong place, you will wind up in the wrong place, theologically. If your protology (beginning) is wrong, your eschatology is wrong. So, if physical death is not the death that Adam introduced, then physical death is not the death conquered by the resurrection of 1 Corinthians 15! This is an indisputable Continue reading “Is Death The Christian's Finest Hour?”