I’ll have a new body

F.M. Riley (22 Mar 2020)
"I’ll have a new body"

“I’ll have a new body;

Praise the Lord!

                    I’ll have a new life!”

                                   By Pastor F. M. Riley

                                                                                             March 16, 2020

     “Then He is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.

     His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth.”   Job 33:24-25

Introduction

     I first heard the words to this old Christian hymn years ago when I attended the funeral of a brother in Christ. Before his death, he had requested that this song be sung at his funeral, and his loved ones honored his request. The actual title to the song is “I’ll Have a New Life,” and it was written by Luther Presley back about 1940.

       How my heart was touched and my soul was stirred within me when I heard the song for the first time.   I already knew much of what the inspired Word says about the eternal future of all Itrue believers; how every true believer in Christ will be CHANGED into the image of Him who died for us, and arose for us, thereby delivering us from the sins of the flesh and the wrath to come.   Every true believer is going to receive a new body at the time of the resurrection and rapture. Oh, glory to God. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

     I am well aware that there are many of God’s people today, who are elderly, and not physically well. Now being 86 years old, I am one of them. Some of us have to use a cane just to balance ourselves to keep from falling when we walk.

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There are many others who use walkers, crutches, and wheel chairs, in order to move about. Even with these devices, many elderly people suffer severe pain in their efforts to move about. I am well acquainted with such suffering on the part of my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Because I am aware of such suffering, and because of the imminent danger that the elderly are facing, I was motivated to write this study.   My prayer is that what follows will be a blessing and an encouragement to all of God’s people, regardless of their age or physical health.

A NEW BODY

     The dear old Prophet Job, writing many centuries ago, wrote about the salvation of those upon their sick beds, with death staring them in the face, Job 33:22.   I urge every reader to study Job 33, paying special attention to 33:14-32. In these Scriptures God Himself, speaking to Job, spoke of the elderly or sick who were staring death right in the face. God told Job that if an “interpreter” [witness; soul winner] would explain God’s way of salvation to the person facing death, then God would be “gracious” to the person and “Deliver him from going down into the pit.” Why? Because God would “have found a ransom.” Now read Matthew 20:28.

A BLESSED HOPE

     God then went on to tell Job that the sick or elderly person who had believed what the “messenger” had explained to them from God’s Word, would receive a new body, and “His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth,” 33:25. This is a clearly stated promise of God. Now read 2 Cor. 1:20 and believe what it says. This promise in Job 33:25 is more certain to come to pass, than it is that our readers will get out of bed in the morning. This is indeed a part of “the blessed hope” that every true believer has to look forward to, Titus 2:11-15. This promise of God should be especially precious to the elderly who today are using canes, walkers, crutches, and wheel chairs to get about, and suffering with severe pains when they move. All of that will instantly change when the Lord Jesus comes to resurrect and rapture His believing people. What a glorious moment that will be. Imagine your old sick, decrepit, body being instantly lifted out of your wheel chair, 1 Corinthians 15:52. Then when you look at your reflection in that river of life flowing from the throne of God in Heaven, you will see again a young

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woman or young man staring back at you. No crepe or blotched skin, no wrinkles or sores, no snaggled or false teeth, no sunken eyes, no crippled or missing limbs, no aches and pains. You will have returned to the days of your youth, and the beauty of the Lord Jesus will be written all over your face.   Glory to God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

VERIFICATION

     Dear readers, this is not the “wishful thinking” of a foolish old man. This same truth is clearly set forth in 1 Corinthians 15:35-44. Study these Scriptures carefully. We who are true believers know that we have a natural or physical body, which presently serves as a “house” for our soul or inner man to abide in during this present life.   But we also know that the Lord God has prepared for us another “house“ for our soul to dwell in , when we leave this present life. See 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 and read it for yourself.

THE BELIEVER’S NEW BODY WILL BE

SINLESS AND INCORRUPTIBLE

     In 1 Corinthians 15:50 the Apostle Paul was inspired of God to tell us believers that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” Then at that very point in the chapter, Paul began revealing, what in ages past, had been “a mystery,” 1 Cor. 15:52. This inspired Scripture states that a CHANGE or transformation of our present body of flesh and blood, is going to take place “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…” Fascinating!

     It was not until the last hundred years or so that scientists DISCOVERED that all matter is composed of “atoms.” Then it took many more years for them to DISCOVER how to “split an atom,” and produce an atomic or nuclear bomb.

     Yet the Apostle Paul, writing SOME 2,000 years ago, used the word “atom” when describing the resurrection and rapture of all New Covenant believers at the coming of Christ to take His Church and believing people to Himself. The Greek

word translated as “moment” in this Scripture is “atomos.” In simple English, this

means that the resurrection and rapture of God’s people at the “appearing” of Christ will take place in an “atom” of time; a split second. One moment here on the earth. In the next instant, with the Lord in glory above.   Isn’t this plainly what the Lord spoke about happening in Luke 17:34-36? Every honest reader knows it

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is!

     Our new body WILL NOT then be corruptible “flesh and blood,” as Adam’s body; corrupted in the Garden of Eden, but rather our new body will be a spiritual body, like the body of Christ Himself. It will be sinless and incorruptible; like the body of our Lord, who is sinless, and who now cannot even be tempted with sin, James 1:13.. It literally will be impossible for our new body to sin, or be corrupted in any way. Even the thought of sinning will never come into our minds. Oh glory to God!

A GLORIFIED BODY

      This means that our new body will actually SHINE or GLOW from the light of Christ within us. Read Matthew 13:43. Our “glorified” body will shine or glow just like the body of the Lord Jesus who saved us. Read Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2, Acts 26:13-15, Revelation 1:16, 10:1, 21:23, and 22:5,

     Here are seven inspired Scriptures describing the glory of our Lord God; how His body shined or glowed, and the glory which we believers will have within our new body. This plainly tells us that our new body will shine or glow just like the body of our Savior. Praise the Lord!

LIKE THE BODY OF CHRIST

     In Philippians 3:20-21, the beloved Apostle Paul was inspired of God to tell every true believer,

     “For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:

     Who shall CHANGE our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.”

     Praise the Lord! Glory to God! Hallelujah! A “glorified” body like the body of

the Lord Jesus Himself is awaiting every true believer.

     This truth is further confirmed by the Apostle John in 1 John 3:1-2,

     “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.

     Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall

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be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”

     Oh, glory to God! What a glorious body yet awaits every true believer at the coming of Christ. It is at that time that we believers shall receive our new “glorified” bodies. Then, never again in all of eternity before us, will we ever suffer sickness or pain, death or sorrow, for all of these former things will have passed away for the resurrected and raptured believer.

BEARING HIS IMAGE

     How many of our readers have ever bothered to look up the meaning of the word, “Christian”? It is translated from the Greek words, “Christianos” and “Christos.” See Strong’s Nos. 5546 and 5547. A literal translation of “Christian” would be, “little Christ.” Christian history records that in the early centuries of Christianity, some Christians were actually referred to by this title.

     Frankly, it is a very fitting description for those believers who will SOON be resurrected and raptured. The Scriptures, as given above, state very clearly that we believers will be given a new body like the “glorious body” of the Lord Jesus.

     Then in 1 Corinthians 15:49, the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” In other words, as we have all borne the likeness of Adam, who brought upon us sin and death, Romans 5:12, we are promised to bear the image of Christ Jesus, who has delivered us from the wages of our sin, and Who will deliver us from this present evil world, Romans 6:23; Galatians 1:4. Glory to God!

      The Scriptures state very clearly that we believers will bear His “image” In other words, we will look like our Lord Himself. Read it for yourself in 1 Corinthians 15:49. When people in the Millennial Kingdom look at us, they will see the resemblance to the Lord Jesus all over our faces.

     This is not at all unusual. We have all seen children who looked very much like their parents. When I was a young child, people used to remark that I looked just like my daddy. As a child I didn’t think so, and I couldn’t understand why people said such a thing. But now that I am an old man, I look in my bathroom mirror, and I see my Daddy staring right back at me. And this is okay with me. I dearly loved my Daddy, and I am looking forward to meeting him again at the rapture.

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     Every true believer will bear the image of Christ. Christians! “ Little Christs.”

Glory to God. What a privilege to be “created in His image.”

BUT WHEN?

     I frequently receive emails from believers telling me how they long and pray and “watch” for the coming of the Lord. Like myself, they are tired of all the sin, wickedness, violence, and evil going on in the world around us today, and they want the Lord to come and take His people out of this wicked mess. Now to add to the burden of God’s people, day after day, we have the news about this terrible Coronovirus throwed in our faces by the liberal, leftist, propaganda machine of the New World Order. Will it never end?

     Well, I think I have some good news for all of my readers who are true believers, and who have “seeing eyes and hearing ears.”   In my studies of the prophetic Word, the Lord has graciously revealed to me that we are living RIGHT NOW in the YEAR of our Lord’s coming; 2020, the year of double “redemption.” The prophecies also reveal that the Lord is coming to rescue and remove His Church and believing people out of this present evil world in the Spring of the year, Songs 2:8-13. That means THIS SPRING.

     The Spring of this year begins in four more days, March 20^th, and extends through June 20^th. So at some point in these three months we believers can and should expect our Lord to return, and take His people HOME to glory.

     But let’s narrow it down a little within the Spring months. Every great event affecting mankind on the earth happened on a Jewish Holy Day. This can easily be verified by a careful study of God’s Word. Well then, what is the most important Jewish Holy Day in the Spring of this current year?

     This is easy to answer. PASSOVER!

     The Jewish Holy Day of Passover is when the history of Israel as a nation began. Passover is the Jewish Holy Day when our Lord was sacrificed [crucified] to pay the sin debt of the whole lost world, Hebrews 2:9. THREE DAYS after Passover the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead, and began ministering to His people again. The inspired Scripture explicitly states that the dead in Christ shall be raised in His “likeness,” Romans 6:5. The Scripture is also quite plain that those of us believers living today shall be CHANGED and “caught up” together with the resurrected dead

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in Christ, 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

     PASSOVER this year begins on April 8^th on our Gentile calendar. Three days and nights later, the day Christ arose from the dead will be the evening of April 11^th^,at the end of the Jewish Sabbath, and the beginning of Sunday, the first day of the week. Dear readers, PASSOVER is just 24 days from the day I am writing this study, and three days later is resurrection day, just 27 days from today.

     No, my critics, I am not setting a “date” for the Lord’s return. But with no apology to anyone, I am saying that all of the Scriptural evidence points to this coming PASSOVER or three days after PASSOVER. I am personally convinced that the Lord will come to resurrect and rescue His Church and believing saints, either on PASSOVER or three days later. Regardless of which day…….

ARE YOU READY?

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      My personal contact information:

POSTAL…..Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401

EMAIL…….francismriley34@gmail.com

PHONW….573-202-6493

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