“There is no work or device or knowledge or
wisdom in the grave where you are going”
(Ecclesiastes 9:10). David dittoed when he wrote,
“The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who
go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17, emphasis
added). Thus the dead sleep silently. They are
not shouting above or howling below. Neither
can they knock on your door after their own
funeral. In other words, Michael Jackson is n’t
doing his famous moonwalk dance somewhere
in the universe. Instead, he’s dead, in his grave,
awaiting the Day of Judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
The epiphany of the entire Bible is what
happened to Jesus Christ nearly two thousand
years ago. During His holy ministry, our Lord
plainly predicted that He would “be killed, and
be raised the third day” (Matthew 16:21). So it
happened. Shortly thereafter unholy hands
arrested Him, beat Him, and crucified Him. Paul
clarified that what really happened was that
“Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3).
“Christ died” means He was really dead. Three
days later a holy angel announced, “He is risen
from the dead” (Matthew 28:7). Halleluiah!
It is because of Jesus Christ’s resurrection
that we have hope. One of these days – and it
will arrive sooner than most people think – our