What It Means to Us
ALTHOUGH there is no miracle-working prophet of God on earth today who can resurrect the dead, yet we can be absolutely confident that soon our dead loved ones will be restored to life.
A short time before visiting Nain, while Jesus was in Jerusalem attending the Jewish passover in the early spring of 31 C.E., he made a remarkable promise regarding this resurrection of the dead. Up until that time he apparently had not raised anyone. Nevertheless, he said:
“Just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also makes those alive whom he wants to. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is. Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.”—John 5:21, 26-29.
Those religious opposers to whom Jesus was speaking did not believe him. Even when authoritative reports began spreading throughout Judea that Jesus had raised the widow’s son to life up in Galilee, they refused to believe. In fact, two years later, when Jesus resurrected his friend Lazarus, they were so angered that they plotted his death. They even “took counsel to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jews were . . . putting faith in Jesus.”—John 12:10, 11; 11:38-53.
However, just because some in the first century refused to accept the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was the foretold prophet of God is no reason for us today to be skeptical and to fail to put faith in Jesus’ promise of a resurrection. Jesus’ words are reliable! He can do what he promised! His resurrecting the widow’s son was proof that he can make “those alive whom he wants to.”
Therefore, we have every reason today to have confidence in Jesus’ promise that “all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” The evidence is that the time for this to occur is now near at hand. Since the year 1914, we have seen in our generation the fulfillment of all the things Jesus Christ and his apostles said would mark the “last days” of this system of things. World war, food shortages, pestilences, earthquakes, lawlessness, delinquency—all are the order of the day. The end of this wicked system is unquestionably near.—Matt. 24:3-14; Luke 21:10, 11; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3, 4.
After the end occurs, the resurrection will take place here on earth. If you exercise faith, you may live to see it. What a grand time that will be! How happy will be the reunion of the resurrected dead with their loved ones! Then the promise will be fulfilled: “He [God] will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces.”—Isa. 25:8.