Easter Sunday, as it has become known over the centuries, is a time for Christians to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For the disciples all those years ago, it was a time of ‘pinch me, is this real?’
They had gone from the utter despair of seeing Jesus brutally crucified to now seeing Him alive again.
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He wasn’t supposed to die.
Israel had hoped for, or wanted, an all-conquering king who would destroy the oppressive Roman rule.
The disciples of course, had heard Him speak of different things – giving up His life, love, betrayal, forgiveness, grace and mercy.
Even Pontius Pilate was astonished when Jesus said His ‘kingdom was not of this world’.
So, when the disciples saw Him in His resurrected state it was astonishing for them.
Certainly an extraordinary moment in history.
The Christian faith is, the apostle Paul writes, basically pointless if there was no resurrection.
That’s why Easter Sunday is so important.
It was the moment Jesus defeated the last enemy ‘death’.
He paid the price so that man could be reconciled to the Father.
At the moment mankind is going through a difficult time.
Much of scripture still has to be worked out, in terms of all that is prophesied and predicted in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and more in the Old Testament.
Then, of course, there are some dramatic statements made in the gospels by Jesus Himself, and we haven’t even touched on all the chaos and disaster that unfolds according to what is written in the book of Revelation.
When and how this will all happen is difficult to say with any certainty, even for the Bible scholars.
For the average person, it’s overwhelming and terrifying.
The current coronavirus crisis has given many a small taste of what it may feel like in an apocalyptic world.
But it seems there is still a whole lot to come before the world eventually reaches Armegeddon.
There’s been much debate (with vastly differing opinions and interpretations, of course, even among Christians) over various events that still need to happen in Israel, and around the world.
Some of the main things that are predicted include, in no exact order: the battle of Gog and Magog, rapture of the church, the signing of a ‘peace’ treaty in Israel, a tribulation period with trumpet calls and horrible plagues, the rise of the anti-Christ – with false prophet in tow, trumpet calls, a dragon (Satan), descriptions of war in heaven, the (wounded then ultimately triumphant) Lamb of God, a ‘resurrected’ beast, the mark of the beast (666), bowls of wrath poured out, then the 1000 year reign of Christ with those executed for their faith during the tribulation as judges over the people, a final battle on the plain of Megiddo (Armageddon) and finally, Christ’s ultimate triumph and then the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth.
There’s a whole lot more as well.
It’s up to you to read the scriptures yourself to gain deeper understanding.
While it’s quite frightening in many aspects, Christians can take heart that, in the end, Jesus is triumphant and puts an end, once and for, to all the misery and pain, fear and sadness the world has endured.
The Bible teaches that those who have placed their faith in him will live for eternity in heaven with God.
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