Occupied Tombs?
This week it was reported on archeology.org that the tomb of the Egyptian god Osiris was found opposite the Nile River from the city of Luxor. The article describes the tomb like this, “it was modeled on the mythical tomb of Osiris, and was intended to celebrate that god's mysteries. Below the Osiris statue the team found the tomb's burial chamber, and a nearby room was decorated with reliefs depicting demons and deities holding knives and meant to stand guard over the body of the tomb's occupant.” While I concede it is too early to know if the body found in the tomb is the alleged Osiris, I cannot help to think about what it means if it is.
If this is the body of Osiris, he joins a long line of men who claimed to be gods, yet found themselves to be mere mortals by the fact that they each have died. We could make reference to older mainstream religions such as Buddhism and we could go to Jingchuan County, China and find the tomb where (at least some of) Buddha's ashes were placed. Sun Myong Moon’s (head of the Unification church) burial site is easily found in Cheonjeong-Gung, Gapyeong-gun, South Korea. David Koresh, who claimed to be Divine, died alongside 74 of his followers in a fiery standoff with the ATF in 1993. You can find his grave in Tyler, Texas. Yes, if this is Osiris indeed we find the normal situation for men who claim to be God, they die and stay dead. Moreover, the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a man who claimed to speak ex cathedra (without any error) is dead and lying in state at this time of this writing. Do you see the trend? Any man who has claimed divinity either by word or deed is dead or will die if the Lord tarries.
Jesus is the only one who can truly be God. He died, was buried in a borrowed tomb, but on the third day He rose again. This fact is testified in the Word of God. One such instance is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures;and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also.”
We must note that Jesus died. We have no problem stating this. The Lord’s church is instructed to proclaim His death in our worship, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come” ( 1 Cor 11:26). He died for our sins and we can rejoice in that, and he was buried. Unlike the false gods, Jesus actually rose again and walked amongst men again. Paul notes his appearance to Cephas and the other Apostles. He recalls how the Lord appeared to more than 500 brethren, some of which were still living at the time of this epistle to Corinth. The Spirit is saying this to say something to the point, you can go and check the veracity of the report that Jesus arose. Paul included James and himself as well. They all attested to the fact Jesus arose from the dead.
The reality of life is that we will all face death if the Lord tarries. All the men of great prestige and power will all be put in the ground in some form. We cannot put our hope in anything perishable, but rather the risen savior, our advocate (1 John 2:1-2) the sole mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Our savior is sure for He is the head of the church. Why, because He is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead (Colossians 1:18). This is the reason we can safely put our trust in the God of Heaven and Earth. We serve the God of the living and not of the dead (Matthew 22:32). We can trust the proclamation of His Word alone, because He Lives!
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
