Warning: People Rising from the Dead!

In John chapter 11, we read the story of Jesus coming to the tomb of Lazarus, who had been physically dead for 4 days.   He said to Mary and Martha, the sisters of the dead man:
(25) "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"   Jesus is the One who has come to bring us new life - because He is risen and lives forever with God the Father, we have the promise of living and reigning with Him...we will be living for eternity in His presence!   God brings dead things to life - he transfers us out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light.   And of the spiritual death into which we were born, He transforms us and gives us new life in the power of our risen Lord.   And, when we leave this earth, we have the promise that we will be alive - more alive - in eternity that what we've experienced here in this world. 
In 1st Corinthians chapter 15, Paul lays out the certainty of the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of believers in Him:
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.


The emergency alert system of a Montana TV station delivered the following message this week:
"Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living...Follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information becomes available. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous."

This warning of an impending zombie apocalypse was apparently the work of a hacker.

Now, the Great Falls Police Department said it had received four phone calls asking if the alert was real.
The TV station acknowledged that there was no danger from a zombie attack.

Nor will there be a training exercise in Quebec province in Canada to ward off a potential zombie apocalypse.  Participants at an annual symposium on civil security had been planning to use a hypothetical zombie attack to test emergency preparedness.

The logic behind it was to use something that can never actually occur, as opposed to a flood or an ice storm, because that way emergency-preparedness officials might think of new problems and solutions.

So now the provincial cabinet has stepped in. Public Security Minister Stephane Bergeron says he has ordered a change of plans.

The new scenario will simulate a flood.


A member of the Canadian Parliament took to the floor this week and said: "I rise today to salute the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the province of Quebec for putting in emergency measures to deal with the possibility of an invasion of zombies," [Pat] Martin said on the Parliament floor. "I don’t need to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that zombies don’t don’t recognize borders and that a zombie invasion in the United States can easily turn into a continent-wide pandemic if it’s not contained...So on behalf of concerned Canadians everywhere, Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Is he working with his American counterparts to develop an international zombie strategy so that a zombie invasion does not turn into a zombie apocalypse?”

There is a fascination with zombies these days:  Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead" is now the highest rated telecast ever for a basic cable series.  Including encore airings, 16.6 million people tuned in to watch the mid-season premiere, the ninth episode of the 16-episode season.

One could say on a particular day in Jerusalem some 2000 years ago, there was a serious emergency - an earthquake, significant structural damage to the temple, darkness in the afternoon, and, according to Matthew 27:

51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
No, this is certainly not a zombie apocalypse described here...it is a fulfillment of what Jesus said:  "I am the resurrection and the life."   And, a good question that we can interject into a discussion of the matter is, "do you believe in life after death?"   A follow up:  "what would that look like?"
The Bible is clear - we die once, then face judgment.   And, if we've accepted Christ as Savior of our lives, then we have the promise of living in eternity with Him.   If not, we still exist - not in the presence of the Lord, but separated from Him in a place of eternal punishment.   God doesn't send anyone to hell; we make the choice whether or not to accept the free gift of salvation in Him.   There is abundant evidence for Jesus raising from the dead; and if someone believes that, then he or she MUST evaluate the state of their relationship with Him, the One who gives us new life - in eternity and here on earth.