[362 words]
The Scriptures teach that we have enemies. One of our enemies is the devil. In the Lord’s Parable of the Tares, Jesus identified the devil as an enemy: “The enemy that sowed them is the devil” (Matthew 13:39). Also, Peter warned that the devil is our “adversary” (1 Peter 5:8). Of course, people can also be our enemies. Paul asked, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16). There is also an enemy described as “the last enemy”: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Death is described as an enemy because death incites dread and fear. The psalmist wrote, “My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me” (Psalm 55:4). Because we have never died, there is the element of the unknown, and the unknown causes fear. Death is also described as an enemy because it leaves grieving friends and family members behind. On the occasion of Acts chapter 9, Dorcas died. When Peter arrived, “all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them” (Acts 9:39). We have all experienced and witnessed the intense emotional pain that death leaves in its wake.
The good news is there is coming a day in which the enemy of death will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). This does not simply mean that dying will cease; rather, death itself will be completely reversed and overturned by the resurrection. Jesus promised, “for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29). For now, we will have to continue coping with “the last enemy.” We will read obituaries, have funeral services, stand beside the graves of loved ones, and mourn the loss of those dear to our hearts. However, we must never forget….that grand promise….The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death.”
Mark Lindley
Chapman church of Christ
Ripley, MS