“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever believes in Me shall never die.” (cf. John 11: 25-26)

Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, became ill and died. When Christ heard of this, He travelled to Bethany to bring Lazarus back to life. It is understandable that the disciples, and Mary and Martha didn’t understand Christ’s intentions; they of course thought it was too late for Jesus to help. “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” said Martha in John 11: 21. Jesus comforted Martha with the above words. He wanted to give glory to God by demonstrating that for Him it is never too late, and that not even death can stand in the way of the Almighty God’s will to save.

God’s universal will to save is further revealed when we read about Christ’s descent into the realm of the dead following His crucifixion. It says in 1 Peter 3: 19-20, “by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared…”  After gaining His victory, Christ’s first desire was to help the departed who were in a condition of remoteness from God due to their sins. He went to offer them salvation. This shows that the condition of the souls in the beyond is fundamentally changeable. Salvation can even be attained after physical death because Jesus Christ is Lord over the dead and the living. His gospel is equally valid for all.

In our time, we experience God’s love for all mankind in a special way in the services for the departed. Three times each year, salvation is offered to the departed when a living Apostle dispenses Holy Baptism, Holy Sealing, and Holy Communion to them via proxy. 

As New Apostolic Christians, we intercede in prayer for the departed, asking the Lord to help those who are in a state of remoteness from God. Let us rejoice that nothing can stand in the way of God’s love through Christ, as expressed in Romans 8: 38-39, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”