In Hanover, Germany, there is the grave of Henriette Juliane Caroline von Rüling (1756 – 1782). This tomb of many large stones bears a German inscription, which is translated, “May this tomb bought for eternity never be open.” Later, a birch tree somehow grew from beneath the stones, sprouted up from amongst them, and literally caused the tomb to be opened. The tomb became a tourist attraction, and the subject of horror stories. (In 2010, the Hanoverian General newspaper reported that the birch died.)
The inscription on the tomb reflected a belief (or wish) that once a tomb is closed, it is never reopened. Ironically, this tomb was broken up in short order by nothing more than a tree! As our brother Wayne Jackson noted, “If a tiny seed can exert such force, think of the phenomenal demonstration as the Creator of that seed demonstrates his power and all graves are opened” (Christian Courier, March 2016, p. 11).
Indeed, this eventual grand opening of graves is exactly what our Lord promised:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment (John 5:25-29).
Like that tiny seed that eventually upset the grave in Hanover, the Bible says poetically that our bodies will be sewn in the ground and will be raised with immortality (1 Corinthians 15:32-45). When our Lord died on the cross, there was a small preview of the end-of-time resurrection: “The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52-53).
While death frightens us because we have never experienced it before, and know little about what the experience will be, nonetheless we take comfort in the fact that death is not final but is merely a transition which our Friend and Savior will administer (Luke 16:19-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Are you prepared for your own death and resurrection?