Is Eternal Life Possible?

In two of my prior blogs (“Do You Understand God’s Promises About Heaven?” at https://jmhowington.com/2025/05/17/do-you-understand-gods-promises-about-heaven/ , and “Why Will There Be No Marriage in Heaven?” at https://jmhowington.com/2025/06/03/why-will-there-be-no-marriage-in-heaven/ ), I discussed how Jesus explained that the Sadducees’ ignorance of God’s power led them to the conclusion that there is no such thing as resurrection.

And that prompted the question about which husband a woman who has had multiple husbands on earth will have in heaven.

Regarding the Dead Rising Again”

He then uses the Old Testament to demonstrate God’s continued relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, implying they are alive with God, not merely dead, and that God is the God of the living.

With the words, “But regarding the fact that the dead rise again” Jesus goes on to explain that it is the Sadducees’ ignorance of the Scripture that hampers their understanding of the eternal life with God (or as they referred to it, “the resurrection”). (Mark 12: 26, 27) Jesus reminded them that in the burning bush passage, in the book of Moses (which we know as Exodus 3:1-14), long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God spoke to Moses, saying,”I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”.

By the time Moses was born, these patriarchs had been dead for hundreds of years. But God identified Himself with these men.

Jesus used God’s relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as evidence that they are not merely dead. He points to God’s continued recognition of them, even though they have passed away, as proof of their continued existence. That can only mean that the patriarchs are alive, thus proving the existence of an afterlife.

God said that He is God. Therefore, the Scriptures proved there is a resurrection of the dead.

Jesus assured the skeptical Sadducees that there was indeed a resurrection of the dead, that they do rise, and that this was demonstrated by these Scriptures. The very Scriptures they professed to know, but obviously did not fully comprehend.

In verse 27, Jesus states that God is not the God of the dead but of the living. This emphasizes that life is continuous, even beyond earthly death, and that God’s power extends to those who have lived and are now in the afterlife. He is saying that God’s power extends to the living, not just the dead, and this refutes the Sadducees’ denial of the resurrection.

And from Mark 12:26, 27 we may conclude:

1. When you engage with the Scriptures, do so carefully and without ideological blinders to the extent you are able. When we bring our preconceived assumptions to the text, we are likely to have them fulfilled whether we should or not. Take the text on its own terms so you don’t miss what’s there.
2. We serve a living and powerful God with whom we can look forward to an eternity of intimacy and life. This life is not all there is. There is a resurrection coming for those who are in Christ when we will get bodies fit for eternity. That will be a very good day.
3. Don’t try to take Jesus down with strawman arguments. You will lose badly and get embarrassed in the process. If you want to engage and challenge Jesus, that’s fine, but go to Him directly. He can take it.

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