Ever Moving On: The Fascinating Journey of Life from the Womb to Beyond the Grave

By Robert V. Rakestraw and Jane Spriggs

There is a biblically-revealed, sequential plan of God for the duration of every human life, the knowledge of which should profoundly impact and enliven each one of us who is able to understand and embrace it in a heartfelt way. The purpose of this book, therefore, is to inform readers of God's plans for, and claims upon, human beings, from before their birth and continuing through their existence to the final judgment and beyond. Each reader can then seriously consider their way of life now in view of the things to come. The author identifies seven sequential stages in every person's life journey, the majority of which occur beyond the grave. Written shortly before its writer passed away, this little book nonetheless exudes a spirit of joy as its author, his sufferings notwithstanding, leaned forward, full of expectation and without fear, into the glorious future promised to everyone who loves and serves their Lord Jesus now. Rakestraw shares the secret to investing a brief earthly life well. Like the venerable John Bunyan, writer of the devotional classic Pilgrim's Progress, Rakestraw points the way to our eternal home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Mar 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666790610

Robert V. Rakestraw

Robert V. Rakestraw was Professor of Theology Emeritus at Bethel Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was also the founder of Grace Quest Ministries, and the author and editor of numerous publications, including his spiritual-theological autobiography entitled GraceQuest: One Teacher's Relentless Pursuit of Salvation, Spirituality, and the Strength to Suffer Well (2015). https://gracequestministries.org/

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Preface

It may well be that the two deepest questions people have asked since the beginning of civilization are: What is the meaning of life? and What happens to us after we die? In our more recent, postmodern world, however, these questions seem to have been eclipsed considerably by such questions as: How can I find happiness? and Does anybody really love me for who I am?

While the latter questions may be more prevalent today, especially in the minds of younger people, the former ones retain or regain their prominence as the years of life pass by, as we move on to our more mature selves. This little book will address the first two questions primarily, although answers to the other questions are surely wrapped within the more foundational issues, and will receive attention as well.

Welcome to the incredible journey of the seven selves. In the following pages we will consider together the adventure of life from our earliest hours in our mother’s womb to our life beyond the grave.

This is a path all of us are traveling, and everyone benefits by thinking about where we are on the highway and how we are managing to move along. I have personally experienced remarkable benefits by thinking deliberately of my journey, and I long to share some thoughts on these matters with my fellow travelers.

This book is titled Ever Moving On, since our lives may be characterized, as much as anything, by movement. Even when we are loafing or sleeping, we are moving forward through the days. No matter what, time passes and we age, one day after the other. From early childhood our most common form of movement is walking. We travel through life, often literally, by putting one foot in front of the other. Visualizing the activity of walking, as well as doing it, will be helpful in moving through our interesting yet difficult existence.

The most popular religious book of all time, except for the Bible, is The Pilgrim’s Progress, a story about moving on—about walking through life. It was written by John Bunyan and first published in England in 1678. This small classic has been translated into over two hundred languages, and remains a bestseller for adults and children alike. Charles Spurgeon, sometimes described as the prince of preachers, read the book one hundred times.

The author, who left school at the age of ten, wrote this allegory of a pilgrim—his name was Christian—while he (Bunyan) was in the Bedfordshire county prison, where he was held intermittently for twelve-and-a-half years as a political prisoner for his nonconformist religious views and activities.

The title page of the first printing reads: The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come, Delivered Under the Similitude of a Dream. Writing in the first person, Bunyan relates his dream (a literary device) of the pilgrim’s journey through life from the City of the World to the Celestial City (the Holy City, the New Jerusalem).¹

From Christian’s early years as a searcher after truth he walks the rough, dangerous, and confusing highway of life, facing numerous obstacles and severe trials. He encounters many individuals along the way, some helpful (such as Evangelist and Hope) and some adversarial (such as Obstinate and Giant Despair).

Christian’s strengths and weaknesses are presented in simple yet profound language that resonates with all who pursue truth, lasting relief from the burdens of life, and a purpose for living. Perhaps in some respects we may be helped by thinking of this pilgrim moving on as we consider our own progress from the womb to life beyond the grave.

In the very early church, as soon as people were believing in Jesus and persuading others to do the same, the first Christians—because of their beliefs and lifestyle—became known as followers of the Way. The book of Acts records a number of instances using this early descriptive term for Christianity.

The first of these references states that Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1–2).

After Saul was converted, and began to be called Paul, the text states that Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue at Ephesus for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way (Acts 19:8–9).

After over two years of Paul’s teaching and evangelistic ministry in Ephesus, there arose a great disturbance about the Way (Acts 19:23), leading to a riot over the implications of the gospel of Christ. (See more about the Way in Acts 16:17; 18:25–26; 22:4; 24:14, 22; and 2 Pet 2:2). Jesus designated himself as the way (John 14:6), and those who follow the Jesus way faithfully, as did John Bunyan’s Christian, will experience both opposition and encouragement often.

In this little volume I do not intend to present some clever words and artificial solutions to the issues of life, as though I have all the answers to your questions. However, I do intend that this book will lead you significantly closer to the answers you are searching for, and the life of joy, purpose, and fulfillment you long for. This intention applies whether you are a nonbeliever or a believer in God, an agnostic or a skeptic, spiritual but not religious, or one who is totally convinced of the reality and activity of God in the world: past, present, and future.

I am one of those totally convinced. I have served as a pastor of churches in Missouri and New Jersey, but most of my life I have taught biblical studies, theology, ethics, and preaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels of three colleges and seminaries. My most recent service, before taking early retirement due to health concerns related to the rejection of my transplanted heart, was as professor of theology at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I taught for seventeen years (1988–2005). I have been married to Judy since 1967, and we have two children and five grandchildren. My life story is entitled GraceQuest: One Teacher’s Relentless Pursuit of Salvation, Spirituality, and the Grace to Suffer Well.²

I am deeply concerned about the physical, psychological, and spiritual welfare of everyone I know, and of everyone I don’t know, because I believe strongly that God is also deeply concerned for every child, woman, and man on our planet.

This is a book about the seven sequential selves of human existence, from conception to eternity future. The first two of these, which I will explain shortly, may be considered by human reason alone. No special revelation (guidance from God) is needed to think about these selves. The other five, however, require revelation to understand, because they are far beyond our human intelligence and wisdom to comprehend. To this matter we turn next.

1

. It is no wonder that The Pilgrim’s Progress has been published, and continues to be, in a wide variety of printings, bindings, illustrative patterns, and prices. Many editions are easily available online and in libraries.

2

. Information on this book and other writings by Dr. Rakestraw is available at gracequestministries.org.

1

The Foundation

The Written and Living Word

The revelation to which I refer is the Bible, a truly remarkable work that is deservedly the bestselling book of all time. It was written by about forty individuals, each working alone or mostly alone (although some knew one another), led by God over a period of about 1,600 years, throughout the Middle East and southeastern Europe primarily. Along with billions of God’s people who have gone before, as well as hundreds of millions now living, I affirm without hesitation that these biblical writings—the Hebrew-Christian scriptures—are the written word of God.

Such a view of the Bible does not claim that it was all dictated by God. With most of the Bible, God led the human authors to write in an inspired and trustworthy manner—using their own vocabularies, writing styles, and personalities, within the thought-forms and cultures of their day—concerning the activities of the Lord and his people in bringing redemption and blessing to the world.

Everything in the Bible, including the good and evil deeds of humans, angels, and devils, has been recorded under the sovereign direction of God for our temporal and eternal benefit. The Bible makes these astonishing claims for itself (2 Tim 3:14–17; 2 Pet 1:12–21; Rom 15:4; see also Ps 119:11–20, 71–77), and this fact in itself ought to prompt everyone to investigate such claims.

Why, you might ask, do I have such a high view of an admittedly human-authored book? How can I speak of the Bible as the written word of God, and consider it the only infallible, only divinely authoritative written revelation for people everywhere: the supreme and essential guidebook for all of life—this life and the life to come?

There are numerous, substantial reasons for my conviction, ones that many wise thinkers have offered over the centuries. Here are just two, presented very briefly.

The first consideration is the striking pattern of biblical prophecies and their precise fulfillments, in some cases hundreds of years later. Two examples (out of many) of this pattern are: (1) the highly accurate prediction of the multi-phased destruction of the wicked city of Tyre in Ezek 26, and its exact fulfillment under Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great over the next few centuries, confirmed by careful historical research and archaeology; and (2) the naming of Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, in Mic 5:2, centuries before the first Christmas. Such precise historical realities would have been impossible to predict in the natural realm, and were obviously directed by the only all-knowing and all-powerful Lord of all.

A second argument is based on the life of Jesus Christ, the remarkable man of God who lived in the first century AD. His teachings, his miracles, his fulfilled prophecies, his resurrection from the dead, and his authoritative yet compassionate message and manner while ministering to the people of his day, constitute the most convincing line of reasoning to me (and a large number of others) for the divine authorship of the Bible.

By this I refer to the reality that this man Jesus—in my opinion the wisest, most holy, most truthful, most down-to-earth human being in the history of civilization—(1) emphatically and repeatedly endorsed the scriptures of his day (now called the Old Testament) as the infallible and authoritative word of God; and (2) declared that the Holy Spirit of God would come after him to reveal to his disciples the further truth they would need to carry on the work he began during his earthly life (now called the New Testament, revealed to be applied over the following two thousand years and more by the Spirit’s teaching).

Since this most remarkable human being gave