Is death stronger than God? Of course not! How could death—or any other “enemy”—be stronger than “God Almighty”? (1 Corinthians 15:26; Exodus 6:3) God has the power to undo death by means of the resurrection, and he promises to do just that in his new world. * How sure is that promise? God’s own Son, Jesus, tells us with words that can fill our hearts with hope.—Read Matthew 22:31, 32.

Speaking to the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, Jesus said: “As regards the resurrection of the dead, did you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living.” Jesus here referred to the conversation that God had with Moses at the burning bush about 1514 B.C.E. (Exodus 3:1-6) According to Jesus, Jehovah’s words to Moses—“I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”—indicate that the resurrection promise is certain to be fulfilled. How so?

Consider first the setting. At the time that Jehovah spoke to Moses, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had long been dead—Abraham for 329 years, Isaac for 224, and Jacob for 197. Yet, Jehovah said “I am”—not “I was”—their God. Jehovah spoke of those three dead patriarchs as if they were still alive. Why?

Jesus explained: “He [Jehovah] is the God, not of the dead, but of the living.” Think for a moment about the implication of those words. If there were no resurrection, then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would remain forever in the clutches of death. If that were so, Jehovah would be the God of corpses. That, in turn, would mean that death is stronger than Jehovah—as if he were too weak to free his faithful servants from the grip of death.

What, then, may we conclude about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all faithful servants of Jehovah who have died? Jesus made this forceful statement: “They are all living to him.” (Luke 20:38) Indeed, Jehovah’s purpose to resurrect his faithful servants who have died is so sure of fulfillment that he thinks of them as living. (Romans 4:16, 17) Jehovah will keep all such ones in his limitless memory until his due time to restore them to life.

Does the prospect of being reunited with a dead loved one appeal to you? If so, remember that Jehovah is infinitely stronger than death. Nothing can stop him from fulfilling his promise to resurrect the dead. Why not learn more about the resurrection promise and the God who will fulfill it? Doing so will surely draw you closer to Jehovah, “the God . . . of the living.”