In each blog, I often reference many different topics that I've already covered (or will soon cover), and maybe you've missed. Please review my blogs to read more...
CLICK HERE! for an index to previous blogs.
___________________________
Our English word "resurrection" does not carry the full Scriptural definition in which it should.
Our English word "resurrection" does not carry the full Scriptural definition in which it should.
1 Cor 15:21 For since by man came death, by Man [Jesus] came also the resurrection [G386 - anastasis, a standing up again] of the dead.
As I've covered in Part 1 and Part 2, Christians will be "caught up" and changed into our Spiritual bodies.
There are TWO more classes of people to be resurrected:[1] The whole House of Israel, are waiting to be awoken [raised] at Jesus Second Coming - the first resurrection:
Eze 37:11 Then He said unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel"...
The House of Israel will be resurrected to physical bodies for the Millennial Reign... including those martyred (Rev 20:4) during the Great Tribulation:
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
As I've already covered in the previous blogs, this has nothing to do with Christ's Church. We have been caught up prior to this event.
[2] Those unbelieving dead who will be resurrected to The Great White Throne Judgment at the end of Jesus' Millennial Reign:
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
There are few places in the Old Testament where a resurrection of dead people are mentioned or alluded to. Some of those examples I've already mentioned.
Some have argued that the doctrine of a bodily resurrection was unknown to the Israelites of the Old Testament.
Not true.
In fact, the DENIAL of a resurrection was a cardinal doctrine of the Sadducees at the time of Christ:
Mat 22:23 The same day came to Him [Jesus] the Sadducees, which say that there is NO resurrection...
In fact, they've indeed known about resurrection long before Isaiah even.
Listen to what Job says:
Job 19:25-27 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand [H6965 - qum, to rise, rouse up] at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet IN MY FLESH shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins [H3629 - kilyah, kidney, essential organs] be consumed within me.
Job knew full well that he would be resurrected! And he was right! He will be resurrected, with Daniel and the whole house of Israel by day 1,335 after the Great Tribulation.
Now, Isaiah:
Now, Isaiah:
Isa 26:19 Thy dead men shall live [H2421 - chayah, revive, quicken, make alive], together with my dead body shall they arise [H6965 - qum]. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
And Hosea:
Hos 6:2-3 After two days will He revive [H2421 - chayah, to live, causeatively to revive] us: in the third day He will raise us up [H6965 - qum], and we shall live [H2421 - chayah] in His sight.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
(this is not in the sense of as "if we follow", but rather "we pursue to know Jehovah..." - it's not an either/or situation - they will pursue)
And Daniel:
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting [H5769 - olam] life, and some to shame and everlasting [H5769 - olam] contempt.
Jesus stated that the resurrection should have been clear to them:
Mat 22:31 Now concerning the resurrection [G386 - anastasis] of the dead, did you not read ["in the book of Moses" - Mark 12:26] that which is declared to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.
This statement proves that if God is the "God of the living", but Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are dead, then there has got to be a resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
That is what Jesus is pointing out to them...
"Hey - I've already told you - the dead will be resurrected because My Father is not the God of the dead - He is the God of the living... therefore, you should have understood that there will be a resurrection."
________________________
The major prophecy concerning the resurrection is found in Ezekial 37.
Here we are shown a valley of "dry bones" which God says represents "the WHOLE House of Israel":
Ezek 37:11 And He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; lo, they are saying: Dried up have our bones, and perished has our hope, we have been cut off by ourselves.
So the whole House of Israel dies in a condition of being "perished" with no "hope", and are "cut off".
But what does God tell Ezekiel He will do for them?
Ezek 37:8 And I beheld, and lo, on them [are] sinews [tendons, strength, muscular power], and flesh [muscles, fat, etc.] has come up, and cover them does skin [the outer covering of a physical body] over above and spirit there is none in them.
I know of no "spiritual" tendons, muscles, fat or skin, that are put on physical "bones" to remake a "spiritual" man.
This is a PHYSICAL resurrection of the dead:
Ezek 37:10 And I have prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit comes into them, and they live, and stand on their feet - a very, very great force.
Notice that it takes the Spirit from God to give these dried bones life once more. See my blog entitled "Body, Spirit & Soul".
Upon their death, God's Spirit returned to Himself. Their bodies decayed back into soil, and their soul is dead - in sheol, the state of death, the unseen, the imperceptible.
They then "stand on their feet".
This is the exact and precise definition of the word "resurrection".
It means to "stand up" upon one’s feet, but the word itself has nothing to do with being "spiritual" or "immortal" whatsoever.
Jesus raised a little girl and Lazarus from the dead, and they stood up on their feet and lived. They were not made spiritual bodies or given immortality.
Likewise those saints resurrected at Jesus' resurrection, were not given spiritual bodies or immortality.
Mat 27:52-53 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection [G1454 - egeris, resurgence from death], and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
(This Greek word [G1454 - egeris] is interesting to me as this is the only occurrence of this word in the entirety of Scripture.)
All those resurrected at that time, including the little girl and Lazarus, have since died... and are dead again. None of them were resurrected to "immortality". See my earlier blogs.
1 Tim 6:16 Who [Jesus] ONLY has immortality, dwelling in the light which NO MAN can approach unto; whom NO MAN has seen, NOR CAN SEE: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
Also note, that nowhere in Scripture are the wicked promised "immortality" or "incorruption".
The most thorough study on the resurrection of the saints is found in 1 Corinthians.
Let’s notice a few things that some overlook:
____________________________
Is the subject of 1 Corinthians 15, the world? The salvation of the wicked? The resurrection of the wicked?
NO. Let’s read it:
1 Cor 15:1 Moreover, brethren [the world? NO, "brethren"] I declare unto YOU the gospel...
"... by which also YOU are saved..." (1 Cor 15:2).
"... For I delivered unto YOU..." (1 Cor 15:3). Etc.
What is the "order" of the resurrection of which Paul speaks?
1 Cor 15:23 But EVERY man in his own order: Christ the Firstfruits; afterward THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S at His coming.
The resurrection taught in this verse is that of "they that are CHRIST’S" not the resurrection of the wicked to Judgment.
1 Cor 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Chapter 15 is speaking of the true Elect Saints of God "inheriting the Kingdom of God".
Is the act of raising the wicked from the dead an act of their "inheriting the Kingdom of God"?
No.
Will the wicked then "inherit incorruption" at their resurrection?
Well many say "YES, yes they will".
NO, no they WON’T!
Are men like Mao Tse Tung, Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein, who are among the most "corruptible" men who have ever lived, going to be given bodies that are "incorruptible"?
Do the Scriptures lie when they tell us that "corruption" (as in the above named people) does NOT "inherit incorruption"?
We are told that a seed must die to give life to a new seed, or grain, or body.
What KIND of new seed comes about from planting a seed that first must die?
1 Cor 15:37 And that which you sow, you sow not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
Are we told what the "other" grain might be that sprouts like "wheat"?
Yes, we are:
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
And are these "tares" also gathered into the barns (brought into the Kingdom of God)?
No.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest [resurrection] I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles [different groups at different burnings?] to burn them [eventually, in the Lake of Fire]: but gather the wheat into my barn [My Kingdom].
No, in the day of harvest, not all will come up "immortal and incorruptible".
What else do we learn about the resurrection of God’s Elect?
What are some of the features of their newly resurrected bodies?
1 Cor 15:40 There are also celestial [high, above, heavenly] bodies, and bodies terrestrial [worldly, EARTHLY]: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
Which category do the Elect come in?
1 Cor 15:48-49 As is the earthy, such ARE THEY also that ARE earthy: and as is the heavenly, such ARE THEY also that are heavenly.
And as WE have borne the image of the earthy, WE SHALL also bear the image of the heavenly.
Notice that ONLY "we" [God’s Elect], not "they" "… shall bear the image of the heavenly".
Paul is speaking that "THEY, the earthy", and "WE, the heavenly", and only the "we" will "bear the image of the heavenly" not "they", the wicked who will be raised as tares to be burned in the Lake of Fire.
Now we can understand verse 50 in its proper context:
1 Cor 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; NEITHER does corruption [corrupt men like Mao Tse Tung, Adolph Hitler, and Saddam Hussein] inherit incorruption.
The ONLY ones who inherit incorruption are those "WE [who] have borne the image of the earthly [and] shall bear the image of the heavenly" at the first appearance.
And this happens at a specific time:
1 Cor 15:51-54 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed [mortal to immortal].
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory in "our" transformation at that time.
It is the "we" and the "us" that will be changed at the last trump, not the "they" and the "them".
Should Mao, Adolph, and Saddam be resurrected to incorruptible and immortal bodies, then death would also be "swallowed up in victory" in THEIR LIVES ALSO.
How could they go through the "second DEATH" if "death" would have already been "swallowed up in VICTORY" in their miserable, wicked, vile, and deranged carnal minds?
Such people know nothing of:
Rom 8:2 ... the law of the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus...
They know only of "law of SIN AND DEATH" (Rom. 8:2).
Notice these verses describing the resurrection of God’s elect:
1 Cor 15:42-45 So also is the resurrection [G386 - anastasis] of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in INCORRUPTION: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in GLORY: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in POWER: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a SPIRITUAL body.
There is a natural body, and there is a Spiritual body.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
INCORRUPTION: Strong’s G861, aphtharsia, "from G862 [un-decaying]; incorruptibility; generally unending existence; (figuratively) genuineness: -immortality, incorruption, sincerity.
GLORY: Strong’s G1391, doxa, G1391 From the base of G1380; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literally or figuratively, objectively or subjectively): - dignity, glory (-ious), honor, praise, worship.
POWER: Strong’s G1411, dunamis, From G1410; force (literally or figuratively); specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself): - ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.
SPIRITUAL: Strong’s G4152, pneumatikos, From G4151; non-carnal, that is, (humanly) ethereal (as opposed to gross), or (daemoniacally) a spirit (concretely), or (divinely) supernatural, regenerate, religious: - spiritual.
Now let’s foolishly assume that the wicked are going to be resurrected with "Spiritual" bodies.
The only place in Scripture that anyone is said to be resurrected with a "spiritual body", is in these many references in 1 Corinthians 15.
So, if a resurrected "spiritual body" applies to the unjust and the wicked and the unbelievers, then these attributes which constitute a "spiritual body" resurrection MUST APPLY TO THEM ALSO.
Now then, show me one Scripture anywhere that justifies people like Mao Tse Tung, Adolph Hitler, or Saddam Hussein being resurrected with ANY of the attributes mentioned above in our Greek definitions:
INCORRUPTIBILITY, UNENDING EXISTENCE, GENUINENESS, IMMORTALITY, INCORRUPTION, SINCERITY, GLORY (AS VERY APPARENT GLORY), DIGNITY, GLORY, GLORIOUS, HONOR, PRAISE, WORSHIP, FORCE, MIRACULOUS POWER, ABILITY, ABUNDANCE, MIGHT, MIGHTY, WORKER OF MIRACLES, POWER, STRENGTH, ('violence' only when referencing an carnal person), MIGHTY (wonderful) WORK, NON-CARNAL, ETHEREAL, SPIRIT, DIVINELY, SUPER NATURAL, REGENERATE, RELIGIOUS, SPIRITUAL
Is there anywhere a Scripture that presents the resurrection of the wicked in such a glorious, and holy, divine light?
No, there's not.
Rather we are presented with this as the characterization of the resurrected wicked to eonian judgment:
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting [eonian] life, and some to shame [rebuke, reproach, disgrace] and everlasting [eonian] contempt [repulsion, aversion, abhorrence].
Is it possible to have a greater contradiction of character traits than this?
No, those that are spared death at the conclusion of this eon and will live on into the reign of Jesus Christ with their physical bodies, will not be outdone by the wicked who are raised from their graves.
There will not be two communities of non-believers being judged: [1] in physical bodies, and [2] those among the worst of humanity that have ever lived, being in beautiful, glorious, powerful, incorruptible, SPIRITUAL bodies.
That's not going to happen.
Those wicked dead will stand (be resurrected) on their physical feet in their physical bodies in which they will remain unto their second death of The Lake of Fire.
When death is abolished, including the second death - they will come out of this death as new, changed beings, that God may be ALL in ALL.
1 Tim 6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickens [G2227 - zoopoieo] ALL things [G3956 - pas]
1 Cor 15:22-3 For AS IN Adam ALL die, even so in Christ shall ALL be made alive [G2227 - zoopoieo, vivified]. But EVERY man in his own order...
Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors. Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...
Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors. Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...
No comments:
Post a Comment