When Christians think of the resurrection of the dead, the image of dead bodies physically coming up out of the ground is the overriding view. But when we examine what the Bible says about the resurrection, we find multifaceted events. There was a bodily resurrection of the dead in the first century which included a physical order or sequence at that time. As Paul said, Christ was the first raised from the dead, referred to as the “first-fruits” of those who had fallen asleep.
“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor 15:20-24 ESV)
Up until the time of this first resurrection of the dead, everyone who ever lived went to a place called Hades. However, since the “last day of the last days” forward, no one has gone to Hades, which was the holding place of the dead to await their resurrection and judgment. Why? Because Jesus, who holds “the keys to death and hades” (Rev 1:18; 20:13-14) had emptied and locked hades up, never to return again. So, this begs up the question, “Now what?”
The events surrounding the physical resurrection of Christ and the other first-fruits mentioned above, all marked the complete end to any future physical resurrection of bodies coming out of the ground. By the time of Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the physical resurrection of the dead was then and still is now a past event.
After the resurrection of Jesus, the door to heaven was made wide open, where all saints who died and all the saints who would die went directly to heaven. But first Jesus had to go into the Holy of Holies in heaven to present his sacrificial blood as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) (Heb 9:11-12) Afterwards, with the second appearing spoken of in Hebrews 9:28. the migration to heaven occurred, where the dead received their spiritual bodies, as spoken of in 1 Cor 15:44. All non-believers however, go directly to judgment as mentioned in Hebrews 9:27.
In other words, the last enemy, “death” has been destroyed. That this physical resurrection of the dead has happened, going forward, no one ever actually dies again, but all are transitioned to a different kind of life. Non-believers or the lost, go to the Basanos[i], which is symbolized by the “Lake of fire.”
Non-believers in that “lake of fire” are with angst (or pain) interrogated until they understand and confess the truth of the love of God and Jesus Messiah, the Christ. Their willing and open confession that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the father, fulfills several passages – Isaiah 45:11; Romans 14:11; and Philippians 2:9-11.
“By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’” (Isaiah 45:23 ESV))
. . . “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:11 ESV)
“Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11 ESV)
Since we know that every knee of every person has NOT bowed, nor every tongue confessed Jesus as Lord in the physical realm, this fulfillment is therefore relegated to the spirit realm in the afterlife. But the key Greek word in this passage for “confess” is a form of exomologew, (exomologeo) meaning “to acknowledge openly and joyfully” (Ref. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
This confession also fulfilled the passage in Revelation 14:13 where John wrote:
“Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” (ESV)
Thus, at that time, as Jude 3 stated:
“the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
So now, let’s consider Jesus’ words in John 5:28-29:
“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.”
When Jesus physically died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two. Jesus body was dead, but He was alive in the spirit at that time. Thus, Jesus was “the firstborn from the dead” and never succumbed to death again. However, Jesus did not go to heaven at that time. Jesus went to Hades to preach to the disembodied spirits there.
On the third day, Jesus appeared in a resurrected body. At that time, (the timeline is vague in the Bible) there was a small contingent of physically resurrected saints who were seen in the “holy city,” (Matthew 27:52-53) but the Scriptures never speak of these again.
The appearance and confirmation of the resurrected saints was established that the general resurrection of the dead had then at that time begun. But what about the rest of the dead at that time?
According to John 6:44, they would be raised up on the last day (of the Last days). The “last days” ended with the destruction of Old Covenant Jerusalem when the temple, and the entire sacrificial worship system was destroyed.
So just as Jesus foretold, the resurrection had happened on the last day (of the last days.) After that time there were no additional bodies that came out of the ground. Any further resurrection of the dead in physical bodies was not necessary. The physical evidence had already been presented. But this raises some questions. Is this the end of the resurrection? What about now?
First let’s summarize the four stages of “the Resurrection.”
John Noe summarizes it this way in his book: “Unraveling the End.”
Stage 1 – Jesus’ Resurrection – the first physical evidence
Stage 2 – The resurrection of many Old Testament saints from the graves in Mt 27:52-53.
Stage 3 – The Harvest – The resurrection day for the rest of the dead (on the last day of the last days).
Stage 4 – The ongoing reality
With Stage 1 and 2 addressed, what about Stage 3 – the harvest – the resurrection for the rest of the dead, which occurred on the last day of the last days. What do we know about the last day of the last days?
This is what Jesus spoke of when he said:
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:39-40)
That “last day” spoken of here by Jesus could not mean the end of time. Why? The prophesy of Daniel gives us the answer:
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, (Daniel 2:44)
Therefore, knowing that the definition of the last days meant the last days of Old Covenant Israel, we can now realize that the last day of the last days had to be sometime circa AD 70 when the temple, the priesthood, and the entire sacrificial worship system was completely destroyed, never to return again. This fulfilled the words of the prophets. Note Micah’s words:
Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. (Micah 3:12)
So now what about this Stage 3 Harvest resurrection?
We know that the harvest resurrection was different. Stage 3, the harvest resurrection was not like those previous resurrections – that is, they were not bodily resurrections.
The Apostle Paul described it perfectly in what is sometimes called “the seed analogy”:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Cor 15:42-45)
As Paul spoke, we see that he clearly stated that this was to take place in the spirit realm. Therefore, the last trumpet, which was blown in the spirit realm did take place right on time.
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (1 Cor 15:50-53)
At that time, they all departed from the Hadean realm and were taken directly to heaven. All of this was in fulfillment of Jesus words that it would happen within the span of that same generation in which he spoke. Notice Jesus words which were given in oath language:
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matt 24:34-35)
Yes, and as he indicated with those words, heaven and earth (the temple) did pass away, but His words were fulfilled.
Stage 4, is where we get back to the real meaning of death going back to the garden of Eden. With the emptying of the Hadean realm, “Death has been swallowed up forever.” Although the physical body dies, nobody dies now to await another resurrection.
So, does that mean that the resurrection of the dead is only a past event and will never happen again? NO! How can I say that. Yes, there is spiritual death, which was the first “death of Adam” and from that, people are resurrected every day. By understanding the “resurrection of the dead” in the ongoing reality, we must realize that the deeper meaning of death as spoken of from the very beginning was not a reference to physical death.
When God told Adam that on the day that he ate of the forbidden fruit he would die that very day, did it really happen? YES! The true nature of the death of Adam was spiritual death. He died to God spiritually that very day after having eaten the forbidden fruit.
Now let’s look at the ongoing reality of the resurrection, and what it means for us today.
How many of you believers, have been baptized?
I will hold my hand up on that one, but I also realize that some of you who may be reading this may have determined from your studies that a baptism in water is not necessary. This is an entirely different discussion, but I for my part come down on the side of the baptism of all Christians. Regardless of your stand on physical baptism in the water, I would like to call your attention to a picture which Paul gives us concerning Baptism, and how it relates to resurrection. It is found in Romans Chapter 6 Paul wrote:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (Rom 6:3-8 ESV)
So, the apostle said here that we were baptized into His death. But I want to look again at verse four. Notice that in verse four is this beautiful picture of our death and resurrection – Buried with Christ, raised to walk in the newness of life!
Do you understand the profound significance of this passage? I did NOT see it for many years. I remember when I was baptized in water well over 30 years ago. As I was going down into the water, the Pastor said those very words: “buried with Christ.” Then when I was coming up out of the water he said: “raised to walk in the newness of life.” The implication by those words in Romans 6:4 are that since we were being buried with Christ, we must have been dead in some manner.
But to get the full understanding of this, we must begin with the question: What is death? This requires that we go back to the book of Genesis. Remember that God told Adam that on the day he ate of the forbidden fruit of the “tree of knowledge” that he would die. This promise was made to Adam in Genesis chapter 2. But considering the chronological record in Genesis, Adam lived over 900 years! So how do we reconcile this? When Adam was placed in the garden he was in perfect spiritual fellowship with God. His most important assignment was to obey God. When he disobeyed God, he died that day, spiritually. He was then separated from God. . . no more walks in the Garden together, and no more discussions together. It was over. But physically, he lived for over 900 years. Here is the passage:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17 ESV)
So, the question is: Did God keep his word or not? YES, He did! On that day, Adam and Eve lost their relationship with their heavenly father. The death that they suffered was not physical death, but spiritual death. The account of this is recorded for us in Genesis 3:
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Gen 3:4-7 ESV)
The opening of their eyes in this manner signified their death to God spiritually speaking. By disobedience to God (sin), they were separated spiritually from God in “death.” The record in Genesis tells us that because of this, God cast them out of the garden, with no opportunity to eat of the tree of life. Notice the words in Genesis:
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen 3:22-24 ESV)
From this we can see that the relationship between God and Adam ended . . . no more beautiful garden, no more chance to eat from the tree of life. But there was still hope for mankind due to the promise which God made. Here was the promise:
The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Gen 3:14-15 ESV)
From these words by God, there was hope. But the meaning of this passage was that there would arise one who would later be called the “son of man” who would crush Satan, who was the serpent, the chaos creature. The relationship between Adam and God had been destroyed due to man’s disobedience. Thus, this spiritual death spread to all of Adam’s seed. Centuries later, Jesus himself referred to those who were dead in a similar manner. On the occasion when one of His disciples wanted to delay following him, note Jesus words:
As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-60 NASB)
It is perfectly clear that Jesus was not speaking of someone who was physically dead burying their dead. Notice what 18th Century Bible Commentator Adam Clark described:
“This does not mean any of the twelve, but one of those who were constant hearers of our Lord’s preaching; the name of disciple being common to all those who professed to believe in him, John_6:66. Bury my father: probably his father was old, and apparently near death; but it was a maxim among the Jews, that, if a man had any duty to perform to the dead, he was, for that time, free from the observance of any other precept or duty. The children of Adam are always in extremes; some will rush into the ministry of the Gospel without a call, others will delay long after they are called; the middle way is the only safe one: not to move a finger in the work till the call be given, and not to delay a moment after.”[ii]
The Apostle Paul confirmed this line of thinking in the book of Romans when he wrote:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. (Rom 5:12-14)
Notice what Paul said to the church at Colossae:
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:13-14 ESV)
Did you notice how Paul defines death in this passage? He said they were dead in their trespasses, but God made them alive with Christ. Were they physically dead? Of course not; It is obvious that Paul was speaking of going from spiritual death to spiritual life. So now, the question has to be, if death reigned from Adam to Moses, as Paul said earlier, did Moses solve the problem of death? Man has continued to die physically even to this day after Moses came, so we know that this does not speak of physical death. So, what did this mean?
With Moses came the Old Covenant. The purpose of that Old Covenant was to show man the utter impossibility of keeping the covenant due to his inherited sin. So, in effect, what it did was to show man the impossibility of his ability to keep the law. But at the same time, the Old Law Covenant pointed to the Messiah who would actually provide redemption for the sins of man. Paul stated it in this passage to the Roman church:
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 5:18-21 ESV)
Thus, that sin and death are inseparable. Verse 20 shows us that when the law entered, the effect of sin increased to an even greater extent. But physical death did not get any worse in terms of its severity. So, the reference here is to spiritual death. This is clearly shown by what Paul later wrote in Romans 7:
I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. (Romans 7:9-13 NASB)
Do you see the profound significance of this? It is obvious that since Paul had not yet died physically, he had to be speaking of spiritual death. This is the death which all men experience when they sin against God. But this death is not something which cannot be reversed. Paul also wrote:
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:22 ESV)
Did you notice how Paul worded this verse? Paul did not say, “even so in Christ all have been made alive.” He said “even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” He explains why he said it this way in the next verse. Note his words:
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming (1 Cor 15:23 ESV)
This will not happen in the physical realm. If the death that Adam experienced was spiritual death, then the life that Christ brings is spiritual life! This is what occurred at the Parousia. Spiritual life for all man was finally and completely restored. So, if the Parousia has not happened, then our salvation is not complete. This is confirmed in Hebrews 9 where it says:
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb 9:28 ESV)
We must remember that physical death is not our enemy. Even Paul said that he longed to “go and be with the Lord.” When he did go, he was immediately “in Paradise” as was the thief on the cross who professed Christ. He would then go to heaven at the Parousia, because at that time according to Hebrews 9:28 his salvation was complete. Just like Adam, we all die through sin (spiritually). Thus, we can be made alive spiritually through Christ. Paul also confirmed this when writing to the church in Ephesus:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins . . . But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:1,4-7 ESV)
When Paul spoke to the Ephesian Church, he made it clear that these first century Christians were made alive in Christ because of their being saved. They had been raised from spiritual death! But Paul was just echoing the words spoken to him by Jesus. For these words of our Lord were recorded by the Apostle John:
Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. (John 8:51 ESV)
The Jews did not understand that He was speaking of spiritual death either! Notice what they say in response to Jesus:
The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ (John 8:52 ESV)
Then later Jesus once again confirmed His words:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV)
Do you see the contrast? Obviously, people have continued to die physically! But by trusting and believing in Him while yet alive, we are raised to spiritual life through Him and will never die! Paul also confirmed this in Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 ESV)
Paul made it clear that this was also spiritual death and spiritual life. Make no mistake about it, each one of us will die physically, but once we become believers, and put our trust in Christ, we are made alive in the spirit at the very moment of acceptance! The Apostle John confirms this with these words:
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13 ESV)
Do you understand the significance? If you believe, you have life NOW! Just as the Jews in that day were focused on physical death, so are most people today. But this was about spiritual death and spiritual life. Now let’s focus on another aspect of this that will look at this from another perspective, and that is that the resurrection was the hope of Israel. This was the original teaching of the prophets. Paul confirmed this in the book of Acts. Paul was teaching what the prophets taught:
But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. (Acts 24:14-15 ESV)
What did the prophets say about this? Let’s look at a few examples:
He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” (Isa 25:8-9 ESV)
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes. (Hos 13:14 NKJV)
Daniel affirmed that the timing of this would be for the last days of the nation of Israel. Firstly, Daniel predicted that the Messiah would come to put an end to sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness:
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. (Daniel 9:24 NKJV)
Then in chapter 12 we confirm the timing of that resurection:
At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:1-2 NKJV)
This was the promised resurrection. Next, we see the exact timing:
Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. (Daniel 12:7 NKJV)
The power of the Holy people was shattered at the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple! This ended the Old Covenant and allowed the New Covenant to stand on its own alone. This was the time of the resurrection. Now that we know the timing, look at what Paul wrote concerning the resurrection hope of Israel from Romans 8:
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:23-25 ESV)
This was the hope of Israel. Paul confirms this in Romans 9:
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5 ESV)
The adoption that Paul is speaking of here is the promise of the resurrection made to Israel. But even though this was made according to the flesh, it does not mean that it was fulfilled in a fleshly manner. This is because when Christ was raised from the dead, even though he was bodily raised from the dead, his body was changed. His body was raised into the spirit realm as affirmed by Peter in this passage:
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (1 Peter 3:18 ESV)
Thus, our Lord, upon His resurrection was not going to fulfill these things in the realm of the flesh, but He would fulfill these things in the realm of the spirit.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. (2 Cor 5:16 ESV)
This means that they regarded Him as in the spirit in terms of His mode of existence. Paul confirmed the meaning of this in Romans 8 when he said:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom 8:8 ESV)
Does this mean no one alive can please God? Of course not! Notice how he continues in the next verse.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (Rom 8:9 ESV)
Unequivocally, Peter was speaking of those people who, since they were believers, were living in physical bodies and were also alive in the spirit. And we also know that since Christ was the first one raised into the realm of the spirit, he was the “first fruits” of those who had fallen asleep. This is a concept that deals with the harvest in Israel. This is what Paul is saying to the Corinthian church:
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Cor 15:20 NKJV)
The concept of the first fruits dealt with the harvest in Israel, and subsequently, the harvest had to do with the end of the Old Covenant age in Israel. How do we know this? We can determine this from a parable that Jesus gave in Matthew 13:24-30. In this parable, Jesus spoke of an enemy coming in and sowing tares among the wheat in the field, and that they should be gathered up and separated at the harvest, which would occur at the end of the age. When Jesus interpreted this to the disciples, He told them that the wheat was a reference to the true believers, and the tares were those wicked ones sown in among them by the enemy to disrupt the faith.
Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of THIS age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 13:40-42 NKJV)
The end of the age that Jesus was speaking of was the end of the age Jesus was living in, the Jewish age, the end of the Old Covenant age, in which the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and the entire Levitical worship system was destroyed. We can confirm the timeframe as being the end of the Jewish age because the Christian age in which we are now living has no end:
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21 NKJV)
This is the age WITHOUT END, the Christian age. Then Jesus said:
Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matt 13:43 NKJV)
This is a direct quote from Daniel 12:3. Notice Daniel’s words:
Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3 NKJV)
Remember what we saw earlier concerning the timing of this? The prophet Daniel explicitly told when this would happen:
Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. (Daniel 12:7 NKJV)
The time when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered was none other than at the end of the Old Covenant age, or at the destruction of the temple, and the holy city in AD 70. Paul confirmed that this resurrection was to happen at that time:
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12 NKJV)
Paul also confirmed the crushing of Satan would (and did) happen soon when he said:
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Rom 16:20 NKJV)
Thus, the spiritual death brought on by Satan was now about to be crushed. The resurrection was to occur at the end of the Jewish age. Jesus said:
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (Matt 5:17,18 NKJV)
The term “heaven and earth” described the temple. The Most Holy represented heaven where God alone dwelled, and the rest represented earth, where man dwelled. The Law that He was speaking of was the Old Testament Law.
Do you see the profound significance of this statement?
That law had to be completely fulfilled to become obsolete, and that law had to fulfill all of those references to the resurrection within the law and that written by the prophets, including those in the writings of the Major Prophets we have mentioned. Thus, the resurrection today is spiritual, not physical. One’s resurrection occurs at the time of being “born again.” Once again, I will refer to the picture painted by the Apostle Paul. He described this perfectly in Romans chapter 6 when he wrote:
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4 NKJV)
The newness of life that Paul spoke of was that they were no longer separated from God in their sins, but they were at that time alive in the spirit, having been resurrected from the spiritual death passed down from Adam. Timing is crucial. The fact that the resurrection would happen soon was emphasized by Christ himself when He said:
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 ESV)
This was not something which was to happen thousands of years later. Those who were spiritually dead would hear His voice and would live, and all those in the tombs would soon be resurrected, to either life, or judgment. When would this happen? As we found earlier, Daniel the prophet unequivocally gave a proclamation of the exact timing:
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. . . . . And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. (Daniel 12:2,7 ESV)
There is no question that the power of the Holy people was shattered at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the entire Levitical system of worship. This occurred at the hands of the Romans in AD 70.
1 Corinthians 15
Now let’s understand what Paul said concerning this resurrection. First, we consider 1 Corinthians 15. In the first eleven verses of this chapter, Paul spoke of the resurrection of Christ, and confirmed the fact that Jesus’ resurrection happened, and was witnessed by Peter, James, and over 500 others. Paul affirmed that Jesus also appeared to him, and called Paul into service. The Corinthian church knew that Jesus was raised from the dead, but there seemed to be some Corinthians who questioned the concept of the resurrection. Paul presented that since they knew Jesus had been raised, it follows that there is a resurrection from the dead. Note what Paul wrote:
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor 15:12-19 ESV)
Paul’s argument was clear to them. There is a resurrection from the dead, and the resurrection of Christ was the beginning. In another letter to the church at Colossae he said: “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Col 1:18) Notice how Paul brought the resurrection idea together.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor 15:20-23 ESV)
This illustration of the first fruits was in accordance with Jewish Law. Notice the command:
“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, (Lev 23:10 ESV)
Thus, the first fruits and the harvest occurred at the same time. The first fruits were presented; Christ had already been resurrected from the dead as the first fruits. That means that the harvest of resurrected ones was about to begin. But now your question might be, “How can this be since the resurrection of Christ was bodily? There were no bodies coming up out of the graves.” You are right! But if you will recall, the Jews always required a sign. Jesus told them the only sign they would receive was the sign of Jonah. What did that mean? He told them:
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40 ESV)
Jesus rose from the dead so that people living at that time could witness it, and without question they did. And when Christ rose from the dead, He became the “first-fruits” of the harvest. After His ascension to heaven, He did not stay in the same form. That body of a Jewish man was no longer present. But He was as described as John recorded in Revelation chapter one:
The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Rev 1:14-16 ESV)
Jesus had returned to His preincarnate heavenly spiritual body, the body of the son of God, and one with the father. Now as we return to 1 Corinthians, we notice the wording of the verse. As Paul emphasized in verse 21 the resurrection of the dead has come (present tense). There was not to be a gap of thousands of years between the first fruit and the final harvest. When Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth, it was only about 15 years away. Once again remember that Daniel said: “when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.” (Daniel 12:7). The power of the holy people was shattered completely when Jerusalem, the temple, and the entire Levitical system of worship was brought to an end in AD 70. Although Paul knew this was about to occur, he did not know the exact timing. This was the end he spoke of in the next verse.
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Cor 15:24-28 ESV)
Just prior to His ascension into heaven, Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Mt 28:18) But after His ascension to heaven, He went into the Holy of Holies in heaven to present His blood of the sacrifice. As the writer of Hebrews noted:
It was indeed therefore necessary for the glimpses of the things in the heavens with these to be purified; but, the heavenly things themselves, with better sacrifices than these. For, not into a Holy place made by hand, entered Christ,—counterpart of the real Holy place ; but, into the heaven itself, NOW, to be plainly manifested before the face of God in our behalf;— (Hebrews 9:23-24 Rotherham)
Thus, at the ascension, all authority was given to Jesus, but when Jesus entered into the Most Holy in heaven and presented the blood of His sacrifice, the prophecy given by the Apostle Paul came true when he said: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”(Romans 16:20) So then at the Parousia, when Christ came as He promised; and through the use of the Roman armies, He completely destroyed the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and the entire system of Levitical sacrifice and worship. Yes, with the destruction of the Levitical Temple system, Satan was “crushed.” This system and those who posed the most severe opposition to them were finally crushed. Satan’s authority over them ended. Additionally, the last enemy, which was the “death” which Adam experienced in the garden, was destroyed. Now, because of the precious blood of Christ being presented in the Holy of Holies in heaven, man could once again have a restored relationship with God. Now as we return to 1 Corinthians, in verse 29 we see that Paul made a very obscure statement:
Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? (1 Cor 15:29 ESV)
Commentator Adam Clarke said of this verse: “This is certainly the most difficult verse in the New Testament; for, notwithstanding the greatest and wisest men have labored to explain it, there are to this day nearly as many different interpretations of it as there are interpreters.”
Remember that Paul spoke in the present tense. He at that time was not speaking of a future event. So, let’s just think about this for a moment in the light of what Paul has said in the past. We know that in Romans chapter 5 Paul said:
Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. . . . For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:14,17 ESV)
The presence of the Old Covenant was a stop gap measure to cover the sin of the people and give them a relationship with God, based on the future blood of Christ. The act of baptism symbolized the spiritual death of the believer, and the coming up out of the water symbolized a new life in Christ. So their status changed from being dead in Adam to being made alive in Christ. Of course, this would not be complete until the Parousia.
As the writer of Hebrews wrote:
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28 ESV)
Without doubt, the writer of Hebrews made his point. The Parousia was then and remains today the completion of salvation for the believer. Looking at verse 29 we realize that perhaps Paul was answering a question or misconception posed regarding this by one of the believers in Corinth in the first half of the verse, in relationship to this. But whatever was meant, the statement was meant to show another proof that those who were spiritually dead were raised. Let us continue:
Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! (1 Cor 15:30-31 ESV)
Paul was continually being exposed to death. But he was proud of the faith of his Corinthian brothers. He emphasized that the possibility of being killed for the sake of Christ was the cross they would bear.
What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. (1 Cor 15:32-34 ESV)
Paul again emphasized the point he made earlier concerning the resurrection of Christ. If there is no resurrection from the dead, there is no point to our faith. We might as well live it up for otherwise we have nothing. But NO, quit associating with those ones who would deny the resurrection, and the existence of God. They are ruining your faith and will cause you to sin with them.
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. (1 Cor 15:35-38 ESV)
If the resurrection of those who have died physically was a bodily resurrection of the same type that goes into the ground, there would be no purpose for Paul to go into the seed analogy as he did in this passage. The body that dies and goes into the ground is like a seed. Therefore, the body that comes out of the ground is a different body, suited for the purpose chosen by God.
For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. (1 Cor 15:39-41 ESV)
Continuing with his seed analogy, Paul gave some examples of different types of bodies; each one individually suited for its own purpose. Additionally, even with the heavenly bodies, each body type has its own glory. For example, the sun has a magnitude of glory that is far greater than the moon.
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Cor 15:42-44 ESV)
This passage sounds simple, but it must be understood in the context of what the rest of the Scriptures affirm about the resurrection. Now, understand clearly what I am about to present to you because this concept is a bit complex. Revelation 20:4-5 affirms that there are two groups who participate in the first resurrection:
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. (Rev 20:4-5 ESV)
Upon first reading verse 5, it seems very confusing. It appears that there have been two separate and distinct groups being mentioned here, which we would think indicates two resurrections. The above is the verse as translated in the English Standard Version. Now notice the difference between this and the New International Version:
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. (Rev 20:5 NIV)
Do you see the difference?
- In the ESV, the passage must be taken as follows: “The rest of the dead (in Christ) did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.” (This makes them a part of the first resurrection.)
- In the NIV, the presence of the parentheses is an indication that those words in parentheses are a side note. (In other words, these ones are not a part of the first resurrection but belong to the second resurrection.)
This passage has to be taken in one of these two ways in order to make sense. Otherwise we have to separate verse 5 as a second resurrection, which is contrary to what it says. As such, there would have to be a third resurrection, but this does not agree with how the verse is written.
I believe that the ESV has translated it correctly, and here is why.
Now in order to put this in perspective, we must remember the prophecy of Daniel 12:1-7 which tells us when the resurrection would occur. Let’s read this again:
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:1-2 ESV)
This is the resurrection.
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. (Daniel 12:3-7 ESV)
Did you notice how specific this verse was. John specifically wrote: “when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end ALL these things would be finished.” This had to be at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. This was the complete end of the Old Covenant and the Jewish Levitical system of worship. The power of God’s heretofore holy people was completely shattered. This system of worship was no longer possible! It also had to be the end of the Millennium, because Rev. 20:5 plainly states that those dead in Christ did not come to life “until the thousand years were ended.” Also, Revelation 20:4 affirmed that this resurrection included not only:
- The saints who were beheaded, but also,
- Those who had not worshiped the beast or received the mark. Therefore, these are people who are still alive.
If the resurrection included both those dead at the time, and those alive, then we know that it meant that all believers (past, present, and future) were resurrected at that time, both those who were physically dead, and those who were physically alive. Thus, the first resurrection is by nature a spiritual resurrection, but at AD 70 it included those who were removed from “paradise” in Hades and were taken to heaven. This was the resurrection that Paul was speaking of in the passage in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. Thus, we as believers are a part of the first resurrection. The picture Paul painted in Romans 6:4 applies to us. We were buried with Christ. This put away our sin. Then we were resurrected to walk in the newness of life! We are already part of the first resurrection! What a blessing! As Rev 20:6 says, the second death has no authority over us, and this is in harmony with what Paul said:
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:4-8 ESV)
Do you see the powerful significance of what Paul said? Those saints who were still alive on earth were also seated “with Him in the heavenly places.” Their resurrection from spiritual death was complete, and the second death now had no power over them.
Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Cor 15:45-49 ESV)
When Adam was placed in the garden he was in perfect spiritual fellowship with God. His most important assignment was to obey God. When he disobeyed God, he died that day, spiritually. He was then separated from God …. no more walks in the Garden together, and no more discussions together. It was over. But physically, he lived for over 900 years. When Jesus died on the cross, he died physically as well, but just as man did, he also suffered spiritual separation from God. Paul would later tell the Corinthian church:
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21 ESV)
As the Apostle John noted:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-16 ESV)
The fact of the matter is that if Jesus came to the earth to suffer physical death so that we did not have to die physically, then this death was ineffective. Why? Because men have continued to die without ceasing! But Jesus experienced the same alienation from God as man did when He died on that Cross. As Paul said, “he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” The only way for the man to be restored to that right relationship with God was for Him to also die to the flesh. This is done by belief in Christ as Lord and Savior. It is pictured perfectly by the baptism analogy…..buried with Christ…….raised to walk in the newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4) That new life is a spiritual one. When we accept Christ as Savior, we begin a new spiritual life with Christ, and we will never die again (spiritually). That is what Jesus meant when He said:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV)
Now as we continue with 1 Corinthians we read:
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor 15:50-54 ESV)
The words used by Paul in verse 50 make it clear that the Kingdom of God is not primarily a physical kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom. We inherit this kingdom spiritually when we become believers. Thus, when we die physically, we do not actually die, but are changed in the twinkling of an eye. Our spirit still lives, and we will receive a spiritual body, as we read earlier in verse 44, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” Since Paul included himself in with those who would “not sleep,” we know that Paul was expecting the return of the Lord at any time. What Paul was emphasizing in verses 51-53 is that soon, at the Parousia (the last trumpet), this was finalized. Not everyone would die at that time, but would be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye to complete spiritual life. Thus, they would never die. This is in harmony with what the writer of Hebrews stated:
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb 9:28 ESV)
This event where Christ appeared “a second time,” is called the Parousia, and as stated above, the Parousia finalized the salvation for the believer. Notice the wording at the end of the verse. They were eagerly awaiting this event. The death of Adam, that is, spiritual death, was swallowed up forever. It is as Jesus said:
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24 ESV)
As we conclude the passage in 1 Corinthians 15, we read:
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:55-58 ESV)
It is no wonder that Paul broke out in praise here. By the accomplishment of being finally changed to complete spiritual life, those alive at that time would never die, and those believers who had died physically were raised from the “paradise” side of Hades, to life in heaven, and received their spiritual body. But it is true of those at the time of Jesus’ resurrection, those to whom Paul addressed, and believers today they would always be with the Lord. What a great chapter of
[i] Basanos (Greek) is defined as the place of testing wherein one is forced to divulge the truth. This place is symbolized by the Lake of Fire, a place of temporary punishments as chastisement for the purpose of rehabilitation. For more information on this see Chapter 2 of my book, “God’s Purpose for Hell, a compelling probe of God’s love for the lost.”
[ii] From Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the whole Bible (Matt. 8:21)–
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Robert Pike (Rob) is a retired Engineer and husband of his beloved wife Ida. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana Wesleyan University, a Master of Arts Degree from Webster University, and a Ph.D in Theology from Trinity College and Seminary.
He is the author of four previous books:
- God’s Promise of Redemption, a story of fulfilled prophecy
- God’s Purpose for Hell, a compelling probe of God’s love for the lost
- Jehovah’s Witnesses, Are you in the Truth? Or are you living a LIE?
- The Great American Divide, How we got here and what we can do about it
All of Rob’s Books are available at Amazon.com, or by order at your favorite book store.
Rob is a member of Gideon’s International and lives with his wife of 36 years in Southwest Florida in the winter, and central Indiana in the summer. His life verse is Proverbs 3:5,6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make straight your paths.”
Be sure to visit Rob’s YouTube page at: https://www.youtube.com/@truthinliving8082, or his website at: https://www.truthinliving.net.
If you have questions concerning this book, send an email to Rob at robpike@truthinlivin.net.
Truth in Living 