December 2023 – Eternity

The Resurrection Program

I. The Resurrection Program – Thy Kingdom Come.

II. Introduction.

The Apostle Paul gives us an outline of the events in the resurrection program in 1 Corinthians 15:20-24.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”

III. Details.

A. That there will be a division in the resurrection program is suggested by the phrase, “but every man in his own order” (v. 23). The word order (tagma), “is a military metaphor; ‘company,’ ‘troop,’ ‘band,’ or ‘rank.’ We are to think of each ‘corps’ or body of troops coming on in its proper position and order. ”The parts of the resurrection are viewed as the marching battalions in a well-organized parade of triumph. Yet, the military concept of the word can not be overly stressed.

1. It is very doubtful if the military force of the world is to be insisted on in this connection, for the reason that the figure with which the section begins is that of “first fruits,” and, as we have seen, that calls for a harvest similar in nature to the firstfruits. This idea must be regarded as more certainly regulative of the sense than the force of [tagma]. Doubtless all that Paul intends to convey by the use of…[tagma] is the thought of sequence.

2. In this sequence of resurrection parade Christ is admittedly the battalion leader or the “first fruits” of the harvest that promises a great abundance of like fruits to follow at the appointed time of harvest. This phase of the resurrection program was accomplished at the time of Christ’s resurrection on the third day and marks the beginning of this whole resurrection program.

B. A second group is introduced by the word “afterward.” This word (epeita) signifies a lapse of time of undesignated duration. “This is not to say that the one event follows the other immediately, nor does he say how soon it will follow. ”There is latitude here to cover the span of time between the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of “they that are Christ’s at his coming.”

C. There has been a difference of opinion as to who is envisioned in the second group. Some take the term they that are Christ’s (hoi tou Christou) and make it synonymous with those “in Christ” (en tō Christo) of verse twenty-two. This would be the technical expression that states the relation of saints to Christ in this present age. Therefore, it is concluded, this is the resurrection of the church mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. This view is supported by a reference to the word coming (parousia), which is often applied to the rapture. Paul would thus be stating that the second great group in the parade of resurrection would be those resurrected from this present age at the rapture of the church. It would be further stated by those holding this view that Paul is not mentioning here the resurrection of the tribulation saints nor Old Testament saints in the program. However, since Paul is outlining the great program of resurrection, it would seem strange if those important groups were omitted. It may be better to take the alternative view that the expression they that are Christ’s is a nontechnical reference to all the redeemed, both of the church, of the Old Testament period, and the tribulation period, all of whom will be raised at the “coming” of Christ. The word coming, then, would be taken in its widest sense, as applying to the second advent and its program, and not to the rapture only. Thus Paul would be saying that the second great group would be the saints of all ages who are raised because they belong to Christ, and this will have been accomplished by the second advent.

D. There is vigorous debate among the expositors as to the meaning of the phrase, “then cometh the end” (v. 24). Some feel that the word resurrection should be supplied (then cometh the end of the resurrection), so that Paul is speaking of the termination of the resurrection program with the resurrection of the unsaved dead at the end of the thousand years. Others feel that the unsaved are not in view, but that Paul teaches that the resurrection will be followed by the end of this present age (then cometh the end of the age), as in Matthew 24:6, 14; Luke 21:9. The issue is decided by the interpretation of the relationship between the two uses of “all” in verse 22. Are they coextensive or not?

E. The first view on the question holds that the “all” who die in Adam are not the same as the “all” who are made alive in Christ. The advocates of this position would interpret the verse as teaching that, while all who are in Adam die, the resurrection here outlined includes only those saved who are “in Christ,” and “the end” must therefore refer to the end of the age.

1. The interpretation of vs. 22 that is usually called in to sustain this construction finds the second coextensive with the first. The “all” is universal in both cases. It is right at this point that difficulties begin to beset the viewpoint outlined. The word [zoopoiethesontai] {to cause to live, make alive, give life} is too strong a term, too spiritually complexioned, to be used of all men. The natural term for resurrection of an all-inclusive sort would be [egeiresthai]. The words “in Christ” cannot have any lower significance than they bear elsewhere. This phrase speaks of the most intimate and potent soteriological connection with Christ. Unbelievers do not qualify. The whole discussion throughout the chapter has in view believers only. Paul centers the attention of his readers upon Christ as the firstfruits of the Christian dead. Both the word [aparche] (firstfruits) and the verb [koimao] (sleep) fit only believers. Christ is not the firstfruits of others, since they must necessarily be utterly dissimilar to Him in their resurrection. Then, too, the non-Christian dead do not “sleep;” they die.

2. This second view is supported by, “as Adam is the head of the natural race, and, in virtue of this natural relation with him, death is the common lot of men, so by reason of the fact that Christ is the Head of the spiritual, all who possess spiritual relation with Him will be made alive. There is no idea of the universalism of the human race in the comparison of the second statement with the first. That unbelievers are “in Christ” is utterly contrary to the teaching of Scripture, therefore only those who become new creatures and possess spiritual life, and so are “in Christ” in their experience in this present life, are included in the “all” in the second statement, who will be “made alive.”

a. Thus, according to this view, Paul is viewing two great stages in the first resurrection program: the resurrection of Christ, and the resurrection of all those who are Christ’s, which would include church saints, tribulation saints, and Old Testament saints, who are raised by the time of the second advent, which resurrection would be followed by the end of the age.

b. There are those, however, who interpret the passage to understand that Paul is including the end of the resurrection program in his teaching. Accordingly the phrase “in Christ,” would be understood as instrumental, by Christ.

3. Perhaps Paul is thinking of a third [tagma, order], those who are not Christ’s Own, to be raised from the dead some time before the End. But throughout the passage, the unbelievers and the wicked are quite in the background, if they are thought of at all.

4. The context is one that speaks of resurrection, and the end-resurrection is here in view. The apostle has shown that there are to be definite stages in the resurrection of the dead. First, Christ is the firstfruits; second, those who are Christ’s at His coming; third, the end-resurrection of all unbelievers.

a. Thus, the apostle has distributed the great work of resurrection, as a manifestation of divine power, into three definite and widely sundered acts:

(1) The raising of the Lord Jesus.

(2) The awakening of His own at His coming.

(3) The final emptying of every grave at the close of the Son’s administration of the kingdom when the dead not included in the first resurrection shall stand, both small and great, for judgment before God.

b. Inasmuch as the word “end” (telos) in its basic usage refers to the end of an act or a state and has to do with the termination of a program, it may be preferable to understand that Paul is including the final or end resurrection in the marching groups here depicted.

5. Once again it must be observed Paul is anticipating an interval of time between the resurrection of those that are Christ’s and the end, whether it be the end of the age or the end of the resurrection program.

6. The word rendered “then,” indicates sequence in time.” “Then,” after an interval e.g., Mark 4:17, 28, and verses 5 and 7 of the present chapter. (1 Cor 15). The interval implied here in verse 24 is that during which the Lord will reign in His Millennial Kingdom of righteousness and peace.

IV. Study References.

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The Time Of The Resurrections

I. The Time Of The Resurrections.

II. Introduction.

The introduction of a distinction in the time element in the different parts of the resurrection program brought consternation to the disciples. In connection with the transfiguration of the Lord, we read:

1. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead [ek nekron, out from among the dead] should mean [Mark 9:9-10].

2. We see why the three favored disciples were “questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” They understood perfectly, what the resurrection of the dead meant, for this was a common accepted doctrine of the Jews [Heb. 6:2]. But the resurrection from the dead was a new revelation to them.

III. Details.

A. The Old Testament clearly taught the fact of the resurrection (Heb. 11:17-18; Job 14:1-13; 19:25-26; Ps. 16:10; 49:15; Hosea 5:15-6:2; 13:14, Isa. 25:8; 26:19; Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; 11:24), but no revelation was made concerning the time element involved. In fact, one might have concluded, were it not for the revelation contained in the New Testament, that there would be a general resurrection, in which the saved and unsaved are raised together to be separated to their final destiny as taught by the amillennialist. However, the New Testament contains clear revelation to the contrary.

B. There are several passages generally used to teach the false doctrine of a general resurrection. The first of these is Daniel 12:2-3, where the prophet writes: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” No distinction in time seems to be made here and therefore it is concluded that a general resurrection is taught.

1. I do not doubt that the right translation of this verse is: “And many from among the sleepers of the dust of the earth shall awake; these shall be unto everlasting life; but those [the rest of the sleepers, those who do not awake at this time] shall be unto shame and everlasting contempt.” The word which in our KJV version is twice rendered “some,” is never repeated in any other passage in the Hebrew Bible, in the sense of taking up separately any general class which has been previously mentioned; this is enough, I believe, to warrant our applying its first occurrence here to the whole of the many who awake, and the second to the mass of the sleepers, those who do not awake at this time. It is clearly not a general resurrection; it is “many from among”; and it is only by taking the words in this sense, that we gain any information as to what becomes of those who continue to sleep in the dust of the earth.

2. This passage has been understood by the Jewish commentators in the sense that I have stated. Of course these men with the vail on their hearts are no guides as to the use of the Old Testament; but they are helps as to the grammatical and lexico-graphical value of sentences and words. Two of the Rabbis who commented on this prophet were, Saadiah Haggaon (in the 19th century of our era), and Aben Ezra (in the 12th); the latter of these was a writer of peculiar abilities and accuracy of mind. He explains the verse in the following manner: “its interpretation is, those who shall awake shall be unto everlasting life, and those who shall not awake shall be unto shame unto everlasting contempt.

C. It must be concluded that the prophet (Daniel) is affirming the fact of resurrection and the universality of the resurrection without affirming the specific time at which the parts of the resurrection take place.

D. A second passage often used to support the idea of a general resurrection is John 5:28-29. “The Lord says: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

E. It is affirmed that the Lord’s use of the word “hour” necessitates a general resurrection of both saved and unsaved. However, this word need not imply such a general resurrection program.

1. It must be granted, however, that the language does not demand coincidence in the resurrections. John’s use of the word (hora) in 5:25 allows for its extension over a long period. The same is true of 4:21, 23. Jesus is speaking in the fashion of the Old Testament prophets, who grouped together without differentiation in time the events which they glimpsed upon the far horizon of history. The same feature is found in the eschatological discourses of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt, Mk, Lk), wherein the impending fall of Jerusalem with its attendant woes can hardly be disentangled from the description of the far-off event that is associated with the Great Tribulation.

2. Somewhat parallel, though in a different category, is the inclusive manner in which Jesus speaks of spiritual and physical quickening in one statement An example is John 5:21.

a. The Lord, in this passage, is teaching the universality of the resurrection program and the distinctions within that program, but is not teaching the time at which the various resurrections will take place. To make the passage “so teach” is to pervert its original intent. It is made very clear in Revelation 20 that the two parts of the resurrection program are separated by an interval of a thousand years. John wrote:

” 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest did not live again until the thousand years were finished, This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6)]

b. It will be observed that the first part of verse five, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished,” is a parenthetical statement that explains what happens to those who are left in the realm of death when the first resurrection is completed at the second advent of Christ. This passage teaches that one thousand years will intervene between the first resurrection, or the resurrection unto life, and the resurrection of the rest of the dead, which, according to Revelation 20:11-13, is the resurrection unto damnation. The only way that the obvious teaching of this passage can be prevented is to spiritualize it so that the passage is not speaking of physical resurrection, but rather of the blessedness of the souls who are in the presence of the Lord. Of this interpretation, I cannot consent to distort the words from their plain sense and chronological place in the prophecy, on account of any considerations of difficulty, or any risk of abuses which the doctrine of the Millennium may bring with it.

(1) Those who lived next to the Apostles, and the whole Church for three hundred years, understood Scripture in the plain literal sense; and it is a strange sight in these days to see expositors who are among the first in reverence of antiquity, complacently casting aside the most compelling instance of unanimity which primitive antiquity presents. As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment of it will extort what is known as the spiritual interpretation now in fashion.

(2) If, in a passage where two resurrections are mentioned, where certain souls lived at the first, and the rest of the dead lived only at the end of a specified period after the first, if in such verses, the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritual rising with Christ, while the second means literal rising from the grave; then there is an end of all significance in language, and Scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to anything. If the first resurrection is spiritual, then so is the second, which I suppose no one will be hardy enough to maintain. But if the second is literal, then so is the first, which in common with the whole primitive church and many of the best modern expositors, I do maintain and receive as an article of faith and hope.

F. It must be concluded that, although there is no clear revelation in the Old Testament concerning the time relationship of the two parts of the resurrection program, the New makes it clear that the resurrection unto life and the resurrection unto judgment are separated by a span of one thousand years.

IV. Study References.

All of my study references are listed in my Page, “About My My References.”

The Resurrections Associated With The Second Advent.

I. The Resurrections Associated With The Second Advent.

II. Introduction.

A. The Old Testament associated the hope of resurrection with the Messianic hope of the Day of the Lord. In Daniel the resurrection (12:2) is seen to be an event subsequent to the time of trouble under the Anti-Christ (12:11). In Isaiah the resurrection (26:19) is spoken of in reference to “the indignation” (26:20-21). In John’s Gospel the resurrection is stated as a hope associated with the “last day,” or the day of the Lord (11:24). Since this is true, it is necessary to consider the second advent in its relation to the resurrection program. It is not possible in this connection to consider the whole doctrine of resurrection, but confine the study to the eschatological or prophetic aspects of that doctrine.

B. It will readily be observed that the doctrine of resurrection is a cardinal doctrine of the Word of God. In the ministry of the apostles after Christ’s resurrection the theme of the resurrection of Christ dominated their preaching, almost to the exclusion of His death. In more than forty New Testament references to resurrection, it is always used of a literal resurrection, never in a spiritual or non-literal sense, and has to do with the raising up of the physical body.

III. The Kinds Of Resurrections. In Scripture two different kinds of resurrection are anticipated in God’s resurrection program: the resurrection to life and the resurrection to judgment.

A. The resurrection to life. There are a number of passages which teach this distinctive part of the resurrection program.

1. But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And you shall be blessed; for they can not repay you: for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just [Luke 14:13-14].

2. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead (literally, the resurrection, the one out from the dead) [Phil. 3:10-14].

3. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection [Heb. 11:35].

4. Do not be amazed at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [John 5:28-29].

5. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years [Rev. 20:6].

6. These references show that there is a part of the resurrection program that is called “the resurrection of the just,” the “out-resurrection from the dead,” “a better resurrection,” “the resurrection of life,” and “the first resurrection.”

7. These phrases suggest a separation; a resurrection of a portion of those who are dead, which resurrection leaves some dead unchanged while these resurrected undergo a complete transformation.

a. If Christ is coming to raise the righteous a thousand years before the ungodly, it would be natural and imperative that the former should be called a resurrection from, or out of the dead, the rest of the dead being left; this is just what is most carefully done in the Word. It consists in the use made, in the Greek text of the words [ek nekron].

b. These words signify “from the dead” or, out of the dead, implying that the other dead are left.

c. The resurrection [nekron or ek nekron] (of the dead) is applied to both classes because all will be raised. But the resurrection (ek nekron—out of the dead) is not once applied to the ungodly. The latter phrase is used altogether 49 times.

(1) 34 times, to express Christ’s resurrection, whom we know was raised out of the dead.

(2) 3 times, to express John’s supposed resurrection, who, as Herod thought, had been raised out of the dead.

(3) 3 times to express the resurrection of Lazarus, who was also raised out of the dead.

(4) 3 times, it is used figuratively, to express spiritual life out of the deadness of sin (Rom. 6:13; 11:15; Eph. 5:14).

(5) Luke 16:31, “Though one rose from the dead.”

(6) Heb. 11:19, Abraham’s faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead.

(7) The remaining 4 times it is used to express a future resurrection out of the dead, namely, in Mark 12:25, “they rise from the dead; Luke 20:35-36, ”the resurrection which is from among the dead; Acts 4:1-2 “the resurrection which is from among (the) dead;” And in Phil. 3:11 the literal translation is the out resurrection from among the dead, which peculiar construction of language gives a special emphasis to the idea that this is a resurrection out from among the dead.

d. These passages clearly show, that there is yet to be a resurrection out of the dead; that is, that part of the dead will be raised, before all are raised. The “phrase would be inexplicable if it were not derived from the idea that out of the masses of the dead some would rise first.”

9. This resurrection, usually called the first resurrection, but which might be called the resurrection unto life (John 5:29) with greater clarity inasmuch as this resurrection is made up of a number of component parts, is that part of the resurrection program in which the individuals are raised to eternal life. It includes within it all who, at any time, are raised to eternal life. The destiny, not the time, determines to which part of the resurrection program any event is to be assigned.

B. The resurrection to damnation. Scripture anticipates another part of the resurrection program that deals with the unsaved. It is the second resurrection, or the resurrection to damnation.

1. They that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation [John 5:29].

2. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished [Rev. 20:5].

3. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them” [Rev. 20:11-13].

4. Inasmuch as the first resurrection was completed before the thousand year reign began (Rev. 20:5), “the dead” referred to in Revelation 20:11-12 can only be those who were left behind at the out-resurrection from among the dead ones and who constitute those that are raised unto damnation. The second resurrection, better termed the resurrection of damnation, includes all who are raised to eternal condemnation. It is not chronology that determines who is in the second resurrection, but rather the destiny of the one raised.

IV. Study References.

All of my study references are listed in my Page, “About My My References.”

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