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Resurrection from the dead, part 3

As I pointed out earlier, the first resurrection is limited to a few, all of whom are believers and, I believe, overcomers. Revelation 20:5, 6 tells us,

⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

This tells us that all who are raised in the first resurrection are believers. No unbelievers will be raised in the first resurrection. Further, those who are raised will be rulers in the Kingdom for a thousand years, after which time the rest of the dead will be raised and summoned to the great White Throne for judgment.

Kingdom Rulers

We have already shown from John 5:28, 29 and from Acts 24:14, 15 that the second resurrection will include both believers and unbelievers. This clearly shows that not all believers will be raised in the first resurrection. Believers are citizens of the Kingdom, but they are not rulers unless they become overcomers. So Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:12,

¹² If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

To reign with Christ requires endurance, which is one of the major themes in the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews and also in Hebrews 10:36,

³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

How do we get endurance? James 1:3 says,

³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

One has to have faith in order for that faith to be tested. In other words, one must first be a believer with faith in Christ, so that afterward, that faith can be tested by experience. Such tests require obedience, which is associated with Pentecost. As we are led by the Spirit, we learn obedience one test at a time, each in his own way.

This teaching is derived from the story of the church in the wilderness, where most of them died without receiving the promise—even though they were justified by faith in the lamb at Passover when they left Egypt. Only Caleb and Joshua endured to the end, and they set the pattern for all overcomers who qualify as “priests of God” and who are destined to be raised in the first resurrection so that they may rule with Christ.

We see this again in Philippians 3:10-14,

¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection [anastasia] and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ in order that I may attain to the resurrection [ex-anastasia] of the dead… ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward [ano, “above, high, a higher place”] call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul aspired to attain the ex-anastasia, “out-resurrection” and not merely the anastasia. He then calls it the higher call of God. Higher than what? Higher than the general resurrection of the dead. It is “the prize” of the first resurrection.

Such teaching was not designed to discourage believers but to encourage them to seek a calling that is higher than just being a citizen of the Kingdom. Study the failures of Israel in the wilderness so that you do not follow their example of unbelief.

The Order of Resurrection

In 1 Corinthians 15:21-25 we read,

²¹ For since by a man [Adam] came death, by a Man [Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order [tagma, “a squadron”]: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, ²⁴ then comes the end, when He hands over the Kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

The contrast and comparison between Adam and Jesus is taught more thoroughly in Romans 5. Adam’s sin brought death (mortality) to all men. By contrast, Jesus’ righteous act (on the cross) has brought life (immortality) to all men. The likeness is seen in the scope of each action. Both acts affect “all men.” In 1 Timothy 4:10, Paul writes,

¹⁰ For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

Again we see here a distinction between “all men” and “believers.” All will be saved in the end, but believers will be given immortality long before “all men” are saved. We will cover this in greater detail in our next series on “eternal judgment.” Eternal is from eonian, pertaining to an age (eon). An age has a beginning and an end, and the age of judgment must end with a great Jubilee, which limits all judgment in the law of God.

So Paul then gives the order of resurrection, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:23, where Paul uses a military term to describe companies of people. It is tagma, “a body of soldiers, a band, troop.” In other words, the times of resurrection involve groups of people, not just individuals. The first resurrection is a group of rulers; the second is everyone else; and, as Paul says in verse 24, there is a final day called “the end” of Christ’s reign, “when He hands over the Kingdom to the God and Father.”

That is the point where all resistance ceases among all those who were being judged by God’s “fiery law.” It is the end of the final age, when all the effects of Adam’s sin are overcome and when all men are saved.

Paul lists three groups (tagma) in the order of resurrection: “Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end…” The first group consists of the anointed first fruits. Christ himself is an individual, not a company of people. But the word “Christ” is from the Greek word christos, “anointed, christened.” In my view it speaks of those raised in the first resurrection. They are said to be “holy” in Revelation 20:6. To be holy means to be separated and anointed for divine service.

So in my view the anointed first fruits are those qualifying for the first resurrection. Secondly, Paul writes, “after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.” Since this is the second group, it must refer to the White Throne judgment at the end of the millennium. In the phrase, “at His coming” the Greek word Parousia is used, which means “presence, arrival, coming.” The focus is upon His presence once He has arrived.

In my view, He will then summon all of mankind to His presence on the throne and will judge the world with righteousness according to His law.

Paul then gives us the final squadron that will come into immortality: “then comes the end.” When the last enemy (death) is abolished, it will benefit the rest of mankind. Adam’s sin will be fully reversed by the blood of Christ, and the Creation Jubilee will end time as we know it.

The Last Enemy Abolished

1 Corinthians 15:25, 26, says,

²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

The reign of Christ begins with His second coming. Recall that when He came the first time, His throne rights were disputed. Jesus predicted this in Luke 19:12-14,

¹² So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return… ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘we do not want this man to reign over us’.”

As long as His throne rights are under dispute, the Kingdom of Christ is held in abeyance. When He returns, it will be with the Father’s authorization, having made a ruling in the divine court. When He returns, He will then judge those who did not want Christ to reign over them. Luke 19:27 says in conclusion,

²⁷ But those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.

These were brought “here” (Judea/Jerusalem) through Zionism, forming the Israeli state in 1948. God has given three generations time to repent, to change their mind about Jesus Christ. Some have indeed repented and turned to Christ, but the vast majority of the people, along with their leaders, continue their march toward divine judgment, prophesied also in Jeremiah 19:10, 11 and in Isaiah 29:1-6.

The point is that this judgment upon the Zionist state is associated with the second coming of Christ. It seems that many will be put to death, so we know that death—“the last enemy”—will not be abolished at the time of the second coming of Christ. The exception, of course, will be the overcomers who inherit the first resurrection.

A thousand years later, at the general resurrection, “death and Hades” (the grave) will be cast into “the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). The river of fire in Daniel 7:10, coming from the flaming throne, has formed a lake in Revelation 20:14. The fiery law, which is also the baptism of fire, is how God brings judgment upon all flesh, burning evil from our being. We experience this fire through Pentecost; unbelievers will have to experience this at the White Throne judgment and throughout the following age of judgment.

The point is that “the last enemy” (death) is not fully abolished until all humanity has turned to Christ, has learned obedience, and is fully reconciled to God in all things. When these are given immortality at the Creation Jubilee, then it can be said that death is abolished.