B
bibleberean
Guest
- Thread starter
- #41
cubedbee said:
Our physical bodies do become immortal in the future.
Our bodies were meant to be immortal but Adam sinned and forfeited his life and the lives of his offspring.
Our physical bodies will be resurrected incorruptible.
John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the 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.
We will be like Jesus. Jesus has a physical body which is immortal
Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
So will we.
Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
12 The Resurrections
Rightly Dividing the Word, by Clarence Larkin, 1920
Chapter 12: The Resurrections
The Scriptures speak of three kinds of resurrection. 1. NATIONAL. This refers to Israel who are now nationally dead and buried in the "Graveyard of the Nations," but who are to be revived and restored to their own land. Ho 6:1-2. See the Chapter on "The Jews."
2. SPIRITUAL. This refers to those who are spiritually dead in "Trespasses and Sins." Eph 2:1-6; 5:14; Ro 6:11. This is a "Present Resurrection" and is going on continually. Every time a soul is "born again" there is a passing from "death" unto "life," a "Spiritual Resurrection." Joh 5:24.
3. PHYSICAL. This is of the dead body. The "Spirit" of man does not die, it goes back to God who gave it. All that goes into the grave is the body, and all that can come out of the grave is the body. See the Chapter on the "Spirit World."
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY
Jesus clearly and distinctly taught a resurrection "from the grave."
"Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the 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.'" Joh 5:28-29.
Here Jesus teaches the resurrection of both the "Righteous" and the "Wicked." The Apostle Paul taught the same thing.
"And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the Dead, both of the just (justified), and of the Unjust (unjustified)." Ac 24:15.
"For as in Adam all die (physically), even so in Christ shall all be made alive (physically)." 1Co 15:22.
That the Apostle means "physical" death, and "physical" resurrection here is clear, for it is the body, and not the spirit that he is discoursing about, and so the Universalist has no "proof text" here for the doctrine of "Universal Salvation."
These passages clearly teach that there is to be a resurrection of "all the dead," and if we did not look any further, we would be led to believe that the Righteous and the Wicked are not only to rise, but that they are to rise at the "same time." But when we turn to the Book of Revelation we find that the Righteous are to rise "before" the Wicked, and not simply precede them, but there is a space of a 1000 years between the two Resurrections. Re 20:4-5.
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them."
This refers to the saints of the First Resurrection, who, represented by the "Four and Twenty Elders" of Re 4:4, are seen seated on thrones surrounding the Throne of God.
"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."
These are the "Tribulation Saints." John first saw them in their "martyred" condition (as souls), then he saw them rise from the dead (they lived again), and they, with the First Resurrection Saints, reigned with Christ a Thousand Years.
"But the rest of the dead (the wicked), lived not again until the `Thousand Years' were finished."
The rest of the verse-- "This is the `First Resurrection,'" refers not to the "rest of the dead," but to those in verse 4, who lived and reigned with Christ for a 1000 years, for:
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection. on such the Second Death (the doom of the Wicked, Re 20:14-15), hath no power, but they shall be Priests of God and of Christ, and shall Reign With Him a THOUSAND YEARS." Re 20:6.
That the Dead are to rise in different bands or cohorts, with an "interval of time" between, is beautifully brought out in 1Co 15:22-24.
"For as in Adam all die (physically), even so in Christ shall all be made alive (physically). But every man in his own order."
The word translated "order" is a military expression, and means a band, cohort, brigade or division of an army. Paul then gives the order:
1. "Christ the First Fruits."
2. "Afterward they that Are Christ's At His Coming."
3. "Then cometh The End."
Now we know that between "Christ the First Fruits," and they that "are Christ's at His Coming," there has already been nearly 1900 years, and as we have seen there will be 1000 years between the resurrection of those that "are Christ's at His Coming" and the "Wicked dead," therefore there is not to be a simultaneous resurrection of the Righteous and the Wicked. Already there has been an "OUT Resurrection" from "among the dead." When Jesus expired on the Cross "the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many BODIES OF THE SAINTS which slept AROSE, and came out of their graves AFTER HIS RESURRECTION (they could not precede Him), and WENT INTO THE HOLY CITY (Jerusalem), AND APPEARED TO MANY." Mt 27:50-53. They with Jesus made up the "FIRST FRUITS," and they are now in their resurrection bodies with Him in glory. See Chart The Resurrections.
It has been objected that the passage in Re 20:4-5, is the "only" place in the Bible where a "length of time" is given between the resurrection of the Righteous and the Wicked, and that it is not fair to base such an important fact upon a single statement found in such a symbolic Book. But we do not have to depend on Re 20:4-6 to prove that there is to be an "out" Resurrection "from among the dead." There are a number of passages referring to the resurrection of the dead that are unexplainable only on the supposition that there is a "time space" between the resurrection of the Righteous and the Wicked.
In the reply that Jesus made to the Sudducees in answer to their question as to whose wife the woman would be in the next world who had had seven husbands in this, He said--
"They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world (Age), and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more (Second Death); for they are equal unto the angels; and are the `Children of God' being the children of THE (out) Resurrection." Lu 20:35-36.
This is a very important statement. The use of the Greek word "Aion," translated "world," but which means "Age," shows that Jesus is speaking of a "class of dead" who are to be raised "before" the next or "Millennial Age," and that those thus raised can "die no more," there is no "Second Death" for them. Why? Because they are "equal unto the angels" and are the "Children of God," having been "born again," and are the "Children of THE Resurrection," the "Out FROM AMONG The Dead" or FIRST RESURRECTION, for only the "Children" of the "First Resurrection" shall live again "before" the Millennium.
In Lu 14:14 Jesus speaks of a "special" resurrection that He calls the Resurrection of the "JUST." This is an "Out Resurrection" from "among the dead," and is only for the "Justified," and must refer to the "First" Resurrection.
The writer to the Hebrews (Heb 11:35) speaks of a "better" Resurrection, and it is a significant fact that the Apostles preached through Jesus the Resurrection "from the dead." Not the Resurrection "of" the dead, that they always believed, but the Resurrection "from among" the dead, that was a "New Doctrine."
There is no question but that Paul believed in the resurrection "of" the dead, and that he expected to rise "some time," but in his letter to the Philippians (Php 3:11) he expresses the hope that he might "attain unto `THE' resurrection of the dead." Paul must therefore have had in mind some "special" Resurrection. What Paul meant is clear when we turn to 1Th 4:15-17, where he speaks of the resurrection of the "dead in Christ" and "translation of the living saints," at the Second Coming of the Lord, and as Christ is to come back to usher in the Millennium, then that event must "precede" the Millennium, and be an "Out Resurrection from among the dead," for the "rest of the dead" live not again until the 1000 years "are finished."
But the resurrection of the Righteous and the Wicked is not only to be different as to "time" but as to CHARACTER. They that have done "good" (the Righteous) shall rise unto the "Resurrection of LIFE," while they that have done "evil" (the Wicked) shall rise unto the "Resurrection of DAMNATION." Joh 5:28-29. And we read in Re 20:12-15, that those who are raised at the Second Resurrection, or the "Resurrection of Damnation," must appear at the "GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT," and that their names shall not be found written in the "Book of Life," and they shall be cast into the "Lake of Fire," which is the "SECOND DEATH."