WEBVTT 00:00:00.970 --> 00:00:03.870 It's time to take our Bibles and to look together 00:00:03.870 --> 00:00:06.769 into the New Testament. The book of 1 Corinthians. 00:00:11.630 --> 00:00:17.510 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Beginning in chapter 00:00:17.510 --> 00:00:21.949 7 of the book, the apostle answers specific questions 00:00:21.949 --> 00:00:24.350 that had been asked him by the Corinthian church. 00:00:25.170 --> 00:00:28.309 Some of these were practical, pragmatic issues 00:00:28.309 --> 00:00:31.210 that were coming up in the fellowship. tending 00:00:31.210 --> 00:00:34.929 to cause divisions among them. And so Paul writes 00:00:34.929 --> 00:00:38.289 some very pointed and clear words regarding matters 00:00:38.289 --> 00:00:43.850 as varied as marriage and divorce and the way 00:00:43.850 --> 00:00:47.509 to act of communion. Well, here in chapter 15, 00:00:47.689 --> 00:00:51.409 he picks up a doctrinal issue. It is the matter 00:00:51.409 --> 00:00:54.549 of the resurrection. There were some in the church 00:00:54.549 --> 00:00:58.369 at Corinth who had picked up the idea that the... 00:00:59.189 --> 00:01:02.829 believers who had died would not be resurrected, 00:01:03.070 --> 00:01:08.569 that they were just dead, gone, and that though 00:01:08.569 --> 00:01:11.469 they might be seen in heaven, still their bodies 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:16.650 would not be resurrected. This was typical of 00:01:16.650 --> 00:01:21.049 Greek thought. Even Plato taught that the body 00:01:21.049 --> 00:01:24.269 is a prison for the soul and that only the soul 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:27.409 is immortal. The body is a glad day when you 00:01:27.409 --> 00:01:30.819 get rid of your body. let it return to dust so 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:33.480 that your soul can be free. And apparently that 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:37.719 kind of philosophic thinking got into Christian 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:41.180 theology. And so some of the believers ceased 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:44.359 to teach that the dead in Christ would be raised 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:47.859 from the dead. So Paul writes to them to reassure 00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:50.659 them of the fact that indeed that the dead in 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:53.040 Christ will be raised. In fact, he asserts in 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:56.519 this chapter that all who have died will be raised 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.959 from the dead. not at the same time, not to the 00:01:59.959 --> 00:02:03.900 same destiny, but all who have died will be resurrected. 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:08.819 We're going to begin reading for our text today 00:02:08.819 --> 00:02:12.460 in verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 15. You follow along, 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:14.819 please, as I read from the New International 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:20.139 Version. But if it is preached that Christ has 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:23.379 been raised from the dead, how can some of you 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:26.000 say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:30.500 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:34.259 not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ 00:02:34.259 --> 00:02:37.800 has not been raised, our preaching is useless, 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:42.699 and so is your faith. More than that, we are 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:45.840 then found to be false witnesses about God, for 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:48.360 we have testified about God that He raised Christ 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:52.620 from the dead. But He did not raise Him, if in 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:55.960 fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead 00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:58.780 are not raised, then Christ has not been raised 00:02:58.780 --> 00:03:03.180 either. And if Christ has not been raised, your 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:09.039 faith is futile. You are still in your sins. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:13.000 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.000 are lost. If only for this life we have hope 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.020 in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:25.780 men. But Christ has indeed. been raised from 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:29.060 the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:33.740 asleep. For since death came through a man, the 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:36.120 resurrection of the dead comes also through a 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:41.840 man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:45.919 will be made alive, but each in his own turn. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:51.080 Christ, the firstfruits, then when He comes, 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:54.979 those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:59.599 when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:03.099 after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:07.500 and power. For he must reign until he has put 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:10.960 all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:15.259 to be destroyed is death, for he has put everything 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:20.459 under his feet. Now when it says that everything 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:25.170 has been put under him, It is clear that this 00:04:25.170 --> 00:04:27.910 does not include God himself who put everything 00:04:27.910 --> 00:04:31.889 under Christ. When he has done this, then the 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:35.350 Son himself will be made subject to him who put 00:04:35.350 --> 00:04:38.889 everything under him, so that God may be all 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:43.029 in all. Now let's pray again and ask God to open 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:47.329 the word to our hearts today. Father, we pray 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:51.050 that the word will today speak to us and you 00:04:51.050 --> 00:04:54.600 will help us to grasp the significance of the 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:56.800 text that we've read and how it applies to our 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:03.740 lives. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. We can be 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:07.819 assured that the body of every person who has 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:11.500 ever lived on the face of the earth will be raised 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:15.480 from the grave. That is Paul's thought in this 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:18.819 text. And there are three arguments as to why 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:22.740 Paul believes this and teaches this. The first 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:26.060 argument is a negative argument. He takes the 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:29.939 position, suppose Christ were not raised from 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:33.839 the dead, then what? Suppose there were no resurrection 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:37.899 of the dead, then what? So it's a negative kind 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:41.759 of argument, but he proves his point. Then in 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:45.220 verses 20 through 22, it's a collective argument 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:48.480 as he speaks about Christ, the first fruits, 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:52.100 and what that means. And then finally in verses 00:05:52.100 --> 00:05:57.379 23 through 28, a prophetic argument. He says 00:05:57.379 --> 00:06:00.879 there is one enemy of Christ that must be put 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:06.879 under his dominion. Now it is at this point in 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:12.420 the mind of God, but in time it has not yet occurred. 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.879 And so his thought is in the future there is 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:19.670 a time when even death itself will be subjected 00:06:19.670 --> 00:06:23.069 to the authority of Christ and rendered inoperative. 00:06:23.870 --> 00:06:26.689 And so he looks to the future. He says, if there 00:06:26.689 --> 00:06:29.550 is no resurrection of the dead, then death has 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:32.269 conquered, and Christ is not the conqueror. Do 00:06:32.269 --> 00:06:35.810 you see the point there? Three arguments as to 00:06:35.810 --> 00:06:38.509 why the dead must be raised. The first one, a 00:06:38.509 --> 00:06:41.730 negative argument. And in these verses, 12 through 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:46.189 19, he stresses the close association between 00:06:46.189 --> 00:06:48.779 the resurrection of the believer and the resurrection 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:54.420 of whom? Right, Jesus Christ. You cannot separate 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:57.120 the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the resurrection 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:01.139 of His people. In fact, in the first verse he 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:03.720 says, if it is preached that Christ has been 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:07.399 raised, and of course the word if there does 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:10.899 not imply doubt about it, it really is saying 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:15.019 this, but since it is preached that Christ has 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:18.209 been raised from the dead, How can some of you 00:07:18.209 --> 00:07:20.389 say that the dead are not going to be raised? 00:07:21.230 --> 00:07:24.269 You see, the two fit together. The two truths 00:07:24.269 --> 00:07:27.389 are companion truths, Christ's resurrection and 00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:30.089 the resurrection of believers. Now, it's interesting 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:33.649 that every time in this text, and there are seven 00:07:33.649 --> 00:07:36.769 of them, in which it refers to Christ's resurrection, 00:07:37.089 --> 00:07:39.870 and it says like this, Christ has been raised, 00:07:39.990 --> 00:07:42.569 it is in a tense in the original language that 00:07:42.569 --> 00:07:46.800 points to an historic fact. that has a present 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:51.120 effect. In other words, it's something that happened 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.759 in the past, but it has reality and impact in 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:56.759 the day in which we are reading these words. 00:07:57.399 --> 00:07:59.980 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:03.120 something that happened 2 ,000 years ago, but 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:07.060 is unrelated to us. It happened 2 ,000 years 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:10.040 ago, but its impact, its effect has been felt 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.980 from that time on to now and will be forever, 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:17.279 is his thought. Now there are seven results that 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.860 the apostle points out to us if the believer's 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:24.759 body is not going to be resurrected. Seven results 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:27.800 if the believer's body will not be resurrected. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:32.820 First, it means that Christ Himself has not been 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:36.600 raised. He says that in verse 13. If there is 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.039 no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.450 has been raised. Again, in verse 16, he says 00:08:42.450 --> 00:08:44.789 the same thing. For if the dead are not raised, 00:08:45.029 --> 00:08:48.649 then Christ has not been raised either. And so 00:08:48.649 --> 00:08:51.570 again, he underscores this point that we cannot 00:08:51.570 --> 00:08:54.250 separate the resurrection of believers from the 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:57.429 resurrection of Jesus Christ. The second result 00:08:57.429 --> 00:09:02.210 to occur if the believer's body will not be resurrected 00:09:02.210 --> 00:09:07.230 is that all of our preaching is useless or is 00:09:07.230 --> 00:09:11.149 in vain. Verse 14. If Christ has not been raised, 00:09:11.450 --> 00:09:16.450 then our preaching is useless. In other words, 00:09:16.450 --> 00:09:19.990 the gospel that we preach is robbed of its life 00:09:19.990 --> 00:09:23.950 and of its uniqueness. It is the resurrection 00:09:23.950 --> 00:09:27.029 that makes the message that we preach and we 00:09:27.029 --> 00:09:31.870 believe with all of our hearts unique. You can 00:09:31.870 --> 00:09:36.149 go to the tomb of Buddha, and it says, Occupied. 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:41.740 You can go to the tomb of Mohammed, and it says 00:09:41.740 --> 00:09:46.600 occupied. But you go to the tomb of Jesus Christ, 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:50.620 and it's empty. That is the uniqueness of our 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:53.960 faith. And he says, if there is no resurrection, 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:57.220 and if Christ has not been raised, then our gospel 00:09:57.220 --> 00:10:00.080 is meaningless. It is useless and vain. It's 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.659 no different than any other religion. If that 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:05.580 should be the case, then we would have to change 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:08.059 all of our music and write it only in minor keys. 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:11.279 We should go back to worshiping on the Sabbath 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.480 instead of on Sunday, the day of the resurrection. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.799 All of the joy and all of the hope that we preach 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:21.860 as a part of the gospel message would be meaningless 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:26.200 and empty if the dead are not raised. Then a 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:28.360 third result is found in the last part of verse 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:32.009 14. Not only is the preaching... of the gospel 00:10:32.009 --> 00:10:36.009 in vain, but he says our faith is in vain too. 00:10:37.250 --> 00:10:40.169 He says, our preaching is useless and so is your 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:42.330 faith if the dead are not raised. Again in verse 00:10:42.330 --> 00:10:45.730 17, if Christ has not been raised, your faith 00:10:45.730 --> 00:10:50.009 is futile. The first word means that it's empty 00:10:50.009 --> 00:10:55.649 in verse 14 when he says useless. It means that 00:10:55.649 --> 00:10:59.169 our faith is empty in its essence. There's nothing 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:03.870 to it. if Christ is not raised. And when he says 00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:06.549 in verse 17 that our faith is futile, it's a 00:11:06.549 --> 00:11:08.009 little bit of a different word. It means that 00:11:08.009 --> 00:11:11.710 it's fruitless. Not only is it vain in its essence, 00:11:11.789 --> 00:11:14.669 but it's vain in what it produces. There can't 00:11:14.669 --> 00:11:18.129 be any change in the life, he says, if Christ 00:11:18.129 --> 00:11:20.970 is not raised, because our faith then has no 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:25.490 power. There is no forgiveness to our faith. 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:27.679 There is no heaven. to our faith. There is no 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:30.379 mercy to our faith. There are no promises to 00:11:30.379 --> 00:11:34.539 believe in our faith if Christ has not been raised 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:37.480 and if the dead are not raised. And then a fourth 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:41.980 result is in verse 15, and it is that Paul and 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:45.639 those who preach the gospel are liars. He says, 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:48.259 more than that, we are then found to be false 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:51.059 witnesses or liars about God, for we've testified 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:53.559 that God did in fact raise Christ from the dead. 00:11:54.550 --> 00:11:56.889 But he did not raise him if, in fact, the dead 00:11:56.889 --> 00:12:00.649 are not raised. So he said, the one you've trusted, 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:04.230 me, your friend, the one who preached the gospel 00:12:04.230 --> 00:12:07.629 to you, I'm a liar if, in fact, the dead are 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:10.549 not raised. A fifth result, if, in fact, the 00:12:10.549 --> 00:12:12.730 dead are not raised, the last part of verse 17. 00:12:13.970 --> 00:12:16.250 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is 00:12:16.250 --> 00:12:19.629 futile. He goes on to say, you are still in your 00:12:19.629 --> 00:12:24.179 sins. In other words, the position that we have 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:27.840 in relation to God now through Jesus Christ doesn't 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:30.960 really exist. Instead of being in Christ, we 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.480 are still in our sins if the dead are not raised. 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:37.080 We are still under condemnation. We will still 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:43.620 die in our sins and be eternally lost. If Christ 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:47.860 be not raised, then He has no more power than 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:51.039 Mohammed or Buddha or Plato or any other... religious 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.419 or philosophic leader of history to forgive sins. 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.759 The sixth result, if the dead are not raised, 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.320 is in verse 18. He says, then those also who 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:09.000 have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. The way 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:10.899 that he phrases that means that they are forever 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:14.000 lost, that there's no hope of ever seeing them 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.919 again. They are perished. There is no hope of 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:22.279 a future reunion with them. They are lost forever. 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:27.659 Every word at every funeral that's ever been 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:32.840 preached is meaningless. There is no thought 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:36.500 of a future seeing our loved ones again who died 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:43.559 in Christ. Vance Havener, a number of years ago, 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:47.200 was preaching in our church in Kentucky. And 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:49.240 it was just a few months after his dear wife 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.279 had died. They had traveled together through 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:55.039 the years. Some of you have heard Vance Havner. 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:56.820 I think he spoke last summer, did he not, at 00:13:56.820 --> 00:14:00.440 the Lake Johanna Conference. A very frail man. 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.059 He has always looked like he was 95 since he 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:09.940 was 30, I think. That's what I've heard. His 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:11.879 wife has always taken care of him. In fact, when 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:13.679 I was a student at Moody Bible Institute, I was 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:16.029 walking out the arch one day. The first day of 00:14:16.029 --> 00:14:17.970 Founders Week, which is a Bible conference held 00:14:17.970 --> 00:14:21.009 there in February each year. And a taxi pulled 00:14:21.009 --> 00:14:23.809 up and this old crotchety man got out of the 00:14:23.809 --> 00:14:27.450 taxi cab. And from behind him came a woman carrying 00:14:27.450 --> 00:14:30.669 two suitcases. So I picked up the suitcases, 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:32.690 four of them, and took it to the room where they 00:14:32.690 --> 00:14:34.809 were staying. And it was Mr. and Mrs. Vance Hadner. 00:14:35.730 --> 00:14:37.830 She took care of him. She did everything for 00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:43.769 him. And then she became very ill and died. You 00:14:43.769 --> 00:14:45.740 can read the story in one of his books. most 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:48.279 recent books as he recounts the sadness and sorrow 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:51.559 that he initially went through. But I remember 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:53.659 one statement that he made to us during that 00:14:53.659 --> 00:14:57.179 time. He was with us in Kentucky. He said, we 00:14:57.179 --> 00:14:59.559 often speak of our loved ones as being lost. 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:03.320 He said, you don't speak of something being lost 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:10.080 when you know where it is. He said, I know where 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.179 my wife is. She's not lost, but I really miss 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:16.679 her. And he knew that he would see her again. 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:19.500 But you see, if the dead are not raised and if 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:23.019 Christ be not raised, then there is no hope of 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:27.559 ever seeing these ones again. The seventh result 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:33.340 in verse 19. He says, if only in this life we 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:36.759 have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.919 than all men. We are the most miserable of all 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:44.389 men. If, in fact, the dead are not raised. Why 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:47.570 is that? Well, because for the sake of Christ, 00:15:47.870 --> 00:15:52.730 we face hardships and reproaches. We sacrifice 00:15:52.730 --> 00:15:58.210 and we suffer. Paul's an example of that. He 00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:00.950 went through more than all of us combined in 00:16:00.950 --> 00:16:03.610 his ministry in terms of suffering and persecution. 00:16:05.009 --> 00:16:08.149 Now, he could have led a life of ease and wealth. 00:16:09.029 --> 00:16:14.490 He was of that stature. But when he came to consider 00:16:14.490 --> 00:16:16.330 which he would do, he laid all of that aside 00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:18.730 and chose Christ, as he says in Philippians chapter 00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:22.070 3. All that was gained to him he counted lost, 00:16:22.230 --> 00:16:26.070 and he took Christ. Now he says, if Christ be 00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:28.909 not raised, then he said, we are to be pitied 00:16:28.909 --> 00:16:32.429 of all men, for we are most deluded. We sacrifice 00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:35.230 and suffer in this life and then to go into oblivion 00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:38.509 and eternity. Why, it's silly to even think that 00:16:38.509 --> 00:16:41.059 a person... would sacrifice and suffer for something 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:44.080 as silly as that if Christ be not raised and 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.919 if the dead are not raised. And so you see the 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:49.919 point that he comes to. As we look at the seven 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:53.899 results, if the dead are not raised, we must 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:57.980 conclude with Paul that life is meaningless and 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:02.500 why go on? But the fact is that Christ has been 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:04.700 raised from the dead and he immediately picks 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:08.740 that up. In verse 20, He emphasizes strongly 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:13.180 a change of tone is involved. He says, but Christ 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:19.240 has indeed been raised from the dead. And thus 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:22.059 he begins what I have called his collective argument. 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:26.839 He says, Christ has been raised from the dead, 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:30.380 the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.440 In the New Testament, the idea of sleeping is 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:40.980 a metaphor of death, the death of believers. 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:45.440 It does not mean that the dead have fallen asleep 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:48.720 and that they are unconscious and are in soul 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:53.920 sleep, as some of the cults teach. To be absent 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:56.039 from the body is to be present with the Lord. 00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:59.759 And so the apostle could not be more clear about 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:02.539 the fact that when one dies and leaves his body, 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:05.619 He's absent from it and he's present with the 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:09.759 Lord. There's no period of time in between when 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:12.920 one is unconscious or unaware of what is going 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:17.579 on or asleep. When this term asleep is used, 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:20.359 it's used here in this chapter, it's used again 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:24.480 in 1 Thessalonians 4 and other places. It refers 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:28.619 to the repose of the body. For it's as though 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:33.289 the body is put asleep. We use the word cemetery 00:18:33.289 --> 00:18:37.829 to describe the place where the body is put when 00:18:37.829 --> 00:18:40.289 an individual dies. The word cemetery comes from 00:18:40.289 --> 00:18:45.869 the Greek word for motel or inn. It means a place 00:18:45.869 --> 00:18:50.450 where one is put to bed, put to rest, in repose. 00:18:50.809 --> 00:18:54.109 And that's what happens to the body. When you 00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:57.289 view a body at a funeral, the individual looks 00:18:57.289 --> 00:19:00.890 asleep. Well, the body has fallen asleep in death. 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:06.589 but not the soul. The apostle said, I desire 00:19:06.589 --> 00:19:11.029 to depart and to be with Christ, which is far 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:13.369 better. Now, if he were looking forward to soul 00:19:13.369 --> 00:19:15.990 sleep somewhere, he would not be talking about 00:19:15.990 --> 00:19:19.089 that being far better. But he says, I look forward 00:19:19.089 --> 00:19:22.809 to departing and being with Christ, which is 00:19:22.809 --> 00:19:26.930 far, far better. Now he says, Christ is the first 00:19:26.930 --> 00:19:30.910 fruits of those who died. What does that term, 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:34.250 firstfruits, mean? It seems like a strange term. 00:19:34.769 --> 00:19:37.029 Well, if one is familiar with the Old Testament, 00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:42.269 the strangeness is taken away. In Leviticus chapter 00:19:42.269 --> 00:19:45.690 23, the feasts of the Lord are spoken of. We're 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:47.589 not going to take time this morning to read that 00:19:47.589 --> 00:19:51.170 portion. We will hear more about this under the 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:53.869 ministry of Dr. Warner in the days ahead on Wednesday 00:19:53.869 --> 00:19:57.440 nights. But the Feast of Firstfruits was one 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:01.960 of the seven feasts observed by the old Israelites, 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:06.160 the ancient Jews. It was a feast that was observed 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:12.700 on the day after the Passover Sabbath. In other 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:16.299 words, it was on the first day of the week. It 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:20.079 was a ceremony that involved presenting a sheaf 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:24.140 of grain before the tabernacle and later the 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:27.549 temple. In other words, it was the time of the 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:31.410 barley harvest in Israel in the springtime. They 00:20:31.410 --> 00:20:34.130 would go to the field, and there they would cut 00:20:34.130 --> 00:20:37.410 down some of the grain. They would take it back 00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:40.470 to the tabernacle and hold it up before the Lord, 00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:43.009 and they would often wave it in a wave offering, 00:20:43.130 --> 00:20:46.509 it was called. I heard of a different kind of 00:20:46.509 --> 00:20:50.529 a wave offering one time. There was an evangelist 00:20:50.529 --> 00:20:53.150 who came, and you'd expect an evangelist to use 00:20:53.150 --> 00:20:55.579 this, I suppose. The evangelist came and held 00:20:55.579 --> 00:20:57.859 a citywide meeting. He said, tomorrow night we're 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:00.579 going to have a wave offering. Well, people had 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:02.019 read about that in the Old Testament. They thought, 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:04.480 what in the world is a wave offering? And so 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.200 the next night the place was packed out. They 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:09.079 want to see him perform a wave offering. And 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.180 so they passed the plate around, took up the 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:13.880 offering. They set it up on the front and said, 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:17.880 everybody wave at it. I about died when they 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:20.859 did that. A wave offering. Well, that wasn't 00:21:20.859 --> 00:21:22.819 what it was in the Old Testament, I assure you. 00:21:23.589 --> 00:21:27.509 It was literally some grain that was brought 00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:30.329 before the Lord at the altar, and it was waved 00:21:30.329 --> 00:21:32.750 back and forth this way in this kind of a motion. 00:21:32.829 --> 00:21:35.890 This was called a wave offering. That was part 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:39.170 of the Feast of First Fruits. This was the first 00:21:39.170 --> 00:21:41.809 of the fruit of the harvest. That's where the 00:21:41.809 --> 00:21:45.349 name comes from. And what it meant was that it 00:21:45.349 --> 00:21:47.630 represented all of the harvest that was to come. 00:21:48.509 --> 00:21:52.289 And it was an act of dedicating all of the harvest 00:21:52.289 --> 00:21:58.839 to the Lord. Now, it is a picture of the resurrection 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:02.660 of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know why? Because 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:05.819 it was on this day, as Israel was observing the 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:08.940 Feast of First Fruits, that He rose from the 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:15.000 dead. He died as the Passover Lamb, and then 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.279 on the Sabbath after the Passover, the day they 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.420 would observe this feast, He rose from the dead. 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:22.220 That's why He is called here the First Fruits. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:26.250 Now, furthermore, It means that he has represented 00:22:26.250 --> 00:22:29.869 the harvest of the resurrection that is to come. 00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:35.809 He presented himself before God, just as they 00:22:35.809 --> 00:22:37.869 presented the first fruits of the harvest in 00:22:37.869 --> 00:22:41.210 the Old Testament. He was alive from the dead, 00:22:41.369 --> 00:22:45.630 and he represents all of those who are yet to 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:49.150 be raised from the dead. That's the significance 00:22:49.150 --> 00:22:52.529 of it. And he goes on to explain this further 00:22:52.529 --> 00:22:56.849 in verse 21. He says, since death came through 00:22:56.849 --> 00:23:02.369 a man. Who was that man? Adam, right. Death came 00:23:02.369 --> 00:23:05.430 through Adam because of his disobedience. Death 00:23:05.430 --> 00:23:09.950 passed upon all men, Romans chapter 5. He says, 00:23:09.990 --> 00:23:13.289 since death came through a man, the resurrection 00:23:13.289 --> 00:23:17.009 of the dead comes also through a man. And who 00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:21.880 is that man? Jesus Christ. And Paul emphasizes 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:25.920 here his humanity. Not denying his deity now, 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.440 but his humanity. It was through a man that death 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:33.319 came upon all men, and it is through a man, Jesus 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:37.559 Christ is fully man, it is through a man that 00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:41.359 the resurrection of the dead also comes. He goes 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:47.180 on to say, for as in Adam, all die. Every generation. 00:23:48.970 --> 00:23:53.269 All die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 00:23:54.049 --> 00:23:59.470 I take those two alls to be universal. All die 00:23:59.470 --> 00:24:04.089 in Adam in sin, and all will be resurrected in 00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:07.990 Christ. Not at the same time, not to the same 00:24:07.990 --> 00:24:11.529 destiny as I said before, but Jesus Christ, because 00:24:11.529 --> 00:24:14.710 of His resurrection, will raise all men from 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:17.930 the dead. All men will stand before God someday 00:24:17.930 --> 00:24:20.529 at one judgment and give account of themselves, 00:24:20.869 --> 00:24:22.710 at one judgment or another, and give account 00:24:22.710 --> 00:24:26.670 of themselves. And so here we have the collective 00:24:26.670 --> 00:24:31.009 argument. Jesus Christ represents us in his resurrection, 00:24:31.230 --> 00:24:34.789 just as Adam represented us in his disobedience. 00:24:35.490 --> 00:24:40.849 We were in Adam when he sinned, weren't we? All 00:24:40.849 --> 00:24:45.839 of us were. We were genetically in Adam because 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.180 Adam and Eve were our first parents. So that 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:54.299 when he sinned, we were literally in him. And 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:57.480 likewise, when Jesus Christ died and rose again 00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:05.339 from the dead, we were in Jesus Christ. He represented 00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:08.680 us when he rose from the dead. And because he 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:12.549 rose, we too must be raised. If we will not be 00:25:12.549 --> 00:25:14.690 raised from the dead, it means that He was not 00:25:14.690 --> 00:25:18.009 raised from the dead. Dr. Coleman Luck puts it 00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:23.230 this way, By man, Adam, came death. By another 00:25:23.230 --> 00:25:26.170 man, Christ, comes the resurrection of the dead. 00:25:26.950 --> 00:25:31.529 All related to Adam die. This includes the whole 00:25:31.529 --> 00:25:36.190 human race, Genesis 3 .19, Romans 5 .19. The 00:25:36.190 --> 00:25:38.849 statement that in Christ all shall be made alive 00:25:38.849 --> 00:25:42.029 again refers to the whole human race, not just 00:25:42.029 --> 00:25:45.309 the saved. Christ's mighty power will someday 00:25:45.309 --> 00:25:49.049 call forth all from the grave. Their relation 00:25:49.049 --> 00:25:53.190 to him will determine their future destiny. I 00:25:53.190 --> 00:25:57.589 agree with that fully. And now in verses 23 through 00:25:57.589 --> 00:26:06.160 28, we have the prophetic argument. How many 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:12.500 will be made alive? All. A -L -L. Beginning in 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:18.240 verse 23, he looks into the future and he delineates 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:22.819 for us the order of the resurrection. God has 00:26:22.819 --> 00:26:26.240 prophetically outlined the order in which the 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:30.099 resurrection of all men will occur. The resurrection 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:33.880 of the future will not be all at the same time. 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:38.240 The idea that God is going to call all men before 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:44.400 Him at a general judgment is unscriptural. That 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:47.980 will not take place. There are several judgments 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:51.160 to come, and there are several phases to the 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:54.420 resurrection that is to come. He explains that. 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:59.960 He says, but each in his own turn. Now, the original 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:02.279 language is better here, I think, than the NIV. 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:05.960 Because literally it says, for each in his own 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:09.259 regiment, his own company. It's a military term. 00:27:10.099 --> 00:27:13.660 He says, every person belongs to one company 00:27:13.660 --> 00:27:16.599 or another, and he will be resurrected with his 00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:21.380 own company, the people he belongs with. Now 00:27:21.380 --> 00:27:25.160 he says, the first is Christ. He's the first 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:29.480 fruits. He's the first to be raised from the 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:31.759 dead. There are people who say, well, what about 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:35.259 Lazarus? He was raised from the dead. Well, a 00:27:35.259 --> 00:27:38.180 better term would be that he was resuscitated 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:42.380 because, you see, he died again. We are talking 00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:45.240 here about resurrection, never to die again. 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:49.440 Jesus said, I am He that was dead and is alive, 00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:54.619 never to die again. So Christ, the firstfruits. 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:01.640 Then, when He comes, Those who belong to Him. 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:05.720 And we need to stop and talk about that for a 00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:09.220 moment. Because within that sentence is a great 00:28:09.220 --> 00:28:15.839 deal of truth and a great expanse of time. Those 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:20.559 who belong to Him will be resurrected when? What 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:28.309 does it say? Anybody? Got a Bible open? When 00:28:28.309 --> 00:28:33.730 He comes. When He comes, those who belong to 00:28:33.730 --> 00:28:37.529 Him will be resurrected. It's talking here about 00:28:37.529 --> 00:28:43.150 all of the redeemed, all of the saved. And that 00:28:43.150 --> 00:28:50.130 resurrection will occur in three phases. We may 00:28:50.130 --> 00:28:52.089 not have time to look at all the Scripture involved 00:28:52.089 --> 00:28:54.710 in this this morning, but it's important to get 00:28:54.710 --> 00:28:59.200 a hold of this. The first phase will be when 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:03.500 he comes for the church in what we call the rapture. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:11.480 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18, the 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:13.980 key passage in the New Testament on that subject. 00:29:14.539 --> 00:29:18.740 But 1 Corinthians 15 is also a key passage on 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:26.880 it. Look at verse 51. Listen. I tell you a mystery. 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:30.599 We will not all sleep. Now, what does it mean 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:35.960 to sleep? To die. He says, but we will all be 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:40.839 changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:44.759 at the last trump. For the trumpet will sound, 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:48.880 the dead will be raised imperishable, and we, 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:52.759 in other words, we who are living, will be changed. 00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:58.660 That is a condensation of 1 Thessalonians chapter 00:29:58.660 --> 00:30:03.519 4. He's talking about the resurrection of the 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:08.920 church at the rapture. Those who have been saved 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:13.180 since Pentecost until that day when he calls 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:18.099 the church out. That's phase one of the resurrection 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:22.819 of those who are Christ's at his coming. That's 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:26.380 the first part of his coming. And then there 00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:31.079 is the second phase of this resurrection. And 00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:35.859 it occurs roughly seven years later at the beginning 00:30:35.859 --> 00:30:39.539 of the millennium. After the Great Tribulation 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:44.079 has ended, then there will be the resurrection 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:50.380 of the Old Testament saints. The people like 00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:58.619 Abraham, Noah, Adam will not be resurrected at 00:30:58.619 --> 00:31:02.000 the rapture of the church. For the rapture of 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.799 the church refers to this distinct body that 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:09.579 God is calling out in this age. But they belong 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:14.980 to God's Old Testament people. That period of 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:20.299 time. Saved under those covenants. They will 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:23.980 be resurrected before the reign of Jesus Christ 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:28.099 on the earth. Why? Because their hope was His 00:31:28.099 --> 00:31:31.960 coming back to the earth and His reign upon the 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:35.039 earth. So they will be resurrected to participate 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:40.099 in the kingdom. They have long to look forward 00:31:40.099 --> 00:31:43.299 to that, and they will participate. That part 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:45.680 of the resurrection will occur when Christ comes 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:49.970 back to the earth to reign. At that same time, 00:31:49.970 --> 00:31:55.470 the tribulation saints who were martyred, and 00:31:55.470 --> 00:31:58.450 there will be many, many of them, will be raised 00:31:58.450 --> 00:32:04.069 from the grave. They too are a part of Israel, 00:32:04.250 --> 00:32:08.569 in a sense. And they will be resurrected after 00:32:08.569 --> 00:32:12.269 the tribulation and before the millennium. Now 00:32:12.269 --> 00:32:15.150 to see some of this, let's go to Revelation chapter 00:32:15.150 --> 00:32:19.660 20 for a moment. Keep your finger here. Let's 00:32:19.660 --> 00:32:25.859 go to Revelation chapter 20. There's no question 00:32:25.859 --> 00:32:30.039 but that the book of Revelation is one that requires 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:35.660 study. But there are some people who have the 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:37.900 idea that it's impossible to understand the book 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:42.259 of Revelation. I disagree with that. The book 00:32:42.259 --> 00:32:46.900 of Revelation, if understood, falls open in a... 00:32:47.130 --> 00:32:50.990 chronological sequence of future events. Those 00:32:50.990 --> 00:32:53.490 of you who have been studying it on Tuesday nights 00:32:53.490 --> 00:32:56.809 here at the church, and I think you're what, 00:32:56.930 --> 00:33:00.609 up through chapter 12, something like that, understand 00:33:00.609 --> 00:33:03.349 what we're talking about. And by the way, that 00:33:03.349 --> 00:33:06.690 study in Revelation is going to begin again the 00:33:06.690 --> 00:33:09.849 first Tuesday night of February. You need not 00:33:09.849 --> 00:33:13.529 have come the first half of the book to join 00:33:13.529 --> 00:33:15.470 the second half. If you want to join now, you're 00:33:15.470 --> 00:33:19.269 welcome to do that. It'll be at 7 o 'clock, 7, 00:33:19.349 --> 00:33:22.789 10, something like that, on Tuesday night, February 00:33:22.789 --> 00:33:26.210 the 2nd, I believe, as they undertake the second 00:33:26.210 --> 00:33:30.009 12 -week series in this book. As we come to Revelation 00:33:30.009 --> 00:33:33.349 chapter 20, we come to the point where Jesus 00:33:33.349 --> 00:33:37.109 Christ returns to the earth. That is seen in 00:33:37.109 --> 00:33:41.009 chapter 19. Now chapter 20 says, And I saw an 00:33:41.009 --> 00:33:44.549 angel coming down out of heaven, having the key 00:33:44.549 --> 00:33:48.119 to the abyss. Or the bottomless pit. And those 00:33:48.119 --> 00:33:49.700 of you who have studied Revelation know that 00:33:49.700 --> 00:33:51.400 that's not the first time this has been referred 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:54.759 to in the book. And holding in his hand a great 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:59.400 chain, he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent 00:33:59.400 --> 00:34:03.099 who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for 00:34:03.099 --> 00:34:07.859 a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss 00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:11.679 and locked and sealed it over him to keep him 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:14.139 from deceiving the nations anymore until the 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:17.900 thousand years were ended. Now, should we take 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:21.239 the liberty to spiritualize this and call this 00:34:21.239 --> 00:34:25.420 an allegory? There are some who do. There are 00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:27.559 some who do not believe that Jesus Christ will 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:29.420 return to the earth and reign for a thousand 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:32.960 years. They say that right now he is reigning 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:35.760 in the church, and they say that right now, therefore, 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:39.460 Satan too must be bound. Well, if he is bound 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:43.260 now, I'd hate to see him when he's loosed. And 00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:46.280 it says, after that, he, Satan, must be set free 00:34:46.280 --> 00:34:50.659 for a short time. He says, I saw thrones on which 00:34:50.659 --> 00:34:52.599 were seated those who had been given authority 00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:55.920 to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:58.139 been beheaded because of their testimony for 00:34:58.139 --> 00:35:01.820 Jesus, because of the word of God. They had not 00:35:01.820 --> 00:35:05.460 worshipped the beast or his image and had not 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:08.179 received his mark on their foreheads or their 00:35:08.179 --> 00:35:11.460 hands. Now, these people obviously are out of 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:16.630 what period? Write the tribulation. And he says, 00:35:16.690 --> 00:35:21.309 they came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand 00:35:21.309 --> 00:35:24.269 years. So here's a reference to the tribulation 00:35:24.269 --> 00:35:26.889 saints being resurrected, reigning with Christ 00:35:26.889 --> 00:35:29.730 a thousand years. And then he says in verse 5, 00:35:29.849 --> 00:35:34.210 in parenthesis, the rest of the dead, that is 00:35:34.210 --> 00:35:39.110 the lost, the unsaved, did not come to life until 00:35:39.110 --> 00:35:43.989 the thousand years were ended. Now referring 00:35:43.989 --> 00:35:48.710 again to these ones who came to life and reigned 00:35:48.710 --> 00:35:51.110 with Christ, he says, this is the first resurrection. 00:35:51.349 --> 00:35:54.510 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the 00:35:54.510 --> 00:35:57.030 first resurrection. The second death has no power 00:35:57.030 --> 00:35:59.730 over them. But they will be priests of God and 00:35:59.730 --> 00:36:01.610 of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand 00:36:01.610 --> 00:36:04.070 years. You notice again and again here he talks 00:36:04.070 --> 00:36:06.570 about the thousand years. That's where we get 00:36:06.570 --> 00:36:09.949 this term millennium, which simply means a thousand 00:36:09.949 --> 00:36:13.239 years. The millennial reign of Christ is His 00:36:13.239 --> 00:36:16.159 reign over the earth for that period of time. 00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:21.860 It's yet to come in the future. We take the eschatological 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:26.420 or prophetic position of being pre -millennialists. 00:36:26.500 --> 00:36:29.960 That is, we believe that Christ will come back 00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:32.800 before the thousand years and will literally 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:37.159 reign on the earth for a thousand years. I talked 00:36:37.159 --> 00:36:40.019 to a fellow this last week. He said, well, when 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:42.019 it comes to things like that, I call myself a 00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:44.440 pan -millennialist. I believe it's all going 00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:47.920 to pan out in the end. Well, that's a nice non 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:51.179 -committed kind of view to take and in some ways 00:36:51.179 --> 00:36:54.340 a little comfortable, I suppose. But I believe 00:36:54.340 --> 00:36:56.579 the Scripture is much more clear than that. We 00:36:56.579 --> 00:37:01.739 need not be that non -committed on it, that the 00:37:01.739 --> 00:37:03.860 Bible talks about a thousand -year reign of Christ 00:37:03.860 --> 00:37:06.889 and that's what we believe and teach. When the 00:37:06.889 --> 00:37:08.789 Bible talks about a thousand years, I believe 00:37:08.789 --> 00:37:10.969 it means a thousand years just as much as it 00:37:10.969 --> 00:37:12.849 means that Christ was in the grave for three 00:37:12.849 --> 00:37:15.710 days and three nights. It's talking about a period 00:37:15.710 --> 00:37:19.250 of time. Well, that's the prophetic argument. 00:37:19.969 --> 00:37:22.530 Going back to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, that 00:37:22.530 --> 00:37:25.630 Christ was raised of the firstfruits, and then 00:37:25.630 --> 00:37:28.190 He says, when He comes, those who belong to Him. 00:37:28.869 --> 00:37:31.650 His coming will be first for the church and then 00:37:31.650 --> 00:37:34.559 back to the earth. And at that time will come 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:37.280 the resurrection of Old Testament Israel and 00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:39.719 the saints of that period and the tribulation 00:37:39.719 --> 00:37:43.639 saints as well. But then in verse 24 he says, 00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:51.019 then the end will come. I have to pardon my pneumonia 00:37:51.019 --> 00:37:55.340 here today. He says, then the end will come. 00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:59.239 Now you notice he uses that word then again in 00:37:59.239 --> 00:38:02.539 verse 24. That is a word that is a key word for 00:38:02.539 --> 00:38:06.539 sequence. And so he says, Christ first, then 00:38:06.539 --> 00:38:09.579 next in sequence those who belong to Him, then 00:38:09.579 --> 00:38:14.000 the end. What's he talking about? Well, he's 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:16.559 talking about the rest of the dead that were 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:18.860 not raised until the thousand years were over. 00:38:18.940 --> 00:38:21.539 Remember that? We saw it in Revelation 20, verse 00:38:21.539 --> 00:38:28.139 5. He says, then they will be raised. And they 00:38:28.139 --> 00:38:31.670 will be raised. Not to share in Christ's reign, 00:38:31.889 --> 00:38:36.610 but to stand before Him in judgment. In fact, 00:38:36.610 --> 00:38:38.550 it would be good for us as background before 00:38:38.550 --> 00:38:40.750 we go on here in 1 Corinthians 15, I suppose, 00:38:40.869 --> 00:38:42.849 to go back to chapter 20 of Revelation for a 00:38:42.849 --> 00:38:46.050 moment and to see what's going to happen at the 00:38:46.050 --> 00:38:49.250 end of the thousand years, the thousand -year 00:38:49.250 --> 00:38:55.889 reign of Christ. He says in verse 7 of Revelation 00:38:55.889 --> 00:39:01.239 20, When the thousand years are over, Satan will 00:39:01.239 --> 00:39:05.219 be released from his prison and will go out to 00:39:05.219 --> 00:39:07.719 deceive the nations in the four corners of the 00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:11.219 earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. 00:39:11.940 --> 00:39:15.199 In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 00:39:16.300 --> 00:39:19.480 They marched across the breadth of the earth 00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:22.679 and surrounded the camp of God's people, the 00:39:22.679 --> 00:39:26.659 city he loves. What city is that, friends? Jerusalem. 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:31.360 Who are these people? They are people who are 00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:37.860 born during the millennium and who covertly and 00:39:37.860 --> 00:39:42.099 secretly hide rebellion against Jesus Christ. 00:39:43.800 --> 00:39:45.940 There will be people born in the millennium. 00:39:46.019 --> 00:39:48.239 There are some people who enter the millennium 00:39:48.239 --> 00:39:51.000 in their natural bodies. They will not die during 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:54.659 the thousand years. Only the saved will enter 00:39:54.659 --> 00:39:58.349 into the millennium. You see, there will be people 00:39:58.349 --> 00:40:00.489 saved in the tribulation period who will not 00:40:00.489 --> 00:40:03.329 be killed. Obviously, they're not going to be 00:40:03.329 --> 00:40:07.050 resurrected either at the end of the tribulation. 00:40:07.210 --> 00:40:08.989 They will enter into the millennium in their 00:40:08.989 --> 00:40:11.650 natural bodies. And during the thousand -year 00:40:11.650 --> 00:40:13.909 reign of Christ, the earth will be repopulated. 00:40:14.829 --> 00:40:17.510 And because of the kind of conditions it will 00:40:17.510 --> 00:40:22.030 be and the absence, for the most part, of death 00:40:22.030 --> 00:40:29.090 and of war and disease, and famine, the earth 00:40:29.090 --> 00:40:31.590 is going to be very, very heavily populated by 00:40:31.590 --> 00:40:33.329 the end of the thousand -year reign of Christ. 00:40:33.889 --> 00:40:36.769 The population explosion will, I'm sure, far 00:40:36.769 --> 00:40:41.610 surpass our population on the earth today. And 00:40:41.610 --> 00:40:44.489 so at the end of that period of time, the thousand 00:40:44.489 --> 00:40:47.530 years, there will be a vast multitude of people 00:40:47.530 --> 00:40:50.650 who will have been born during the millennium 00:40:50.650 --> 00:40:56.000 who will refuse in their hearts the Lordship 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:58.659 of Christ. They will not be able to overtly, 00:40:58.659 --> 00:41:01.559 outwardly express it, for that would mean execution. 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:04.659 That's the suggestion, at least, of Isaiah chapter 00:41:04.659 --> 00:41:09.440 65. But they will hide their rebellion. And then 00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:11.380 at the end of the thousand -year reign of Christ, 00:41:11.519 --> 00:41:14.900 Satan is loosed for this period of time. He is 00:41:14.900 --> 00:41:19.659 loosed so that these who have covertly rebelled 00:41:19.659 --> 00:41:22.780 against Christ may be exposed. He will gather 00:41:22.780 --> 00:41:26.000 them together as a vast army, and they will march 00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:29.280 against Israel and Jerusalem in that day and 00:41:29.280 --> 00:41:33.920 will surround it. What happens? Well, it says, 00:41:33.980 --> 00:41:38.500 fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 00:41:38.659 --> 00:41:41.059 In other words, they were all immediately killed. 00:41:42.539 --> 00:41:45.260 And it says, the devil who deceived them was 00:41:45.260 --> 00:41:48.159 thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where 00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:51.239 the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. 00:41:51.840 --> 00:41:55.320 a thousand years before. They will be tormented 00:41:55.320 --> 00:41:59.059 day and night forever and ever. Not a very pretty 00:41:59.059 --> 00:42:02.920 picture. And then he says in verse 11, Then I 00:42:02.920 --> 00:42:05.239 saw a great white throne and Him who was seated 00:42:05.239 --> 00:42:08.500 on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence. 00:42:08.760 --> 00:42:12.380 There was no place for them. And I saw the dead, 00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:15.139 great and small, standing before the throne. 00:42:15.239 --> 00:42:18.360 And books were opened. Another book was opened, 00:42:18.380 --> 00:42:21.710 which is the book of life. The dead were judged 00:42:21.710 --> 00:42:24.809 according to what they had done as recorded in 00:42:24.809 --> 00:42:28.409 the books. The sea gave up the dead that were 00:42:28.409 --> 00:42:32.929 in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that 00:42:32.929 --> 00:42:36.190 were in them, and each person was judged according 00:42:36.190 --> 00:42:40.429 to what he had done. Then death and Hades were 00:42:40.429 --> 00:42:43.710 thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire 00:42:43.710 --> 00:42:47.570 is the second death. If anyone's name was not 00:42:47.570 --> 00:42:50.639 found written in the book of life, He was thrown 00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:54.400 into the lake of fire. When does this occur? 00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:59.139 Way on down yonder in time, at the end of the 00:42:59.139 --> 00:43:02.440 millennium, after this final rebellion against 00:43:02.440 --> 00:43:06.880 Christ has been put down by a fire from heaven. 00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:10.460 Then there will be the final judgment of the 00:43:10.460 --> 00:43:13.340 end ones, those who come right at the end of 00:43:13.340 --> 00:43:16.920 time, the wicked, those who are lost outside 00:43:16.920 --> 00:43:20.099 of Jesus Christ. Now let's go back to 1 Corinthians 00:43:20.099 --> 00:43:25.119 chapter 15 and wind this up. Again, verse 24 00:43:25.119 --> 00:43:29.320 says, Then the end will come. And we've talked 00:43:29.320 --> 00:43:31.079 about some of the things involved there with 00:43:31.079 --> 00:43:36.659 that. Also involved is that He will hand over 00:43:36.659 --> 00:43:40.840 the kingdom to God the Father after He's destroyed 00:43:40.840 --> 00:43:44.400 all dominion, authority, and power, whether it 00:43:44.400 --> 00:43:48.579 be on earth or in the spiritual realm. All enemies 00:43:48.579 --> 00:43:52.440 of Jesus Christ will be destroyed at that point. 00:43:53.199 --> 00:43:56.639 And he says in verse 26, the last enemy to be 00:43:56.639 --> 00:43:59.840 destroyed is death. We've seen that in chapter 00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:04.119 20 of Revelation. For he has put everything under 00:44:04.119 --> 00:44:08.440 his feet. He says now when it says that everything's 00:44:08.440 --> 00:44:11.219 been put under him, it's clear that that doesn't 00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:13.820 include God himself who put everything under 00:44:13.820 --> 00:44:17.300 Christ. And so when He's done this, that is, 00:44:17.300 --> 00:44:20.340 when He's put all of His enemies down, then the 00:44:20.340 --> 00:44:23.059 Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put 00:44:23.059 --> 00:44:26.000 everything under Him, that is, the Father, so 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:29.039 that God may be all in all. The language here 00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:31.840 does not suggest that Jesus Christ is inferior 00:44:31.840 --> 00:44:36.219 to God the Father. It simply suggests that the 00:44:36.219 --> 00:44:38.659 kingdom, the thousand -year reign of Christ, 00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:41.619 will come to its conclusion, its culmination. 00:44:42.699 --> 00:44:45.920 But that's not the end of Christ's reign. Then 00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:49.099 will come the eternal kingdom of Christ when 00:44:49.099 --> 00:44:52.340 He will reign, ultimately over a new heaven and 00:44:52.340 --> 00:44:56.619 a new earth. The new Jerusalem, described also 00:44:56.619 --> 00:44:58.559 at the end of Revelation, will be a part of that. 00:44:59.760 --> 00:45:02.780 All that will come yet in the future. At that 00:45:02.780 --> 00:45:05.820 time, Christ Himself will subordinate Himself 00:45:05.820 --> 00:45:10.269 to God the Father. So that God will visibly be 00:45:10.269 --> 00:45:15.110 the ruler over all. God will be all in all in 00:45:15.110 --> 00:45:19.010 the new heavens and the new earth. Now, of course, 00:45:19.010 --> 00:45:22.449 there must be three or four questions that come 00:45:22.449 --> 00:45:25.469 to your mind as we talk about all of these things. 00:45:25.869 --> 00:45:28.690 May I encourage you simply to be a good student 00:45:28.690 --> 00:45:31.489 of the Word and to study it. The Bible tells 00:45:31.489 --> 00:45:34.599 us a lot. Some things it doesn't tell us. Those 00:45:34.599 --> 00:45:36.639 things remain hidden. We need to be careful of 00:45:36.639 --> 00:45:39.539 conjecture. But when the Bible speaks, we can 00:45:39.539 --> 00:45:42.599 be assured that it means what it says. It's a 00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:45.599 wonderful book. And isn't it great that all of 00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:49.420 history is moving toward this final destination 00:45:49.420 --> 00:45:55.260 of God being all in all? He's not right now in 00:45:55.260 --> 00:45:59.400 the lives of the unsaved and in the government. 00:46:00.139 --> 00:46:03.860 the administration of the world system. He's 00:46:03.860 --> 00:46:07.800 rejected and shut out and mocked and cursed. 00:46:09.539 --> 00:46:12.760 Those who participate in that will someday face 00:46:12.760 --> 00:46:16.719 their doom as they stand before God. And there 00:46:16.719 --> 00:46:19.500 is a day coming when God will be all in all. 00:46:19.719 --> 00:46:23.099 And those of us who are in Jesus Christ will 00:46:23.099 --> 00:46:26.400 be there. We will participate in it. We will 00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:31.090 enter into His new creation. and reign over it 00:46:31.090 --> 00:46:35.329 with Jesus Christ. I tell you, there is no sense 00:46:35.329 --> 00:46:39.650 in which it could be not true that the best is 00:46:39.650 --> 00:46:42.610 yet to come for those of us who know the Lord 00:46:42.610 --> 00:46:46.269 Jesus Christ. Now, if you don't know Him, the 00:46:46.269 --> 00:46:49.369 worst is yet to come for you. You may think that 00:46:49.369 --> 00:46:52.010 you're experiencing hell on earth now, and your 00:46:52.010 --> 00:46:55.170 life may be that in a metaphorical sense, but 00:46:55.170 --> 00:46:57.610 my friend, the Bible teaches a literal hell too. 00:46:58.829 --> 00:47:04.070 It talks about a lake of burning sulfur, an eternal 00:47:04.070 --> 00:47:15.090 place of torment for the devil. If you're born 00:47:15.090 --> 00:47:19.969 twice, you may only have to die once. And it 00:47:19.969 --> 00:47:23.349 may be that we won't even have to die once because 00:47:23.349 --> 00:47:26.699 Christ will come and get some of us away. in 00:47:26.699 --> 00:47:28.679 the rapture, before we go through the portals 00:47:28.679 --> 00:47:31.619 of death. What a blessed hope that is. Let's 00:47:31.619 --> 00:47:38.300 bow together. Heavenly Father, we have looked 00:47:38.300 --> 00:47:42.679 over a lot of Scripture in a hurry. We have spanned 00:47:42.679 --> 00:47:47.860 a lot of time. And some of the brothers and sisters 00:47:47.860 --> 00:47:50.679 here today may be a little bit lost in it all, 00:47:50.760 --> 00:47:54.760 but I pray that the main truth of it that Christ 00:47:54.760 --> 00:47:58.300 has been raised and the future is secure, will 00:47:58.300 --> 00:48:03.380 bring peace to your people. We face many disturbances 00:48:03.380 --> 00:48:06.440 and concerns in our world today, the economy 00:48:06.440 --> 00:48:11.639 and terrorism. And yet we thank you that all 00:48:11.639 --> 00:48:14.780 of history, despite these skirmishes and battles, 00:48:14.980 --> 00:48:18.780 is flowing to judgment. And that someday you, 00:48:18.860 --> 00:48:21.940 Father, will be all in all. We rejoice in that 00:48:21.940 --> 00:48:25.889 day. We pray that you might be all in all in 00:48:25.889 --> 00:48:29.489 our lives right now. There'll be some friend 00:48:29.489 --> 00:48:32.550 here who doesn't know Christ. I pray that today 00:48:32.550 --> 00:48:36.869 the knee will bow and the heart door will be 00:48:36.869 --> 00:48:39.949 opened and Christ will be received. That the 00:48:39.949 --> 00:48:43.510 future may be made secure for that one too. That 00:48:43.510 --> 00:48:45.710 one may have the assurance of a home in heaven. 00:48:46.449 --> 00:48:51.969 In Jesus' name, amen. Well, let's take our hymnals 00:48:51.969 --> 00:48:56.329 and close by singing together number 238.