WEBVTT

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Now let's open our Bibles together to John chapter

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5. That was good singing tonight. I can tell

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you're really enjoying singing. And I think that

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that's the sign of a church whose people walk

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with God. You can't help but sing when the Holy

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Spirit is dominating your life. Music is just

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part of it. It bubbles out. And even if it's

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just a joyful noise or a foot stomping like John

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was doing up here on the stage during that offertory,

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I don't know if you noticed, I moved my feet

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back under the chair just to protect them lest

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he should really get excited. And maybe you didn't

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know before that John did direct music for a

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period of time in a Jewish temple. That's why

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they have named him John Benham. You see. The

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son of Ham. Lots of Ham. Time to stop, right?

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He gets a turn now and then, too, so, you know,

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turnabout's fair play. John chapter 5. We're

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going to look there tonight to begin our message

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on the resurrection of the dead. The hope of

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the resurrection of the body beats within the

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breast of everyone who has ever placed the body

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of a loved one in the grave. In John chapter

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5, we have a word of the Lord Jesus regarding

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this matter. He says, beginning in verse 25,

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truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming

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and now is. when the dead shall hear the voice

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of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live.

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For just as the Father has life in himself, even

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so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.

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And he gave him authority to execute judgment,

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because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at

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this. For an hour is coming in which all who

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are in the tombs shall hear his voice and shall

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come forth, those who did the good to a resurrection

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of life, those who committed the evil to a resurrection

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of judgment. Let's bow together. Father, I pray

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that now as we look into your Word, the Spirit

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of God who inspired the writing of these words,

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so that we today might have an authoritative

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final voice from you would illuminate our hearts

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and open our understanding to them and to this

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great truth that we look at this evening in Jesus

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name Amen The Lord Jesus said an hour is coming

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and now is When the dead shall hear the voice

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of the Son of God and those who hear shall live

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That is the age in which you and I live. And

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the resurrection that seems to be in view here

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is not the physical resurrection, but it is the

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spiritual resurrection of one who, having been

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dead in trespasses and sins, trusts the Lord

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Jesus Christ and is spiritually brought to life.

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An hour is coming, he says, and now is. when

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that will take place. But in verse 28 he says,

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an hour is coming, and notice he does not say

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and now is, but he says an hour is coming in

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which all who are in the tombs shall hear his

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voice and shall come forth. There is no question

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but that in verse 29 he speaks of the physical

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resurrection of every person who has ever lived

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on the face of the earth. Now our theme tonight

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is going to be the physical resurrection of the

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body. Of course, spiritual resurrection is a

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wonderful truth. We who are dead in our trespasses

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and sins, it says in Ephesians chapter 2, he

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has quickened. He has brought us to life in Jesus

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Christ so that now we are alive in him spiritually.

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No longer are we in the death of sin, but we

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are in the life of the Son. But even we who are

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alive in the Son may one day die physically and

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our bodies be put into a grave. What this message

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tonight is going to deal primarily with is the

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blessed hope that we have That though we may

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die and our bodies be planted, we will be resurrected.

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This is not only a New Testament doctrine. The

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hope of the resurrection has always been a part

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of the faith of God's people. We see this, for

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example, in the book of Job in the 19th chapter.

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I'd like for you to turn quickly to several Old

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Testament passages. As we see that even throughout

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the centuries before the coming of Christ there

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was the belief in the resurrection of the dead.

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Job chapter 19. Just when the book of Job was

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written is uncertain. Conservative, Bible -believing

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scholars debate that issue. Personally, I believe

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that it was written close to the time when Job

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lived, but some date it later than that. Job

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lived, it would seem, from the content of the

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book, about the time of Abraham, the patriarchal

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age, about 2000 B .C. Notice the words that are

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attributed to Job by the Holy Spirit as he inspires

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the writer of this book in verse 25 of the 19th

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chapter, and as for me, I know that my Redeemer

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lives, says Job, and at the last he will take

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his stand on the earth. Now, this is an amazing

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statement for a man who did not have a word of

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written revelation from God. Nothing had been

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written to this point inspired by the Holy Spirit.

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Nothing of the Bible that you have in your hands

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was present for Job to read and to study for

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him to base his faith on. But what Job did have

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was the oral transmission. passed down from generation

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to generation of godly families regarding what

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God had said. It is that information that causes

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Job to spring forth with this great statement

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of affirmation. Now he goes on to say in verse

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26, even after my skin is destroyed, yet from

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my flesh I shall see God." Here he affirms his

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belief in the resurrection, and though all of

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life in its circumstances be turned against him,

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as it happened at this point, and even though

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he himself, critically ill with affliction, even

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though he himself died, he says, from my flesh

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I shall see God. whom I myself shall behold and

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whom my eyes shall see and not another, my heart

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faints within me." What he means by that last

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statement is, I am just overwhelmed by this.

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He says, this is just too much for me to ponder

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that truth. And so we see that Job believed in

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the resurrection. Abraham, who was a contemporary

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of Job, likewise believed in the resurrection.

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For example, in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse

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19, the writer there records that Abraham believed

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that God was able to raise his son from the dead.

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So he believed in the resurrection and the implication,

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a rather quick resurrection, of his son Isaac.

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Not only the patriarchs believed in the resurrection,

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But the prophets of God who spoke for him to

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ancient Israel likewise spoke of the resurrection

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of the dead. I invite you to turn to the book

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of Isaiah and the 26th chapter of Isaiah. Look

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then at the 19th verse. where he says to the

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people of Israel, the people of God in the Old

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Testament, where he says to them, your dead will

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live. Their corpses will rise. You who lie in

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the dust, awake and shout for joy. To lie in

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the dust was a phrase meaning to lie down in

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death. Awake and shout for joy. For your due

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is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will

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give birth to the departed spirits," he says.

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And then turn to the book of Daniel, a man who

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followed Isaiah by some years, right after the

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book of Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelfth chapter

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of his prophecy. He says in verse 2, And many

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of those who sleep in the dust of the ground

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will awake these to everlasting life, but the

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others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

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And so basically what Daniel says here parallels

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the statement of Jesus that we read in John 5.

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that in the physical resurrection there will

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be those who will be raised to life, everlasting

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life and blessing, and there will be those raised

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to judgment, or as Daniel puts it here, to disgrace

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and everlasting contempt. And then the book closes

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with this special personal word to Daniel. But

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as for you, go your way to the end. Then you

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will enter into rest and rise again for your

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allotted portion at the end of the age. And so

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to Daniel as an individual, this word from God

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comes, go your way, you will die, but you will

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be raised from the dead so that you may share

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in the glory of the people of God that you've

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written about in your prophecy. And so the prophets

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revealed the truth of the resurrection in the

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Old Testament. Likewise, we see the resurrection

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in miracles that occurred in the Old Testament.

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Elisha, for example, was involved in the resurrection

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of two individuals. You recall he had dealings

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for a time with a Shunammite woman who was very

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kind for him and cared for him. And as a result

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of that, he asked her what she would desire as

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a favor from him because of the kindness that

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she and her husband had shown to him. And she

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responded by saying certain things. And he said,

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well, you're going to have a son in a year. And

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she basically said, oh, cut it out. Don't lie

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to me. Quit teasing me. But that's what Elisha

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said. And you know, in a year, This woman had

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a son. She held a son in her arms. And the boy

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grew up, the text there says in 2 Kings chapter

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4. And the boy one day went out to see his father

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in the field. And apparently it was a very hot

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day and the lad had what we might call a heat

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stroke. And he was very ill. They took him to

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his mother and he died in his mother's arms.

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A very sad, heartbreaking picture. And she immediately

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then left to go find Elisha. And the story goes

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on that Elisha knelt down over the boy, pressed

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his body against the boy's body, and prayed.

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And the body began to warm. Now the boy had been

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dead several hours by this time. And then it

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says he got up and he walked around, probably

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from anticipation, you know. Something marvelous

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is going to happen. And he did it again, and

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the boy sneezed seven times. I believe it says

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seven times. And then he awoke and came back

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from the dead. Eventually, at the close of his

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ministry, Elisha died and he was buried in a

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certain place. And sometime after that, A man

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died and his friends were going to bury him and

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they encountered a band of marauders from their

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neighbors who were attacking them at that point.

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And they had to get rid of the body quick and

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so they just sort of dumped the body into the

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sepulcher where Elisha's body was. And the Bible

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says that when that man's body touched Elisha's

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body that man was resurrected from the dead.

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probably as a sign to the king that God was going

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to give them victory in that time. You see resurrection

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occurred in the Old Testament. Now, those people

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resurrected died again. It was not a resurrection

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in a body that would never die, but they were

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brought back to life and then experienced ultimately

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another death, physical death. But resurrection

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was, on occasion, the experience of people in

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the Old Testament. And then our Savior, of course,

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spoke about resurrection as we have seen in John

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chapter 5. Perhaps the most amazing statement

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He ever made was there beside that tomb of His

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friend Lazarus when He said, I am the resurrection

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and the life. He had said to Mary, do you believe

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your brother will rise again? She believed in

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the resurrection. She said, yes, Lord, at the

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last day, you know, way yonder, down the road,

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someday, He's going to rise again. And then Jesus

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said to her, and it just sends chills through

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my body to imagine Him saying this to her, resurrection

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stands before you. I am the resurrection and

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the life. He who believes in Me, though He were

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dead. yet shall he live. He who lives and believes

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in me shall never die." And then of course he

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proved that he was resurrection life incarnate

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by calling Lazarus forth from the grave. And

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there were others that Jesus resurrected. Well

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I want to spend the rest of our time tonight

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thinking regarding our own resurrection from

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the dead and the resurrection of those whom we

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love and who have gone to be with Christ. I would

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like for you to turn with me into the New Testament

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first to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is often

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called the resurrection chapter because it deals

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with this doctrine of the resurrection. This

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is a doctrine that has from the beginning been

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under attack. from various quarters, and it's

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under attack by those today who say that this

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life is all there is. There isn't any more after

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this. Now the apostle writes in 1 Corinthians

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chapter 15 that in fact this is not all there

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is. He says in verse 20, but now Christ has been

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raised from the dead, the first fruits of those

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who are asleep. Now, first fruits is a term strange

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to most of us, but it was very familiar to the

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Jewish readers of Paul's epistle, the people

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in that day. For the first fruits were the first

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produce received from the fields. In the Jewish

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offerings, these were a part of their sacrificial

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system. The first fruits were offered to God.

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And the reason that the first fruits were was

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because this indicated that all the rest of the

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harvest that was to come likewise belonged to

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him. But the offerer was saying, God, you have

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priority in my life. The very first of my field

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I bring to you, though it represents it all.

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Now what it says here is that the Lord Jesus

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is the first fruits of those who are asleep.

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Now that is a metaphor or picture of those who

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have died in Christ. In other words, when He

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was raised from the dead, He was raised on behalf

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of, as representative of, all of those who die

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in Him. He is, as the Ryrie Study Bible puts

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it, the earnest or prototype of resurrections

00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:18.250
to come. Now he goes on to say, for since by

00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:24.410
a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection

00:19:24.410 --> 00:19:32.369
of the dead. For as in Adam all die. We die because

00:19:32.369 --> 00:19:36.589
of our sin, because of Adam's sin that brought

00:19:36.589 --> 00:19:40.269
death to the human race. As in Adam all die,

00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:46.500
so also in Christ all shall be made alive. Now,

00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:49.619
I do not take that to mean that it means only

00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:53.599
all believers shall be made alive, but in a broader

00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:55.940
sense, even as the first part of the verse is

00:19:55.940 --> 00:20:00.099
in a broader sense. For it is through Jesus Christ

00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:03.940
that all will eventually be resurrected, some

00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:09.519
to life and some to judgment. But each in his

00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:13.000
own order Christ the firstfruits, number one.

00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:17.819
After that, those who are Christ's at His coming,

00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:23.420
then comes the end. Some people put that, then

00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:27.680
come the end ones, those who are to be resurrected

00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.119
following that, when He delivers up the kingdom

00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:36.180
to God the Father, when He has abolished all

00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:40.599
rule and all authority and power. Now the point

00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:43.680
that we're making here is this. that the resurrection

00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:48.519
of the Lord Jesus Christ guarantees that every

00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:51.160
person who has ever lived on the face of the

00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:56.279
earth will one day stand before God in a resurrection.

00:20:57.660 --> 00:21:00.980
Not all at the same time, as it makes it clear,

00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:05.059
each in his own order or time. But eventually

00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:11.990
all will stand before him resurrected. Now, Revelation

00:21:11.990 --> 00:21:14.589
chapter 20, where we have spent a little bit

00:21:14.589 --> 00:21:17.690
of time in recent weeks, elaborates a bit more

00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:20.069
upon this matter of the future resurrection.

00:21:20.690 --> 00:21:22.509
Would you turn there with me, but don't lose

00:21:22.509 --> 00:21:27.509
1 Corinthians 15. We're coming back. Revelation

00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:44.640
chapter 20. resurrections to come. There is what

00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.920
is called the first resurrection as it is named

00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.759
here. It is important to keep in mind that the

00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.539
first resurrection, that of the righteous to

00:21:55.539 --> 00:22:01.160
life, does not all take place at the same time.

00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:07.259
In fact, there seem to be two phases of that

00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:11.019
resurrection. First, there is the resurrection

00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:15.059
of the dead in Christ in this age at the rapture

00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:20.799
of the church. That's phase one of the first

00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.819
resurrection. Phase two takes place a little

00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:28.039
bit later, several years later, before the Lord

00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:32.839
Jesus Christ begins his millennial reign. At

00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:36.119
that time, all of the rest of the righteous dead

00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:40.759
are raised. In the first phase only the church,

00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.099
those who have died in Christ in this age, but

00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:48.099
not the patriarchs, not the prophets, not the

00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:51.279
godly people of the Old Testament, not even John

00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:56.319
the Baptist. Those people will be resurrected

00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:00.880
later, just prior to the initiation of the millennial

00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:08.670
reign of Christ. It says in verse 4, And they

00:23:08.670 --> 00:23:12.150
sat upon them, and judgment was given to them.

00:23:12.349 --> 00:23:15.970
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded

00:23:15.970 --> 00:23:19.910
because of the testimony of Jesus, and because

00:23:19.910 --> 00:23:22.690
of the word of God, and those who had not worshipped

00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:26.390
the beast or his image, and had not received

00:23:26.390 --> 00:23:30.970
the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand."

00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:34.269
When you look at those phrases in verse 4, they

00:23:34.269 --> 00:23:38.009
identify a particular group of people. That is,

00:23:38.309 --> 00:23:41.809
those people who have died righteous as believers

00:23:41.809 --> 00:23:46.690
in the tribulation period. Now it says about

00:23:46.690 --> 00:23:50.890
them, and they came to life and reigned with

00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:56.509
Christ for a thousand years. Now of course there

00:23:56.509 --> 00:24:00.710
are those who allegorize this. who say that it

00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:04.190
somehow represents spiritual resurrection, that

00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:06.410
there's nothing literal to be taken here in these

00:24:06.410 --> 00:24:10.990
verses. I strongly disagree with that. I believe

00:24:10.990 --> 00:24:13.970
that a thousand years means a thousand years.

00:24:14.549 --> 00:24:17.930
And that prior to that thousand year reign of

00:24:17.930 --> 00:24:21.470
the Lord Jesus Christ, those righteous people

00:24:21.470 --> 00:24:24.130
who have given their lives, who have died in

00:24:24.130 --> 00:24:26.549
the tribulation period after the rapture of the

00:24:26.549 --> 00:24:29.380
church now, They're not a part of the church,

00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:31.859
but they are righteous people who died in the

00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:34.680
tribulation period. They will be resurrected

00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:37.339
to share in the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:41.240
But this is where we also plug in the Old Testament

00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:46.460
saints. David, for example, who was promised

00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:48.339
that he would have a seed that would reign on

00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:52.980
the throne after him. David and those of the

00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:55.960
godly people of Israel. and the godly people

00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:58.900
before Abraham, who were certainly not a part

00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:01.940
of Israel but were godly people, they will be

00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:04.880
resurrected at this time to be a part of the

00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:08.059
millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then

00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:11.579
it says in verse 5, the rest of the dead, who

00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:16.440
are they? They are the unrighteous dead, the

00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:21.799
lost, those who are in hell. He says the rest

00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:25.279
of the dead did not come to life until the thousand

00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:28.700
years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.480
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in

00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:35.579
the first resurrection. Over these the second

00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:38.740
death has no power. But they will be priests

00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:41.559
of God and of Christ and will reign with him

00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:47.470
for a thousand years. Now, when that thousand

00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:50.049
year reign of Christ has been consummated and

00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:56.710
completed, there is again a rebellion on the

00:25:56.710 --> 00:25:59.450
earth against the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going

00:25:59.450 --> 00:26:01.730
to go into that in a later message, so I won't

00:26:01.730 --> 00:26:05.410
say more about it now. That will be followed.

00:26:06.609 --> 00:26:10.410
That will be followed by the resurrection of

00:26:10.410 --> 00:26:14.900
those who are lost and the final judgment of

00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:18.420
all of the unsaved of all time. They will be

00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:21.619
resurrected not in a body like we will have,

00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:26.200
like Christ's body, but nonetheless a body which

00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.619
it would appear they will inhabit in their suffering

00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:34.400
forever. For it says in verses 11 through 15

00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.619
that they are brought before God, the dead, the

00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:40.460
great, the small. Verse 12, standing before the

00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:43.039
throne, the books were opened. And another book

00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:45.200
was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the

00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:48.460
dead were judged from the things which were written

00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:50.700
in the books according to their deeds. This is

00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:54.799
not believers now. This is not the church here.

00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:57.140
This is not the righteous people of the Old Testament.

00:26:57.259 --> 00:26:59.380
These are not the saved people of the tribulation

00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:03.839
period. But these are the unsaved dead who are

00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:07.980
now brought back to life for a period of time.

00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:11.359
to be judged by God at what is called the great

00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:15.559
white throne. And it says the sea gave up the

00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:18.400
dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave

00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:21.539
up the dead which were in them. And they were

00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:25.039
judged, every one of them, according to their

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.539
deeds. Not to see if any of them might be saved.

00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:31.180
That's not the purpose. But the purpose in view

00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:35.559
here, sad as it is, is that their final determination

00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:39.809
of suffering. might be measured. For you see

00:27:39.809 --> 00:27:43.970
now the full impact of their ungodly lives can

00:27:43.970 --> 00:27:48.170
be measured. Not until the end of time is their

00:27:48.170 --> 00:27:52.410
judgment possible. God did not give Hitler his

00:27:52.410 --> 00:27:54.809
final judgment when he committed suicide in that

00:27:54.809 --> 00:28:01.410
bunker in 1945. Hitler, because of his wickedness,

00:28:01.769 --> 00:28:06.069
is in hell tonight. That person is there in suffering.

00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:09.779
But he will be brought back to stand before God

00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:14.180
at this second resurrection. And the purpose

00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:18.640
will be to fully measure the evil and the wickedness

00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.559
of his life as it has been carried down through

00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:25.680
the generations since he died. And on that day,

00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:29.019
when he is brought back to life and along with

00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:32.539
him all of the unsaved, the full measurement,

00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:35.660
the full weight of their sin will be measured.

00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:39.660
And then their judgment will be meted out. And

00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:41.859
it says, Death and Hades were thrown into the

00:28:41.859 --> 00:28:44.819
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake

00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:48.119
of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written

00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:51.680
in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake

00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:56.259
of fire. And that is the second death. Thank

00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:59.380
God that the second death has no power over any

00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:03.299
of his. We are forever delivered from that judgment.

00:29:04.130 --> 00:29:07.849
But oh, the awful fate awaiting those who are

00:29:07.849 --> 00:29:10.589
outside of Jesus Christ and who die lost and

00:29:10.589 --> 00:29:17.210
apart from Him. Now would you go back with me

00:29:17.210 --> 00:29:20.230
to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 as we bring the message

00:29:20.230 --> 00:29:23.109
to a close because one of the questions that

00:29:23.109 --> 00:29:28.529
often is asked is what kind of a body will my

00:29:28.529 --> 00:29:31.549
loved one have? What kind of a body will I have

00:29:31.549 --> 00:29:36.480
in the resurrection? What will I look like? Are

00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:39.559
there some changes you want to make? Well, I

00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:42.359
think all of us could probably suggest some changes

00:29:42.359 --> 00:29:46.859
that we'd like to see. In 1 Corinthians chapter

00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:52.180
15, the Apostle Paul gives us some answers which

00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:55.779
are very tantalizing to our imagination. I begin

00:29:55.779 --> 00:29:59.160
in verse 35. But someone will say, how are the

00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:03.059
dead raised? And with what kind of body? Do they

00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:08.460
come? You fool! That which you sow does not come

00:30:08.460 --> 00:30:11.440
to life unless it dies. And that which you sow,

00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:16.759
you do not sow the body which is to be, but a

00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:20.039
bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something

00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:23.019
else." What he is saying here, he's going to

00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:25.799
agriculture, and he says, look, when you are

00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:28.480
going to plant wheat, you don't plant the wheat

00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:32.079
stalk, you plant just the bare grain. You put

00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:35.599
that in the ground, that grain dies, it germinates,

00:30:35.859 --> 00:30:40.259
and it brings forth a stalk. Now it comes from

00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:44.980
that seed, but it's a plant. It's the same thing,

00:30:45.339 --> 00:30:48.740
but it's different. It's not identical to what

00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:51.099
you put in the ground, but it's identifiable.

00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:55.259
You planted a wheat seed, now a wheat stalk comes

00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:58.960
forth from that. So it's not exactly the same.

00:30:59.529 --> 00:31:03.910
But it's identifiable as the same, the same thing.

00:31:04.910 --> 00:31:07.630
He says, but God gives it a body just as He wished,

00:31:07.809 --> 00:31:10.150
and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All

00:31:10.150 --> 00:31:13.950
flesh is not the same flesh. There is one flesh

00:31:13.950 --> 00:31:17.650
of men, another of beasts, and another flesh

00:31:17.650 --> 00:31:23.710
of birds, and another of fish. A good piece of

00:31:23.710 --> 00:31:28.910
chicken does not taste like walleye. And a beef

00:31:28.910 --> 00:31:32.769
steak doesn't taste like a pork roast. He's saying

00:31:32.769 --> 00:31:36.369
God has given different flesh to different animals.

00:31:37.569 --> 00:31:40.009
All flesh is not the same, though it's flesh.

00:31:40.950 --> 00:31:44.750
And he says there are also heavenly bodies and

00:31:44.750 --> 00:31:47.849
earthly bodies. But the glory of the heavenly

00:31:47.849 --> 00:31:50.769
is one and the glory of the earthly is another.

00:31:50.869 --> 00:31:53.869
There is one glory of the sun. Another glory

00:31:53.869 --> 00:31:56.069
of the moon, another glory of the stars, for

00:31:56.069 --> 00:31:59.430
stars differ from stars. A star differs from

00:31:59.430 --> 00:32:02.029
star in glory, so also is the resurrection of

00:32:02.029 --> 00:32:05.750
the dead. And now he uses some couplets which

00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:08.950
help us get a better handle. He says, it is sown,

00:32:09.009 --> 00:32:13.490
that is the body, it is sown a perishable body.

00:32:14.230 --> 00:32:19.109
It is raised an imperishable body. Our present

00:32:19.109 --> 00:32:23.180
body is perish. Our present bodies are subject

00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:27.380
to constant change and decay, as we said this

00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:31.339
morning, the wrinkles that come to us. But he

00:32:31.339 --> 00:32:34.900
says the resurrection body is a permanent body.

00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:39.579
It is changed once and for all, our bodies, to

00:32:39.579 --> 00:32:44.240
be like Christ's body, an incorruptible, imperishable

00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:49.150
body. incorruption or imperishable means, not

00:32:49.150 --> 00:32:54.089
capable of deterioration. Now the Lord Jesus

00:32:54.089 --> 00:32:56.890
Christ was raised from the dead 2 ,000 years

00:32:56.890 --> 00:32:59.950
ago. If He were to stand here before us tonight

00:32:59.950 --> 00:33:03.690
and manifest Himself in His resurrection body,

00:33:04.069 --> 00:33:08.329
He would not look one whit different than He

00:33:08.329 --> 00:33:12.869
did 2 ,000 years ago. For that body does not

00:33:12.869 --> 00:33:16.960
age, it does not decay or deteriorate. It is

00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:20.980
an imperishable body, it is permanent, unlike

00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:27.380
the bodies we have now. He goes on to say, it

00:33:27.380 --> 00:33:33.579
is sawn in dishonor, it is raised in glory. Now

00:33:33.579 --> 00:33:37.339
God honored our bodies originally with His image,

00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:42.960
but that image was marred by the fall into sin.

00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:47.880
No longer do our present bodies fully reflect

00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:52.359
God's glory, nor can we appreciate God's glory

00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:55.859
in our present bodies. Our bodies at the present

00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:58.980
time are dishonorable bodies in that sense. It

00:33:58.980 --> 00:34:02.920
does not mean that our bodies are sinful. But

00:34:02.920 --> 00:34:06.980
the honor that our bodies once knew before the

00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:10.739
fall into sin is no longer there. But, he says,

00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:14.300
that body, the resurrection body, will perfectly

00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:18.440
reflect God's glory and we'll be able to appreciate

00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:24.219
it perfectly because it is raised in glory. He

00:34:24.219 --> 00:34:29.239
says it is sown in weakness. Our present body

00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:35.059
is limited. And the way we treat it sometimes

00:34:35.059 --> 00:34:38.500
can cause it to be even more weak than it might

00:34:38.500 --> 00:34:42.940
be. And that weakness that we have and which

00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:49.949
grows culminates ultimately in physical death.

00:34:52.530 --> 00:34:56.929
I suppose that most of us have at some time seen

00:34:56.929 --> 00:35:04.110
a body in a casket, perhaps even before the body

00:35:04.110 --> 00:35:08.429
has been taken by an undertaker. I remember one

00:35:08.429 --> 00:35:11.070
time being called at the church office in Kentucky

00:35:11.820 --> 00:35:14.360
and being told that one of our members had just

00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:17.559
died. His son had been taking a nap, his son

00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:20.179
was a teenager, had been taking a nap in another

00:35:20.179 --> 00:35:22.599
room and walked back in the living room and there

00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:25.619
sat his father in the chair as though he were

00:35:25.619 --> 00:35:29.119
still watching television, but he was gone. And

00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:32.019
when I went, there this gentleman sat in the

00:35:32.019 --> 00:35:34.800
chair just like he was asleep there, but completely

00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:39.679
weak. He was gone. The body is weak. It is sown

00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:43.190
in weakness. And ultimately, the hands are folded

00:35:43.190 --> 00:35:47.449
across the chest in weakness. But the resurrection

00:35:47.449 --> 00:35:52.429
body, it says, is raised in power. That resurrection

00:35:52.429 --> 00:35:55.050
body, as I suggested this morning, is not dependent

00:35:55.050 --> 00:36:00.829
upon food or exercise or sleep. It's capable,

00:36:00.849 --> 00:36:04.050
I suppose, of all of those things. But it's not

00:36:04.050 --> 00:36:07.010
dependent upon them. That resurrection body is

00:36:07.010 --> 00:36:10.550
not subject to natural laws. like our present

00:36:10.550 --> 00:36:16.369
body. They are material bodies, flesh and bone,

00:36:16.570 --> 00:36:20.550
Jesus said, but they are bodies which can dissolve

00:36:20.550 --> 00:36:24.929
into thin air and disappear at the same time.

00:36:26.630 --> 00:36:29.929
Our present bodies are sown in the grave in weakness.

00:36:30.369 --> 00:36:34.429
They collapse. But the resurrection body is a

00:36:34.429 --> 00:36:38.210
body of eternal power and energy. And then he

00:36:38.210 --> 00:36:43.690
says, It is sown a natural body, but raised a

00:36:43.690 --> 00:36:47.670
spiritual body. The word natural here is the

00:36:47.670 --> 00:36:51.769
Greek word suke, which is the soul. In other

00:36:51.769 --> 00:36:55.190
words, our present body is centered around our

00:36:55.190 --> 00:37:00.409
soul, that part of us that responds to our environment,

00:37:01.369 --> 00:37:05.630
the emotions, the intellect, the will. Our present

00:37:05.630 --> 00:37:12.610
body responds to the desires of the soul. That

00:37:12.610 --> 00:37:17.389
body will be a body that will be primarily focused

00:37:17.389 --> 00:37:21.590
around and responsive to our spirit. I am making

00:37:21.590 --> 00:37:24.070
a distinction between soul and spirit here, though

00:37:24.070 --> 00:37:28.449
that is difficult to do. But that spirit of us

00:37:28.449 --> 00:37:31.010
is that God -conscious part, that part of us

00:37:31.010 --> 00:37:33.550
that can know God, the part that is dead in the

00:37:33.550 --> 00:37:37.320
center. that comes to life in regeneration. The

00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:39.860
resurrection body will not be a body that is

00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:43.260
primarily focused upon that soulish part of us,

00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:47.260
but rather upon the spiritual part of us. It

00:37:47.260 --> 00:37:51.039
will be a vessel in which the Spirit dominates.

00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:55.139
It will be a body made to perfectly serve God.

00:37:56.300 --> 00:37:58.300
And now he goes on to say, so it is written,

00:37:58.360 --> 00:38:02.590
the first man, Adam, became a living soul. Here

00:38:02.590 --> 00:38:05.349
he goes back to quote from Genesis chapter 2.

00:38:05.849 --> 00:38:09.570
But notice he says, the last Adam, who is that?

00:38:09.809 --> 00:38:14.969
Well, that's Christ. The last Adam became a life

00:38:14.969 --> 00:38:17.469
-giving spirit. Notice the first Adam became

00:38:17.469 --> 00:38:20.730
a living soul himself. But the last Adam, Jesus

00:38:20.730 --> 00:38:25.449
Christ, is life -giving. He has power. He is

00:38:25.449 --> 00:38:28.250
the one who will give us this new body. He says,

00:38:28.489 --> 00:38:31.010
however, the spiritual is not first, but the

00:38:31.010 --> 00:38:35.150
natural. Then the spiritual. In other words,

00:38:35.449 --> 00:38:39.550
Adam came first and then Christ. The first man

00:38:39.550 --> 00:38:44.010
is from the earth. What was Adam made of? Therefore

00:38:44.010 --> 00:38:47.389
he's earthly. The second man is from heaven.

00:38:47.530 --> 00:38:52.110
That's Christ. As is the earthy, so also are

00:38:52.110 --> 00:38:56.699
those who are earthy. Now that's all of us. in

00:38:56.699 --> 00:39:00.820
the physical sense. But he says, as is the heavenly,

00:39:01.019 --> 00:39:04.480
so also are those who are heavenly. That's not

00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:08.440
everybody, but that's believers. In other words,

00:39:08.579 --> 00:39:12.179
one day we will be like him, the second man from

00:39:12.179 --> 00:39:14.800
heaven. He goes on to say, and just as we have

00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:18.159
borne the image of the earthy, that is Adam's

00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:22.900
image, we also shall bear the image of the heavenly,

00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:29.369
Jesus Christ. And then he says in verse 50, and

00:39:29.369 --> 00:39:31.269
this is one verse that has meant a great deal

00:39:31.269 --> 00:39:34.809
to me in the last six weeks, now I say this,

00:39:35.010 --> 00:39:39.429
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit

00:39:39.429 --> 00:39:44.030
the kingdom of God. Neither does the perishable

00:39:44.030 --> 00:39:48.389
inherit the imperishable. You know what? You're

00:39:48.389 --> 00:39:50.989
never going to get to heaven the way you are,

00:39:51.550 --> 00:39:56.699
and neither am I. Something has to happen to

00:39:56.699 --> 00:40:00.219
us, either physical death and then resurrection,

00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:04.739
or the change that will take place at the rapture,

00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:07.079
which he described as beginning in verse 51.

00:40:08.860 --> 00:40:11.239
Something must happen to the body in which you

00:40:11.239 --> 00:40:15.800
and I live, for it is like that grain of wheat

00:40:15.800 --> 00:40:21.420
that is bare and alone. Something has to happen

00:40:21.420 --> 00:40:25.250
to change it. so that that body can appreciate

00:40:25.250 --> 00:40:29.829
heaven. Something has to change us so that we

00:40:29.829 --> 00:40:34.989
will be incorruptible and imperishable. This

00:40:34.989 --> 00:40:37.550
flesh and blood that you and I live in now will

00:40:37.550 --> 00:40:41.289
never walk the streets of gold. We only walk

00:40:41.289 --> 00:40:45.309
asphalt and cement and earth, but never gold.

00:40:46.409 --> 00:40:49.889
Because we have to have a body like Christ's.

00:40:49.880 --> 00:40:55.039
a body of glory, a spiritual body, to enjoy the

00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:59.800
kingdom of God. And that is, my friend, the destiny

00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:04.000
of every one of us who knows Jesus Christ. We

00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:08.219
will have a body in the resurrection that can

00:41:08.219 --> 00:41:14.019
fully enjoy all that God has prepared for those

00:41:14.019 --> 00:41:20.980
who love Him. How can we go to the graveside

00:41:20.980 --> 00:41:25.440
and place into the ground the body of someone

00:41:25.440 --> 00:41:32.960
that we love? How can we there at that graveside

00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:41.119
sing hymns of hope and assurance? How can we

00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:43.900
gather together in a funeral service or a memorial

00:41:43.900 --> 00:41:51.619
service and celebrate We can do that because

00:41:51.619 --> 00:41:55.760
that one to whom we have said goodbye Will be

00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:59.619
seen again You say well if it's not going to

00:41:59.619 --> 00:42:03.199
be exactly the same body Will I know my loved

00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:08.199
one? absolutely When you plant a grain of corn

00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:10.239
in the ground Do you know that that's a corn

00:42:10.239 --> 00:42:12.719
stalk when it comes up you identify it don't

00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:20.010
you or wheat? Likewise, that body that you have

00:42:20.010 --> 00:42:23.630
as it were planted in the grave, though it will

00:42:23.630 --> 00:42:27.110
be changed, it will not be identically the same

00:42:27.110 --> 00:42:32.829
body, it will be identifiable in some way as

00:42:32.829 --> 00:42:37.630
exactly the same person that you knew and loved

00:42:37.630 --> 00:42:50.719
here in this world. After I got back from the

00:42:50.719 --> 00:42:54.960
trip that we took last month to bury my mother,

00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:00.280
Hugo Hegstrom stopped by one day at the office.

00:43:01.900 --> 00:43:04.000
I think most of you know Hugo, or at least you've

00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:06.480
seen him here. He is the gentleman who comes

00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:09.099
wheeling his wife in the wheelchair. They sit

00:43:09.099 --> 00:43:14.079
right down here on Sunday mornings. By the way,

00:43:14.079 --> 00:43:16.739
when I think about a husband who loves his wife,

00:43:18.119 --> 00:43:24.900
I don't know of a better example than that gentleman

00:43:24.900 --> 00:43:29.079
and the love that he has shown her in the two

00:43:29.079 --> 00:43:32.280
and a half years since her incapacitating stroke.

00:43:33.980 --> 00:43:36.340
But he'll go stop by to see me at the office.

00:43:38.260 --> 00:43:41.860
And we chatted for a while. And he said, I want

00:43:41.860 --> 00:43:47.139
to tell you about my mother. And he told me how

00:43:47.139 --> 00:43:49.260
many years it had been since she passed away.

00:43:49.320 --> 00:43:52.860
She was a wonderful Christian. And he said, you

00:43:52.860 --> 00:44:00.199
know, my mother was lying on her deathbed. And

00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:02.780
we all knew the time was short. The children

00:44:02.780 --> 00:44:07.260
were all gathered around. And he said she was

00:44:07.260 --> 00:44:09.519
restless. She had to get up and then she got

00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:11.840
back in bed, though she was very weak, had to

00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:14.800
have help. And he said she just seemed to be

00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.739
slipping slowly and slowly and slowly away. And

00:44:18.739 --> 00:44:23.159
all of a sudden, he said, she began to have strength.

00:44:24.579 --> 00:44:29.360
And looking, he said, with open eyes, beyond

00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:34.690
us who were standing there at the bedside. She

00:44:34.690 --> 00:44:38.090
exclaimed, the Lord is coming, the Lord is coming.

00:44:40.250 --> 00:44:47.050
And she slept and was gone. I can't tell you

00:44:47.050 --> 00:44:50.170
how that comforted my soul, him sharing that

00:44:50.170 --> 00:44:52.670
experience. That doesn't happen too often anymore

00:44:52.670 --> 00:44:56.269
because people are so often sedated by medication

00:44:56.269 --> 00:45:00.389
at that point. I could only imagine what my mother

00:45:00.389 --> 00:45:03.389
experienced in that instant when the coronary

00:45:03.369 --> 00:45:08.230
called her out of her body. And then Hugo told

00:45:08.230 --> 00:45:13.230
me about his grandmother. He said, my grandmother

00:45:13.230 --> 00:45:16.929
likewise was on her deathbed. And my mother and

00:45:16.929 --> 00:45:19.789
others, he said, were gathered around her. This

00:45:19.789 --> 00:45:25.570
was many years ago now. And he said, as she was

00:45:25.570 --> 00:45:29.050
fading, she suddenly picked up a towel that was

00:45:29.050 --> 00:45:40.719
on the bed. And she began waving it. Now you

00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:44.320
may wonder what that's all about, but the older

00:45:44.320 --> 00:45:46.280
people here know that that's how you used to

00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:49.400
wave hello to people. In fact, if you've been

00:45:49.400 --> 00:45:54.340
in Europe, along the line that divides East and

00:45:54.340 --> 00:45:54.780
West,