The biblical foundations of Resurrection.
Christ in the realm of the dead.
The Resurrection of the saints.
Raising from the dead and Resurrection.
The First Resurrection – the martyrs come to life again.
The Universal / General Resurrection.
On account of quite concrete statements of the Scriptures we can
subdivide the Resurrection of the dead into two individual events which are
separated from each other: into First Resurrection and into Universal
Resurrection.
The First Resurrection is the first event in the period of the ‘Millennium’
and thus follows immediately upon the reorganization of heaven and earth, the
last event in the period of the ‘Day of the Lord’.
The Universal / General Resurrection, however, takes place in the period of the
‘end of the world’ and is the last event which – right after the Last Fight
– in its first stage obviously takes place still on the ground of this earth.
Immediately afterward heaven and earth will pass away, and then the resurrected
are already standing before the great white throne of God and the Lamb in
heaven. The Last Judgment before this great white throne is finally the last
event of the period ‘end of the world’ and leads up to the ‘New Creation’
of God in the days of eternity.
In the Holy Scriptures there is relatively often talk about ‘eternal
life’. Now, for us men, the word ‘life’ has, of course, again and again
and predominantly the meaning of biological life, which cannot be ’eternal’
by nature.
In the languages in which the Bible was written, namely Hebrew, Aramaic, and
finally Greek for the New Testament, a differentiation of the term was not
possible. Even in our language of today it is not easy to do justice to the
meaning of ‘eternal life’ with a single word as far as its contents is
concerned. This is also shown by the fact that we have to provide the term ‘life’
which is misleading in this context with the attribute ‘eternal’ in order to
put into words what we want to express by that. So, it is a semantic makeshift
construction.
In order to be not permanently hindered in our work and in the
discussion on this subject by abstraction processes, it would prove to be very
helpful to have here one – and only one – quite concrete term which corresponds
to this definition.
A – as it seems quite useful – suggestion in this connection is the term ‘existence’.
Existence is not a priori restricted in time – one of the main conditions for
the definition we are looking for. And existence does not have the specific
affinity to biological being, like the term ‘life’.
The individual entity of human existence would then be the ‘spirit’,
which is inherent in every human individual as unmistakable and unique
consciousness. In its specific shape it is formed in the phase of the biological
(fleshy) manifestation by decisions of its own and is immortal by its form of
existence.
We call then that phase of human existence in which this
consciousness develops in connection with a biological, human body ‘biological
phase’. At the same time it is that stage, which forms consciousness and is
responsible for its later shape – in a similar way as childhood does within the
biological phase.
The biological death of man comes at the end of the biological
phase. It leads to the loss of the physical body and thus separates the spirit
from this biological body of his. This form of existence that remains afterward
is called ‘dead soul’ by the Scriptures, and its whereabouts is called ‘Hades’.
At the same time the biological death (according to the Scriptures: ‘the first
death’); leads up to a kind of phase of rest in which the human spirit / the
human consciousness does not take an active part any more in the historical
development of the Creation.
Just as biological death is a consequence that is immanent in
the system of biological life, Resurrection – that is to say the resuscitation
of the human spirit – is a logical inevitability of human existence.
Therefore, Resurrection is not an extraordinary process. It is just as normal as
biological death and also concerns – just as this death – all men, regardless of
their faith and their behavior during their lifetimes.
Today this view is already held and mathematically substantiated by
distinguished physicists, such as for instance by Prof. Dr. Frank J. Tipler
of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Cambridge/USA, in his book ‘The
Physics of Immortality’ (1994).
Nevertheless Resurrection is the central event in human
existence. While birth was a switch over from non-being into being in the
biological phase, ‘regeneration’ / Greek: palingenesia (Mt 19:28) at
the Resurrection into the spiritual phase is the switch over from the physical,
material world into the spiritual, transcendental world. According to the
Scriptures the Resurrection of man takes place in humanoid, corporeal form. It
can be assumed that this body will be able to represent flesh and bones.
However, it is no longer only physical and material, but a spiritual body, which
will probably be able to change the form of its appearance.
(See also Excursus 07: "The
resurrection body.")
As the two criteria – faith and behavior – were the essential
factors of influence for the forming of the spirit in the biological phase, they
are also the basis for the testing and rating of each man which will take place
immediately after the raising from the dead. The Scriptures calls this the ‘Judgment’,
and – on the analogy of the two Resurrections – also here a division into two
parts can be identified: The judgment after the First Resurrection and the ‘Day
of Judgment’ or to be more precise the ‘Last Judgment’ after the Universal
Resurrection at the end of the world.
The result of this testing is also decisive for the further course of the
respective human existence. All men who receive a positive judgment (according
to the Scriptures: ‘those whose names are written in the Book of Life’),
then switch over to the last and never-ending phase of their existence, to the
spiritual and transcendental dimension of God (according to the Scriptures: ‘to
eternal life’).
But also those men who do not pass the rating (according to the Scriptures: ‘the
godless and impenitent’), switch over to a stage of their existence that is
unrestricted in time. Their destiny is, however, damnation (according to the
Scriptures: ‘the second death’) and eternal grief (according to the
Scriptures: "weeping and gnashing of teeth’ and ’lake of fire") at the
decision they failed to take during their lifetimes.
Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end.
1Cor 15,20 But now Christ has been raised from the
dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 15,21 For since by a man came
death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 15,22 For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 15,23 But each in his own
order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His
coming, 15,24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the
God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
1Cor 15,20-24;
The above and the subsequent text from the Scriptures, the first
one from the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, the other one from John’s
Gospel, are the key passages for the topic of Resurrection. Each of these texts
is speaking of three Resurrections.
Paul shows us in the First Epistle to the Corinthians the order in Resurrection:
– ‘as firstling Christ’ – that is to say the
Resurrection of the Lord,
– ‘after that those who are Christ’s at His coming’
- that is to say the ‘raising from the dead’ at the return of the Lord,
– ‘then comes the end’ – that is to say the
Universal Resurrection of all men at the end of days.
Those dead who hear the voice of the Son of God will live.
Jn 5,25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is
coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and
those who hear will live. 5,26 For just as the Father has life in Himself,
even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 5,27 and He gave Him
authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 5,28 Do not marvel
at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear
His voice, 5,29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a
resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of
judgment. Jn 5,25-29;
Also the Lord Jesus prophesies us here in John’s Gospel three
Resurrections. But as the Lord does not speak of the fourth one, namely his
Resurrection, only two of them are identical with those in the Epistle to the
Corinthians. The third Resurrection that is prophesied by the Lord is a
completely different one, and as we will see below, a Resurrection that is not
paid attention to very much.
If we now – for the sake of simplicity – start with the last one, namely
Universal Resurrection, we have in Jn 5,28 – 29 the text: …for an hour is
coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come
forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who
committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.’
As we can recognize easily, these here are exactly the characteristics of the
Universal Resurrection at the Last Judgment at the end of days.
– all people (who are in the tombs) will
resurrect
– those who did the good deeds to a Resurrection of
life,
– those who committed the evil deeds to a Resurrection
of judgment.
Some verses before, in Jn 5,25, we have then the hints at the two other Resurrections:
Jn 5, 25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is
coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those
who hear will live. Jn 5,25;
Just as the Lord has called above, in Jn 5,28, at the Universal
Resurrection the dead, he will also here call into the realm of the dead. But in
contrast to the situation there, to the ‘hour’ there, where all dead will
hear his voice, it says here, however, ‘and those who hear will
live’. So, obviously at this call of the Lord, at this other ‘hour’, not
all men will hear his voice. But those who hear it will resurrect.
Therefore we have here the typical situation of the raising from
(out of) the dead and the Rapture at the return of the Lord. It will be only the
faithful ‘in Christ’, who will be able to hear this call of the Lord and to
follow suit. All others – also the other faithful! – will not hear this call and
will come to life again only at the Universal Resurrection at the end of days.
And now let us come to the third Resurrection in this text,
which is mentioned by the Lord first. It is a little bit hidden, but
nevertheless perceivable. For in this text from Jn 5,25 it is said of this ‘hour’,
Jn 5,25 …an hour is coming and now is…
This ‘and now is’ must, of course, refer to the time when it
was said, that is to say the time of Jesus, and must also concern a Resurrection
of dead. And indeed, Matthew reports us such a Resurrection at the death of the
Lord:
The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
Mt 27,50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud
voice, and yielded up His spirit. 27,51 And behold, the veil of the temple was
torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
27,52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen
asleep were raised; 27,53 and coming out of the tombs after His
resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Mt 27,50-53;
Also here the Lord Jesus called into the tombs – immediately
after his death and even already in the realm of the dead. And also here only
those heard him who were destined for the awakening from the dead at that time.
So it is a Resurrection of quite particular saints, which took place at the
death of the Lord and which the Lord has prophesied above, in Jn 5,25. Nowhere
in the Scriptures we find an answer to the question who these saints were. A
conceivable approach would be the twenty-four elders from Rev 4,10; 5,8; 11,16;
and 19,4.
When we now leave this Resurrection of the saints in the past out of account,
and take a look at the Resurrections still to come, we distinguish – from the
qualitative way of looking at it – between a Resurrection to eternal life and a
Resurrection to eternal damnation.
As far as chronology is concerned, we know – as future events – the raising from
(out of) the dead and the Rapture at the return of the Lord, the First
Resurrection at the beginning of the Millennium, and – approximately a thousand
years later – the Universal Resurrection at the end of the world.
Regardless of the fact in which of these two Resurrections man is taking part,
he has to receive his sentence in a subsequent judgment. But as only the
faithful ‘in Christ’ will come to life again at the raising from the dead
and the Rapture, in this case only reward will be assigned. At the Universal
Resurrection, however, it will be reward for one group and punishment and
damnation for the other group. Depending on whether they accepted the faith in
the Lord or not. But the precondition for that is that both groups got the
possibility to decide for themselves during their lifetimes.
The problem in this connection was now that the basis of this decision of faith,
namely Golgatha, that is to say the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for
our sins, took place ‘in the middle of the time’ so to speak. All people who
came after that event had and have the possibility to call upon this sacrifice
consciously for themselves and to ‘redeem’ themselves by that. But what
happens with those who died up to that time? Also they had to and should hear
the ‘Word of God’, the Gospel and get the possibility to decide for or
against the love of God in Jesus Christ.
As we will see immediately, this seems to be the reason why the Lord did not
rise again from the dead right after his death, but only three days later.
He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth.
Eph 4,8 Therefore it says, ‘when He ascended on
high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.’ 4,9 Now
this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had
descended into the lower parts of the earth? 4,10 He who descended is
Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill
all things. Eph 4, 8-10;
These three days which the Lord spent in the lower parts of the
earth are a fulfillment of the prophecy which is represented by the story of
Jonah with the fish. This is also confirmed to us by the Lord himself:
The Son of Man was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mt 12,38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said
to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ 12,39 But He answered and
said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no
sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
12,40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the
sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth.’ Mt 12,38-40;
Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
Jona 1,17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to
swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three
nights. Jona 1,17;
He will rise again from the dead the third day.
Lk 24,45 Then He opened their minds to understand
the Scriptures, 24,46 and He said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ
would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day. Lk 24,45-46;
Here below still a table from Discourse 87: The Turin
Shroud.
Day | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday |
time | 6am6pm | 6am6pm | 6am6pm | 6am6pm | 6am6pm | 6am6pm | 6am |
13thasup> Nisan | 14thasup> Nisan | 15thasup> Nisan | 16thasup> Nisan | 1thasup> Nisan | 18thasup> Nisan | 19thasup> Nisan |
Night Day | Night Day | Night Day | Night Day | Night Day | Night Day | Night Day |
Preparation Day for Passover after 6:00 p.m. the Lord’s supper Capture in Gethsemane Crucifixion 3:00 p.m. Death on the Cross ~6:00 p.m. burial |
Begin Passover Great Annual Sabbath |
Preparation Day for Sabbath Purchase of Spices and Perfumes |
Weekly Sabbath ~6:00 p.m. Raising up |
First Day of the Week Women arrive at the empty tomb |
(Day:
In Jewish division of the day, the day begins with 6:00 p.m. and ends
on our today’s next day at 6:00 p.m.)
(See also Discourse 87: "The Turin
Shroud – The sign of Jonah")
During his stay in the realm of the dead, the whereabouts of the
deceased, and in prison (also dungeon or abyss), the whereabouts of the spirits
and angels who are immortal by nature, and who fell away from God before the
Flood and therefore are bound to this place and imprisoned until the Judgment -
also Satan will be bound and imprisoned here during the Millennium – the Lord
preached the Gospel, the Word of God about the deliverance from sins out of
mercy to all of them.
The gospel has been preached even to those who are dead
1Pet 4,6 For the gospel has for this purpose
been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the
flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. 1Pet 4,
6;
Christ died, but had been made alive in the spirit, in which He went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison.
1Pet 3,18 For Christ also died for sins once for
all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been
put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 3,19 in which
also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison. 1Pet
3,18-19;
The fact that the Lord preached the Gospel also in the ‘lower
parts of the earth’ (Eph 4,9) is only a logical consequence of the principle
of the substitutional sacrifice. For the offer of the deliverance through this
sacrifice of the Lord applied and applies to the entire Creation. That is to say
also to those men who had already died at the death of the Lord. But this
message still had to be delivered to them. After his Ascension to the Father the
Lord sent the Holy Spirit to this world for the living people in order that he
testifies the truth to us and we can decide until the return of the Lord.
But to those who had died until that time the Lord delivered the Word of God
himself. For the Gospel does not only apply to all those who have lived up to
today as descendants of Noah and his sons and who also have died and to those
who will live and die in future, up to the end. This sacrifice is strong enough
to apply also to all those men who lived before the Flood and who perished in
the Flood. What is even more, it also applies to the angels who were imprisoned
because they strayed from their rank and begot children by the daughters of men
before the Flood who then grew up into the giants on earth.
The fallen angels.
1Mo 6,1 Now it came about, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 6,2 that
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took
wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
6,3 Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because
he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’
6,4 The giants were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the
sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Gen 6, 1- 4;
The sons of Anak, who come of the giants.
4Mo 13,33 And there we saw the giants, the sons
of Anak, who come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as
grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Num 13,33;
And he also had been born to the giant.
2Sam 21,20 There was war at Gath again, where there
was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each
foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the giant. 2Sam
21,20;
Angels who did not keep their own domain, are kept under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
Jud 1,5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know
all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of
Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.
1,6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper
abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great
day,
1,7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the
same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are
exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Jude 1, 5-
7;
Angels when they sinned, are cast into hell and committed to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment.
2Ptr 2,4 For if God did not spare angels when
they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness,
reserved for judgment; 2,5 and did not spare the ancient world, but
preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought
a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 2,6 and if He condemned the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an
example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 2,7 and if He rescued
righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men. 2Pet 2, 4-
7;
Although both texts above – Jude 1,5-7 and 2Pet 2,4-7 – are
speaking of the fact that these fallen angels were thrown into darkness, it
nevertheless also says in both cases ‘reserved for judgment’. That means
that their judgment has not been pronounced yet. For it will depend on the fact
whether these creatures accepted the deliverance or not at the sermon of the
Lord in the abyss, in ’prison’, where these spirits are imprisoned.
Christ went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.
1Pet 3,18 For Christ also died for sins once for
all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put
to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 3,19 in which
also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 3,20 who
once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of
Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight
persons, were brought safely through the water.1Pet 3,18-20;
And just as among the living the sins are remitted from all
those who convert and call upon the sacrifice of Christ for themselves, also
among the dead the following applied: ‘… when the dead will hear the voice
of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.’ (Jn 5,25).
After this short survey we want to deal with the Resurrections handed down to us
in the Scriptures in more detail. As already explained at the beginning, the
Scriptures reports altogether four Resurrections after the death of the Lord
Jesus to us. Two of them have already taken place and the other two of them are
still to come in future.
In the following we will analyze all four of them briefly and compare them to
the texts of the parallel passages.
As already mentioned above, the first event of that kind is not
paid much attention to in general, but it is nevertheless biblical reality.
The raising of many saints after the death of the Lord Jesus.
Mt 27,50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud
voice, and yielded up His spirit. 27,51 And behold, the veil of the temple was
torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
27,52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen
asleep were raised; 27,53 and coming out of the tombs after His
resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 27,54 Now
the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they
saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened
and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’ Mt 27,50-54;
This is also announced by the Lord during his lifetime:
The hour now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God.
Jn 5,25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is
coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live. Jn 5,25;
We see here: They were many, they raised, went into the city and
appeared to many. They could walk, see and were also seen by others.
This is, however everything that is handed down to us about this phenomenal
event. And, moreover, only in the Holy Scriptures. Although there are some
historical reports from this period, and although also this event would have
been absolutely apt to be brought forward, this occurrence that is unique and
incredible for the world, is not mentioned anywhere.
Now one could establish a connection between this and the death of the Lord and
quote the same reasons which also prevented the Resurrection of the Lord from
going down in the history books. Namely hushing up by the political pressure of
the Jewish clergy, the Sanhedrins, who feared for their power.
However, due to the fact that there were many who rose from the dead, and that
they were certainly also seen by many, the probability seems to be relatively
high that they were also seen by contemporaries who were not ready to support
the political instruction of the Sanhedrins and their order to make the
Resurrection of Jesus appear as a fraud of the Disciples.
We come now to the second Resurrection which has already taken
place. Of course, it is the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
In Christ all will be made alive: Christ the first fruits.
1Cor 15,23 But each in his own order: Christ the
first fruits, 1Cor 15,23;
They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.
Jn 20,1 Now on the first day of the week Mary
Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone
already taken away from the tomb. 20,2 So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to
the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken
away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’
20,3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the
tomb. 30,4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead
faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; 20,5 and stooping and looking in,
he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 20,6 And so Simon
Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen
wrappings lying there, 20,7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not
lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
20,8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and
he saw and believed. 20,9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture,
that He must rise again from the dead. 20,10 So the disciples went away
again to their own homes. Jn 20, 1-10;
Do not touch me , for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
Jn 20,11But Mary was standing outside the tomb
weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 20,12 and
she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where
the body of Jesus had been lying. 20,13 And they said to her, ‘Woman, why are
you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I
do not know where they have laid Him.’
20,14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,
and did not know that it was Jesus. 20,15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are
you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said
to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him,
and I will take Him away.’ 20,16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and
said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher).
20,17 Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the
Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and
your Father, and My God and your God.’ 20,18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing
to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things
to her. Jn 20,11-18;
In the Gospels we have somewhat different reports of the
Resurrection of the Lord. Some of the divergent statements may have been caused
by the fact that different persons experienced them at different times of the
course of events and also handed them down in that way.
The report of John has the advantage that it describes the things he experienced
himself for long sections. And it is not only that we know John as the
evangelist who rather handed down the spiritual contents of the speeches and
teachings of the Lord and not so much the everyday occurrences, we also perceive
from his accounts that he endeavors to stick to the truth as closely as
possible. And he strives to do that even if he himself does not always cut the
best figure in these reports. If one takes a look at Jn 20,3-8 (see above) for
instance, one recognizes the respective specific traits of character of the
acting persons. John, full of grief at the loss of the beloved Lord, but also
fearful and hesitating. Peter, on the other hand, angry at the fact that the
dead body of the Lord was apparently stolen and willing to examine the problem.
Also the report above, in Jn 20,11-18, about the meeting of Mary Magdalene with
the Lord, contains so many details which can be assigned psychologically
unmistakably to an actual occurrence that one can consider this source for this
report to be the probably most authentic one of all four Gospels.
The description of this encounter of Mary Magdalene with the
Lord at his tomb contains an interesting statement. Mary did not recognize the
Lord immediately. Only when he addressed her with her name, she knew who was
standing there before her. One can well imagine her joy and relief and also that
she perhaps fell down to his feet and wanted to embrace him.
But as we read in verse Jn 20,17, the Lord did not allow this. He said, ‘Do
not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father’ – so, this is an
almost frightened reaction which must have its particular reason. For, when the
Lord appeared to the Disciples later on, he did not have any misgivings any more
about being touched by Thomas (Jn 20:27-28).
So, one gets the impression that the Lord here, at his encounter with Mary
Magdalene, has not yet ‘finished’ his Resurrection, so to speak, and has not
been ‘alive’ yet. He has not been with the Father yet and therefore Mary was
not allowed to touch him yet.
This circumstance is of particular interest here because Paul tells us in 1Cor
15,49 that this Resurrection of the Lord can be directly compared to our
Resurrection.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Cor 15,45 So also it is written, ‘The first MAN,
Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 15,46
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 15,47
The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 15,48 As
is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so
also are those who are heavenly. 15,49 Just as we have borne the image of
the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 1Cor 15,45-49;
So, let us therefore have a look at the description in Rev
20,4-5 about the First Resurrection of the dead as a comparison:
The rest of the dead did not come to life. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20,4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of
God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not
received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life
and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
20,5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years
were completed. This is the first resurrection. Rev 20, 4- 5;
Here it says in Rev 20,4, ‘And I saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded (…) and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years’. To our surprise, here, there is no talk of dead, but of ‘souls’.
Also in Rev 6,9-11 John is speaking of such ‘souls’. However, these souls
are not in the realm of the dead, but obviously already in heaven, ‘underneath
the altar’. And they do not sleep either as one would expect it from the dead,
but they ‘cried out with a loud voice’ to God in order to claim the
condemnation of their murderers on earth. So, they take an active part in the
happenings in heaven.
And in Rev 15,2-3 we find also the martyrs from the antichristian reign ‘those
who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name’
already in heaven ‘on the sea of glass’, before the throne of God. And so we
have altogether twelve statements in the Revelation about groups of faithful who
are already in heaven. These are: Rev 6,9-11; 7,9-17; 12,10-11; 14,2; 14,1.3-5;
15,1-4; 17,12-14; 19,6; 19,7; 19,8-9; 19,11-14; and finally 20,4-6.
But in Rev 20,4 we also read, ‘The rest of the dead did not come to life until
the thousand years were completed.’.
This First Resurrection in Rev 20,4-6 obviously takes place after the Battle of
Armageddon: Antichrist and false prophet are in the lake of fire and Satan is
bound in the abyss for a thousand years. And when it says at the end of Rev
20,4, ‘and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years’,
we can conclude from that that this event will take place at the beginning of
these one thousand years, that is to say at the beginning of the Millennium.
So, if – as it is often maintained – this First Resurrection of the beheaded
faithful dead, the martyrs (Rev 20,4-6), were to mean at the same time the
raising of the dead ‘in Christ’ from the realm of the dead and their
ascension into heaven (1The 4,15-17), and if, however, according to Rev 20,5 ‘the
rest of the dead did not come to life’, who are then all those groups of
faithful in heaven? According to Rev 20,4-6 these groups – at least those who
are not martyrs – have not come to life / resurrected yet. But what are they
then doing in heaven?
If we now take again a look at the text from Rev 20,4-5, it says here that these
souls came to ‘life’. But obviously this does not mean that they were dead
before – that is to say ‘asleep’ in the realm of the dead – , since John
saw them immediately before as ‘souls’ before the thrones of the court of
judgment. So, also they were beforehand, before they came to ‘life’, not in
the realm of the dead, but already in heaven.
But from that we can conclude that this ‘First Resurrection’, this coming to
‘life’ of souls from heaven is not identical with the raising of the
faithful ‘in Christ’ from the realm of the dead at the return of the Lord
and the subsequent Rapture, together with the living faithful, to heaven, but
that here rather already raised dead, who already are in heaven as souls, come
to ‘life’ again. So, they get a physical body in order to be able to return
to earth again and to reign there together with Christ for a thousand years.
So, the goal of Resurrection in general is to let the dead come to life again,
that means to give them a physical body.
While this process reels off without any interruption at the Resurrection of all
dead at the Last Judgment, it is divided here, at the raising from (out of) the
dead and the Rapture and the First Resurrection into two phases.
1. The raising of the dead in the realm of
the dead at the return of the Lord.
The dead are in a state similar to sleep in the realm of the dead. In this first
phase of Resurrection the dead are raised, the perishable is turned into
imperishability (1Cor 15,53), they get an immaterial body (1Cor 15,44), come out
of their tombs (Mt 27,52; Jn 20,11-14) and make a ‘stopover’ on the earth
for a short time (Mt 27,53; Jn 20,15).
They are then caught up from the earth into heaven together with the elect
living faithful (1Cor 15,52; 1The 4,17), where judgment is pronounced upon them
and where they receive their sentence or reward (Rev 20,4). As a sign of their
righteousness they are now allowed to put on clean white robes (Rev 6,11;
7,9.14; 19,8.14) and will take part in the further heavenly happenings as souls
(Rev 6,9; 20,4).
This first phase is described by Paul in 1Cor 15,51-53 and 1The
4,15-17:
The dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
1Cor 15,51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will
not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 15,52 in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the
dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 15,53 For this
perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on
immortality. 1Cor 15,51-53;
So, at the raising from the dead the sleeping dead in the realm
of the dead are waked. At the Rapture before the Millennium they are
subsequently caught up into heaven, where they continue their existence as ‘souls’.
2. The First Resurrection of the souls of the
martyrs in heaven at the beginning of the Millennium.
Those raised souls in heaven who are to take part in the subsequent First
Resurrection to reign together with Christ in the Millennium – that is to say
the martyrs – – receive a new spiritual and physical body – a resurrection body (Jn 20,27)
– at this First Resurrection and come to life again – down
from heaven to the earth (Rev 20,4).
The other souls from the raising from the dead and the Rapture, who do not come
to life here, that is to say who will not resurrect physically, remain in
this state in heaven until the Universal Resurrection.
At the Universal Resurrection this step in between is dropped
and the dead receive a new physical body right after their raising from the
realm of the dead.
If one can now imagine the course of events roughly that way, some statements
that have been incomprehensible up to now make sense again. Above all it would
be clarified then that the ‘resurrection’ of the dead at the Rapture in 1The
4,16 and 1Cor 15,52 is for the time being a ‘raising’ – that is to say the
first phase – and not at all identical with the First Resurrection in Rev
20,4-5.
Also the question could be answered why Paul always writes in his First Epistle
to the Corinthians (1Cor 15,20.43.44.52) of ‘raising’ (something that is by
mistake unfortunately always translated with ‘resurrecting’ in the German
translation by Luther). And finally one could understand at last why John can
speak in Rev 20,5 of the ‘first’ Resurrection, although we have both with
Matthew (Mt 27,52-53) and precisely also with Paul (1Cor 15 and 1The 4,15-17)
already before ‘resurrections’, which, however, now, under this new aspect,
would not be resurrections but only raisings from the dead and so, the event
reported by John in Rev 20,5 can actually be identified as the ‘First Resurrection’.
God raised Him up on the third day and we ate and drunk with Him after He arose from the dead.
Acts 10,38 "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how
God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about
doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with
Him. 10,39"We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of
the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
10,40"God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He
become visible, 10,41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were
chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose
from the dead. Acts 10,38-41;
Therefore we will in the further course of this analysis proceed
from this working hypothesis and deal with the raising from the dead and the
Rapture in the chapter ‘The return of the Lord’ and with the First
Resurrection in this chapter.
(See also Chapter 06: "The
Return of the Lord.")
John sees in Rev 20,4-6 the happenings of the First Resurrection
in heaven, when the souls are standing before the thrones of judgment and when
subsequently the martyrs come to life again.
All martyrs will come to life in the first resurrection.
Rev20,4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God,
and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the
mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned
with Christ for a thousand years.
20,5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were
completed. This is the first resurrection. 20,6 Blessed and holy is the
one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death
has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with
Him for a thousand years. Rev 20, 4- 6;
So, according to Rev 20,4 there are two groups of faithful, who
come to life again at the First Resurrection:
1. The beheaded – that is to say those who were killed
because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God.
These are those martyrs from the Old and from the New Covenant,
who are already in heaven, ‘underneath the altar’ and who are mentioned in
Rev 6,9-11. There they are told that they still had to wait for their brethren
(from the antichristian reign), who were to be killed just as they had been
killed.
The slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony.
Rev 6,9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw
underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of
the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had
maintained; 6,10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O
Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on
those who dwell on the earth?’ 6,11 And there was given to each of them a
white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until
the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed
even as they had been, would be completed also. Rev 6, 9-11;
And precisely these brethren, ‘who were to be killed even as
they had been’, that is to say this other group in the First Resurrection, are
those who had not worshiped the beast and his image in the antichristian reign.
2. Those who had not worshiped the beast and his image, and
had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand.
According to Rev 13,15 they were killed as well just because
they had not worshiped the image of the beast.
As many as do not worship the image of the beast are killed.
Rev 13,13 He performs great signs, so that he even
makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 13,14
And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was
given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on
the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has
come to life.
13,15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that
the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship
the image of the beast to be killed. 13,16 And he causes all, the small and
the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be
given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 13,17 and he provides
that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark,
either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 13,18 Here is wisdom.
Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number
is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. Rev 13,13-18;
And in Rev 15,2-3 we also find them in heaven, on the ‘sea of
glass’ before the throne of God (Rev 4,6), and they are singing the song of
Moses.
Those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name.
Rev 15,2 And I saw something like a sea of glass
mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his
image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding
harps of God. 15,3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and
the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God,
the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Rev 15, 2-
3;
Both groups have in common that they gave their lives for the
faith in their God and thus obviously acquired the right to take part in the
raising from the dead as well as in the First Resurrection and to reign together
with the Lord in the Millennium. The hint: over these the second death has no
power " in Rev 20,6 confirms us that at the First Resurrection only faithful -
however, not all faithful, but only the killed martyrs – will rise from the
dead.
And here the difference between ‘raising’ out of the dead with ascension to
heaven and ‘resurrection’, namely the coming down from heaven, alive, with a
resurrection body, can be once again seen very clearly: While above, in Rev
20,4, these martyrs from the antichristian reign come to life again in the First
Resurrection coming down from heaven together with the other martyrs in
order to reign together with Christ in the Millennium, we recognize them here
above, in Rev 15,2-3, after their raising out of the dead, still in
heaven on the sea of glass – which is according to Rev 4,6 before the throne -,
when they are singing the song of Moses there and are praising God. If the First
Resurrection and the raising from the dead/Rapture were one identical event,
these martyrs from the antichristian reign could not be already in heaven in Rev
15,2-4, when they are raised out of the dead and caught up into heaven only in
Rev 20,4.
The view that only those who were conformed to the death of the Lord – that is
to say who died the death of a martyr – can attain to the (First) Resurrection,
is also confirmed to us by Paul several times.
That I may be conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection out of the dead.
Phil 3,7 But whatever things were gain to me, those
things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 3,8 More than that, I
count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them
but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 3,9 and may be found in Him, not having a
righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in
Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 3,10 that
I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His death; 3,11 in order that I may attain
to the resurrection out of the dead. Phil 3, 7-11;
We see that Paul mentions here quite concretely the condition
under which he hopes to attain to the Resurrection out of the dead – that is
to say to the First Resurrection: by knowing Christ in the fellowship of his
sufferings and by being conformed to his death. Also in his Second Epistle to
Timothy he quite clearly alludes to this topic:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.
2Tim 2,10 For this reason I endure all things for
the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. 2,11 It is a trustworthy
statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 2,12 If
we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny
us; 2Tim 2,10-12;
These statements of Paul prove quite clearly that the hope to
take part in the First Resurrection is only possible if we died with the Lord,
if we endured the sufferings of Christ, if we were conformed to his death and
were killed as martyrs. For Paul this sorrowful way also become reality then. He
was put to death as a martyr in Rome.
So, we can draw the conclusion from Rev 20,4-6 that it will not be the entire
congregation that will take part in the First Resurrection, but only those
faithful who were killed because of their faith – that is to say the martyrs.
And thus also the promises of the Lord from the Gospels are fulfilled here,
which apparently are not read or not understood by many advocates of a First
Resurrection to life ‘of all brothers and sisters’, and in which he promises
a new life to his loved ones who lost their lives for his sake. Of course, also
the eternal life in the New Creation is meant by that, but before that those who
followed the Lord also in his suffering will receive a deserved second earthly
life in community with the Lord.
He who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Mt 10,37 He who loves father or mother more than
Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not
worthy of Me. 10,38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me
is not worthy of Me. 10,39 He who has found his life will lose it, and he who
has lost his life for My sake will find it. Mt 10,37-39;
Mt 16,24Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wishes to come after
Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 16,25 For whoever
wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it. Mt 16,24-25;
Mk 8,34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them,
If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross
and follow Me. 8,35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. Mk
8,34-35;
Lk 9,23 And He was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after Me,
he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 9,24 For
whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake, he is the one who will save it. Lk 9,23-24;
Jn 12,25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in
this world will keep it to life eternal. 12,26 If anyone serves Me, he must
follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone
serves Me, the Father will honor him. Jn 12,25-26;
But apart from this martyrdom they have in common, there is also
a difference among these souls in heaven. There are three different reasons why
these souls are raised from the dead and are also the first to resurrect – that
is to say come to life again. And as we will see immediately, these reasons can
also be assigned quite definitely to a certain time.
1. Those who were killed ‘because of the word of God’.
The martyrs of the Old Covenant.
Classed among those are all people of the pre-Christian era who were killed
because of their faith in the one and only God, beginning with Abel, via the
prophets of the Old Covenant, who preached the Word of God in Israel and who
were considered to be a nuisance and politically dangerous by the rulers of
their time and who were therefore put to death, up to John the Baptist, who was
the last of them.
However, in the case of the martyrs of the Old Covenant the
Israelites who are brought back to life cannot be restricted exclusively to the
prophets. It rather seems to be that way that the selection is made according to
the fact in how far these Israelites have lived and acted as ‘servants of God’.
So we know for instance from Eze 34,23-24 that also David will be brought back
to life again by God in order to be prince in Israel in the Millennium, although
David was neither a prophet nor did he die a violent death so that he could
therefore be considered a martyr.
It is – as we can gather from Dan 12,1 – ‘everyone (of Israel) who
is found written in the book’, who will resurrect to the life in the
Millennium and as the people of God in Israel.
These very dry bones will come alive.
Eze 37,1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He
brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the
valley; and it was full of bones.
37,2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very
many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 37,3 He said to
me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord
GOD, You know.’ 37,4 Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones and say
to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ 37,5 Thus says the Lord
GOD to these bones, ‘‘ehold, I will cause breath to enter you that you
may come to life. 37,6 ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on
you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive;
and you will know that I am the LORD.’ Eze 37, 1- 6;
The slain of Israel came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly army.
Ezk 37,7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as
I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. 37,8 And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them,
and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
37,9 Then He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say
to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.’ 37,10 So I
prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came
to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Eze 37, 7-10;
The view held by some people that these prophecies would include
the entire Israelite people of all times, fails to see a little detail of this
text. It says here, in Eze 37,9: ‘… breathe on these slain
…’ (‘strangulated’
according to Buber). So, it is not the deceased of the people of Israel as a
whole that is meant but only those Israelites who died a violent death and
therefore are martyrs and who are written in the ‘book’ as we will read
below in Dan 12,1. It is faithful Israelites (house of Israel), who had to give
their life because of their faith or because of any other thing by the order of
their God. They are martyrs and the ‘people of God’ just as the prophets and
the other servants of God – namely the whole house of Israel – who come to
life again here, at the First Resurrection.
The LORD opens their graves and causes them to come up, that they will come to life.
Ezk 37,11 Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up
and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ 37,12 Therefore
prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I will open your
graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring
you into the land of Israel.’
37,13 Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves
and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 37,14 I will put
My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own
land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,‘
declares the LORD.’ Eze 37,11-14;
The fact that here this restriction in verse Eze 37,9 is again
and again overlooked because no differentiation is made between ‘dead’ and
‘killed’ often leads to the fact then that one shrinks from a concrete
fulfillment of this prophecy at all, namely from a real resurrection of the
Israelites. The consequence of this is then that one flees to symbolism and
tries to interpret this resurrection of the house of Israel as the foundation of
the state of Israel in 1948. In most cases the ‘fig tree’ from Mt 21,18-22
is then quoted as comparison and it is argued that the fig tree stands here as
the symbol of Israel. However, it is relatively easy to find out that the symbol
of Israel is not the fig tree, but the olive tree as we can gather from Rom
11,17.24. Moreover, the fig tree is promised, ‘No longer shall there ever be
any fruit from you’, whereas in Eze 37 Israel comes to life again. Therefore
the story with the fig tree in Mt 21 and parallel passages is nothing else but a
demonstration of the Lord for the Disciples in order to prove what true faith is
able to effect. There the fig tree is just a fig tree and nothing else. The fact
that the prophecy from Eze 37,9-14 is not to be understood symbolically is
confirmed to us by even further passages from the Scriptures quite concretely.
He will revive us and He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.
Hos 6,1Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has
torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. 6,2 He
will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may
live before Him. 6,3 ‘So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.’ Hos 6, 1- 3;
Your dead will live; My slain shall rise again.
Isa 26,19 Your dead will live; My slain shall
rise again. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew
is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed
spirits. Isa 26,19;
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake.
Dan 12,1 Now at that time Michael, the great prince
who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a
time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that
time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the
book, will be rescued.12,2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the
ground will awake, these to life in world-time (Buber), but
the others to disgrace and contempt in world-time (Buber). 12,3
Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of
heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars in
world-time and eternity (Buber). Dan 12, 1- 3;
The LORD hears the groaning of the prisoner, He sets free those who were doomed to death
Ps 102,12 But You, O LORD, abide forever, And Your
name to all generations.102,13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion; For
it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come. 102,14 Surely
Your servants find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust. 102,15 So
the nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your
glory. 102,16 For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
102,17 He has regarded the prayer of the destitute And has not despised their
prayer. 102,18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people
yet to be created may praise the LORD. 102,19 For He looked down from His
holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth, 102,20 To hear the
groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death, 102,21
That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in
Jerusalem, 102,22 When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms,
to serve the LORD. Ps 102,12-22;
So it is the killed Israelites, the martyrs of Israel, who will
come to life again together with the martyrs out of the Gentiles who converted
into Christians. Then, at the beginning of the Millennium, they will return to
their land with the still living Israelites who are dispersed all over the world
and they will also be brought back by the still living and remaining Gentiles in
order to be there the ‘head among the nations’ during the one thousand years
of the Kingdom of Peace of the Messiah. This is the promise of their God and
they have waited for that for thousands of years. At the first appearance of our
Lord, their Messiah, almost two thousand years ago, the impenitent people in
Israel hoped for it in vain and therefore rejected him. Now the time has come:
Zion has the former power again. So, they are the new people of God on this
earth in the Millennium. They will ‘inherit the earth’.
(See also Chapter 10: "The
Millennium.")
The pure in heart shall see God, the gentle shall inherit the earth.
Mt 5,1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the
mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
5,2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
5,3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5,4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5,5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
5,6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall
be satisfied.
5,7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
5,8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
5,9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
5,10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5,11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say
all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 5,12 Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you. Mt 5, 1-12;
In the beatitudes of the Lord, above in Mt 5,1-12, which contain
all told nine statements, there are five hints which are to be interpreted as
referring to the ‘kingdom of heaven’ and four hints which are rather to be
interpreted as referring to the ‘the earth’.
So, the verses 3, 8, 9,10 and 11-12 consist of statements which contain promises
for the ‘kingdom of heaven’:
- for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
– for they shall see God
– for they shall be called sons of God
– for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
– for their reward in heaven is great
The verses 4, 5, 6, and 7, however, rather point at the ‘earth’:
- for they shall be comforted
– for they shall inherit the earth
– for they shall be satisfied
– for they shall receive mercy
According to the promise in Mt 5,3: ‘theirs is the kingdom of
heaven’, verse Mt 5,5 ‘they shall inherit the earth’ only makes sense if
one proceeds from the assumption that at the same time while the one group is in
heaven, with God, the others will live and rule in peace and righteousness here
on earth.
The pious will be delivered from death in order to rule.
Ps 49,13 This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who approve their words. Selah. 49,14 As sheep they are
appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright
shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to
consume So that they have no habitation. 49,15 But God will redeem my soul
from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah. Ps 49,13-15;
And your descendants will possess nations And will resettle the desolate cities.
Isa 54,1 ‘Shout for joy, O barren one, you who
have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who
have not travailed; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than
the sons of the married woman,’ says the LORD. 54,2 Enlarge the place of your
tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords
And strengthen your pegs. 54,3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to
the left. And your descendants will possess nations And will resettle the
desolate cities. Isa 54, 1- 3;
The LORD God is in Zion and the remnant of Israel is the chief of the nations.
Jer 31,6 For there will be a day when watchmen On
the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the
LORD our God.’ 31,7 For thus says the LORD, Sing aloud with gladness for
Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise and say,
‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel.’ Jer 31, 6- 7;
The LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
5Mo 29,1 ‘Now it shall be, if you diligently obey
the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you
today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
28,2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey
the LORD your God’. Deut 28, 1- 2;
Even the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
Mic 4,8 As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the
daughter of Zion, To you it will come – Even the former dominion will come,
the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Mic 4, 8;
In the texts above we see very clearly that the promise of being
the ‘head among the nations’ in the Millennium, is exclusively meant for the
people of Israel, whereas the Christians do not have any earthly promise.
With that we come to the next group of those who were raised
from the dead at the First Resurrection.
2. Those who were killed ‘because of their testimony of
Jesus’.
The martyrs of the New Covenant.
The very first of this great group of martyrs was Stephan. He was followed by
hundreds of thousands in the persecution of Christians of the Roman Empire and
during the Inquisition and the Counter-Reformation of the Roman Church up to
those faithful in Christ who will then be killed in the Great Tribulation.
As we know, also Paul and other Disciples of the Lord became
victims of the persecutions and executions of that time in the Roman Empire.
And finally, the text from Rev 20,4 points out to us even
another group of ‘beheaded’, that is to say killed, who met their death as
martyrs under the antichristian reign.
3. Those who ‘had not worshiped the beast’.
Those who are not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good from the
antichristian era.
These are all those faithful who ‘had not worshiped the beast and his image
and had not received the mark on their forehead and their hand’ in the era of
the Antichrist. They were persecuted, sentenced to death and executed.
These are also those brothers of whom there is talk in Rev
6,9-11. John sees there a situation in heaven where the already deceased martyrs
of the first two groups (Old Covenant and New Covenant) are crying impatiently
to the Lord to take vengeance. And they are put off ‘until the number of their
fellow servants who were to be killed (during the reign of the Antichrist) even
as they had been, would be completed also’.
Rest for a little while longer, until your brethren would have been killed even as you had been.
Rev 6,9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw
underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the
word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 6,10
and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and
true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on
the earth?’
6,11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that
they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow
servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would
be completed also. Rev 6, 9-11;
These fellow servants and brethren of whom there is talk here
are those who are not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good, who
resisted the order to worship the image of the beast and therefore were killed
(Rev 13,13-18).
So, these three groups are those people who will rise from the dead at Rapture
and resurrect at the First Resurrection. These resurrected come to life again
and reign together with the Lord in the Millennium (Rev 20,6).
The fourth Resurrection mentioned in the Scriptures is at the
same time the last one, namely the resurrection of all men at the end of the
world.
Now the view is widespread that all faithful will resurrect at the First
Resurrection before the Millennium and as according to this view only accursed
will die in the Millennium, there would not be any faithful any more among the
dead at the Universal Resurrection after the Millennium and therefore only the
godless and impenitent would resurrect and be judged.
The following passages from the Scriptures do not only show quite clearly that
also faithful will resurrect at the Universal Resurrection at the end of the
world, to be more precise resurrect to eternal life, in contrast to the godless
who will then resurrect to the ‘second death’, the eternal damnation.
While you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
Mt 13,24 Jesus presented another parable to them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in
his field. 13,25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went away. 13,26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore
grain, then the tares became evident also. 13,27 The slaves of the landowner
came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then
does it have tares?’ 13,28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’
The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
13,29 But he said, No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may
uproot the wheat with them. 13,30 Allow both to grow together until the
harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First
gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the
wheat into my barn.’ Mt 13,24-30;
Especially Mt 13,29 shows us also that just this erroneously
propagated separation of the Resurrection – on the one hand the righteous or
the ‘wheat’ and on the other hand the wicked or the ‘weed’ – shall not
be made. Both shall grow together until the harvest. And the harvest is the end
of the world.
The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.
Mt 13,36 Then He left the crowds and went into the
house. And His disciples came to Him and said, Explain to us the parable of the
tares of the field.’ 13,37 And He said, The one who sows the good seed is the
Son of Man,
13,38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons
of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 13,39 and the enemy
who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the world; and the
reapers are angels. 13,40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned
with fire, so shall it be at the end of the world.
13,41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather
out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
13,42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13,43 Then the righteous will shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Mt 13,36-43;
At the end of the world; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous.
Mt 13,47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a
dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 13,48 and when it
was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the
good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
13,49 So it will be at the end of the world; the angels will come forth and
take out the wicked from among the righteous, 13,50 and will throw them
into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. 13,51 ‘Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him,
‘Yes.’ 13,52 And Jesus said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has
become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who
brings out of his treasure things new and old.’ Mt 13,47-52;
The hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14,14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud,
and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown
on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 14,15 And another angel came out of
the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in
your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the
earth is ripe.’ 14,16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over
the earth, and the earth was reaped.
14,17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also
had a sharp sickle. 14,18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire,
came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the
sharp sickle, saying, ‘Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters
from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ 14,19 So the
angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of
the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.
14,20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out
from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred
miles. Rev 14,14-20;
Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father.
1Cor 15,24 Then comes the end, when He hands
over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and
all authority and power. 1Cor 15,24;
And it is proved very clearly also by these texts what some
exegetes do not want to see, namely that this event takes place at the end of
the Millennium – that is to say at the end of the world and not before the
Millennium. Above, in Mt 13,39 it says expressly, ‘The harvest is the end of
the world; and the reapers are angels.’ The two preceding parables – of the
field and of the catching of the fish – are also to a large extent
self-explaining and refer to a single event and not to two different ‘harvests’
or ‘catchings of fish’.
Furthermore, it says in Mt 13,41, ‘The Son of Man will send forth his angels,
and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks’. This
kingdom is the Millennium and the ruler in this kingdom will be the Lord Jesus.
Therefore the Lord says here ‘out of his kingdom’, while two verses
later, when he is speaking of the remaining righteous who will then enter into
the eternal kingdom on the new earth, into the new Jerusalem, he is speaking of
‘the kingdom of their Father’. Mt 13,43: Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
And in order to invalidate now also the argument which thinks that at the First
Resurrection before the Millennium not only the martyrs, but all righteous would
resurrect and at the end of the world, at the Universal Resurrection only the
unrighteous, we have in Mt 13,49 the unambiguous statement, ‘So it will be at
the end of the world; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from
among the righteous’. So, if there were not any righteous left any more at
that time, a ‘separation’ would not be necessary any more.
(See also Table 13: "The
judgment upon the resurrected nations.")
Also the following statements confirm this view:
But as for you Daniel, go your way to the end; then you will rise again at the end of the days.
Dan 12,13 ‘But as for you, go your way to the
end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion
at the end of the days.’ Dan 12,13;
At the end of the world; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous.
Mt 13,49 So it will be at the end of the world;
the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,
13,50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mt 13,49-50;
And will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life.
Jn 5,26 For just as the Father has life in Himself,
even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 5,27 and He gave Him
authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 5,28 Do not marvel
at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear
His voice, 5,29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a
resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of
judgment. Jn 5,26-29;
There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
Acts 24,14 But this I admit to you, that according
to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing
everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the
Prophets; 24,15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that
there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
Acts 24,14-15;
Here there is talk about the Universal Resurrection, at which
all will rise from the dead who are in the tombs (Jn 5,28), at the end of the
days (Dan 12,13), at the end of the world (Mt 13,49), to execute judgment (Jn
5,27), at which the righteous as well as the wicked will rise from the dead (Dan
12,2; Jn 5,29; Acts 24,15). Then the wicked will be taken out from among the
righteous and will be thrown into the furnace of fire. (Mt 13,49-50).
Of course, this involves troubles for the advocates of two qualitative separated
resurrections – the one for the ‘good’, before the Millennium, the other one
for the ‘wicked’, after the Millennium. If one analyzes now the
argumentation of this line of interpretation, it becomes apparent that the
mistake in the interpretation was not made here, at the Universal Resurrection,
but already in the interpretation of the First Resurrection. There they falsely
proceed from the assumption that all faithful – that is to say all ‘good’
- will rise from the dead at this event.
One can see this mistake very clearly in the argumentation (‘The book of
Revelation’ by W. J. Ouweneel, page 477), which refers to Rev 20:
"It emerges unambiguously from the context (from
Rev 20) that ‘the rest of the dead’ can only be those who died without
faith, for in verse 4 all faithful starting from Abel are after all raised out
of the dead. So, these dead ’out of’ the midst of whom they are raised, are
necessarily the unfaithful."
The souls of those who had been beheaded came to life.
Rev 20,4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God,
and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the
mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and
reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 20,5 The rest of the dead did not
come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first
resurrection Rev 20, 4- 5;
This line of interpretation fails to see that in verse 4 – as
already mentioned above – there is talk about the ‘beheaded’. That is to
say, not ‘all faithful’ come to life again at the First Resurrection, but
only those among them who were killed because of their faith. Abel, the first
man who was killed because of his faith undoubtedly belongs to this group. But
all other faithful who did not have to give their lives because of their faith
will rise from the dead at the ‘raising from the dead’ for Rapture or only
at the Universal Resurrection, at the end of the
world, and not here, at the First Resurrection before the Millennium.
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection.
Rev 20,6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a
part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a
thousand years. Rev 20, 6;
Also this statement from verse 6 is very freely interpreted by
the author of the book quoted above. There it says,
"It emerges from verse 6 that those who will rise
from the dead at the Second Resurrection (the Universal Resurrection),
will not be ‘blessed and holy’, but condemned to the ‘second death’."
Now, it is true that drawing conclusions from looking at things
the other way round is an excellent instrument of analysis. However, this method
is appropriate only if definite statements are concerned, which would be the
case here only if there were an ‘only’ after the ‘Blessed is’. From the
statement: ‘Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the First
Resurrection’ one cannot draw the conclusion at all that all men who do not
take part in the First Resurrection are automatically accursed. Otherwise those
saints who came to life again at the death of the Lord (Mt 27,52-53) would have
had to end up in the lake of fire, too.
Nor are all those who will rise from the dead at the Universal Resurrection
condemned to the second death. There will be then – as explained above -
righteous and wicked. The wicked will be thrown into the lake of fire, the
righteous, however, will enter into the kingdom of their Father.
This can be also proved by passages from the Scriptures.
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mt 25,45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say
to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you
did not do it to Me.’ 25,46 These will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Mt 25,45-46;
Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Mt 13,41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels,
and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who
commit lawlessness, 13,42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire;
in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13,43 Then the
righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He
who has ears, let him hear. Mt 13,41-43;
Who believes in the Son will have eternal life, and He Himself will raise him up on the last day.
Jn 6,39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that
of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last
day. 6,40 ‘For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who
beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I
Myself will raise him up on the last day.’ Jn 6,39-40;
Jn 6,44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who
sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. Jn
6,44;
Jn 6,54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Jn
6,54;
Here, in Jn 6,39.44.54 there is unequivocally talk about the ‘Last
Day’ (Luther always translated it wrong with ‘Recent Day’). So, there is
talk about the end of the world and thus about the Universal Resurrection and
about Judgment Day / the Last Judgment. And here the Lord himself tells us that
everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. So, the second death does
not have any power over him. And the Lord will raise him from the death, in fact
not before the Millennium, at the Rapture, but on the Last Day, at the Universal
Resurrection, at the end of the world.
(See also Discourse 95: "Blessed
are they who did not see, and yet believed.")
As for the rest, it can be also seen from the parables of the Lord in this
connection that the Resurrection of the faithful, too, and just the Resurrection
of the faithful at the Universal Resurrection at the end of the world, together
with the wicked, is absolutely intended and also conforming with the Scriptures.
Allow both to grow together until the harvest.
Mt 13,24 Jesus presented another parable to them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in
his field. 13,25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went away. 13,26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore
grain, then the tares became evident also. 13,27 The slaves of the landowner
came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then
does it have tares?’ 13,28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’
The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
13,29 But he said, No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may
uproot the wheat with them. 13,30 ‘Allow both to grow together until
the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, First
gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the
wheat into my barn.’ Mt 13,24-30;
As we see above, in Mt 13,24-30, the Lord wants expressly that
‘wheat’ und ‘tares’ – that is to say faithful and wicked – grow
together until the ‘harvest’, that is to say until the end of the world in
order to avoid that while ‘gathering up the tares’ the wheat might be
uprooted with them.
We find one of the most concrete statements about this subject in Rev 20,11-15:
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev 20,11Then I saw a great white throne and Him
who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place
was found for them.
20,12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of
life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books,
according to their deeds.
20,13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up
the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according
to their deeds.
20,14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second
death, the lake of fire.
20,15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he
was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 20,11-15;
Here, the Universal Resurrection from the dead at the end of the
world is described. Death and Hades – and even the sea – give up the dead who
are within, all of them, great and small. And then the books – namely the ‘books
of the deeds’ – are opened and judgment is pronounced. The Book of Life is
opened as well, in which the names of those are registered who are allowed to
enter into eternal life. And everyone who resurrected is tested, and those who
were not found in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire.
One would think that this is quite a clear and unambiguous statement. But the
author of the above mentioned book wants to see it in a different way. He
writes:
In the verses 11-15, at the judgment before the
great white throne not a single faithful can be seen any longer; there are only
‘dead’, and there is only talk about the lake of fire."
First of all, the last statement is wrong that there is ‘only
talk about the lake of fire’. In the verses 12 and 15 there is talk about the
Book of Life, in which all of those are registered, who will inherit eternal
life and over whom the second death does not have any power.
Secondly, however, the first part of verse 15 is ignored. Here it says, ‘And if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was
thrown into the lake of fire.’ If here not a ‘single faithful’ were among
them any longer, this scrupulous ‘check’ would not be required. All of them
could be thrown into the lake of fire directly. And then, as a result of logical
consistency it also had to read, ‘As nobody was found …’. But the
formulation ‘And if anyone’s name was not found …’ implies
downright that there will be also such who ‘are found’, and that also and
just faithful will take part in this Universal Resurrection and at the Last
Judgment at the end of the world and will enter into eternal life.
But the strange argumentation is not amazing. For the advocates of this line of
interpretation are confronted with the problem that they have lost the righteous
for the Last Judgment since they ‘let’ all faithful come to life again
already at the First Resurrection.
A similar problem arises with those righteous who will die in the Millennium. As
we will see in the following, in Isa 65,20-22, the faithful in the Millennium
will get very old.
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred.
Isa 65,20 No longer will there be in it an infant
who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the
youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age
of one hundred Will be thought accursed. 65,21 They will build houses and
inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 65,22 They
will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For
as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen
ones will wear out the work of their hands. Isa 65,20-22;
We can draw the conclusion from the statement in Isa 65,20 that
the age of men – as compared to the conditions of today – will increase
approximately tenfold. Today we call a ‘youth’ a boy at the age of
approximately ten years, and then, in the Millennium, he will have an age of
approximately one hundred years. The righteous will get as old as a tree, which
today – if it can grow unaffected by human ‘care’ – can reach an age of a
thousand years and more.
But irrespective of these fantastic conditions it also says in verse Isa 65,20
that there will not be any man who does not live out his days. This ‘living
out’ one’s days means that men will reach the age assigned to them by God and
then die. It also says there, ‘the youth will die at the age of one
hundred’. And this is not an ‘accursed’, for as the text says, the
accursed will not even reach one hundred years. So, they are righteous, who die
also in the Millennium and therefore will necessarily rise from the dead only at
the Universal Resurrection, after the Millennium, at the end of the world.
The view that not a single man will die any more in the Millennium, denies all
these statements, just in order to be able to maintain the other wrong theory,
namely the one, according to which no righteous will appear any more at the
Final Judgment. But as we can see easily, all of this wrong makeshift
construction is only the consequence of another misinterpretation, namely the
idea that all faithful, the ‘entire universal congregation’ will rise from
the dead at the First Resurrection.
As already explained above, in Rev 20,4-5 John is speaking of beheaded – that is
to say martyrs – who come to life again at the First Resurrection. A part of
these martyrs are already mentioned in Rev 6,9, where they are called the souls
of those ‘who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of
the testimony which they had maintained’. However, in the Rapture prophesied
by Paul in 1The 4,16, and 1Cor 15,52, all faithful who have died up to that time
will be raised from the dead and will be caught up into heaven together with the
living faithful, but they will not resurrect, that means they will not come to
‘life’ in the sense of Rev 20,4, but they will be in heaven with God as
souls. They will then come to life at the end of the world, at the Universal
Resurrection together with the faithful who died in the Millennium.
But let us now proceed to the Universal Resurrection:
An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice.
Jn 5,26 For just as the Father has life in Himself,
even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 5,27 and He gave Him
authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 5,28 Do not
marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will
hear His voice, 5,29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds
to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment. Jn 5,26-29;
From the above passage from the Scriptures four statements
emerge very clearly:
1. The Son got the authority to execute judgment from the
Father.
2. An hour is coming – and on account of this text this hour
can certainly not be divided, such as for instance, into half an hour before the
Millennium for the good and half an hour after the Millennium for the wicked as
some people think, but this quite particular hour, in which
3. all those – not one time the good and the other time the
wicked, but really all – who are still in the tombs at that time will hear his
voice at the same time. And
4. those who did the good deeds will come forth to a
Resurrection of life,
that is to say to the regeneration for eternal
life,
Those who committed the evil deeds, however, to a
Resurrection of judgment,
that is to say to the regeneration for the
second death, the "redeath".
Therefore once more: At this last hour a l l dead
will come to life again. It is the hour of regeneration (Mt 19:28;). The one in
order to enter into eternal life, the others in order to die the ‘second death’
and to be thrown into the lake of fire.
This is also confirmed to us by Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians.
As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
1Cor 15,21 For since by a man came death, by a man
also came the resurrection of the dead. 15,22 For as in Adam all die, so
also in Christ all will be made alive. 1Cor 15,21-22;
And by those who ‘will be made alive’ here not only the
faithful are meant, but as Jn 5,28-29 confirms, it is all dead who will
hear the voice of the Lord at the Universal Resurrection and who will come forth
from their tombs.
We must not be surprised if also the godless and impenitent come to life again.
As already explained at the beginning, the Resurrection of men is not an
extraordinary event but – just as the biological death – a necessity that is
immanent in the system, as man was created by God for an eternal existence. This
does not mean that also the godless are saved but only that they come to life
again physically. This also emerges from the logical conclusion that the
godless, if they were not re-generated (reborn), could not re-die
the ‘second death’ either.
Resurrection is a regeneration (rebirth), not only for the
faithful man, but especially for him. Just as we had to be born of the flesh for
our earthly life, we must be born of the spirit for our eternal life. The Lord
has tried to explain that already to Nicodemus.
In his conversation with Nicodemus, in Jn 3,3-8, the Lord had obviously
difficulties to explain the connection between resurrection and regeneration.
Unless one is born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jn 3,3 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God.’ 3,4 Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old?
He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’
3,5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 3,6 That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3,7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
3,8 ‘The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not
know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of
the Spirit.’ Jn 3, 3- 8;
Nicodemus only knew the biological, physical birth and therefore
asked the Lord, if we had to return into our mother’s womb to be born again. And
the Lord explained to him that we need both: our biological birth – the birth
out of water (amniotic fluid) – and our regeneration, namely the birth out of the spirit, in
order to be able to enter into the kingdom of God.
And also the Lord himself saw this regeneration in his own Resurrection. This is
testified to us by John in the Revelation who calls the Lord the ‘firstborn
of the dead’.
The firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Rev 1,4 John to the seven churches that are in
Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 1,5 and from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings
of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood
– 1,6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father – to
Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Rev 1, 4- 6;
Also when the Lord was speaking about the Last Judgment which
will follow upon the Universal Resurrection, he calls this resurrection ‘regeneration’.
In the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne.
Mt 19,28 And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to
you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of
Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Mt 19,28;
At this regeneration the Son of Man will call into the realm of
the dead and all who are in the tombs will hear his voice.
And will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life.
Jn 5,26 For just as the Father has life in Himself,
even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 5,27 and He gave Him
authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 5,28 Do not marvel
at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear
His voice, 5,29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a
resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of
judgment. Jn 5,26-29;
For the wicked it will be a regeneration for judgment and for
eternal damnation, the ‘second death’. For the righteous, however, this is
the regeneration for the beginning of their new, eternal life.
I Myself will raise him up on the last day.
Jn 6,39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that
of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
6,40 ‘For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son
and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on
the last day.’ Jn 6,39-40;
Jn 6,44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up on the last day. Jn 6,44;
Jn 6,54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day Jn 6,54;
As we can see, the above three passages from John’s Gospel prove
quite clearly that the Resurrection on Judgment Day/the Last Day, that is to say
at the end of the world, also concerns the faithful and precisely the faithful.
But especially in Jn 6,44 we find out quite a peculiar connection. The Lord
Jesus will raise us from the dead on Judgment Day/the Last Day because we
believed in his word and turned to him. But as it seems, this belief in him was
not our personal merit. It was the Father who drew us to the Son.
How grateful must we be to our God that we are not too low for him that he tries
to help all of us and leads us to his Son.
They are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Lk 20,34 Jesus said to them, The sons of this age
marry and are given in marriage, 20,35 but those who are considered worthy to
attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are
given in marriage; 20,36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are
like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Lk
20,34-36;
After the Universal Resurrection at the end of the world, at the
‘regeneration’, the faithful receive their reward. As immortal beings they
will be like the angels, and they will enter into eternal life in the kingdom of
God, into the second, the New Creation as sons of God.
(See also Chapter 14: "The New
Creation.")
Although now judgment is handed over to the Son, the Lord will -
according to his own words – not judge himself on Judgment Day. His function as
a judge was his appearance on this earth and his word that he spoke to us. He
did all that his Father had ordered him. And in those days he showed men once
and for all the way how they can be saved.
And so no judge is required any more at the Resurrection on the Last Day. Unlike
the time before the death of Jesus (see above) since the time after Golgotha
with the death of each man also his judgment has been pronounced at the same
time. Depending on whether he accepted the word of the Lord or not, he has
inherited eternal life or not.
The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
Jn 12,44 And Jesus cried out and said, He who
believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 12,45 He who sees
Me sees the One who sent Me. 12,46 I have come as Light into the world, so that
everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 12,47 If anyone
hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come
to judge the world, but to save the world.
12,48 He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him;
the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 12,49 For I did
not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me
a commandment as to what to say and what to speak 12,50 ‘I know that His
commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the
Father has told Me.’ Jn 12,44-50;
Therefore, at this Last Judgment no ‘taking of evidence’ is
required any more. Only the books are opened. There are, as we will see below in
Rev 20,11-15, two different kinds of books. On the one hand the ‘books of the
deeds’, where the deeds of men are recorded. And on the other hand the ‘Book
of Life’. In this ‘Book of the Lamb’, as it is also called, all those are
registered who adopted the faith during their lives and who turned to their
Lord. And those who are not registered in that Book of Life, are condemned, even
if they had to show gigantic heaps of good deeds to their credit.
For the cowardly and unbelieving, their part will be in the lake of fire which is the second death.
Rev 21,7 He who overcomes will inherit these
things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 21,8 ‘But for the
cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and
sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that
burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ Rev 21, 7- 8;
In contrast to the Rapture before the Millennium, where
the elect were gathered among the living by the angels and the godless and
impenitent were left for the subsequent judgment of catastrophes – the Day of
the Lord – , here, at the end of the world, a reverse way of procedure can be
seen. The angels will gather first those who commit lawlessness and throw them
into the furnace of fire. Then the remaining righteous will enter into the
kingdom of their Father, into eternal life.
(See also Chapter 05: "The Day
of the Lord.")
The angels will gather those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire.
Mt 13,36 Then He left the crowds and went into the
house. And His disciples came to Him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of
the tares of the field.’ 13,37 And He said, The one who sows the good seed is
the Son of Man,
13,38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons
of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 13,39 and the enemy
who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the world; and the
reapers are angels. 13,40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with
fire, so shall it be at the end of the world.
13,41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather
out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
13,42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13,43 Then the righteous will shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Mt
13,36-43;
At the end of the world; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous.
Mt 13,47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a
dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 13,48 and when it
was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the
good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
13,49 So it will be at the end of the world; the angels will come forth
and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 13,50 and will throw them
into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. 13,51 Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes.
13,52 And Jesus said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has become a
disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out
of his treasure things new and old.’ Mt 13,47-52;
As now both groups, righteous and wicked, attained to
regeneration at the Universal Resurrection, also the separation has taken place
now. All of a sudden the godless will become aware of this knowledge at their
Resurrection. They will see themselves transformed – just as the faithful – with
an immortal body. And they will see that the faithful are actually allowed to
continue to live with this immortality of theirs in eternity, in peace and joy
in the kingdom of God.
They themselves, however, will now, after they have received a second life, also
have to die the ‘second death’ and will be thrown into the lake of fire.
They will weep and gnash their teeth in all eternity.
(See also Excursus 08: "The
first and the second death.")
Anyone who’s name was not found written in the book of life, has to die the second death.
Rev 20,11Then I saw a great white throne and Him
who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place
was found for them.
20,12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne,
and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and
the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according
to their deeds.
20,13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave
up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them
according to their deeds. 20,14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 20,15 And if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into
the lake of fire. Rev 20,11-15;
(See also Chapter 13: "The
Last Judgment.")
Just as some exegetes think to have to ‘place’ also us other
faithful who did not die the death of a martyr or will not die the death of a
martyr in the First Resurrection by means of a somewhat more reader-friendly
interpretation, some circles do not want to burden the godless and impenitent
with an eternal damnation either. Although this view does not have any
foundation in the Scriptures, they think that this ‘eternal’ strictly
speaking is not eternal, but that these people simply cease to exist after their
condemnation.
With that these interpreters disclose on the one hand that the importance of the
decision of man against God in his life, and also the absolute consequence of
the justice of God has not yet become aware to them in its full extent. And as
on the other hand the term ‘eternal’ is used in the relevant passages from
the Scriptures in completely identical spelling – and as it is therewith also
used in an identical lexical meaning – always both for eternal life and for
eternal damnation, this would mean, if you look at it the other way round that
also the eternal life of the faithful could not be eternal. So, according to
this view also they would have to reckon with the fact that they will soon cease
to exist. But if the life in the New Creation after regeneration that is
promised to us by our Lord is actually eternal – and there is no reason at all
to be found in the Scriptures why we should doubt this – then – however hard
this may sound – also damnation will be eternal, that is to say never ending!
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mt 25,41 Then He will also say to those on His
left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has
been prepared for the devil and his angels; 25,42 for I was hungry, and you gave
Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 25,43 I was
a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me;
sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 25,44 Then they themselves
also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
25,45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you
did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 25,46
‘These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.’ Mt 25,41-46;
Now finally the goal is reached which runs like a red thread
through the whole Bible, from 1 Moses up to the Revelation of John: All enemies
of God are defeated.
At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is
the Lord, to the glory of God, the Father.
Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.
Ps 110,1<<A Psalm of David.>> The LORD
says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a
footstool for Your feet.’ Ps 110, 1;
Mt 22,41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them a question: 22,42 What do you think about the Christ,
whose son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The son of David.’ 22,43 He said to
them, Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
22,44 the LORD said to my Lord, "sit at My right hand, until I put your
enemies beneath your feet" 22,45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how
is He his son? 22,46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare
from that day on to ask Him another question. Mt 22,41-46;
Acts 2,29 Brethren, I may confidently say to you
regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is
with us to this day.
2,30 And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an
oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 2,31 he looked ahead and
spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to hades,
nor did His flesh suffer decay. 2,32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we
are all witnesses.
2,33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received
from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which
you both see and hear.
2,34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘the
LORD said to my Lord, "sit at My right hand, 2,35 until I make your
enemies a footstool for your feet." 2,36 ‘Therefore let all the house of
Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this
Jesus whom you crucified.’ Acts 2,29-36;
Hbr 1,10 And, ‘You, LORD, in the beginning laid
the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; 1,11
they will perish, bur You remain, and they all will become old like a garment,
1,12 and like a mantle You will roll them up, like a garment they will also be
changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.’
1,13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘sit at My right hand,
until I put your enemies beneath your feet ’? 1,14 Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will
inherit salvation? Hbr 1,10-14;
Hbr 10,11 Every priest stands daily ministering and
offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
10,12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at
the right hand of God, 10,13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies
be made a footstool for His feet. Hbr 10,11-13;
Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil 2,5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was
also in Christ Jesus, 2,6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not
regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 2,7 but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 2,8 Being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross.
2,9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name, 2,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will
bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 2,11 and
that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father. Phil 2, 5-11;
Also these texts above, especially in Phil 2,9-11, are often -
in particular within the scope of the doctrine of the ‘Atonement of All’ -
used to deny a punishment of the godless and the impenitent. And what is more,
they even got that far to maintain that even Satan himself will finally convert
to God and that that way the entire Creation will be united again in the days of
eternity.
I wonder if the supporters of this view are aware of the fact that they reduce
the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross to absurdity by that. A decision of man
would not be necessary either then – because in the long run everyone will
convert to God anyway. Without wanting to offend these people, this way of
thinking reminds us very much of those who tried to make the first men believe
‘You will not die at all’.
Then the Son Himself also will be subjected, so that God may be all in all.
1Cor 15,25 For He must reign until He has put
all His enemies under His feet. 15,26 The last enemy that will be abolished
is death.
15,27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says,
‘All things are put in subjection,’ it is evident that He is excepted who
put all things in subjection to Him.
15,28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be
subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in
all. 1Cor 15,25-28;
After all other enemies – the godless and the impenitent –
now also the last enemy, death, will be abolished. And in order to express it
once more quite clearly: ‘abolished’ does not mean the dissolution of
existence here! In a similar way as the first death destroys the physical body,
the second death will destroy the second body, which we will receive at the
Resurrection, that is to say at the regeneration. But just as man only changed
over to a spiritual dimension with his consciousness after his death, he will
also then, after the second death – the lake of fire – , continue to exist
spiritually. However, separated from God and the Lamb. And this will cause the
‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev 20,14 Then death and Hades were thrown into
the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Rev 20,14;
And when then the remaining men – but also the remaining
angels – will be subjected to the Son, also the Son will be subjected to the
Father, who subjected all things to him. With that the goal of the First
Creation is reached.
(See also Table 08: "The way
of salvation.")
The second, eternal, the New Creation, will probably also have
its own goals. If we turn to the Lord, we will be sure to get to know them.