I Am the Resurrection

[Rose]

John 11:21-26 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22) But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23) Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24) Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Dan. 12: 1-2 'And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlastingcontempt.' 9) 'And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 13) But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.'

1Cor. 15: 22- 26 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Rev. 1:18 'I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.'
Rev 20:14 'And deathand hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.' The resurrection at the last day that Martha was speaking of was the same resurrection that Daniel is told would happen at the end of days. Jesus answers Martha by saying that He is that Resurrection, which implies that these (1st century) are indeed the end of days spoken of in the book of Daniel. If Jesus is that Resurrection, then whosoever believes in Him partakes in that Resurrection by being in Jesus Christ, and should not die but have everlasting life.

The death that Jesus is speaking of is not 'carnal death' which every human will experience, but the death that is separation from God. That separation was forever done away with when Jesus delivered up the kingdom to God and put 'Death' under His feet…..which is separation from God, so now all who believe in Jesus will not experience 'Death'…. separation from God, but have everlasting life 'communion with God'.

Death has been forever done away with….cast into the lake of fire.



Rose

[Rose]

.....Continuing on with "I AM the Resurrection".......


Luke 11:2 'And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.'

Acts 3:19-21 'Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.'

Rom. 8:19-23 'For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption,to wit, the redemption of our body.'

1 Cor. 15:50-55 'Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?'



1 Cor. 15:24 'Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power'

Rev 11:15 'And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.'

1 Cor.15:51-52 'Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Rev. 10:7 'But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. ' 1 Thess. 4:13-18 'But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.'

Eph. 1:9-14 'Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritanceuntil the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.'


Heb 2:8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.' For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we don’t see all things subjected to him, yet.

Heb. 8:13 'In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.'

Rom. 8:38-39 'For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' When Christ conquered death at the Cross and rose again He became 'the Resurrection', but at that time the 'purchased possession' which is our inheritance in Christ…'Eternal life' was not fully redeemed, Christ ascended into Heaven and remained there until all things were restored (Death, separation from God would be thrown into the Lake of Fire thus allowing communion with God to be restored to mankind). When the first Christians were sealed with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost it was a 'promise of the inheritance' that was already purchased by Christ….'Eternal Life'… that would be fully be redeemed at 70 A.D. when the Old was destroyed so the New could be revealed.

The time between the Covenants (from 30 to 70 A.D.) was a time of transition, the old was passing away and the new was coming in, even though all things were finished at the Cross, it took 40 years, a time of trials and tribulation for the old to vanish away, and Gods judgment to be complete.

Those who died in the Lord between the Covenants were in a state of rest, waiting for their inheritance to be fully redeemed when the kingdom was delivered to God, and then to be forever in Christ, which is to be resurrected. When Jesus instructed His disciples how to pray, He told them to pray for God’s Kingdom to come, so that His will could be manifested here on earth as it was in heaven.

I believe 'the Resurrection' for all mankind happened when Christ who is 'the Resurrection' fully delivered the kingdom up to God, at that moment the Old was completely vanished away (70 A.D.) and the New totally brought in, all was accomplished in Christ. It happened when the Seventh Angel sounded, the 'last Trump', at that moment the kingdoms of this world were delivered up to the Father and the mystery was finished. Those who were alive at that time experienced a 'redemption of their body', which was a 'manifestation' of the 'sons of God'; never again would death be a separation from the Love 'communion' of God. This is what I believe Paul meant when he said that Christ would gather together all things in Himself. That is what I think Paul was telling the Thessalonians when he said that those who remained after the dead in Christ rose would be caught up together with them, so they would all be with (in Christ) the Lord forever.



Rose

[Richard Amiel McGough]

The true meaning of Paul's words are confirmed by a close comparison of of two passages (Romans 8 and 2 Corinthians 4-5) in which Paul presented the truth about the "redemption of our body."

Our present carnal sufferings are nothing compared with the glory we will inherit in heaven:

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Paul emphatically distinguishes between things that are "eternal" and things that are "temporal" so that we will understand he is talking about our "heavenly body" as opposed to our carnal body that will be dissolved:
2 Corinthians 4:18-5:5: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this [carnal] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians he refers to this "building of God, a house not made with hands" as our "spiritual body" and strongly contrasts it with the "natural body." This is our inheritance as Christians. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with a "resurrection" of the carnal body that is or will be dissolved. The "house" that God has promised is a "house which is from heaven." There is nothing carnal about it whatsoever. It has nothing to do with phyisical life and death down here on the carnal plane. It is a "house from heaven" - the "heavenly Jerusalem" in which we will dwell forever with God. The text I highlighted red links right back to Romans 8:
Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The words are strongly parallel to those in 2 Cor 5. The "redemption of the body" is the "house from heaven" and the "spiritual body" we receive[d] in the Resurrection, whose name is Jesus Christ. It is the INHERITANCE promised by God when He gave us the earnest of the Spirit:
Ephesians 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. The inheritance is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ. We are the "purchased possession" that was redeemed when Christ offered up the spiritual kingdom to God His Father. Paul was not talking about a carnal inheritance in carnal bodies on this ball of dirt. He explicitly told us that he was talking about eternal things and a house (body) in heaven. This is what the Bible means when it talks about resurrection and our inheritance and the "redemption of the body." It is truly a body - but not the carnal corruptible earthly body that Paul explicitly contrasted with the heavenly resurrection spiritual body that God has prepared for all who trust in Him.

So there it is ... multiplied mutually confirming verses that shed a flood of light on the meaning of the "resurrection." I would be very interested to know if anyone has any verses that would suggest that the resurrected bodies would be "earthly" in any way at all.

Richard

[joel]

Richard and Rose,

There is no dispute, nor any disagreement that the spiritual body that will be given to us, as members of His body, will not be temporal. The body will be immortal, and incorruptible. There is no dispute as to those facts. There may a lot of ignorance associated with the truths that Paul clearly taught, but, among those who see the "heavenly body" how you described it is perfectly on target.

Where we continue to differ (.....so what's new?) is that resurrection, and what follows, is not identical for all. There still remains a distinction for those who are not equipped with a "celestial" body, but who will be involved in the service to God on the earth in the future (I may be the only one who posts here that believes this.....others have come and gone....their voices silenced by those who insist there is no difference.....but, again, ..."what's new?).

This involves an entire analysis of the "promises" to Israel that you insist have already been fulfilled. If that is so, then, you are entirely correct. But, if that is not so, there are promises that remain yet future.

Joel, the "rested-up pugilist, ready for a few more sparring rounds with the tag team masters.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Richard and Rose,

There is no dispute, nor any disagreement that the spiritual body that will be given to us, as members of His body, will not be temporal. The body will be immortal, and incorruptible. There is no dispute as to those facts. There may a lot of ignorance associated with the truths that Paul clearly taught, but, among those who see the "heavenly body" how you described it is perfectly on target.

Where we continue to differ (.....so what's new?) is that resurrection, and what follows, is not identical for all. There still remains a distinction for those who are not equipped with a "celestial" body, but who will be involved in the service to God on the earth in the future (I may be the only one who posts here that believes this.....others have come and gone....their voices silenced by those who insist there is no difference.....but, again, ..."what's new?).

This involves an entire analysis of the "promises" to Israel that you insist have already been fulfilled. If that is so, then, you are entirely correct. But, if that is not so, there are promises that remain yet future.

Joel, the "rested-up pugilist, ready for a few more sparring rounds with the tag team masters.

Hello my pugilist brother! I am glad you are rested. Perhaps we should institute a new fellowship called "The Pugildelphians" or "The Chistapugilists" or some such! :lol:

I agree that an analysis of the fulfillment of OT prophecies in the Church might help us clear up the question about a future roll of enfleshed creatures "in the service of God." It seems to me that the first step would be to discuss the many OT prophecies that are explicitly stated to have been fulfilled in Christ and His Church. For example:

2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. KJV 2 Corinthians 7:1 ¶ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Paul explicitly states that "these promises" are for Christians. They are a conflation of numerous prophecies and promises to Israel found in the OT. Here are a few examples off the top of my head:

Isaiah 52:11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.
Leviticus 26:11-12 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
Leviticus 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.
Ezekiel 37:26-27 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.The conflation of promises and prophecies from both the Law (Torah) and the Prophets strongly suggests to me that he understood all the promises to be fulfilled in the Church. This is confirmed by the fact that Paul never (as far as I know) said that any OT prophecies were yet to fulfilled in a "restored" national Israel.

So that looks like a pretty good start.

Richard

[joel]

Hello my pugilist brother! I am glad you are rested. Perhaps we should institute a new fellowship called "The Pugildelphians" or "The Chistapugilists" or some such!


Very.....very.....witty, indeed. The Pugidelphians= The boxers of brotherly love, the oxymorons of morons!! The Christapugilists=Christ Boxers.....a very needed group indeed to combat the infidels!!

Thanks for the laugh, I loved it.

Joel