When is the Resurection?
* the first resurrection (of the righteous) *
by Deb (Sandberg) Murtagh
December 25, 2007
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        I feel compelled to write this article, as I've not felt compelled to really write anything until now. This year has not been very active for me as far as my diary goes I admit. Still, I must say what I know. My source is the bible as usual, but I seem to find confirmation in other writings such as the Book of Enoch, which I know is arguably apocryphal or pseudoapocryphal ... yet these are confirmations of my biblical findings and not in themselves *the answer*. As I always say, search the word of God with all your heart, mind & soul and do NOT rely on the traditions of man. There are some great and riveting novels of mankind, some earnest believers, that would have us believe (through their own understanding) that the resurrection is BEFORE the great tribulation that is soon to come upon the earth. I challenge you not to stray from your biblical foundations, aside from amusement, don't be carried away in *vain imaginings* ... remember scripture such as:

Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

So, let's not get distracted by works of fiction, let's investigate what the word (bible) actually says about our glorious resurrection ... for we know this about our charished word of God:

Pro 30:5 Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2Ti 3:16-17 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:   That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

2Ti 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;   And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

I hope those scriptures sank deeply into your soul and cannot be rooted out anytime future. For the sake of your salvation, I remind you why God's word (the bible) is so important and why we must believe it above all other writings past, present or future. Believe God's word and LIVE. Cling to it tenaciously, as though you were adrift in a vast, endless sea, for the word of God IS your life raft and if you let go of it you will perish. Let me affirm to you as a fellow believer that God can, and has, gotten His word down to us today IN TACT! So, after that brief interlude, let's get to the meat of what this article is about, which is our glorious resurrection. Here's what the bible has to say ... {font colors, BOLD and other emphasis are mine}

Rev 20:1-7 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.     And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,     And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and AFTER that he must be loosed a little season.      And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.      But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection.      Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.     And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison ...

So then, what are we believers waiting for? What is the next major event to happen to each of us (aside from if we die first and go to be with our Lord)? We are waiting for the first resurrection are we not? The resurrection of the just as mentioned in other scriptures, which is the first resurrection.

For clarification, Jesus' resurrection was the first of the firstfruits, we believers being the firstfruits and He being the first of us to receive His glorified resurrected body. When He was resurrected, His earthly body was *changed*, in the *twinkling of an eye*, we can expect this for ourselves whether we are alive at His return or not. God willing I am one of them, perhaps you are to!?

But we must not loose sight of the all important *when*. Prior to all this, and not quoted above, is confirmation of the gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke, as well as all of the rest of Revelation up to this point) regarding wars, rumors of wars, cosmic disturbances, etc, be sure to read those over carefully and compare them one to another as I don't have room here to cover all that here without getting off topic.

Notice the span of time referred to now (in Rev 20 as quoted above) as surrounding a thousand year period, we call that 'the millenium'. It first talks about satan being captured and bound for a thousand years, then it goes on to talk about thrones and they that sat upon them and judgement is giving to them and it describes who *they* are ... believers in Jesus the Messiah (Christ, Lord, Savior). It says that these believers live and reign with Jesus ... where? ... ON EARTH, for a thousand years! Then it briefly says the rest of the dead will not live again until the thousand years are finished. Then it goes to clarify that the first resurrection is those believers that are living and reigning with Christ during the thousand year period. Pretty simple and straight forward don't you think? These people will not suffer a second death (which occurs at the end of the thousand years, when those not resurrected to reign with Christ are then raised and judged (and called the second death, read the remainder of the chapter for that truth).

I so look forward to this and I pray the Lord GOD keeps me on the straight and narrow path so that I may, by His grace, attain the first resurrection! Other scriptures bear this out as we see next. If someone tells you there will be some sort of *secret rapture* or that we will be resurrected before the great tribulation, quote to them the scripture above, and these affirming scriptures below ... these also bear witness to *when* ... open your bible, let's have a look:

Mat 24:29 Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mar 13:24 But in those days, AFTER that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

Rev 7:9-10 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;     And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Rev 7:13-14 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?      And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which CAME OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The point of showing Matthew & Mark are that they document cosmic disturbances, these words are spoken of by our Lord Jesus, which makes them especially important as to *when*. They totally line up with Revelation 7:13-14 which also states "they came out of great tribulation". I believe that tribulation isn't only wars and rumors of wars but cosmic disturbances, in fact, I know so ... it's stated in those books! Rev 7:13-14 is referring to people that have died *of great tribulation*, more than likely most of them martyred for the Lord's word's sake. Notice NONE of these say *THE* great tribulation, just *great tribulation* or *tribulation* as though referring to a set war or tribulation to come but could mean the trials & tribulations of life where we strive to remain in the Lord and not swayed of satan or the things of the world. Another section of Revelation also mentions a multitude of believers that have died and are in spirit before the throne and God tells them to wait a little longer until the numbers of their slain brethren join them in heaven (Rev 6:9-17, also notice here there are cosmic disturbances!). These are all those who have passed away IN the Lord Jesus before those noted above in Rev 7:13-14. How do I know these souls are the righteous dead?

2Cr 5:6-8 Therefore [we are] always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:     (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)     We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

For the most part we believers agree that when Jesus returns we are resurrected, meaning our fleshly body as found (of God) is *changed* for our soul to inhabit ... no longer of flesh and blood but eternal as our Lord has received already. The dispute is more or less when He (Jesus) will return (pre tribulation, mid tribulation, post tribulation, and a few other views like pre millenium, a millenium, post millenium, and so on). Satan has us so confused and arguing amongst each other that we forget the answers are IN THE WORD (bible)! From what I see in scripture, our resurrection is just before the millenium (thousand years of peace on earth) begin, and we believers will rule and reign with Jesus governing the entire world (what's left of it, which is about a sixth of those that war against Him at His return ... see Zechariah 14).

Remember, resurrection is referring to our corruptible (mortal) bodies being raised to incorruptible (immortal), not some *rapture* where we're lifted off to heaven in a sudden *mass poofing*. Yes, those that are alive and remain at the Lord's return will *meet Him in the air* because angels will collect us from the four corners of the earth to be with our Lord forevermore! But He is coming here, and we will be with Him. THIS EARTH IS OUR HOME, God made it for us to inhabit for all eternity! We're not going to be sitting on clouds strumming our harps my friends, we indeed will be busy working for the Lord HERE ON EARTH! Only those believers that have died (physical bodies have gone to seed in the ground) will be in heaven leisurely playing harps and waiting to return so they can receive their resurrected bodies when they return with Him. Some scriptural references of interest are: 1 Cor 15, Matt 24, Mark 13, 1 Thes 4, 1 Thes 5, 1 Peter, and so much more!

So be prepared to wait on the Lord, no matter when He returns, don't loose faith I pray you, don't turn to other doctrine, of mankind or demons, so as to have your eyes & ears tickled ... be faithful to our Lord Jesus and He will be faithful to you. Bear it out, even unto death if that is your lot to come, for the Lord says that He will protect us during those times, but some will be martyred and to those I say *be faithful unto death* for the glory you attain will have been worth every iota of pain & suffering you may experience in this ever so brief (puff of smoke, vapor) of a physical life. For your reward is eternity with our Father (God) and His Son Jesus, and if Jesus could suffer for God's glory, we surely can follow if required of us. Remember the promise to the faithful ...

Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Luk 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [is] great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

Hbr 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Jam 4:14 Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Wait as long as it takes, because the salvation of our brethren is always ongoing, until the Lord returns and we are resurrected to His Glory! Pray for one another. May our Lord Bless you with understanding, faith, and stamina to endure ... amen.

Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus, Come!