RESURRECTION

OF THE

SAINTS

CHAPTER 4

The Resurrection of the saints, that are asleep in Christ, will be the second step
of the three Rs of eschatology as presented in the Holy Scriptures. We have already seen, by
proof of Scripture, that Jesus will Return in great power, might, and glory, so in this chapter,
we will move from His Return to the Resurrection of the dead saints, leaving the Rapture as
the last step of His second coming before setting down in Israel.
Confusion abounds wherever the resurrection is discussed within the Christian
community, leaving ample room for Satan to divide and implant his own contentious
thoughts within the church. This leads to considerable disagreement amongst Christians
concerning the mechanics of the Resurrection and even less agreement of who or what will
be raised up to meet Christ in the air.
Biblical deprivation may in fact be the culprit that drives this confusion. Jesus
clearly states, by paraphrasing Isaiah, (Is. 29:13) that many will imbibe and transmit strange
teachings as doctrine, and we should be wary of these verbal weapons that our adversaries
wield so skillfully.
Mark 7:7 “Howbeit, in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men”
The only reasonable means of alleviating this spiritual anemia is through
constant study of the Holy Scriptures, which were so graciously provided to us by the Lord
our God. Then and only then will the esoteric revelations of many Christians be exposed as
over-zealous interpretations of God’s word, and not His spoken commandments.
Let us never forget that any doctrines or professed revelations that are not one
hundred percent compliant with the Scriptures are false and not of God. If there is cause to
even “wonder” about someone's message from God, Beware!!!!!
Remember all the traditional regulations that the Scribes and Pharisees not
only taught but also demanded the people keep? (And some of these were really far out)
These personal revelations they proclaimed throughout all Judea were the very ones that
Jesus condemned in Matthew 23. They were, through their traditions, keeping others from
heaven. (vs. 13)
HEY! Read that chapter for real.
 Paul expounds the secret of understanding sound doctrine in several of his
epistles, and these words he wrote could just as easily been spoken by Christ Himself.
1 Tim. 4:13 “Till I come, give attendance to
reading, exhortation, to doctrine.”
What did he just say?
STUDY PRAY STUDY
Do these three things and you do well.
Do we then depreciate the ethics and values of the Holy Scriptures by studying
and discussing them; even disagreeing as to their meaning? God forbid.
I challenge you to memorize more Scriptures this month than any other person
in your church. I exhort you to, not just read, but to study the entire Bible in the next twelve
months. I dare you to search through the Scriptures and prove me wrong on any point I
make in this or any other study I propose.
That may seem like egotistical defiance on my part but if those challenges
motivate just one person to study the Scriptures to either prove or disprove what I write, I
have done well.
We will not always agree on every issue, and I will not always be right, but let
us not divide, instead, let us be one in Christ Jesus and unite to persuade the world of His
saving grace.
Theosophy may be the controlling factor of many disagreements within the
Christian community. It appears that many Christians dispute all other interpretations of
specific Scriptures because “God told them” what He meant to say. Some who believe they
have the voice of God in their ear try to create a private piscina and refuse any outside
evangelism in fear that someone may influence behavior and Scriptural beliefs of their group.
This would be a false fear if they were teaching God’s truth because God’s
truth is pure light and cannot be overcome by dark or false teachings, nor will it cause
confusion amongst the saints.
God’s truth strengthens the church. Gamaliel was straightforward in his
belief, and gave proof from history, saying,
Acts 5: 38,39 “...For if this council or this work
be of men, it will come to
naught: But if it be of God,
ye cannot overthrow it.”
Division of the churches does not come from too much knowledge, but too little.
So, the pastors that promote Biblical study and honest debate increases the stability of their
church and strengthens the bond between that congregation and the Lord. When the pastor is
presenting God’s truth, instead of some personally motivated esoteric revelation, the
Christian bond between the congregation and that pastor will also be strengthened.
Study and debate will eliminate civil religion, (religion that says, “I believe that
because my pastor or my church does”) and will allow each disciple to build on the
foundation of Christ Jesus and not on that fallible pastor or organization.
But, alas, we are divided.
Not only is the Christian community divided concerning orthodox
interpretation of Scriptures, but there are also divisions within specific Church organizations.
Indeed, orthodoxy may be leaning toward the politically correct rather than conforming to the
higher standards conveyed by the Scriptures
 Orthodoxy is not part of our present discussion so I will spare you further
discourse concerning that and regress to the subject of the day. Here we will discuss one of
the points that invariably breeds disagreement wherever it arises.
The Resurrection.
Knowing the definition of and understanding the meaning of the Resurrection
is paramount in this discussion. If we are moved to and fro with every doctrine and
soothsayer that comes along there can be no real foundations for our beliefs.
Some will teach that reincarnation and Resurrection are one and the same.
Without delving too far into Hinduism, I would like to clarify the fallacy that reincarnation
and Resurrection are synonymous and Christianity is really the stepchild of pantheism.
Those that would promote such false teachings use Matthew 16:13,14 to prove their theses.
Let me quote,,
Matt. 16:13,14 “When Jesus came unto the
coast of Caesarea Philippi, He ask
His disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
And they said, some say thou art
John the Baptist; some Elias; and
others, Jeremias, or one of the
prophets.
Just as in the days of old, those that believe Jesus was talking about
metempsychosis do not understand the Scriptures. They falsely believe that the soul is
transferred from one being to another (metempsychosis) and those recipients may be rats,
cows, humans, or any other living entity.
That is not the case!
When Malachi wrote that Elijah would return before the “great and dreadful day of
the Lord”, (Mal. 4:5) he was talking about Elijah himself, and not about his soul entering into
a monkey, dog, or even into another person. Some of the people were not even sure that
Jesus was really a man, but instead, He may have been a spirit, as Josephus, the great Jewish
historian, timidly proclaims.
Antiquities 18, 3.3 (63) “Now, there was about
this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be
lawful to call him a man, for He
was a doer of wonderful works”
. (Josephus, 480)
They believed, even as Christians do today, that God is able to send people back
from the dead, to do His bidding, yet at no time has Scripture ever suggested that their souls
would enter into another person or animal. (metempsychosis)
A closer analogy of ancient beliefs concerning Jesus would be that they thought
He was the “Spirit” of Elijah, Isaiah, or Jeremiah and not their souls metempsychosed into
another body. Because, they thought He was a spirit, whether of an ancient prophet or of
God, it may not be appropriate to call Him a man, and that was the point Josephus was
making.
The Holy Scriptures are truly an omnibus of ideas but never have they
suggested metempsychosis of the soul. Every student of epistemology discerns that Jesus,
by His metaphysical manifestations was in fact flesh and blood even as they, by the same
manifestations, recognize He is certainly God.
Jesus is man! Jesus is God!
 When God told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was in his mothers womb,
He was talking about knowing Jeremiah himself and not knowing him as a horse,
grasshopper, or even as some John Doe. (Jer. 1:5) When Revelations 13:8 tells us that all
nations of this world will worship the Lamb that was slain, “before the foundation of this
earth was laid,” it was referring to Christ Jesus Himself and not another person who
happened to “have” His soul at that particular time.
After the Resurrection of Jesus He Himself tells us that He is flesh and blood, and
He is indeed Himself and not another who His soul had been transferred into.
Luke 24:39 “Behold my hands and my feet, that
it is I myself:”
Metempsychosis creates a very wide chasm dividing Christianity from the
paganistic beliefs of the Hindu, (as light is divided from darkness) and may not be closed
either through misunderstanding or deliberate manipulation of the Holy Scriptures.
One example of how grievously Christianity is misunderstood, not only by
pagans, heathens, and atheist but also by theosophists, who believe all gods are equal and try
to understand them all, is how they try to prescribe that Christians believe there is no
postmortem existence. Ms. Coker believes that Christians assume there is no life after death.
Nothing can be further from the truth! Yet she writes,
“Clearly death represents some kind of
state, but modern-day Christianity does
not recognize time spent after death
as existence.” (Coker, www)
The Bible teaches, and every Christian reads and believes, that death is only of
this mortal body and their souls return to be with the Lord. How can anyone read the Bible
and know the stories of the thief on the cross, the rich man and Lazarus, and the appearance
of Moses and Elias at the transfiguration of Jesus and not believe there is an existence after
death? Certainly not any Christians I know.
The notion that the saints return to God was well documented by Jesus Himself,
speaking about His own death, when He told us that we might do greater things than He did
because He was returning to His Father.
John 14:12 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he
that believeth on me, the works that
I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall they so; because
I go to My Father.”
The apostle Paul, clarifying that idea for all times, wrote in his second epistle to the
Corinthians (5:8) that when we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord.
Yepper, folks. There is existence after death, but it wont be as a cow or kangaroo.
Nosireebob!
And just to confuse theosophists more we (Christians) not only believe there is
existence after death but we also believe there is existence before birth. Just as God knew
Jeremiah before he was formed in his mother’s womb, King David knew our Lord and saw
Him sitting at the right hand of the Father, some nine hundred years before He was born of
Mary.
Psalms 110:1 “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool.”
 So if the souls of the dead saints are already with God, in heaven, paradise, or
wherever one may believe God is at this time, what will be Resurrected on that day? Well,
there is nothing left to be Resurrected but the body so lets start with that fact.
It is customarily believed that Job lived before Moses, (maybe about the time
of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) yet he relays his idea of just what will be
resurrected on that day and what will stand before the Lord. He believed, after his death,
that his flesh would return to dust and be eaten by worms but that would not prevent it from
standing before the Lord.
Job 19:26 “And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh
shall I see God.”
There are many discussions as to what that means and just what that flesh will
be that stands before God. Many, not understanding the Scriptures, believe that when Paul
said flesh and blood couldn’t inherit the kingdom of God that he was saying that our bodies
could not go to heaven. He said,
1 Cor. 15:50 “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God; neither doeth corruption inherit
incorruption.”
Paul is teaching here that we are naturally an evil and corrupt people and we cannot
be saved by anything we are able to do of ourselves (in the flesh). Is it still possible, in this
age of enlightenment that we still maintain the same level of misunderstanding that
Nicodemus showed when Jesus told him that he would have to be born again? (John 3) Are
we still asking how to re-enter our mother’s womb to be born again?
Paul is also teaching that our flesh is mortal flesh and must be changed to inherit the
Kingdom of Heaven. (1 Cor. 15-50) We MUST be changed from mortal to immortal, from
corruption to incorruption, from our old bodies to new bodies. St John writes that we don’t
yet know what we will be but we will be changed and will be like Jesus. (1 John 3-2) Job
didn’t know just how it would work but he was persuaded that even though the worms eat his
flesh, in his body he would see God. (Job 19-26)
As in most other references to the flesh, Paul is also referring to our natural
desires, reiterating that these sinful yearnings are not holy and without holiness no man can
see God. Paul spends many words teaching us in Romans 7 that he loves sin (things of the
flesh) and hates the commandments of God, (not him only, but all of us) and therefore he
must do that which he hates and refrain from the things he loves. It is well worth the time it
takes to study and analyze that entire chapter.
Although we all love sin we MUST refrain from the pleasures it offers because GOD is
ubiquitous and indeed knows just how we behave. We are not deceived because we have
knowledge of who will not be in heaven. Paul gives a partial list of just what
unrighteousness represents. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, ambushers of
themselves with mankind, thieves, coveters, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, then he adds
fornicators sin against their own body. (1 Cor. 6-9,20)
Now that we have clearer understanding of what Paul was saying about the flesh,
we still may not be any closer to identifying the body that will see Jesus. As I mentioned,
John failed to clear up this mater, in fact he may have made the waters muddier, when he
proclaimed that we did not know what Jesus would be like, yet he realized we would be
changed and become like him.
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and
 it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but
we know that, when He shall appear, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
Now all this ambiguity seems to frustrate many Christians as they anxiously debate
the aspects of the resurrection. “Will the body be raised as muscle and blood or will it be
some spiritual replication of the individual,” they wonder aloud. The answer to that question
will be made perfectly clear through actual vents that have been relayed to us through the
Holy Scripture.
Some believe there are no more prophecies that need to be fulfilled and God
will come in secret at any moment and resurrect the (bodies?) saints that are dead in Christ
and the world will not know nor will it understand what happened.
That is really a super idea and would really be nice if our Lord would come today
and catch us away to ever be with Him, but I have yet to discover where that is found in
Scripture and so doubt the trustworthiness of that theory. We will discuss those beliefs later
but for now we will learn just what will happen at the resurrection.
Knowledge of ancient resurrections are passed down to us and gives some insight
into just what will happen on that resurrection day. The same cluster of events that we will
review here may help to clarify expected events of the future resurrection. Lets look at just
how a pile of dust can be turned into a living body
Starting with a type or shadow of the resurrection, it is readily understood how
God will accomplish His great and wonderful feat of rebuilding our bodies. Job said that
although the worms ate his body, in his very flesh he would see God.
Job 19:26 “And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God.”
How does that work?
Ezekiel saw the wonder of God’s ability to accomplish that very thing as he
stood in the valley of old dry bones. He saw those old dried out bones without any flesh on
them because it had been withered, crumbled, turned to dust, and dispersed by the winds.
When Ezekiel was carried away to the valley of old dry bones this is what he
saw, felt, and heard. There was a great noise and mighty shaking of the earth as the old
bones started coming together, sinews and flesh came upon them, and they were covered
with skin, yet there was no life in them.
This story is told in the thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel and is well worth our
effort to read and reread it until it becomes seared into our mind. Here is an insert of only
one verse.
Ezek. 37:8 “ And when I beheld, lo, the sinews
and flesh came upon them, and the
skin covered them above, but there
was no breath in them.”
These bodies were formed in the sight of Ezekiel and were now complete, yet there
was an element missing that would be required to give them life. The part that was missing
was the very essence of life, the soul. In 1 Cor. 15-51,53 Paul refers to those who are still
alive as mortals and those that are dead as corruptible. Then he explains that the trump will
sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and those who remain must put on
immortality.
 Just like the old dry bones that Ezekiel saw, the dead in Christ will rise first but there
will be no life in them until Christ unites the dead bodies with their souls, which He brought
with him. This must happen before the rapture can take place.
We have already read in Ecclesiastes that when the soul leaves the body there is
no life therein. James the Just also helped out giving us a visual of that picture when he
gave us a lesson concerning works.
James 2:26 “ For the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead also.”
The body without the spirit is as dead as those old dry bones and even after god
replaced all the physical requirements yet they remained lifeless because they had no spirit
(soul) within. So how will this all work?
On resurrection day God will assemble all the saintly bodies just as He did in the
valley of dry bones but when He does; guess what, they will remain dead until He brings
those souls with Him and reunite them with their bodies.
Does that mean the saints will be resurrected in the flesh? Lets take a look.
My reasoning is simple. I take past events and project them into the future, and here
are the results.
Jesus was dead and buried but on the third day he arose again from the dead and this
is how it happened. On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of
James, arrived at the sepulcher.
There was a great earthquake because the angel of the Lord descended from heaven.
Remember Ezekiel at he valley of dry bones and at that resurrection there was a great
earthquake. This seems to be the harbinger of a resurrection and should be prevalent when
that day comes.
St. Matthew 28:2 “And, behold, there was a great earthquake:
for the angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, and came and rolled back the stone
from the door, and sat upon it.”
Now we need only to ascertain just what form the resurrected body takes. So
here we go back to those before. Ezekiel could see clearly and with perfect memory recalled
just what forms the bodies took. He said they had flesh, skin, and bones.
Ezek. 37:8 “ And when I beheld, lo, the sinews
and flesh came upon them, and the
skin covered them above, but there
was no breath in them.”
Now lets see what another resurrection has to offer. The disciples were very
disturbed at witnessing what they thought was the spirit of Jesus, but this is what He said;
St. Luke 24:39 “Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself, handle me, and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as
ye see me have.”
The bodies that Ezekiel saw resurrected were flesh and bone and the body of
Christ was flesh and He even asked for meat to eat, (Luke 24:41) so if we can take these
examples to represent the future resurrection, the bodies of the saints will be resurrected in
the flesh.
ON that great day of the Lord, He will descend from heaven with a shout coupled
with the voice of the archangel, while the trump of God is being sounded and the entire earth
shaking because this will not be a local resurrection instead bodies will be rising in every
nation. It is then the bodies of the dead saints will rise from their graves, wherever they are,
to meet Him in the air.
1 Thess. 4:16 “ 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.”
Now, we know the bodies that have been resurrected in the past have been flesh and
bone, but it would be folly to think the resurrected body would be just as it is now.
Remember what Jesus told Mary? Do not touch because I have not been glorified yet.
St. John 20:17 “Jesus saith unto her, ’Touch me not;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father…”
We also know that when Jesus went to His disciples He asked if they had any
meat to eat. We understand from the Scriptures that we will dine at the Masters table and eat
from the tree of life.
Obviously I have never witnessed a resurrection and can only imagine what it will
be like, so to give you a better idea of how it will develop here is a first hand account of the
real thing.
St. Matt. 27:51-53 51 “And, behold, the veil of the Temple was
rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth
did quake, and the rocks rent.
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the
saints which slept, arose.
53 And came out of the graves after His resurrection;
and went into the Holy City, and appeared unto many.”
Just as Jesus spoke to Mary BEFORE He ascended to heaven, apparently these
resurrected saints met with and talked to the people in Jerusalem before they ascended into
heaven. Will the resurrected saints be able to talk to the people before they ascent to meet
Jesus? If past events teach us that history repeats itself, they will.
Paul calls us “fools” for asking how the dead will be raised up. Then he goes on to
teach there are different types of flesh and the resurrected body will indeed be flesh, but it
will be changed. He teaches that the natural body must come first, die, and then be raised up
a new body. Sown in weakness, raised in power.
And now, how it will all happen.
You see, the same questions are being asked over and over. Can this great and
wonderful day of the Lord be in secrete and only the saints will know what is happening?
Will those left behind be running around trying to find an explanation for that mysterious
event? Where did all the people go?
To clarify that once and for all, we must again consult St. Matthew concerning what
Jesus said will happen.
St. Matt. 24:30-31 “And then shall appear the sign of the Son
of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth
mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of
a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
This my friend is a picture of the Resurrection of the saints and it will not be secret
because all the nations will see and will mourn, and they will all see Jesus coming.