The
Two Resurrections
There will be times that we as believers in Jesus Christ will have to BELIEVE the BOOK and throw out the great BAPTIST confessions of faith.
In this text we will see what the BIBLE … SCRIPTURE with SCRIPTURE says of the RESURRECTION.
John 5:25 “Verily, verily, I say unto
you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they
that hear shall live.
26 For as
the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to
the Son to have life in himself;
27
And hath given him authority to execute judgment
also, because he is the Son of man.
28
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice,
29 And shall come forth;
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of
life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation.”
Some will hear the SON of GOD though they were dead, and yet they shall LIVE.
These, that will hear, will have a part in the first resurrection.
Some though they hear not, will nevertheless, come forth to a resurrection for eternal damnation.
This brings us to the point of confusion for so many in this day, because of the traditional view of the resurrection, as described in the great confessions of the faith, as only being ONE resurrection [GENERAL].
This is where the religious leaders of the Israel were frozen in their understanding. This also, is how it was … in Martha’s mind when Jesus came to her after her brother Larzaus died in John chapter eleven.
Turn there in your Bibles to: [John 11:21-24].
“Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Martha believed in the resurrection of the dead! She believed the dead shall rise again “at the last day”.
Do you know something? Martha was acting on all she knew. She was standing by faith in the light she had received from believing the Old Testament.
The Law and the Prophets had given her the HOPE which would allow her to hang on to her belief in the rising of the dead “at the last day”, [specifically, the resurrection of her brother Lazarus]. Now Martha, and all the Jews, believed in what is termed a GENERAL resurrection.
This is where the main line denominations are today. They believe there will be a general resurrection of the bodies of the just and of the unjust; the righteous in the likeness of Christ, but the wicked to shame and everlasting contempt.
Thus, the mass of Christianity is in a frozen state, and has never spent a day in their life searching the SCRIPTURE in this matter of the RESURRECTION.
The Great Confessions Of Faith
These following confessions speak of one general
resurrection “at the last day” where the righteous
go “to endless joy” and the wicked “to endless
punishment.”
• 1689 London Baptist Confession
• 1742 Philadelphia Confession
• 1833
New Hampshire Confession
• 1963 Baptist
Faith Message
Let me read to you section eighteen of the New Hampshire Confession.
“18. Of the World to Come
We believe that the end of the world is approaching; that at the last day Christ will descend from heaven, and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy; and that this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness.”
This is how the 1963 Baptist Message reads in section ten of the same:
“X. Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.”
Seen enough?
And so it is … for all those who fail to search the scriptures to see if a matter is true. Here is the question. Is there only one general resurrection “of the just and of the unjust”? Well, are the so-called great historical confessions of faith right, or are they wrong? Let’s see if the BOOK of GOD has given us further light.
Hung Up … At The Level of Martha’s Understanding
Now, Martha in John chapter eleven in her day did not have the benefit of a completed BOOK. [We do! Amen.]
She did not have all sixty-six books of God’s word.
[We do! Amen.]
The twenty-seven books of the New Testament had yet to be given to man. This means that the book of Revelation was still future.
Mary did not have this one particular book [The Revelation] in her hands in order to see all the truths concerning the number of the resurrections in the BIBLE, or the nature of those resurrections.
[We do! Amen!]
She didn’t know that one of the sons of thunder [the Apostle John] would be making a trip to heaven to be shown the things which must be hereafter.
[Revelation 4:1] “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
Behold what did John see?
The Two Resurrections
Contrary to all religious confessions of faith there is revealed in the BOOK two resurrections not one general resurrection.
The salient verses for the First Resurrection and Second Resurrection is Revelation 20:1-5
1 “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.”
Now read verse four and five:
4 “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.”
5 “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
Those, who are of the FIRST RESURRECTION, are all the saved from all the ages since Adam till the restoration of all things [The Millennium].
They are the REDEEMED! They are the SAINTS! And something else!
There are THREE GROUPS of saints who are part of the FIRST RESURRECTION.
Three Parts To The First Resurrection
The key to understanding the two resurrections in the Bible is in the book of Revelation chapter twenty, verses, four and five.
There are three groups of people that comprise this first resurrection.
When Jesus Christ conquered DEATH and rose from the grave THE RESURRECTION of the SON of GOD was so powerful that Old Testament saints AROSE.
The first part of the First Resurrection is:
1. The Old Testament saints [FIRST FRUITS]
[Ephesians 4:8-9] “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?” [Matthew 27:52-53]
“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
When Jesus Christ conquered death he went to the center of the earth and took captivity captive.
This is first fruits of the harvest, the first group and part of the first resurrection.
The second part of the First Resurrection is:
2. The Church Age saints [THE HARVEST]
[Revelation twenty, verse four: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.”
The folks sitting on the thrones are the Church Age saints. That is us, friends … if you are saved. Jesus told his apostles about these thrones in Matthew 19:28: “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The third part of the First Resurrection is:
3. The Tribulation saints [THE GLEANINGS]
[Revelation twenty, verse four: “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.”
These are the saints who lost there lives during the seven period called The Tribulation.
The Second Resurrection
Now, we are ready to read verse five of Revelation chapter twenty again. Are you ready?
Friend! You do not want to be part of the second resurrection!
5 “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”
Those who do not have a part in the first resurrection will not live again … till after the Kingdom of Heaven age is over. They will be resurrected just in time for the Great White Throne Judgment.
Let’s read Revelation chapter twenty, verse twelve to fifteen: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
To Sum Up … There Are TWO RESURRECTIONS
The First Resurrection is for the saved of all ages!
There are three parts to the First Resurrection
1. The Old Testament saints [FIRST FRUITS]
There are two thousands years between the event of the first part of the First Resurrection and the event of the second part of the First Resurrection.
2. The Church Age saints [THE HARVEST]
There are seven years between the event of the second part of the First Resurrection and the event of the third part of the First Resurrection.
3. The Tribulation saints [THE GLEANINGS]
There are one thousand years between the event of the First Resurrection and the event of the Second Resurrection.
The Second Resurrection is for the unsaved of all ages … those not found written in the book of life.
Now, friends, recall what the Spirit of God recorded in John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
You want to be part of the First Resurrection! Amen!