FROM THEENDTOETERNITY
ScottMacGregor
Cover imagery: The Lion, symbolizing Jesus— referred to in the book of Revelation as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5)—smashes the Antichrist’s global empire represented by the circle on which the serpent, the Devil (Revelation 20:2), had been entwined.
CONTENTS
Introduction...... ii
The Judgment of theSaints...... 1
The 1000-year Reign of JesusChrist...... 10
SuperhumanBodies!...... 18
Renewing the RavagedEarth...... 29
Life for theSurvivors...... 33
Why theMillennium?...... 43
The Battle of Gog andMagog...... 48
The Great White ThroneJudgment...... 59
The NewEarth...... 75
The Heavenly City...... 86
Introduction
ntheprecedingbookinthisseries,TheRiseandFalloftheAntichrist,wefollowedthe
rise of the Antichrist to world power and hiseventual doom and destruction at the BattleofArmageddon.Thishasnowbroughtustotheend of Hell on Earth and to the topic of thisbook, Heaven onEarth.
Glimpses into this wonderful futurearefoundthroughouttheBibleastheprophetsandotherBiblewritersrecordedthethingsthatwererevealedtothem.Somepassagesdeal solely with this time period, whereasmanyotherreferencesappearinterspersedwith prophecies concerning other times.
This sometimes-confusingphenomenon can be explainedbyusingtheanalogy of looking at a physical horizon. In thedistancetheremayappeartobeamountainrange,andifyouwereaskedtodescribewhat you see you would say just that, that there is a range of mountains ahead. However,asyoutraveltowardthem,itbecomesclearerthatthereisnotjustonemountainrange,but several. From a distance the rangesappeared to be blended into one, but they becomedistinctlyseparate,sometimesbyvastdistances, upon closer view. So it was withthe prophets of old as they peered into thefuture.Whattothemfromadistanceseemedlike events that were contemporaneous areseparated by wide intervals of time, and wecanseethisasweapproachthetimefortheirfulfillment.
AnexampleofthiscanbefoundinthefollowingpropheticversespennedbytheprophetZechariah500yearsbeforeJesus’firstcoming:
Rejoicegreatly,OdaughterofZion.Shout,OdaughterofJerusalem.Behold,yourKingiscomingtoyou;Heisjustandhavingsalvation,lowlyandridingonadonkey,acolt,thefoalofadonkey.
IwillcutoffthechariotfromEphraimandthehorsefromJerusalem;thebattlebow shall be cut off. He shall speakpeace
FROMTHEENDTOETERNITY
to the nations; His dominion shall be “fromseatosea,andfromtherivertotheendsoftheEarth.”1
These are two consecutive versesabout Jesus.ThefirsttalksaboutHisfirstcomingandspecifically His entry into Jerusalem riding onadonkeyonPalmSunday.Thesecondhastodo with His second coming, when Hisdominion willbe“totheendsoftheEarth.”ToZechariahthetwoeventsappearedtohavebeenhappening at the same time, or thesecond soonafterthefirst,butashistoryhasborneout,they are separated by thousands ofyears.
TheeventsthatwewillcoverinthisbookbeginwiththeendoftheBattleofArmageddonand continue through Jesus’ 1000-yearreign
on Earth—which is commonly called theMillennium—toarebellionandwarthatthebook of Revelation calls the Battle of Gogand Magog, the destruction of the Earth’satmosphere and surface, which paves the way
for the re-creation of a new paradisiacalsurfaceon the Earth, and, finally, the descent tothis
re-createdEarthoftheamazingHeavenlyCityknownintheBibleas“NewJerusalem.”
The Bible tells us quite a lot about allofthese events, and from the relevantpassages wegetmanymouth-wateringsnapshotsofthe
fantasticfutureourwonderfulGodhasinstore.
1Zechariah9:9–10
After the Battle of Armageddon, atwhichtime the Antichrist’s reign on Earth is ended and Satan’s power is broken, begins the taskofestablishing“Thy[God’s]Kingdomcome,Thywillbedone,ontheEarthasitisinHeaven.”1It won’t be an overnight process, but from
thattimeforwardtheEarthwillgetbetterandbetter.AndifyouhavereceivedJesusasyour Savior,thisisyourfuturetoo!Anditisonegloriousfuture!Youhadbetternotplanonretiring once you leave this world, becausetherewillbelotsofchallengingworktodobothinHeavenandbackhereonEarth.Alltheexperience and wisdom you have gained inthislifeisgoingtobeputtogooduseintheworldtocome.GodneedsyoutohelpHimestablish HeavenonEarth!
1Matthew 6:9–13; “The Lord’s Prayer,” also called the “Our Father”
CHAPTERONE
The Judgment of theSaints
IfyouhavereadTheRiseandFalloftheAntichrist,youunderstandthatthewarsanddestruction that occur during the reign oftheAntichrist will have a devastating effecton the Earth. There will have been nuclearwar
followedbytheclimacticBattleofArmageddon,andJesuswillthenreturntoEarthtosetupHisKingdom.Danielchapter2tellsusthat“inthedays of these kings [the ten kings that givetheirpower and allegiance to the Antichrist]shall
theGodofHeavensetupaKingdom,whichshall never be destroyed … and it shallstandforever.”1
The first event that apparently takesplaceat the beginning of the Millennium isforetoldinchapter7ofthebookofDaniel.Thischapter describes a vision Daniel had in which hesaw,inallegoricalform,theriseandfalloftheAntichrist.TheallegoricalnatureofthevisionthenchangestothefollowingviewofGod’sthroneroom.
1Daniel2:44
I watched till thrones were putinplace,andtheAncientofDays[God]was seated; His garment was white
assnow,andthehairofHisheadwaslikepurewool.Histhronewasafieryflame, its wheels a burning fire; afierystream issued and came forth from
before Him. A thousandthousands
ministeredtoHim;tenthousandtimesten thousand stood before Him. The
courtwasseated,andthebookswereopened. … I was watching in the night
visions, and behold, One like the SonofMan,comingwiththecloudsofheaven.
HecametotheAncientofDays,andthey brought Him near before Him.
ThentoHimwasgivendominionandgloryandaKingdom,thatallpeoples,nations, and languages should serveHim. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not passaway,and His Kingdom the one whichshall
notbedestroyed.…ThentheKingdomand dominion, and the greatness of theKingdomsunderthewholeheaven,shallbegiventothepeople,thesaintsoftheMostHigh.HisKingdomisaneverlastingKingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obeyHim.1
The saints that it is talking abouthereand in other passages that we will quotein
1Daniel7:9–10,13–14,27
this book are not those officiallycanonized by various churches, such as theRomanCatholicandOrthodoxchurches,as“saints,”butratherallthosewhohavereceivedJesus,thewonderful“SonofMan”asHeisreferredtoseveraltimesintheBible,WhoseKingdomispopulatedbyallthosewholoveHim.The
saintsthatsufferedundertheAntichristintheTribulation seem to receive specialmention,asisborneoutinthefollowingversefromthebookofRevelation.
And I saw thrones, and they satonthem,andjudgmentwascommittedtothem. Then I saw the souls of thosewhohad been beheaded for their witness toJesusandforthewordofGod,whohadnot worshiped the beast or his image,and had not received his mark ontheir
foreheads or on their hands. And theylivedandreignedwithChristforathousandyears.1
Yet not only those who werepersecutedand killed, but all of God’s saints will rule
and reign with Him during the Millennium.
To him who overcomes I willgranttositwithMeonMythrone,asIalsoovercame and sat down with MyFather
1Revelation20:4
on His throne.1 And [they said, “You] havemade us kings and priests to our God;and we shall reign on the Earth.”2 And theLordsaid,“Whothenisthatfaithfulandwisesteward,whomhismasterwillmakeruler over his household, to give themtheirportion of food in due season? Blessed isthatservantwhomhismasterwillfindsodoingwhenhecomes.Truly,Isaytoyouthathewillmakehimruleroverallthathehas.”3Doyounotknowthatthesaintswilljudge theworld?4
God will engage the services ofHissaints to help Him run the world duringthe
Millennium.ManyhavealreadybeenwithHimin Heaven and know a lot more aboutthingsthanwedo.They’velivedyears,centuries,many even millennia in Heaven, so theywouldhave undoubtedly learned much by this time.Thegreatpatriarchsandprophetsandheroesof the Bible and Christian history aregoing
to be right up next to Jesus and Hisheavenlycounselors.AndtheLordisgoingtoputHisdedicated followers of today into positionsofresponsibilitytoo.
Many people have the idea that afterJesus returns they are going to be way offsomewhere in Heaven, perhaps floating peacefully ona
1Revelation3:21
2Revelation5:10
3Luke12:42–44
41 Corinthians6:2–3
cloud.ButatleastsomeofHeaven,partoftheKingdomofGod,isgoingtoberighthereon EarthduringtheMillennium.AndGod’speopleare going to be called upon to assist Jesus righthereonEarthinHisgreattaskofrulingtheworld.
Wouldn’t it be ridiculous, if afterlivingbusy,fulfillinglivesonEarthfullofchallengesand fulfilling tasks, we wound up inHeavenwith nothing to do but sit on a cloud,wear
a white robe, and play a harp while a goldenhalohoversoverourhead—foreternity?Thatwouldbeincrediblyboring.Thiscurrentlifeisschooling for what must be done when westartgetting our postgraduate course to prepare usfor perhaps even greater work to dothereafter.
However,notallthefollowersofJesuswillshare equally in responsibilities and rewards.The Lord spoke a parable to Hisdisciplesaboutstewardsbeinggivenvariousquantitiesofmoneytoholdfortheirmaster,whattheydidwithit,andhowtheywererewardedforhowtheyusedorinvestedit.Theprincipleexpressed in this parable undoubtedly appliesto the blessings and responsibilities believerswill receive in this new era. Those rewards willbecommensuratewithhowtheyusedtheirtime,abilities,andresourcestowardfurtheringtheKingdomofGodandobeyingHislawtolovetheirfellowmanwhiletheywereonEarththe firsttime.
For the Kingdom of Heaven is like amantravelingtoafarcountry,whocalledhisownservantsanddeliveredhisgoodsto them. And to one he gave five talents,to another two, and to another one, toeach according to his own ability; andimmediately he went on a journey. Thenhewhohadreceivedthefivetalentswentandtradedwiththem,andmadeanotherfive talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. Buthe who had received one went and dugin the ground, and hid his lord’s money.
Afteralongtimethelordofthoseservantscameandsettledaccountswiththem.Sohe who had received five talents cameand brought five other talents, saying,“Lord, you delivered to me five talents;look, I have gained five more talentsbesidesthem.”Hislordsaidtohim,“Welldone,goodandfaithfulservant;youwerefaithfuloverafewthings,Iwillmakeyouruler over many things. Enter into thejoyof your lord.” He also who had receivedtwo talents came and said, “Lord, youdelivered to me two talents; look, I havegained two more talents besides them.”
Hislordsaidtohim,“Welldone,goodandfaithful servant; you have been faithfulovera few things, I will make you ruler overmany things. Enter into the joy of yourlord.” Then he who had received the onetalent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to
beahardman,reapingwhereyouhavenotsown,andgatheringwhereyouhavenot scattered seed. And I was afraid,andwent and hid your talent in theground.
Look, there you have what is yours.” Buthis lord answered and said to him, “Youwicked and lazy servant, you knew that Ireap where I have not sown, and gatherwhere I have not scattered seed. So youought to have deposited my money withthe bankers, and at my coming I wouldhavereceivedbackmyownwithinterest.Therefore take the talent from him, andgive it to him who has ten talents. For toeveryone who has, more will be given,and he will have abundance; but fromhimwhodoesnothave,evenwhathehaswillbe taken away. And cast the unprofitableservantintotheouterdarkness.Therewillbe weeping and gnashing of teeth.”1
This parallels what a heavenlymessengertoldDaniel: “And atthattimeyourpeopleshallbe delivered, every one who is foundwritten inthebook.Andmanyofthosewhosleep
inthedustoftheearthshallawake,sometoeverlasting life, some to shame andeverlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shinelikethe brightness of the firmament, andthosewhoturnmanytorighteousnesslikethestarsforeverandever.”2
1Matthew25:14–30
2Daniel12:1–3
Those who did little or nothing withtheresourcesandopportunitiesforserviceforGodand others that the Lord had given themwillnot lose their gift of salvation, and they willstillbe accepted into Heaven. But they willreceive littleornoheavenlyrewardsfortheirearthlylife, or as the case may be, no positionsofresponsibilityandhonorinGod’sKingdomtocome.
Salvation—ourentrypasstoHeaven—isagiftfromGodthatwecannotearnbyourgood works,butonlythroughreceivingJesusasourSavior.However,therewardswereceiveonce we get to Heaven are earned through ourworkshereonEarth.Thosewhowerefaithfultodo goodtoothersandobeyGod’slawsof“love
theLordyourGodwithallyourheart…[and]your neighbor as yourself”1 will “shine as thestars”—while those who do not manifestdeedsof love on Earth will “awake toshame.”
The Lord is going to need and usethosewhowerefaithfulonEarthbeforethistime,whodidwhattheycouldwiththe“talents”theyhadtofurthertheKingdomofGodwhenitwasstill mostly a spiritual entity. God’sKingdomwill have been founded on the Earth but itwillstillbeabigjobtoestablishitfromoneendoftheEarthtotheother.ThosefaithfultoGodnowandinthepastaregoingtobetheonesentrusted to do it, and that will be part oftheir
1Matthew22:37,39
reward. Scripture tells us there will be manyother rewards, most likely both spiritual andmaterial blessings, although we don’t knowallthe specifics. The apostle Paul wrote thatthe“sufferingsofthispresenttimearenotworthytobecomparedtotheglorythatshallberevealedinus.”1AndJesuspromiseda“crownoflife”tothosewhoarefaithfultoHim.2
TheapostlesPeterandPaulbothwrote thatthosewhoarefaithfultoGodinthislifewill receive crowns in the next. “Finally,thereis laid up for me the crown ofrighteousness,which the Lord, the righteous Judge, willgivetomeonthat Day, andnottomeonlybutalso toallwhohavelovedHisappearing.”3“Whenthe Chief Shepherd appears, you will receivethecrownofglorythatdoesnotfadeaway.”4Perhapstheywillresemblehalosdepictedaround the heads of the saints inChristian
art. As yet, we don’t know exactlywhatthose crowns are, but certainly we won’tbe disappointed when we receivethem!
1Romans8:18
2Revelation2:10
32 Timothy4:8
41 Peter5:4
CHAPTERTWO
The 1000-year ReignofJesusChrist
very day, millions of Christians theworld overpraytheLord’sPrayer:“ThyKingdom
come,ThywillbedoneonEarthasitisinHeaven.” But most don’t really appreciatethesignificance of that prayer and how literally itis goingtobefulfilled.ItwillphysicallybeGod’sKingdomcomeonEarthasitisinHeaven.
Anditwillbetrulyuniversal!“Heshallhavedominionalsofromseatosea,and…totheendsoftheEarth.”1
Peace atLast!
The current cruel, selfish,dog-eat-dogworld where the strongest and oftenmostunscrupulous prevail will be gone. Then,underthe supreme and powerful rule and reign ofJesus Christ, wars will cease and the world willat last be governed fairly and well withtrue
1Psalm72:8
justice, liberty, peace, plenty, and happinessforall!
Now it shall come to pass in thelatterdays that the mountain of the Lord’s houseshallbeestablishedonthetopofthemountains, and shall be exalted above thehills;andallnationsshallflowtoit.Manypeopleshallcomeandsay,“Come,andletusgouptothemountainoftheLord,tothehouseoftheGodofJacob;HewillteachusHis ways, and we shall walk in His paths.”ForoutofZionshallgoforththelaw,andthe word of the Lord fromJerusalem.
Heshalljudgebetweenthenations,andrebukemanypeople;theyshallbeattheirswordsintoplowshares,andtheirspears intopruninghooks;nationshallnotliftupswordagainstnation,neithershalltheylearnwaranymore.1
Then the world’s firstgenuinedisarmament will occur, all weapons beingconverted into instruments of peace.Therewill be peace on Earth under the reign ofJesus Christ,theSonofGodandPrinceofPeace.
Today’s warmongering will be stopped asGod“destroysthosewhodestroytheEarth.”2He’sgoing to stop all war and abolish themilitary-industrial complex that thrives onit.
1Isaiah 2:2–4; Micah4:1–3
2Revelation11:18
All the ends of the worldshallrememberandturntotheLord,andallthefamiliesofthenationsshallworshipbefore [Him]. For the Kingdom is theLord’s, and He rules over the nations.1 HemakeswarsceasetotheendoftheEarth;Hebreaksthebowandcutsthespear in two; He burns the chariot inthefire.2
For the Lord Most High isawesome;HeisagreatKingoveralltheEarth.ForGod is the King of all the Earth; singpraises with understanding. God reignsover the nations; God sits on His holythrone.3 He will bring justice to the poorof the people; He will save the childrenof the needy, and will break in piecestheoppressor.4
The world is going to have a righteousJudge and a righteous King Who will have arighteous government.—No more corruption,vice,crime,orcrookedjudgesandpoliticians,but a righteous government and righteous, honestjusticeforall.“TheLordhasbrokenthestaffofthewicked,thescepteroftherulers.…The whole Earth is at rest and quiet; theybreakforth into singing.”5 “All kings shall fall downbefore Him; all nations shall serve Him. … And
1Psalm22:27–28
2Psalm46:9
3Psalm47:2,7–8
4Psalm72:4
5Isaiah14:5,7
blessedbeHisgloriousnameforever!AndletthewholeEarthbefilledwithHisglory.”1
There’ll be no more hegemonicandexploitive powers and oppressedpoor—onlytheKingdomofJesusChrist,dispensingfairnessand justice for all, and eternal happinessforever.
Say among the nations, “TheLordreigns; the world also is firmlyestablished,itshallnotbemoved;Heshalljudgethepeoples righteously.” Let the heavensrejoice, and let the Earth be glad; letthesearoar,andallitsfullness;letthefieldbejoyful,andallthatisinit.Thenallthetrees ofthewoodswillrejoicebeforetheLord.ForHeiscoming,forHeiscomingtojudgetheEarth.Heshalljudgetheworldwithrighteousness, and the peoples with Histruth.2
There shall come forth a Rod fromthestem of Jesse, and a Branch shallgrowout of his roots. The Spirit of the LordshallrestuponHim,theSpiritofwisdomandunderstanding, the Spirit of counsel andmight,theSpiritofknowledgeandofthefearoftheLord.Hisdelightisinthefear
oftheLord,andHeshallnotjudgebythesightofHiseyes,nordecidebythehearingofHisears;butwithrighteousnessHeshalljudgethepoor,anddecidewithequity
1Psalm72:11,19
2Psalm96:10–13
forthemeekoftheEarth;HeshallstriketheEarthwiththerodofHismouth,andwith the breath of His lips He shall slaythewicked.RighteousnessshallbethebeltofHisloins,andfaithfulnessthebeltofHiswaist.1
The greatest thrill of all will be thatJesus Himself, God’s Son, will personally beherevisibly and powerfully ruling and reigning overtheentireEarth.GodinthepersonofJesus Christ is going to run the world fairly andwell,and His angelic helpers and saints are goingtoassistHim.
There’s a Job for Everyone
As explained in Chapter 1, Godwillengage the services of His saints to helpHimruntheworldduringHisruleonEarth.Butthey won’t be the only ones in Hisemploy.
God’s going to use everybody Hecan,including those who were not saved beforeHisSecondComing,butwhodidnotactivelyfollow the Antichrist and therefore surviveintotheMillennium,whohavetheskillsandknow-how to handle a lot of the practical running
of the world. God will know whoamongthesurvivorscanbetrustedwithpositionsof responsibility. Among them will bethosewho, though they did not know the Lordor
1Isaiah11:1–5
receive Him, in the days beforeArmageddonwererighteousrulers,goodgovernors,mercifulmagistrates and mayors, the just justices
and judges, and fair officials. These will beputintoserviceoverseeingvariouslevelsofgovernmentandpeaceandorder,supervisedby the angels and saints of Heaven. GodandHis helpers are going to choose people who
havehadexperienceincertainareasandknowthe languages and cultures to help rebuild,reconstruct, and rule theEarth.
The world will be administered bythosewho are guided by attributes which modernsociety considers weaknesses: love,meekness,forgiveness,andfaithinGodandHisWord.
Yet they will also have the power andauthority,when needed, to enforce God’s laws andcompel thenationsoftheEarthtoobeyHisrulesoflife, love,health,andhappinessforareignofpeaceonEarthtowardmenofgoodwill.1
You’ll Use Then What You KnowNow
Some people have strange ideasabout theirfutureinHeaven:“Oh,I’mgoingtoknoweverythingthen,speakanylanguage,beabletodo anything.” Some people imagine thatthey’regoing to suddenly be catapulted intopositions
of great responsibility, even though they’redoingnothing for Jesus and their fellow mannow.
That’s not how it’s going to be. God is going to
1Luke2:14
take the talents that He’s already given peopleandthattheyhavealreadydeveloped,He’sgoing to take the knowledge they have alreadylearned, He’s going to take the experiencestheyhavealreadybeenthrough,He’sgoingtotakethe languages they already know, and use allthesethings.
Knowledge is not just going to behandedout on silver platters in the afterlife.Peopleare not going to suddenly receive some giftofabsolute total omniscience so that theyknoweverythinglikeGod—noteventheangelshavethat. Judging from the Bible, thenear-deathexperiences many people have had, and justcommon sense and logic, people are going tocarry their experiences from this life intothenext life. And they’ll build on thatknowledgeand experience as they continue to learn inHeaven.
In addition to the experience andtalentsandlanguagesthatGod’speopleknownow,God will grant them access to Hissupernaturalwisdom, as well as other miraculouspowers.
Inmanywaystheywillstartoutverymuchas theyarerightnow.EverythingtheLordhasevertaughtthemduringthislifeandthethingsthatthey are learning now are going to come inhandythen.Ifthelessonsofbeingafaithfulanddedicated follower are learned today, then Godcan trust and bless with a place of usefulnesstoHim and otherstomorrow.
Jesus is going to use people wholivedgodly lives who understand this worldandits people to assist Him in running theworld tocome,governingitasitoughttobe.God’s
people will do their best to teach God’s lovetothose who have survived the horribleholocaust ofthePlaguesoftheWrathofGodandtheBattleofArmageddon.Theywillbeamongtheadministrators and judges who willoversee andadjudicatewithGod’slovingrulesastheirrulebook.
CHAPTER THREE
SuperhumanBodies!
sexplainedinChapter8ofTheRiseandFall of the Antichrist, the saved aregoing
to get heavenly bodies when theResurrectionand the Rapture occurs when Jesus returns andendstheAntichrist’sseven-yearreign.Forthosesaved who die before these events, itseems theyhaveakindofheavenlybodythatismore orlesslikeaghost,aspiritualbodythatcansomewhat materialize. After-deathexperiencesalso indicate that the departed saints alreadyhavebodiesthatcanseeandevenfeel,andeven be felt under certaincircumstances.
But it is at the Resurrection andRapturethat both the living and previously deadsavedwillreceiveanewsuperbodythatisbothphysical andspiritual.
ForifwebelievethatJesusdiedandroseagain,evensoGodwillbringwithHimthosewhosleep[arephysicallydead]inJesus.ForthiswesaytoyoubythewordoftheLord,thatwewhoarealive
andremainuntilthecomingoftheLordwillbynomeansprecedethosewhoareasleep.FortheLordHimselfwilldescendfromHeavenwithashout,withthevoiceofanarchangel,andwiththetrumpetofGod.AndthedeadinChristwillrisefirst.Thenwewhoarealiveandremainshallbe caughtuptogetherwiththeminthecloudstomeettheLordintheair.AndthusweshallalwaysbewiththeLord.1
Thefifteenthchapterofthefirstepistletothe Corinthians has one of the mostrevealingdissertations on this body of the future.TheretheapostlePaulwrites:“IfinthislifeonlywehavehopeinChrist,weareofallmenthemostpitiable.ButnowChristisrisenfromthedead, and has become the firstfruits ofthosewho have fallen asleep.”2 Jesus has risenfirst, and all those who have died in the faithhavingacceptedJesusastheirSavioraregoingtobeable to rise just as Jesusdid.
There is a little-noticed passage ofScripturethatseemstoindicatethatthosewhosincerelyloved God, but who died before Jesus’deathandresurrection,wereresurrectedthemselvesatthesametimeasJesuswas. “And thegraveswere opened; and many bodies of the saintswho had fallen asleep were raised; and comingoutofthegravesafterHisresurrection,
11 Thessalonians4:14–17
21 Corinthians15:19–20
they went into the holy city [Jerusalem]andappeared to many.”1 These (whosenumber include perhaps all the other previouslydead believers up till that time), andJesus
Himself,areconsideredpartofthis“firstfruits”resurrection.
Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 15:“Forsince by man came death, by Man [that isJesus]also came the resurrection of the dead. Foras in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shallbe made alive. But each one in his own order:Christ, the firstfruits, afterward those whoareChrist’s at His coming.”2 First there wasJesus,thenthefirstfruitsofthatfirstresurrection—thatis,theOldTestamentbelievers—andlastallofthosewhoaresaved,whetheraliveordead,atthetimeofChrist’sSecondComing.
Moving along to the 35th verse:“Butsomeone will say, ‘How are the dead raisedup?Andwithwhatbodydotheycome?’Foolish one,whatyousowisnotmadealiveunlessitdies.Andwhatyousow,youdonotsowthatbody that shall be, but meregrain—perhapswheatorsomeothergrain.ButGodgives