The first resurrection is the resurrection of the just — every believer of all ages — and it occurs in three distinct stages, not one single event.
Les Feldick teaches that the first resurrection is composed of three categories of believers, pictured by Israel's harvest of grain. First comes the firstfruits — Christ and the saints who arose from the graves at His resurrection (Matthew 27). Then comes the main harvest — church-age believers at the Rapture. Last are the gleanings and corners — Old Testament saints and Tribulation believers raised after the Kingdom begins. The lost are not part of this resurrection; they are raised separately after the thousand-year Kingdom ends.
Revelation 20:5-6 — This is the passage that explicitly names the 'first resurrection' and connects it to believers who reign with Christ — the anchor for the entire question.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 — Paul's resurrection order — Christ the firstfruits, then they that are Christ's at His coming — is the framework Les uses for the three stages.
Revelation 20:5-6 is where Scripture explicitly names the 'first resurrection.' It states that 'the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished' and calls the first resurrection the portion of those who are 'blessed and holy,' who 'shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.' It thus belongs to the saved, not the lost. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 and 15:23, Paul describes the order of resurrection: 'Christ the firstfruits of them that slept' and 'every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.' Matthew 27:52-53 records that at Christ's death and resurrection, 'the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose' and appeared in the holy city. Daniel 12:2 likewise speaks of 'them that sleep in the dust of the earth' awakening to everlasting life. These passages establish that the first resurrection includes only believers, and that the resurrection of the rest of the dead is postponed until after the thousand years.
Les teaches that the first resurrection is the resurrection of the just — 'the believers of all ages' (Clip 4). Rather than one event, he says it unfolds in 'three distinct separate stages' (Clip 5), using Israel's grain harvest as the biblical picture. The firstfruits are Christ and the saints who came out of the graves in Matthew 27; the main harvest is the church-age believers at the Rapture, which he calls 'the great resurrection day at the rapture, or the trumpet sound when Christ shall leave heaven and meet us in the air' (Clip 4); and the gleanings and corners are the Old Testament saints and Tribulation believers, who will be resurrected shortly after the Kingdom is established — about 75 days after the Second Coming, as he reads Daniel (Clip 3). He says these three categories comprise the first resurrection of believers (Clip 1). The lost are all one company and are not resurrected until after the thousand-year Kingdom ends (Clips 1 and 2).
Les teaches that the first resurrection is broken down into three categories, using Israel's harvest of grain as the picture. First, the firstfruits — Christ and those who came out of the graves at His resurrection (Matthew 27). Second, the main harvest — church-age believers at the Rapture, described as the great resurrection day when Christ leaves heaven and meets believers in the air. Third, the gleanings and corners — Old Testament believers and Tribulation believers, resurrected shortly after the Kingdom begins (Clips 3, 4, 5).
Every believer is in one of the three groups of the first resurrection. Les says every person resurrected is either in the company of the lost or in one of the believer companies: Daniel's company (Old Testament saints), the company of believers Paul calls the body of Christ, or the tribulation saints (Clip 2). All three categories of believers comprise the first resurrection (Clip 1).
Yes. Les teaches that the Rapture is the main harvest — the great resurrection day at the trumpet sound when Christ leaves heaven and meets believers in the air (Clip 4). He applies 'they who are Christ's at His coming' in 1 Corinthians 15:23 to the coming for the Body of Christ, not to the Second Coming (Clip 5). He also says the Body of Christ are the next to experience resurrection after Christ and the firstfruits (Clip 6).
Les teaches that Old Testament saints and Tribulation believers are the gleanings and corners of the harvest. He says from Daniel they will come back in resurrection bodies 75 days after the Second Coming, or after the Kingdom has been set up, and will be part and parcel of the Kingdom (Clip 3). They are resurrected shortly after the Kingdom has begun (Clip 4).
No. Les teaches that the lost are not resurrected until after the Kingdom has ended (Clip 1). They are all one group — the company of the lost — and they do not share in the first resurrection (Clip 2).
No. Les points out that not everyone from Adam all the way to the present will be resurrected at the same identical moment, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15 (Clip 7). He teaches the resurrection of the just in three distinct separate stages, and the lost are not raised until after the Kingdom (Clips 1, 5). Scripture likewise says the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished (Revelation 20:5).
What Happens After Hell? The Great White Throne Explained
Tulsa includes quite a few business trips and what have you. So if you can, we do have a class in Tulsa every Wednesday night other than the day that we tape. Okay, now for those of you here in the studio and for those of you that are following with us out in television, And then, of course, we know that we'll come back and be part and parcel of the Kingdom, that is, second coming.
Three Categories of the First Resurrection
Les defines the first resurrection as three categories of believers — the firstfruits, the church-age main harvest, and Old Testament saints — and states the lost are not resurrected until after the Kingdom ends.
Companies of the Resurrection
Les shows that every resurrection falls into the company of the lost or the companies of believers — Old Testament saints, the body of Christ, or tribulation saints — and recalls the Matthew 27 saints as the firstfruits of them that slept.
The Harvest Picture: Firstfruits, Main Harvest, Gleanings
Les gives the clearest three-step outline using Israel's harvest: the firstfruits at Christ's resurrection, the main harvest at the Rapture, and the gleanings/corners — Old Testament and Tribulation saints — about 75 days after the Second Coming.
Recap: Three Categories and the Rapture
Les recaps that the first resurrection of the just is broken into the firstfruits of Matthew 27, the Rapture as the great resurrection day, and the OT/Tribulation saints resurrected shortly after the Kingdom begins.
Three Distinct Stages from 1 Corinthians 15
Les explicitly teaches the resurrection of the just in three distinct stages and applies 1 Corinthians 15:23 — 'they who are Christ's at His coming' — to the Rapture of the Body of Christ.
The Church Age Resurrection
Les identifies the Body of Christ as the group that experiences resurrection next after Christ and the firstfruits, pointing to the church-age resurrection.
Christ the Firstfruits of Them That Slept
Les establishes from 1 Corinthians 15:20 that Christ is the firstfruits of them that slept and that not everyone from Adam onward is resurrected at the same moment.
Revelation 20:5-6: 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.
This is the only passage that explicitly uses the phrase 'first resurrection' and identifies it with believers who reign with Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Paul's statement that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest — the starting point of Les's three-category explanation.
1 Corinthians 15:23: But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Paul's 'each in his own order' is the scriptural framework for the staged resurrection Les teaches.
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.
This records the saints raised at Christ's resurrection — the firstfruits company in Les's teaching.
Daniel 12:2: And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
The Old Testament passage Les says places the resurrection of Old Testament saints after the Kingdom begins.
The first resurrection is the resurrection of the just — believers of all ages. Les Feldick teaches it occurs in three categories: Christ and the Matthew 27 saints as firstfruits, church-age believers at the Rapture, and Old Testament and Tribulation saints after the Kingdom begins.
The Rapture is not the whole first resurrection but its main harvest. Les describes it as the great resurrection day at the trumpet sound when Christ leaves heaven and meets believers in the air, following the firstfruits of Christ and the Matthew 27 saints.
Les teaches from Daniel that Old Testament saints — along with Tribulation believers — will come back in resurrection bodies about 75 days after the Second Coming, shortly after the Kingdom has been set up.
No. Les says the lost are all one company and are not resurrected until after the thousand-year Kingdom has ended. The first resurrection is exclusively for believers.
Watch the Teaching: What Happens After Hell? The Great White Throne Explained