The Three Stages of Resurrection — 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 Explained

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, good to have everybody back and you can go ahead and finish your coffee and we always like to let our television people know this is an informal Bible study and we're just glad that you've been able to come apart and help us out with this because I told the TV people when we first started that I would never be able to just teach a microphone. I have to have people out in front of me that I can feel are responding at least to a certain degree. So we're glad you're here and are a part of this program with us. Now I'm not going to make any announcements except maybe I guess I should tell people they've been asking about it that we just had a glorious time on our trip to Israel and several people here were with us and we had some from Indiana and we had some from Minnesota, we had one couple from North Dakota, and by the time we got back we were all family. We just had one glorious time and we like to have our television people know that because quite a few have asked about it and I think every time you go you just see things that you never saw before and as some here realize that you just can't fathom it all in one time. You have to go back at least two, three times before you begin to put it all together. So anyway, for benefit of those of you out in television who knew we were going to Israel, we've been there and we're back and we just had a ball, we really did. Now let's go right on into where we left off after our last program and back in I Corinthians chapter 15, and now we're going to look at verse 22. Now like I said in the last half hour, we're going to take our time because there is so much in the rest of this 15th chapter of Corinthians that I don't want to skim over it. Now in verse 22, as in Adam all die. Now that of course we covered last program, that when Adam sinned as the federal head of the human race, every human being including Eve, and all of the children of Adam and Eve, and anyone that's ever been born since, now has that fallen sin nature of Adam. So as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, remember the Creator of everything, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Now that throws a curve at people, if they read carefully they should say, now wait a minute, are the lost going to be resurrected? Yes, that surprises people. Come back to John's Gospel. John's Gospel, the lost are going to be resurrected. They're not in their eternal state as yet. They're going to have to come out bodily to appear before the great white throne of Revelation 20, and then go to their eternal doom bodily with a body fit for the lake of fire, whereas we will have a body fit for glory. Now Jesus explains it Himself so clearly in John's Gospel, chapter 5, and drop in at verse 28. John's Gospel, chapter 5, verse 28. Wait until you've all found it. John 5, verse 28, and Jesus says, 5. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. Now from that verse alone we have people who teach of course a general resurrection of everybody, all at the same time, the saved and the lost. The saved go to their glory, and the lost go to their doom. Just about got that backwards, didn't I? But anyway, all that are in the graves are going to hear God's call to come forth. Now let's be careful. Don't just read it that far and stop. John 5, verse 29. They who have done good, and I'll put the verb back in, will come forth unto the resurrection of life. They who have done evil will come forth unto the resurrection of condemnation. Now you have two distinct groups of people who are going to be resurrected. Now if you just sit on John�s Gospel alone, it would seem like it�s all going to happen at the same time. The lost are resurrected and go to their doom, the saved are resurrected and go to their glory, just one resurrection. But now come back to I Corinthians 15 again, and see that�s why Paul is the one that reveals so many things that the rest of Scripture doesn�t even touch on. And that�s why I can�t understand why so many people today totally ignore Paul�s epistles. Because it�s in Paul alone that we find the true nature of the old Adam. Now I know the Old Testament says the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it? And we certainly know that Jesus taught that the heart was wicked, but yet it isn�t until you get to Paul�s writing that you get this understanding that this Adamic sin nature is inherited ever since Adam. It has just come down generation after generation. Now the same way with this resurrection deal. There is more taught about resurrection, I think, in I Corinthians 15 than almost all the rest of the Bible put together. Now we know the Old Testament people believed in resurrection. Job for sure said, �I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the latter days shall stand upon the earth, and in my flesh I shall see God.� What was he talking about? Resurrection. David, after he�d lost the child to Bathsheba, after mourning for a whole week, what did he suddenly realize? He couldn�t bring that child back, but what did he say? I�ll go to Him. And so what was he speaking of? Resurrection life. But now here Paul is going to just unload on us all the details of resurrection. Verse 23. Even though all are going to be resurrected up in verse 22, and according to John 5, verse 23 the first word is what? But. And what am I always telling you? One of the biggest words in Scripture, because this one little three lettered word now opens up a whole vista that otherwise we would have never understood. That yes, there�s going to be a resurrection of the saved, there�s going to be a resurrection of the lost, but not all at once. But every man lost or saved in His own order, or I think a better word would have been company. And again I always like to go back to the military. Those of you who have been in service, we always understood the military chain of command. The smallest was the company, probably 100-120 men, and from that you went to the battalion, and from the battalion to the regiment, and the regiment on up until you get a division, and then so many divisions make an army. It was an organization. Now Paul is saying the same thing. Of all the people who have lived and died, and are one day going to be resurrected, there�s going to be an order in the resurrection, so that every group will be in their specific company at resurrection. They�re not all going to just come out like one great big group. Let�s read on. Ephesians 2.5a Ephesians 2.5a Ephesians 2 .5a Christ, the firstfruits. We�ve already looked at where that came from, and it gave us an inkling now that we can look at the resurrections much like Israel practiced her grain harvest. Because after all, what does God consider bringing human people unto Himself? What does He call it? A harvest. See in His earthly ministry He says, "...the fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few." Now that was of course just an analogy, and so it is. The human race has been harvested through the efforts of God, whether it�s Old Testament or New. That doesn�t make any difference. So the implication now is that the whole harvest of mankind can be likened like the three sequences of Israel�s harvest. First the firstfruits, the sampling of the early ripening grain, then the major harvest, and then the third part would be the corners and the gleanings. Now let�s just analyze it a minute from a logical standpoint. Well let me see first the firstfruits. Come back with me to Matthew 27. I forgot to do that in the first half hour. We�ll do it now. Matthew 27. At the time of the crucifixion, and we come down to verse 51 of Matthew 27. Christ in verse 50 has just given up the ghost, He�s died. Verse 51, And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. The earth did quake, and the rocks rent, all in response to what had just happened up there on Calvary, and his death. All of nature responded convulsively. And then we come to the next verse, verse 52. And the graves, that is in the area of Jerusalem, the graves were opened, not all of them, but some of them, and many bodies of the saints. Now remember the saints of any age are the believers. In other words you�re believing Israelites were of the company of the saints. Those who were believers during Christ� earthly ministry were saints. Those who believed during the Acts period are saints. Those of us who believe in the Church period were saints. Those who were saved during the tribulation are going to be called saints. And so it�s just a general term regarding those who are believers. So here we have a group of Jewish believers, because there certainly weren�t enough Gentiles in that Old Testament economy to count. And so evidently these were Jewish believers who had been buried in the area of Jerusalem, and they came out of the graves after His resurrection. Now that�s an important verse, because you see if they would have come out of the grave before Christ was resurrected, that would throw a kilter in the whole plan of God that Christ was the firstfruits of resurrection. He is the first to have ever been resurrected from the dead, never had it happened before. But after He had been resurrected, then these others could come forth and to comprise what I now call that sheath that was indicated in Leviticus. And it completes then the plural of the word firstfruits. Had Christ only come alone, then it would have to be that He was the firstfruit of resurrection. But it�s not. The feast day of firstfruits was to take not just one stem of grain, but many who were all just sampling of the crop that was to come, and then they were brought together in a sheath, and they were taken to the priest. Here is my offering of firstfruits. So now I have to feel that these Jewish saints who were resurrected here right after Christ was, comprise then that which we call the firstfruits. Now let�s come back then to 1 Corinthians 15 once again. So now then, He says, �Every man�, verse 23 of 1 Corinthians 15, �Every man is going to be resurrected within his company.� In other words, church age saints aren�t going to be resurrected with the Old Testament saints. We certainly aren�t going to be part of the firstfruits, because that�s already happened. All right, so let�s look at the harvest process as we saw it on the board in the last half hour. First the firstfruits were taken out as a sampling. Then they went in and took what? The main harvest, the main part of the field, all but the corners and the gleanings was harvested. And then that which was left was harvested last of all. Now just stop and think for a moment. We�re in Oklahoma, and that�s wheat country, at least in the western part of the state. When that wheat farmer has gone out and has harvested the main part of his fields, my, he can fill those bins with grain, thousands and thousands of bushels. Now if perchance he did leave the corners like they did then, how much would that be by comparison? Well, just a small, small fraction. Now let�s bring it into the spiritual realm. Christ in the firstfruits, that�s accomplished. But now where has been the largest number of people brought in in God�s harvest? Old Testament or Church Age? Well it�s Church Age. Now go back into the Old Testament economy. The little nation of Israel never had more than probably 10 million people at the most, and only a few of them were true believers. You go back before the flood, and there were precious few believers. By the time you got to the flood, only 8 souls. So you see even before the flood there were very few that God could count on as His. Throughout the nation of Israel�s history very few Jews percentage wise were believers, so there weren�t many there. Even in Christ�s earthly ministry I like to point out, at least in the area of Jerusalem and Judea, how many believers were accumulated in the upper room there in Acts chapter 1? 120! It�s shocking that after three years of the Lord�s own earthly ministry, there were only 120 Jewish believers. Now there may have been a few up in the Galilee, but in the area of Jerusalem there must not have been any more than these 120. So compared to the millions that have come in through the last 1900 years of the preaching of the Gospel of Grace, I�ll ask the question again. How many Old Testament believers were there? Very few. So what can we liken it to? The corners and the gleanings. So here�s the order of resurrections, the first fruits, Christ and those who came out of the grave. Then the harvest of the Church, and then we still have the corners and the gleanings left, which I feel will be the Tribulation Saints who will be saved during the Tribulation. Now come back with me to Daniel chapter 12, and I�m going to throw the Tribulation Saints in with the Old Testament Saints, as well as those who were believers during Christ�s earthly ministry, because they were still all connected to Judaism and to Israel�s program, and they were not part of what I call the Body of Christ. But look how Daniel covers it, and let�s just start with verse 1. Daniel chapter 12, verse 1. Now remember this is Old Testament, and he�s talking about resurrection just like Paul does. Daniel 12. 1. At that time shall Michael stand up the great prince who stands for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a nation even to that same time, and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. Yes there�s going to be a remnant of Israel saved, we know that, especially as we come to the end of that seven years. 2. And many of them who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Now again, Daniel by inspiration writes almost as if it�s going to be a general resurrection, that the lost Jew is going to be resurrected the same time as the saved Jew, but you have to compare this again now with the Revelation, and we know that that�s not going to be the case. Only the believing Jews are going to be resurrected first, and then a thousand years later, then the lost Jews are going to be resurrected for the Great White Throne, just like we see the comparison with John chapter 5. 3. And they that be wise, in other words they have believed what God has instructed them to believe, even in the Old Testament economy, it was based on their faith, remember. 4. Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. In other words, God�s going to always reward righteousness in the believer. 4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book. Now remember that. God is telling Daniel to just close the book and forget about it. So seal the book even till the time of the end. Now from Daniel�s perspective, which is about 500 B.C., that�s going to be 2,500 years that the book of Daniel is to be closed up, and not considered all that much. Close the book, and then he says even to the time of the end, many shall run to and fro, knowledge shall be increased, that is at the time of the end. 5. And I, Daniel, looked, and behold, there stood two others, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6. And one said to the man clothed in livin, who was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? In other words, these prophecies written by Daniel. 7. And I heard the man clothed in livin, who was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand, and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever, that it should be, that everything is going to be put on hold, for a time, times, and half a time. In other words, for three and a half years. 8. And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. Now you say, I thought the tribulation was seven years. Well it is. But the time of the midpoint is when the Antichrist will come in, remember, and defile the Temple, and will turn on the Jew. And so it�s that last three and a half years that Daniel is foretelling. That horrible, horrible period of time when the earth is going to come under the wrath not only of God, but also of Satan himself. And so he is only including the last three and a half years, and then shall everything be finished. Now verse 8, but Daniel says, I heard, and I understood not. And I said, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? Now isn�t amazing that these Old Testament prophets got a glimpse of the things that were coming. Now they didn�t get the full picture, but Daniel got enough of a glimpse that I think it just scared him down to his shoelaces. What in the world is going to come on the earth, and especially upon my people Israel? And he says, What shall be the end of these things? Now verse 9. And the Lord said, Go thy way Daniel, for the words are closed up until the end, and sealed till the time of the end. Now what�s he saying? That these prophetic utterances of Daniel, no one was to understand until we�d get close to the end time. Now I think I brought this out in one of our other programs, and you know that was so true. There was absolutely nothing preached or taught concerning end time events until about the middle 1800�s. And men of God all of a sudden began to put the prophetic Scriptures together, and they began to write concerning the nations of the world that would be coming to the top, such as Russia. Who would have ever dreamed Russia becoming a world power? They did by virtue of the Scriptures. They began to talk about a returning Israel, the land of Israel once again becoming a viable nation. Who would have ever dreamed of such a thing with the Jews scattered all over the world? But they did, because the Scriptures were beginning to be opened up by the Holy Spirit. And by the time you get to 1900, there was a whole raft of men that were beginning to put the end time prophecies in a pretty good perspective. You�d be amazed at how close they were to what we�ve seen happen now in the last 10 or 20 years. So the Lord told Daniel that His Book would be closed up until it would approach the end time. Daniel 2.1a Verse 10. And many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly. In other words just exactly what we�ve seen. Sin is just going to get more evident with every passing day, and none of the wicked shall understand. Isn�t it amazing? The unsaved world out there, they have no concept of how accurately this Book is being fulfilled. And of course this is my reason for believing it from cover to cover. It�s because every prophecy that I see fulfilled confirms that this is a supernatural Book. I was thinking just the other day, can you think of a single book of religion that can tell the future 2500 years in advance? Not a one. There�s not a single word of prophecy that is actually being fulfilled in a single book of religion that you can find in the world, except this one. Now I know there are some of these things that are hard to believe. I know that, and I take them by faith, but I still have to say, but Lord it�s hard to believe. I came up with something the other night, and I was talking about the rapture and the sudden taking away from all the believers, and that�s hard for people to comprehend. How in the world is God going to do it? Now I use this analogy. Go out on a real clear starry night, and just look at that mass of stars, and all we see is a little part of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Just a part of it, with all of its billions upon billions of stars in just the Milky Way galaxy alone. Now they tell us that there are billions of galaxies. I have a little 9 year old grandson, and he just wows me every once in a while. His daddy had just been showing him how many stars were out there, and he says, �Well why don�t you just put that on paper? See if you can write out a number big enough to get close to how many stars are out there.� Now the little rascal is only 9 years old, but you know what he did? He put a 1, and he put zeros all the way down the length of a sheet of typewriter paper, and then on the bottom he says, �And to the same power.� Boy, that�s way beyond me. I couldn�t believe it, but see he�s close, because you see of the billions and billions of galaxies in which there are billions of stars. Now here�s my point. Has a single one of them ever been out of control? Not a one. Who controls them? The same Lord Jesus that�s one day going to take us off the earth. Now if He can control trillions and trillions of stars, then He�s not going to have any trouble at all calling a few million people off the planet. Now just think about that. But He is in total control. Well I guess my time has just about run out, but anyhow staying back in Daniel chapter 12. Come down to verse 11, and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination to make a death shall be set up, there shall be 1 ,290 days, and that�s 30 days more than the tribulation is going to run. But then you get into verse 12, �Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 1,335 days,� which is an extra 75 days after the Second Coming. And then verse 13 says it so plainly, and remember what I�m stressing. Everybody in their own order. First the firstfruits, then the church, then the main harvest, and then here comes that gleanings and so forth, the Old Testament saints, the tribulation saints. But He says, �Go thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy company at the end of the days.� And that�s when the Old Testament saint will come into view. 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