Chapter
Seven
"Two
Resurrections and Two Judgments"
It is extremely important to consider the first resurrection in
determining any rapture timing. As
we will see later on, the so-called rapture of the Church is also a
resurrection of the dead. When
we find the resurrection, there we will find the rapture.
In studying Rev. 20:4-6 we should consider that it is not an
exclusive context for the first resurrection, but the second resurrection
is not mentioned in any other chapter in the Bible.
There are other scriptures that mention a great resurrection at the
end of this age, but none that refer to the post-millennium age
resurrection. John does not comment in great detail about the first
resurrection in Revelation, but specific parts of it, namely, the martyred
saints. However, a fact that is patently obvious in John's words is that
the first resurrection occurs at the end of the seven-year period and most
definitely not before it. He also does not mention a partial resurrection
before the first one and neither do any of the other eschatological
scriptures. If there was another mass resurrection that occurred before
the Tribulation period, it would be the first resurrection and the two in
Revelation 20 would be the second and third resurrections.
Obviously, this is not the case here as every honest soul will
admit.
The first resurrection is not just about martyred saints because
there are other scriptures that describe the first resurrection. I believe
that John specifically deals with the seven-year period
martyrs in his description because that is what was revealed to him
in the vision. Revelation
twenty is about a vision, not a complete theological survey of the first
resurrection. Therefore, we
should not take his specificity to be conclusive as to the entirety of the
people who are resurrected in the first resurrection and ignore all the
rest of the Scriptures. Since John only provides a glimpse of the whole
picture concerning the first resurrection in the book of Revelation, we
have to consider other scriptures to get the complete picture. The
Scriptures that we will consider in both the Old and New Testament deal
with the first resurrection.
But before I turn to those scriptures, I want to explain what the
pretribulation rapture actually is. A key to understanding the problems
with the pretribulation rapture is recognizing that it is not just a
rapture or catching away of living believers, but it is also a
resurrection of the dead believers. I believe that the term catching away
is appropriate for the transportation of living believers into the
presence of Christ. I do not have a problem with someone's using the term
rapture to describe the catching away of the living believers, though the
word rapture is not found in the Bible. However, most evangelical
Christians today have come to associate rapture with the pretribulation
position and it is somewhat tainted with this heresy. But since it is the
term most recognizable in referring to the gathering of living believers
to meet Christ at His second coming, I will use the term for the remainder
of this study. Two
Events, One Term—Rapture
The Greek word for caught up is found in the Strong's Greek
Dictionary, number 726. It is "harpazo, which means; to seize (in
various applications):--catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by
force)." The Greek word for rise in the Strong's Greek Dictionary,
number 450, is "anistemi (an-is'-tay-mee), which means; to stand up
(literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive)." The rapture is
defined by some pretribbers to mean "the great snatch," or to
snatch out of harm's way. I agree that it implies a taking of the Church
out of harm's way, in the sense that God is ready to finish His wrath on
the earth, and therefore removes the believers quickly before this
happens. This occurs somewhere near the end of the Tribulation Period. If
the definitions are correct, as I believe that they are, then it is
obvious that the term rapture must apply only to the living. How would one
snatch dead people out of harm's way?
It is also obvious that a mass resurrection of the dead also occurs
at the same time as the rapture. According to the pretribulational view,
the bodies of the dead in Christ will be resurrected from their graves a
split second before the living believers are caught off the face of the
earth. As the resurrected dead pass over the ground that the living
believers are standing on, they will be simultaneously caught up to meet
Christ at His partial coming, which is right before the Tribulation
Period. These near simultaneous events are labeled the single term,
rapture by dispensationalists. This means that they have no term for the
resurrection that also occurs.
Resurrection/rapture is a better term to describe the resurrection
of the dead and catching away or rapture of the living believers.
Since one group is resurrected and the other raptured, the improper
labeling of the dual event as rapture causes serious problems.
If the word rapture had not been introduced into the American
church, the event would have been called the Second Coming of Christ, as
it should be. Most people
would have then understood that He was coming at the end of the age, the
end of the seven-year period, and not before. For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise (anistemi; to stand up) first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up (harpazo; to seize) together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1
Thess 4:15-17 (NKJV)
The fact that there are only two mass resurrections poses a major
dilemma for the pretribulation rapture doctrine since there are only two
resurrections that are found in Revelation, chapter twenty. The question
is whether or not the two resurrections are the only mass resurrections
that are ordained by God and if the first resurrection in Revelation
twenty is the only pre-millennial resurrection. To discover the answer,
one should not study a Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHaye book, search a
pretribulation rapture web site, or view a LaHaye, LaLonde or VanImpe
video, but instead search the Scriptures.
If they are the only two mass resurrections, and only one occurs
before the Millennium, and at the end of the seven-year period, then the
pretribulation rapture is a completely false doctrine.
These two mass resurrections mentioned in Revelation twenty are
called the first and second, not second and third,
and there is no mass resurrection mentioned to occur before these two.
According to those who believe in the pretribulation rapture, the
resurrection that they call the rapture should be the first of
three resurrections. Pretribulation rapturist's answer this dilemma by
declaring that the reason John calls the two resurrections, first
and second, is because they deal primarily with the Tribulation
period. Not so! The second resurrection is one thousand years after the
seven-year period. If John chose to label it second, a full one
thousand years after the seven-year period, then I suppose number one
would be labeled first, even if it occurred seven years before the
end of the seven-year period.
Thus, the problem is not only finding the pretribulation
resurrection anywhere in eschatological Scriptures, but also explaining
why it is not mentioned in Revelation twenty as the first of three
resurrections. We must consider that first means first, whether it happens
at the end of the Tribulation or before it. (By the same token, last
trumpet means last.) As George Müller is reported to have asked,
"Can there be any resurrection before the first one; and can there be
another trump after this last one?" Maybe that is why Darby disliked
him so much! There
are no pretribulation resurrection/raptured people seen in Heaven.
Another pretribulation rapture problem is there are no
pretribulation resurrected or raptured people seen in heaven during the
so-called Tribulation. If they were part of a first mass resurrection
before the Tribulation, they should be abundantly referred to in the
Scripture's. In Revelation seven, John sees a huge group of people
gathered around the throne, but he was told by the angel that they came
out of great tribulation. The only way out of great tribulation is by
rapture or death and these people died.
"And
I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they
which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev. 7:14 KJV)
It does not follow that these people were raptured, but rather that
they were martyred. Since this is toward the end of the seven-year period
(see Chapter 6, Proper Order of the 21 Events), these are the dead whose
bodies are to be resurrected before the living are caught away, not the
believers who have already been resurrected.
They cry, “How Long?” because they long to be in a new
glorified body.
The so-called pretribulation rapture saints are not mentioned in
Revelation twenty. If the
people who are alleged to have departed from earth seven years previously
in a pretribulation resurrection/rapture, and who escaped the Tribulation,
are not mentioned in the finale in Revelation twenty, it must be because
they are not there. However, they should be there because
dispensationalists declare that people who depart in the pretribulation
rapture are special people, so special that they get to skip all the bad
stuff. If the PTR proponents are in this final scene of the redeemed's
triumph over death, then they have been relegated to such background
status that they are unseen. In fact, they are not even given honorable
mention while those who give their lives in the tribulation are highly
honored and rewarded. In my opinion, the fact that there is no
pretribulation resurrection mentioned in the Scriptures and there are only
two posttribulation resurrections in Revelation in the twentieth chapter
is more proof that pretribulation rapture is a false doctrine. What
are the two resurrections?
The two resurrections have been interpreted by many Bible scholars
to be as follows: 1.
The first is the resurrection of the redeemed including those who died
during the Tribulation. This event occurs near the end of the Tribulation.
2.
The second is the resurrection of those who died during the Millennium
age. This occurs at the end of the Millennium.
In my opinion, the key to understanding the two resurrections and
the Millennium itself is in the phrase "the end of the age." The
term last days also refers to the end of the age, and that is when
the first resurrection takes place. The first resurrection is about this
age only and all who lived and died during it. The second resurrection is
about the Millennium age and those who lived and died during that age.
That fact that there is only one mass resurrection referred to in the
Scriptures, other than in Revelation twenty, is because almost all of the
Scriptures are about this present age only. The
First Resurrection "This
is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I
should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this
is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and
believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise (anistemi) him
up at the last day." John 6:39-40 (NKJV) "No
one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will
raise (anistemi) him up at the last day." (John "Whoever
eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will
raise(anistemi) him up at the last day." (John "Martha
said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the
last day.'" (John "He
who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him;
the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." (John The
Second Resurrection And
I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were
opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the
dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were
written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and
Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were
judged, each one according to his works. Rev 20:12-14 (NKJV) The
Resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
We do find a resurrection referred to in the Bible well before
Revelation twenty, but it is not anything that even remotely resembles a
pretribulation resurrection. PTR believers will protest that statement and
claim that 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 is the pretribulation resurrection. Let
us look at that passage of Scripture right now to see if such a claim is
valid. In order to make it clearer, let us remove the verse markings which
were put in by the Puritan translators. "But
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have
fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him
those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no
means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore
comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJV)
Of course, there is no mention of a pretribulation resurrection
here. One has to impose such a theory on the text. The timing of this
event is revealed by the reference to other scriptures where there is
indeed a timing, such as, Matthew 24:29-31.
The simple truth is clearly revealed in these Scriptures when they
are read without the influence of Darby's heresy. I will break them down
step by step so that the picture can be made even clearer. 1.
The first sentence sets the tone for the whole passage. Paul is teaching
the Church about the deceased believers. He is speaking words of comfort
to those who are alive concerning the plight of the deceased believers. 2.
The second sentence reveals that those who have died will come back with
Jesus at His second coming. This determines the interpretation of the rest
of the passage. Paul does not make a mistake in this verse and then
attempt to correct it in the following verses by using an opposite
statement. The deceased believers will come back with Christ at His second
coming. 3.
The third sentence declares that the deceased believers will rise first.
This is in line perfectly with the second sentence, which declares that
the dead will be the first to come back with Jesus. We cannot read into
this sentence or the rest of the passage what is obviously not there. This
means that they have already been in Heaven and are coming back to have
their bodies resurrected and glorified.
The truth of this is seen in Revelation when martyred believers are
seen in Heaven. They are not soul-sleeping in the grave waiting for
the resurrection, but are before the throne of God waiting for the end of
the age. At that point the dead believers will have their
old bodies transformed into spiritual bodies. The living believers
will also have their bodies glorified and transformed into spiritual,
eternal bodies. We
are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to
be present with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:8 NKJV)
The words alive and remain are significant, because they paint the
picture of the living believers that have been left behind when their
fellow believers were slain. Now they are waiting for the Second Coming of
Christ with the believers who have been in Heaven waiting for the
resurrection and transformation of their bodies. In fact, some
translations use the word left instead of the word remain. It seems as if
many will be "left behind" if the qualification for such is to
be alive in Christ during the tribulation. Someone needs to relay this
information to Tim LaHaye before he writes any more erroneous books under
the title, "Left Behind."
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still
alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not
precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and
with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever. 1 Thess 4:15-17 ( NIV) 4.
The last sentences are a detailed repeat of what Paul already said.
Reading anything else into them is folly. One cannot come away from these
Scriptures with the notion that there is a resurrection/rapture before the
seven-year without imposing and interspersing human opinion into the text.
He or she would also have to take some verses out of the Bible and dismiss
other Scriptures as accidental inserts. Thus, we should read this section
as a depiction of a resurrection/rapture that has no set time frame other
than the reference to Matthew 24:29-31 that does have a time frame. We
cannot find a scripture that presents a pretribulation timing for the
rapture anywhere in the Bible. "But
the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection." (Rev. 20:5 NKJV)
Is John saying here that the first resurrection does not take place
until after the Millennium? If one takes that scripture out of context,
such a notion could result. However, taken in context, it is apparent that
the first resurrection is before the Millennium. The phrase, this is the
first resurrection should have been placed before but the rest of the
dead. Since the
translators did not do this, we have to do it ourselves when we read the
whole passage in its entirety and context. By the same token, we should
not attempt to alter the Scriptures elsewhere to cause them not to conform
to the context of Biblical eschatology. To do so defies Scriptural logic.
It is, in effect, robbing from context to pay heresy.
Some people deal with the two resurrections by combining the
resurrection of Christ, the supposed pretribulation resurrection, and the
first resurrection into a single, but three-phase, resurrection. The idea
of a three-phase, yet single, resurrection comes from misunderstanding the
phrasing of 1 Corinthians 15:23-24. "For
since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection (singular)
of the dead. {22} For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be
made alive. {23} But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,
afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. {24} Then comes the end,
when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all
rule and all authority and power." (1 Cor. 15:21-24 NKJV) (insert
mine)
However, this is better interpreted to indicate only one
eschatological resurrection at the end of this age. Christ Himself being
the "first fruits" does not necessarily indicate to me the
fusion of another resurrection with His to make them both as one
resurrection. Neither does it give license to create a pretribulation
resurrection and add it to the pot as well. Firstfruits simply delineates
that He is the first to be resurrected from the Church, but does not
intend to promote the idea of the beginning of a multi-phased, mass
resurrection of the dead. "But
now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep." (1 Cor.
In my opinion the idea of a three-phase resurrection is kind of
like a two-phase Parousia. It is too convenient to create a single
resurrection and then list all the other resurrections under it in an
attempt to harmonize the Scriptures and produce what does not exist. This
is what dispensationalists do with the Parousia in order to harmonize
pretribulation rapture with the scriptures concerning the Second Coming of
Christ. The same mistake should not be made by serious Bible students
concerning the lack of a pretribulation resurrection in the Scriptures.
The pretribulation rapture proponents split the resurrection, as
they do the Parousia, into several phases in an attempt to force their
doctrine into the Bible. However, this action ignores and subsequently
deviates from the thread of scriptural continuity. Jesus taught that there
is a mass resurrection of the lost and the saved and it is one and the
same event. We could split them up to force a believers-only
pretribulation resurrection/rapture on the text, with another resurrection
of the unrighteous following later on, but His phraseology strongly
opposes doing so. "Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the
graves will hear His voice {29} "and come forth; those who have done
good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of condemnation." (This is not necessarily an order
here.) (John 5:28-29 NKJV)
He does not say, for the hours are coming, or the days or the
times, but the hour, indicating a single event in time. The disciples and
other followers of Jesus may not have fully understood His resurrection at
the time of His teaching, as is indicated by the following Scripture. In
my opinion, this led them to believe that He was going to be resurrected
at the same time that they were going to be, which is the age-end
resurrection. "For
as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the
dead." (John 20:9 NKJV)
Old Testament presents the resurrection of Christ as a separate
event from the mass resurrection. There is no mention in the following
Scriptures of Christ's rising at the end of the age, but they do indicate
that He rises on the third day. "For
You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to
see corruption." (Ps.16:10 NKJV) "After
two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we
may live in His sight." (Hos. 6:2 NKJV)
Although there were other resurrections, i.e., Lazarus, the saints
at the point of Christ's death on the cross, and Jesus Himself, the first
resurrection mentioned in Revelation 20 is a mass resurrection of both the
righteous and unrighteous. Since it is eschatological in nature, it has to
be fitted into the eschatological sequence in some rational and
scripturally logical manner. This leads us to the resurrection mentioned
in 1 Thessalonians 4, which no doubt refers to the first resurrection (see
Rev. 20). For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first. {17} Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we
shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NKJV)
In my opinion, the Scriptures in Revelations 20: 4-6 primarily
refer to the martyred dead, but that doesn't mean no other dead people are
included in this resurrection. The
unrighteous dead are not mentioned in this brief depiction of the first
resurrections because that is not the topic of the verse.
Likewise, in 1 Thessalonians Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the
graves will hear His voice {29} and come forth--those who have done good,
to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-30 (NKJV) "At
that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over
the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as
never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time
your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the
book. {2} And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
{3} Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Dan 12:1-3 (NKJV) Seventh Trumpet Resurrection "The
nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And
the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And
that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And
those who fear Your name, small and great, And
should destroy those who destroy the earth."
The
Last Enemy
The next problem that PTR proponents face with their resurrection
is how to harmonize their doctrine with the scripture's in 1Corinthians "But
if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Rom "--but
has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has
abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel," (2 Tim "For
if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those
who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign
in life through the One, Jesus Christ." (Rom "Behold,
I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed;
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on
incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in
victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your
victory?" (1 Cor
When death is defeated, the resurrection must occur when the
prophecy concerning death’s defeat is fulfilled. Death will not be
defeated before the seven-year period, so, there cannot be a mass
resurrection before this eschatological period begins. This is evidenced
by the fact that there are many saints being martyred during the
tribulation. Death is defeated at the end of this age, as the Scriptures
implicitly declare. The following scripture declares that death will be
destroyed forever at the end of the Millennium age. "Then
comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He
puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. {25} For He must
reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. {26} The last enemy that
will be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:24-26 NKJV)
Notice that death is destroyed for the saints when Christ returns
to earth. There can be no mass resurrection before death is defeated
because of the nature of the resurrection. Death rules only in the
temporal sphere; therefore, whatever it has destroyed in this realm must
be restored when death is defeated. When death is defeated, the spirits of
the dead have to return to their bodies for death is the separation of the
spirit and the body. This is why the deceased believers come back with
Christ, to re-enter their bodies and physically live again (just as Christ
did), and be instantly caught up and transformed. "For
if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we
also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection," (Rom 6:5 NKJV) The
body of Christ lay in the tomb for three days, but His spirit was not
there. When the time of His resurrection came, He returned to His body and
was resurrected in it. This is the Divine Order of the resurrection that
He established that we must follow. (Luke
24:38-39 NKJV) "And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And
why do doubts arise in your hearts? {39} "Behold My hands and My
feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have
flesh and bones as you see I have."" (John
Obviously, Jesus was in a physical body, but He was going to be
glorified and receive a spiritual body. At that point, He defeated death
that dominated Him for three days. When we also triumph over death, which
is at the end of the seven-year period, those who are in the graves will
also have their bodies transformed into spiritual bodies. Paul declares
that the corruptible (dead) must put on incorruption (life), and that the
mortal (living) must put on immortality (everlasting life). The dead are
resurrected in their bodies, and are then transformed with those who are
still alive as they all ascend to meet Christ. "in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be
changed." (Emphasis added) (1 Cor.15:52 NKJV) But
if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you. Rom
By avoiding the term resurrection, pretribulationists prevent and
deflect questions concerning the first resurrection and the defeat of
death which comes at the end of the Tribulation.
The pretribulation rapture position also has to face the problem of
the two judgments. In the PTR eschatological sequence, the judgment of the
believers occurs during the Tribulation, yet this idea conflicts with the
Scriptures. First of all, it is clear in the Scriptures that each of the
two resurrections is followed by a judgment. Since there can be no
judgment without a resurrection, understanding the placement of the two
judgments is key to understanding the position of the two resurrections.
Scriptures declare that there will be a judgment of both the righteous and
the wicked at the end of this age, as well as at the end of the
Millennium. Consider the following scriptures: (Mat
7:22-23 NKJV) ""Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and
done many wonders in Your name?' {23} "And then I will declare to
them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!'" (Mat
24:44 NKJV) ""Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is
coming at an hour you do not expect." {50}"the
master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him
and at an hour that he is not aware of, {51} "and will cut him in two
and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth." (Mat
25:31-32 NKJV) ""When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
{32} "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the
goats." {41}"Then
He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed,
into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:" {46}"And
these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into
eternal life."
There is also the fact that many of the parables end with the
coming of the Lord and judgment. The parable of the talents end in a
judgment. (Mat
25:30 NKJV) "'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer
darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (Mat
24:50-51 NKJV) ""the master of that servant will come on a day
when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
{51} "and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Here
is the order as I understand it. 1.
The first resurrection of all the dead of all the ages followed by a
judgment. 2.
The second resurrection of all the dead of the Millennium age followed by
a judgment.
Because the end of this age is the beginning of the Millennium age,
interpreting the words of Christ in John 5:28-29 as the Millennium-end
judgment is clearly suppositional. ""Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the
graves will hear His voice {29} "and come forth; those who have done
good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of condemnation." (John 5:28-29 NKJV)
This could not be the Great White Throne Judgment for it completely
resembles the Parousia of Christ. Other Scriptures also ostensibly
indicate a judgment of both the righteous and the wicked at the end of
this age, namely, the end of the Tribulation, at the Second Coming of the
Lord. This means there is a judgment of both the righteous and the wicked
before the Great White Throne Judgment. In my opinion, the Great White
Throne Judgment is not just about the wicked since books are opened,
including the Book of Life. If all of those who are being judged are
wicked, then why does God even bother to open the Book of Life? The books,
in my opinion, are where the works of the wicked are recorded, because
those works certainly would not be written in the Book of Life. This makes
the Great White Throne Judgment also a judgment of both righteous and
wicked. If this is true, then there must be a way to harmonize such an
event with the Scriptures. We have already done this by proving that there
are wicked people in both resurrections.
Is there any chance that in first Thessalonians four, Paul is
talking about a separate event, a secret any-moment rapture/resurrection
concerning only the righteous that occurs before the seven-year period? I
do not believe that there is even a slight chance of this, because the
Divine continuity and harmony of eschatological Scriptures simply does not
permit it. A problem that I see reoccurring often in doctrinal
presentations is faulty scripture interpretation.
Some interpreters do not keep a thread of Divine continuity through
out a topic. If they come to a Scripture that omits a certain point, they
assume that the Scripture is talking about something altogether different.
It can be demonstrated that it is quite natural to omit certain points
when the focus is directed to one aspect of an event. There is no need to
break the thread of continuity and re-string the needle every time a full
view is not presented in every single verse when the full-view has been
pre-established. If we put that kind of scrutinizing demand on the
Scriptures, myriads of doctrines will result. In fact, this is how several
major false doctrines today got their beginning.
There is only one general, mass resurrection in this age, according
to the words of Christ and others who wrote the Scriptures. To force
another such resurrection into the Scriptures that occurs before the
Tribulation is to declare that Jesus, Paul, and other Old Testament
writers made some critical omissions. This places their writings in the
natural category rather than in the supernatural category. God spoke
through holy men who wrote the divinely inspired Scriptures.
An angel revealed the supernatural information concerning the last
days to Daniel. God is not making this up as He goes along. There is
certainly no scriptural logic to His revealing last-days events and
failing to include a key event. The pretribulation rapture isn't found in
the Scriptures and is therefore a false doctrine. People should have a
love for the truth and come to their senses before it is too late.
|
