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The Two General Resurrections |
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The Two General Resurrections
"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; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation" - John 5:28,29. There will be a
resurrection of the righteous and a resurrection of the wicked. As we study the
Scriptures, we find that there are one thousand years between these two
resurrections. Turn to Revelation twenty, and read the entire chapter. We read
plainly that the first resurrection includes all the righteous. "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" - Rev. 20:6. In the previous verse, we
find that "the rest of the dead (all the wicked) lived not again until the
thousand years were finished." From verses seven to fifteen, we are taught
how the wicked will be revealed and then how all the unbelievers will he raised
and judged before the great white throne of the righteous God.
In this article, we shall concern ourselves only with
the first resurrection - that of the believer - and see that there are ranks in
this resurrection. The most comprehensive study of the resurrection of the
believer is found in I Corinthians fifteen. The Apostle Paul writes nothing of
the second resurrection in this chapter. Verses twelve to twenty-three prove
conclusively that there will be a resurrection. Paul makes it very plain that
Christ is the Firstfruit of the resurrection; and, since He has been raised
from the dead, so will all who believe in Him. "For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
Let us pay special attention to I Corinthians 15:23 -
"BUT EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER: Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they
that are Christ's at His coming." There will be a general resurrection of
all believers, but every man in his own order. Going to the Greek again, we
find that the word "order" is "tagma." Its meaning is,
"That which has been arranged in order"; and it was especially a
military term denoting "a company, a band, a rank." This is the only
place where this particular Greek word is used. There are different ranks in an
army, and each rank or band marches in different orders and at different times.
Paul likens the resurrection to this. It is important to know why there should
be different ranks in the resurrection, before we can understand that there are
indeed different orders.
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