Resurrection from the Dead_Bodily Resurrection

The speaker discusses the question of what happens to a person's body after death. They reference Bible verses that talk about the resurrection of the dead and argue against the belief that people go to heaven immediately after death. They explain that when a person dies, their body is like a seed that is planted in the ground, and it is only on the day of resurrection that a new spiritual body will be given to them. They also mention that Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected and that others will follow at his coming. The speaker emphasizes that the bodies of those who have died before the rapture do not yet have the new spiritual body, but they will receive it at the time of the rapture. The bodies of those who are alive at the time of the rapture will be transformed into immortal bodies. Well, this question has baffled many persons. You will remember in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16, the Bible says that the Lord himself shall descend with a shout, with a trumpet, with the voice of an archangel, and the dead in Christ shall resurrect, or they shall, the reason of that is 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16, then the Bible makes such a claim that we that are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet with the Lord in the end, and the social movements will be with him forever. So it talks about resurrection of the dead, and so many people have come with this thought that means that when people die, they actually lost consciousness, they are dead. The idea of people dying and being in heaven really don't hold water, because if people die and die in heaven, why is it that when Jesus Christ comes, they will now need to be resurrected upon the rapture, upon the last trumpet? Where are they resurrecting from? What is resurrecting? So it goes to show that they were actually dead, and were not existing. Now I think that's one of the things that the life of Jehovah's Witnesses puts to their point, that when a person dies, he lost his consciousness, he is out of tune, he is dead, and he's just manure, he's not existing anywhere else until Jesus Christ comes to raise him from the dead. As you see, this question became very relevant. Have you read that verse? 15-17 it says, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain, until the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are at sleep, shall not be issued the word, which is to say, shall not go before them that are asleep, that are dead. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and will come to God. And the dead in Christ shall be. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be with the Lord. So, this is a question that has been asked in the last sermon, but how then are the dead raised? It's actually, you said that anybody that dies, one of our beliefs is that if a man dies today, his spirit goes to meet with the Lord. We do not believe that there is a condition of existence of spirit, there is no death of the spirit. So, we believe that if a person dies today, he goes to be with the Lord. If he is a Christian, if he is born again, that he goes to be with the Lord. If he is a God that died, then why are you telling me about the resurrection of the people that died? So, now, this meditation has extended the question, even before you ask a scripture or any preemptive, and it says in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 35, but some man says, how are the dead raised? And with what body did they come? Now, Paul is answering the question about the spirit. He says, that which thou soweth is not quickened, except it dies. And that which thou soweth, thou soweth not the body that shall be, but dead grain, if by chance of me or of some other grain. For God giveth it a body, and it hath his name, and so every seed and every leaf is his own body. Now, this quickly clears the air that, you know, people say that if a person dies in Christ, what happens to him? When God is telling you, he says, don't be afraid, don't reason like this, talk about that reason. He says, when you sow a seed, for example, you sow a corn or a, you know, whatever seed you sow, he says that seed that you put on the ground is not what comes out. When you now see corn coming out, you sow one corn, and then you are seeing, you know, ears of corn, you sow one orange, seed of orange, you don't see many, many, many seeds inside. He's telling you that it is not the orange that you put inside the ground, that seed that you put inside the ground, it's not what is coming out. What he is telling you, rather, is that you have, by planting that seed, you have sent a signature to God. You have sent a word. Remember, the Bible says in the book of Hosea, I will stop. Hosea chapter 2, I'm going to read from verse 21, you will see the dynamics of seed sowing and the way God gives his abode. He says, and it shall come to pass that I will hear the heavens, and the heavens shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn and the wine, and they shall hear Jesus. That is to say, that when Jesus puts a seed of corn on the earth, he sends a specific code requesting God to send something. He sends that code into the earth, and the earth speaks to the heavens, and the heavens speaks to God, and God hears, and God gives a harvest. If the seed you sow on the ground is just a signal, it is not the same thing that comes out. It sends a signal and it thrives, and then God gives that response by bringing in new life, a new body. And God is telling you that that is the same thing that happens when a man dies. When a man dies, his spirit goes to God for his body is like a seed on the earth. Of course, that body will die and become anew. It will be washed away. Some parts of the body will, you know, might mix with erosion and go to the farthest part of the earth. So it might become crude oil and might be mined and so many things might have happened to it. That is not the body that resurrects. What God is telling you is that the body that was planted or that was put under the ground is not the body that will resurrect. It is only a seed. It's a signal that from this same place where this man's body was dropped, God is going to make a new body, a new body that is not like the corruptible body, but it's going to come out from this place. It is a signal that Mr. A, who died here, shall have a body that will come out from this place. So if, for example, Christ comes and when I'm done with my business here on earth, I die and then my spirit goes to pray to the Lord, my body, of course, will be laid in the grave or in a tomb or whatever those that want to paint it want to do with it. Or if they don't like it, they won't burn it and put it in an oven. Whatever happens, the fact that I have a body and that my spirit has left my body, that fact, having been established, speaks to God that the body of this saint definitely must be replaced with a spiritual body. The Bible says the body that is sown is not the one that resurrects. God will create a new body. Paul already says that even if our body here on earth dies and gets mutated and gets corrupted, it says God is preparing a new one for us. That one that is preparing for us is not corruptible. The one that we have now is corruptible. The one that we have now is subject to death. The one that we have now is subject to various situations. This world is exactly like the body of God, exactly like the body of Jesus Christ. And it is prepared in heaven. But when the time shall come, if you have lived according to the dictates of Christ, that body is already prepared for you now in heaven. And on the day that Jesus Christ shall come with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, something will happen. The body that has been prepared for you shall instantly come out from the place where you believe. That body will come out. That body will manifest from that place. People shall see it, go in to join it. The spirit of that dead thing will instantly fuse with that body and then will manifest as the same now with the living body. Well, the direct answer to that is yes. They don't yet have bodies. Now, I will be very clear in using this. Resurrection is in patches. But I will tell this also in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that we read earlier. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 22. Let us read. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 from verse 22 through verse 24 says, For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his order, Christ the firstfruits. Afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end. I didn't finish that verse because we talked about it. So these are the patches of resurrection. Then they will be resurrected into life. First, Jesus Christ the firstfruits. He is the first person not only to be resurrected from the spiritual death, but also to have to receive the resurrection of his body. Now, the resurrection of his body is that his corruptible body was clothed on by an incorruptible body which is the divine body, the celestial body, which was already made for him. And then he put that on upon his resurrection. So that is a template of what we are and what we are going to be like. When we also will have resurrected, we are going to put on the same body, the same type of body that he has now. He already has the resurrected body that we are going to have. And take notice there are many patches. The first patch is Jesus Christ. Then the Bible says, Afterward, they that are Christ's and went at his coming, not before them. So them that died before his second coming, them that died before the rapture, they do not yet have that body. Even though he has been prepared for them, they do not yet have that body. Until the time of the rapture. When the rapture takes place, they will be given their own body. Now that is when you will see them resurrecting physically. Their bodies will be given to their souls. That body is the celestial and eternal and incorruptible body. That is what will be seen in the resurrection from their death. That is what will be seen in the resurrection from the point of their death. That is what will be seen on the last day when they will come out and be resurrected. And be made to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us that are alive and that remain, we shall be closed on with our own bodies immediately. That is what happens upon rapture. After them that are dead receive their bodies, we shall receive our own. And we shall subdue our mortal bodies and convert it to an immortal body. So we shall have the same body. But it shall be after their death that it happens. However, it is going to happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Something else is going to come to our mind at this point. The question is, what about the people that shall die after the rapture? Because of course, after the rapture, remember you have the point of the rapture that the dead in Christ shall put on immortality and put on a new body and those that are remaining, those of us that are still here, that have not died, we will put on our own immortality also. And we shall become just like Jesus Christ physically. And we shall be caught up with Christ in death. But after them, people shall still give their lives to Christ. Yes. Surprisingly so, yes. Many people shall give their lives to Christ. For example, that will be the time for the salvation of the majority of the physical or the earthly Israelites. That will make us to understand that, you know, after a while, God shall open a fountain in Israel for sin. Many of them shall see Him and we shall mourn for Him and then we shall turn to Christ. In fact, some of the greatest revivals are going to happen in the time after the rapture. For example, that will be the time that God is going to send in His people, He is going to send in His people only to the temple of the Lord. They shall do a very short walk, I think for about a period of time. Then after that period of time, they are going to be ministering on the earth physically. They will be able to shout to heaven, just like Elijah did. They will be able to call down fire and they will be able to pray in the power of the Holy Ghost in such a wonderful way. They will give their lives to Christ. In fact, that also tells us that that is also the same period where about more than 4,000 people out of Israel shall give their lives. They shall be caught up with the Lord in death according to giving their lives to Christ. So there are other Israelites also who will be giving their lives to Christ. And apart from that, the works of these Israelites also will cause many non-Israelites to give their lives to Christ. Many will be saved after the rapture. They will be saved because of course the Holy Ghost will be on earth convincing men of sin, convincing people of righteousness and so on and so forth. So people will give their lives to Christ and they will be saved. And between that period, about the period of seven years or three and a half years, depending on how the portion of the Antichrist shall be, they shall be prosecuted up to the point of death. When they are prosecuted, the Antichrist and his cohorts and the people that will be on earth will be killing them, displaying them as they want. So many of them will be dying. Now, these people that are dying are what I would call the tribulation saints. That's what we see in the book of Revelation chapter 6 and verse 9. The Bible says, And when he hath opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the soul of them that were slain for the word of God and for the faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. Faith in which they have prayed. If you read on to verse 10, you will see that they are crying for vengeance. Just like souls normally cry for vengeance, especially souls that are before their natural death. Notice that Abel, when he died, his soul cried for vengeance. The blood is a representation of the soul. And so God said that the blood of Abel was crying at the ground, asking for vengeance. So, in the same vein, the blood of these people, which is the physical representation of their souls, would be crying for vengeance. However, God would not keep them for a period of time. Now, you notice one thing. One of the things that makes the soul to cry is because it was ripped out of his body before time. Now, he has no, he never had a corruptible body, nor an incorruptible body. That is why, if you read in verse 10, you will see that the righteousness of the religion provides itself for the period. But after then, there shall be the end of the reign of the Antichrist. After the reign of the Antichrist, the sins, which already have their physical body now, which already have their resurrection body, I mean to say, and Jesus Christ and the angels shall come down to the Antichrist's presence and they will destroy the creation of the Antichrist. Take over the earth. There shall be the Great White Crucifixion. But before the Great White Crucifixion, these souls that died for their testimony in Christ will also receive their own resurrection. These are the last batch of resurrection. Jesus Christ says in the book of John chapter 5 and verse 25 to 28 where he says that the time coming is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live. I like to read on it now. Say, marveling at this, that the time coming, when they that are in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they shall be resurrected, or they shall live. Some through life, through the resurrection of life, and some through the resurrection of damnation. So that is the last resurrection. And that last resurrection, even the people that died as unbelievers, as sinners, shall also be raised. But they are going to be facing condemnation. For them that died in the period of tribulation and then they died according to the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ shall also receive their incorruptible body and they shall join the rest of us. For them that did not die in Christ shall face the great white judgment. That is where Jesus faced his own condemnation. Before I wrap up, quickly let us look at the book of Revelation chapter 20 verse 4 to 26. And I saw tombs, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were there for the witness of Jesus. These are the people that died in the great tribulation of Christ, during the reign of the Antichrist. Either between the beginning of the seven years or, you know, between the beginning of the second half of the seven years, which is about three and a half years to the end of the seven years. They, them that are there for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which have not worshipped the beast, neither have received his mouth from their forehead or into their hands. So it is clear that these are the people that are called tribulation saints. And they lived again and reigned with Christ a thousand years. They are no longer reigning just as souls under the altar now. But they are reigning with Christ a thousand years. Now, remember what I explained earlier. When Christ would come from heaven, their glorified body would have been given to them. So they too would live again, like the Bible says. And then they lived again, not just as souls. They lived again, meaning that they were already given their incorruptible body. And they are going to be joining the rest of us to reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years. But the Bible now says that is the end of the resurrection of all the saints. After that, it goes on to describe the rest of the dead, those that either worshipped the beast or worshipped the mouth of the beast, or those that died before now, everybody that did not resurrect during the rapture, and did not receive their glorified bodies, all those that did not receive their glorified bodies, either during the rapture or at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, they would remain dead. But the rest of the dead lived not again. They were still souls in heaven, but they did not receive any form of body. The Bible says they lived not again until the thousand years were finished. Now, it tells us this is the first resurrection. Remember the book of John, chapter 5, verse 28, where it says that there are types of resurrection. Some resurrect unto life, and some resurrect unto damnation. Those that resurrected unto life, their resurrection came in batches. And the batch came upon the beginning of the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ. At the end of the 1,000-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is when those that are becoming redemption, they are resurrected unto life. They are alive. So, the first batch of resurrection is the resurrection of them that received Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Bible says anybody that does not partake in that, we have to wait for another 1,000 years for them to be resurrected. And this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has passed in the first resurrection. On such, the second death has no power. For they shall be the priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him 1,000 years. So, that 1,000-year reign is only for saints. Saints that died before Jesus came, saints that died after Jesus came, saints that died before the rapture, saints that were part of the rapture, and then saints that died during the tribulation. They will be resurrected in batches. The Bible says Jesus was the first of them. After Jesus Christ was resurrected, of course, we notice that Old Testament saints also resurrected upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thereafter, we that are Christians, we shall be resurrected upon the throne of God, and then those that are alive during the rapture shall receive our own divine body. And thereafter, the last batch will be the people that died during the tribulation. They shall receive their own divine body. And then we all shall manifest physically, reigning with Christ on earth. We reign with Christ on earth for 1,000 years. Then, at the end of the 1,000 years, we that are partakers of the first resurrection, something will happen. We are going to talk about that very soon. Before we talk about what happens to those of us that are resurrected in the first resurrection, the Bible says holy and blessed are those that took part in the first resurrection because they are the only people that have overcome the second death. If you are part of the first resurrection, the second death is not for you. But if you are not part of the first resurrection, automatically you are a candidate for the second death. And that is where we need to be very careful. Who are those that are going to be victims of the second death? What is the second death? The second death is eternal separation from the Lord. Eternal separation from the Lord. It is the link of fire. The Bible tells us that blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such, the second death has no part. They shall be priests of God and of Christ and they shall reign in a thousand years. As I record my time in Spain, let's take a look at what happens to the rest of humans. The Bible says, continuing from where we stopped in Deuteronomy 20, reading now from verse 11, it says, And I saw a great white throne, and a thing that sat on it, on whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. There was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, turned before God, and their books were opened. Before I proceed in reading, I want us to quickly understand what the Bible is talking about. This is the great white throne judgment. In this great white throne judgment, many people think, all men shall stand before the throne of God and give account of their sins. Many of us think that if I do very good, I can give account of what I did before. I did this, I did that. When I stand before the great white throne judgment, I will be able to tell God, this is what I did. God is going to look at my deed and is going to have mercy and then cause me to go to heaven. Some other persons may say, oh no, maybe if I did so bad, then God will send me out with anger, fling me across hell and I will land in heaven. That is what happens. The Bible says that on the last day, it says that the last day that we are going to be saved, it says, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it had no sign of God before whose face the earth and the heavens fled. The Bible says, and then I saw the dead. Who were these dead? They were the people that remained dead until the end of the one thousand year reign of Christ. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged. You see, calling them dead, even though they are resurrected. It says, and the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. Praise God. And I would like to say something. It says that, and the sea gave up the dead with many dead. And death and heath and all hell delivered up the dead with many dead. In the way, joy in every man according to his work. And death and heath was cast in the lake of fire. This is the second day. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast in the lake of fire. And look at how the third day is opened. When people come out, those that did not take part in the first step of resurrection, even when death gave them up, even when the seas gave them up, God is still calling them the dead. They will be anointed. They will sleep alive. They will face the judgment as living beings, but they are spiritually dead. That's why God is calling them dead. They are spiritually dead. These spiritually dead people, they will be physically alive to face judgment. Now, this is integrity. Why are they being judged? They are being judged just to show them that your works are not enough to receive righteousness or to qualify you for the kingdom of God. Notice their judgment. The Bible says that they were judged from the things that were written in the book according to their deeds. But did you notice that at the end of the judgment, the Bible did not say that by their deeds they were justified. Just notice the two sets of books that were opened. If you look at verse 4, it says, And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And the books, with S, that capital R-M-N, plural, the books were opened. And then another book was opened. This one is not plural. There is no S in this book. And they call it, which is the book of life. So the book that has no S now, that is the singular book, is the book of life. And then there were other books that were opened. Take notice of something. That the dead, that is the spiritually dead, were judged from the books, not from the book of life. And the Bible tells us that after all their judgment, that which would determine whether they would go to heaven is whether their name was written in the book of life. Unfortunately, none of the things were written in the book of life. The Bible says in verse 15, Whosoever was not found within the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. It is not whosoever did anyway, whosoever did before, whosoever was involved in philanthropy, whosoever was very nice, whosoever was good, or whosoever was a very bad sinner. No. Your deed didn't determine where you go to. It's whether your name is written in the book of life. That's why God, Jesus Christ said to his disciples, You will rejoice that demons obey you in my name, but rejoice that your name is in the book of life. The Lord's brother and sister, it's your name in the book of life. It will not matter what you did or what you did not do. If your name is not in the book of life, you are already a candidate of hell. The Bible tells us that if your name, however, is in the book of life, if your name is in the book of life, you are already a citizen of hell. You are already a citizen of hell. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, in verse 22 to verse 24, it says, But ye are calm. Now, every one of you that have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, every one of you that have confessed him, believing that he is alive, that he hasn't died, but he hath come to Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an immeasurable company of angels, to the general assembly and the church of the Christ-born, which is within heaven, which is within heaven, hallelujah, and to the God, the joy of all, to the spirit of the just that made perfect, and to Jesus, the magician of the new covenant, and the blood of spirit which hath taken on better things than the blood of heaven. Hallelujah. Praise God. You are within heaven. Your names are within heaven. You are already a candidate of heaven today. How? By your works? No. By the very fact that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to save the poor souls, them that believe on him. The Bible says that this is the condemnation, the only thing that will condemn me is that Jesus Christ came to the world, they had about Jesus Christ, and they did not receive him as their Lord and Savior. John chapter 3 and verse 15. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that he never believed in him to not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but that the world he might receive. And he said that many that believe on him is not condemned, but they that believe not on him is condemned already. In the last verse of John chapter 3, he said that them that do not believe in Jesus Christ, them that do not receive the only begotten Son of God, the wrath of God abideth on them. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ. So, what you need now is to be true to the Lord Jesus. Receive him as your Lord and Savior. If you have not yet received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are risking the second death. You are risking going to hell. None of your work will be able to justify you. None of the things you do will be able to save you. The only thing that can give you salvation is that you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And that will be written now, assured in the book of life. It is another reason why we should go out and preach and beg people. And it is. What we are saying is, get an insurance for your life. Ensure that your name is written in the book of life now. You can know where you are going to now by receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And have your name written in the book of life. Because if you do not have your name written in the book of life, no matter how much you do, you will be judged from the books. And nobody that is judged from the books that ever made it into heaven. No. All of them, they will find their way unto the lake of fire. The reason why they will not make it into heaven is because their names are not written in the lamb's book of life. This is where we will be stopping today and I want to meditate on that. If you are not on your own again, this is the time to give your life to Jesus Christ. All you need to do is to believe that he died for you. And believe that God raised him from the dead for your justification. And then you do not need to confess him as your Lord and Savior. Believe him that from now on you do not want to be in charge of your life. That is how to receive it. And then your name can be shown. You can be sure that your name is written in the lamb's book of life. And whether you die now or you are alive to the rapture, you can be sure that you will take part in the first resurrection. For those who want to give their life to Christ, who have no end but born again, who do not want to be born again, you can just say this word as I do. Say, Almighty God, I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins. And I believe that you also raised him from the dead for my justification. Now, I confess according to the authority of the Lord that Jesus Christ is Lord and I accept him as the Lord of my life. By the authority of your word, I believe and I declare that I am now a child of God. My name is written in the book of life. I receive the eternal life of God into my spirit. And I receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit into my spirit. I am a child of God. I am a citizen of the kingdom of God. I have been moved from my earthly ancestry and I am now a part of the divine ancestry. Thank you, Father, for your grace in Jesus' name. Amen and Amen. Let me pray for you. Father, thank you for these words that I have given the life to. I ask that you cause them to be filled with the knowledge of you and of Jesus, whom you have saved. And that they may manifest you and your will throughout life. In the name of Jesus. They will not fall. They will grow up into Christ in all things. In the name of Jesus. Thank you, Father, for what you have done. For in Jesus' name I pray. Amen and Amen. Now, as the rest of you, and everyone of you that have just joined us now, go ahead and spread this news. We don't want people to fall into the lake of fire. Start showing them now how to escape the lake of fire. They will walk. Amen. The ball is now in your court. May God bless you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.