Does the first resurrection in Revelation have any match with the rapture in Matthew 24:30-31 and I Thessalonians 4:13ff? That was my starting question but I soon ran into something I wasn’t expecting. The term “second resurrection,” which I have always heard about and accepted, is not in the Bible. I could have sworn I have had that read to me “somewhere”, as they say.
The word “resurrection” (386), both in Greek and English, only appears twice in Revelation, both in Chapter 20. Both cases precede the word with “first”.
(Rev 20:5-6 KJV) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.As I look at Matthew 24 I do not see any reference to the resurrection as such. The passage that describes the gathering of the elect is,
(Mat 24:30-1 KJV) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.It would seem that this would involve a resurrection but it does not say so. In Thessalonians, Paul is clear in declaring the dead being raised.
(1Th 4:15 KJV) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.That seems clear, but again this is not about a second resurrection.
(1Th 4:16 KJV) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
(1Th 4:17 KJV) 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 ever be with the Lord.
We know we will be raised again. “When” is the subject of debate. The number is vague at best. Rejoice in what we know and save the unknown for when you get bored.
homo unius libri
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.