Romans 14:
7 For none of us lives to himself,
and none of us dies to himself.
8 For if we live, we live to the
Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we
die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ died and
lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Who are "us" and "we"? Of course Paul is speaking of
the saints and obviously is
including himself in that.
Paul is proclaiming to the church that Christ's death and resurrection
applies only to the
elect, i.e. His body. Death is the last enemy to be dealt with, and only
on behalf of those
for whom Christ died. Our living and dying are accomplished in, through
and for Him.
John 5:
21 For as the Father raises the
dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
22 The Father judges no one, but
has given all judgment to the Son,
23 that all may honor the Son, just
as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the
Father who sent him.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does
not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
25 "Truly, truly, I say to
you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of
the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in
himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
27 And he has given him authority
to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.(John 17:1-3)
The above portion is speaking of the salvation of the elect; which
corresponds to:
Rev 20:
6 Blessed and holy is the one who
shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a
thousand years...........
The following two verses speak of the general resurrection of ALL the dead,
and the
judgment of those who die in their sins; i.e. those whose names were never
written in
the Lamb’s Book of Life.
John 5:
28 Do not marvel at this, for an
hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
29 and come out, those who have done good to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of
judgment. (John 3:1-21)
Which corresponds to:
Rev 20: 15 And if anyone's name was
not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
All
who are born again, that is, born from above by the sovereign work of God the
Holy Spirit, are participants in the first resurrection which is Christ’s
resurrection. This is so as we are also participants in His death, the Father
having baptized us into the death of His Son long before we were ever “dunked”.
(Romans 6:1-11)
Thus:
1Cor 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Rev 20:
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
There
is the destruction of His enemies in this order; the beast, the false prophet, Satan
and then death, the last enemy of Christ and the saints. (Rev 19:20; 20:10 and 14)
Hades
is also thrown in the lake of fire as part of death, as their will be no longer
be a need for a “holding place” for the unregenerate dead. (The spirits of the
regenerate dead abide with the Lord. until his return. (2Cor 5:5-10).
The dead are then judged to be found either in Christ (the elect), or not; in which case those who are not in Christ must stand or fall on their own merit; not a good place to find oneself in. (Rev 20:12)
The dead are then judged to be found either in Christ (the elect), or not; in which case those who are not in Christ must stand or fall on their own merit; not a good place to find oneself in. (Rev 20:12)
Then
comes the second death, the finale; the death in which all the unregenerate
share, a “Christless” death, from which there is neither redemption nor
resurrection.
Paul
in writing to the church in Corinth, says this:
2Cor 5:
14 For the love of Christ controls
us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all
have died;
15 and he died for all, that those
who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake
died and was raised.
16 From now on, therefore, we
regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ
according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Psalm
116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
Solus
Christus! Soli Deo Gloria!
Addendum:
Scripture interprets scripture and the context of the entirety of scripture can only bring us to the conclusion that there are not two physical resurrections of the dead interrupted by a literal 1000 year span of time. The metaphoric and allegoric language of prophecy must be discerned and taught.
Another point to be raised concerns the idea of an "immortal soul".
Scripture interprets scripture and the context of the entirety of scripture can only bring us to the conclusion that there are not two physical resurrections of the dead interrupted by a literal 1000 year span of time. The metaphoric and allegoric language of prophecy must be discerned and taught.
Another point to be raised concerns the idea of an "immortal soul".
Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (soul KJV).
1Cor 15:45 Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
We divide man into spirit, soul and body. The scriptures do not. What we call soul, i.e. intellect, emotions, conscience, volition, personality etc. is not and cannot be divided from our physical body. Body and soul are one, and they remain in the grave until the return of Christ, at which time they become immortal, incorruptible, and imperishable. No one is an immortal soul until then, and it is only those in Christ who receive this gift.
1Cor 15:
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Death, the last enemy was defeated at the cross, and we have the deposit of the Holy Spirit as our guarantee that all that is promised to us at Christ's return will be consummated.
2Cor 1:
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
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