Resurrection of Righteous and Wicked at Same Time

I wanted to post this earlier in the day, but, even I must work sometimes! In opposition to Dispensational/Futurist opinion, the Bible is quite clear that the resurrection of the righteous and wicked occurs at the same time, together…on the last day. In order to present the biblical evidence here, I am assuming we all agree that in order for the righteous to be rewarded and the wicked to be judged, they must first be resurrected with their immortal bodies. Check out these passages (there are several, but please take the time to read each one…I tried to break them up with a little color):

Righteous:

Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. – John 11:23-24

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. – John 6:39-40

Wicked:

The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. – John 12:4

Righteous and Wicked Together:

At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. – Daniel 12:1-2

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 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 5:28-29

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. – Matt. 25:31-34, 41, 46

The nations raged,but your wrath came,and the time for the dead to be judged,and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,and those who fear your name,both small and great,and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. – Rev. 11:18

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. – 2 Thes. 1:5-10

Consider these biblical truths in light of the popular (nay, dominant) view that the saints are resurrected at one point, then a period of time elapses and the wicked are raised, and somewhere in there the resurrection of the rest of creation takes place. Tomorrow we will look at the biblical teaching that the cosmos (heavens & earth) will be resurrected at the same time as the rest of God’s creation (righteous and wicked).

Betcha Can’t Guess Who Said It

This excerpt is from a book on the subject of the resurrection, which will be the focus of most of my posts this week. I thought I would start the week off with a quote to see if anyone can tell (without a google search) who/where it comes from.

It was the light, the grass, the trees that were different; made of some different substance, so much solider than things in our country…I saw people coming to meet us. Because they were bright I saw them while they were still very distant…The earth shook under their tread as their strong feet sank into the wet turf. A tiny haze and a sweet smell went up where they had crushed the grass and scattered the dew…the robes did not disguise in those who wore them the massive grandeur of muscle and the radiant smoothness of flesh…no one in that country struck me as being of any particular age. One gets glimpses, even in our country, of that which is ageless – heavy thought in the face of an infant, and frolic childhood in that of a very old man. Here it was all like that.

Junk Mail Church Marketing

These are but a sample of real direct-mail marketing pieces we have received from a few of the churches around us. Make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside…don’t they.

Are You a Thief?

The following comes from my notes from this past Sunday’s sermon by my Pastor, Butch Rumble, preaching on the 8th Commandment – “You shall not steal”. You can listen to the audio of this message HERE.

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. – Eph. 4:28

Q – Am I a thief?

• The Bible is clear about the future of thieves (1 Cor. 6:9-10) – “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God…neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters…nor thieves…will inherit the kingdom of God.”

We steal from God:

• Every time we do not worship as we ought
• Every time we spend our time in personal self-indulgence
• When we don’t do our best for our employer
• When we fail to offer our lives as a living sacrifice

Ryken (from Written in Stone) -

• Every theft is a failure to trust God’s provision
• Every theft is an assault on God’s providence to others

Three levels of living in relationship with “stuff” -

1. You can steal to get stuff
2. You can work to get stuff
3. You can work to get stuff in order to give stuff

Bridges’ levels:

1. Scum: What’s yours is mine…I’ll take it
2. Majority: What’s mine is mine…I’ll keep it
3. God-Honoring: What’s mine is God’s…I’ll share it

Suggestions for how to glorify God:

• Do not desire to be rich
• Be content
• Set your hope totally on God & not on wealth
• Guard yourself from pride (comparisons w/others)
• Delight yourself in God by blessing others w/your stuff & money

John 12:1-8

• Mary annoints Jesus’ feet
• Judas rebukes the action (because he’s a thief)
  • remarks about helping the poor (looks good on the surface)
  • John reveals Judas’ heart
  • Judas is a thief in more ways than one
    • Robbing attention away  from Jesus (while Mary is calling attention to  Jesus)
• Jesus defends Mary’s extravagant worship…her focus on Christ
  • “leave her alone…the poor you will always have with you”
    • Jesus’ physical presence ended
    • Poor will always be around
    • We can annoint Jesus’ feet now  by caring for the poor!

NOTE: If we are going to be extravagant, let’s be extravagant for the right things…w/our focus consistently and constantly on Christ.

Answers to My Own Questions

Yesterday, I put forth a few questions regarding how one should/would vote in the upcoming Presidential Election given certain options and scenarios. Here are my personal answers to my own questions:

Let me start by saying that I am not aware of any biblical mandate that says we, as believers, have to participate and vote in any type of government election. I am not saying we should not participate ever, just that I know of no imperative from Scripture that instructs us to do so. Scripture instructs us to pray for the governing authorities over us, but it does not say we must participate in helping them get into office in the first place (God is the One who puts them into their positions of authority, anyway). I am not advocating that Christians should not be involved in the election process, just that I am not aware of any Scriptural mandate that says we must participate.

I guess what I am getting at is…when the options are slim to none in an election, is there anything wrong with not voting at all rather than voting for the lesser of two evils (as I have heard so many Christians say time and time again over the years)? If the only two options in an election are “evil”, is it okay – as a professing disciple of Jesus Christ – to vote for the “evil” option that is not quite as evil as the other option? Or, in that instance, is it perfectly okay to just not vote for anyone?

I know, I know…I’m posing more questions here when I am supposed to be answering my questions from yesterday’s post. I will repost the questions from yesterday and then provide my answers in blue.

Would you vote for a Mormon if he was the only candidate (within either party) who was against abortion? Why or why not?

For me, abortion is the litmus test by which I begin to evaluate any potential candidate who may or may not get my vote. This is not because I think the abortion horror in this land can be solved politically, but simply because I cannot in good conscience potentially help to elect someone to office who has that much contempt and little regard for the life of another human being.

Knowing what I know of the cult of Mormonism, and how – as Thirsty has already discussed – a Mormon as president will further blur the lines between what a true Christian is and is not, I would probably find it hard to vote for a Mormon for President. Having said that, I actually think it might not be a bad thing (for the church in America) to have to deal with a Mormon President. It would provide a great opportunity for those local church bodies across the country to either take a stand against a false religion or further blur the lines between the world and the kingdom with their support of someone who may name the name of Christ, but knows Him not. In other words, it would provide a great opportunity for the visible church (those who are willing to face persecution) to make a distinction between that which is false, and the truth.

Would you vote for a Democrat if he/she was pro-life and all other candidates were not?

I despise much of the Liberal agenda, so I doubt that there would be many Democrats who could pass the abortion test and satisfy my requirements in other areas of their platform. I will say, though, that I probably would have voted for Sam Nunn had he run for President and been pro-life (I don’t know what his stance on that was).

Is there any situation in which a professing Christian would be justified in voting for someone who is pro-abortion?

I think I have pretty much already answered this by my comments above. Let me just add that I do not know of any valid reason a Christian could give for voting for someone who is in favor of killing the unborn. It is murder, plain and simple. And someone who wants my vote which will allow him/her to hold the highest office in the country cannot advocate abortion. My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ may be able to rationalize some reason around this issue to satisfy their conscience in supporting someone for President who has no problem with abortion, but I don’t buy it…no matter what the reason. The act is an abomination before God, and we will one day have to stand before Him and give an account of every careless thing we did…including casting votes for people who were in favor of this abomination.

Should a Christian ever vote for a female for President?

I don’t see anything inherently wrong with a female President (God has placed queens in power all throughout history), but I personally might have a hard time voting for a female in a presidential election. I guess I could say that Paul forbids any woman to teach or have authority over a man…but I believe the proper context of that restriction from him in Scripture is within the body of Christ. Me voting for a woman for President is possible, but realistically is not very probable (I might could vote for Condi Rice if she ever ran).

There is a lot more I could say on each of these questions, but I think that is enough to cause trouble. Besides, today is free movie day at the theater, and I’ve got to go get ready. Let me know what you think about these issues. I really am interested in your thoughts, especially concerning whether there is a mandate from Scripture that we should vote in the elections…even if all choices would (should) violate our consciences.

Something to Ponder

Question:

Regarding the upcoming presidential election in ‘08 – Would you vote for a Mormon if he was the only candidate (within either party) who was against abortion? Why or why not?

UPDATE: Would you vote for a Democrat if he/she was pro-life and all other candidates were not?

Follow-Up Question:

Is there any situation in which a professing Christian would be justified in voting for someone who is pro-abortion?

2nd Follow-Up Question:

Should a Christian ever vote for a female for President?

Ponder and discuss…

Fifty-Thousand Plus!

 

I know it’s not a big deal when compared to all those other big time Christian bloggers on the web, but going over the 50,000 views mark is quite a big deal for this little insignificant blog site.

Thanks so much to all of you (10 or 12 people) who frequent this site and made this milestone possible.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Brian

Hardening Hearts and Blinding Eyes – A Passive or Active Role on God’s Part?

There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.

But they [disciples] did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

In Honor (dis) of Harry Potter

Betcha Can’t Guess Who Said It

All of these come from the same person. Anyone want to take a stab at it? No Google searches…our thouest mayest payeth  a most deareth priceth!

“We candidly and publicly confess that the King James text of the Old Testament (Authorized Version) is far superior to Kittel’s Hebrew text, Derossi’s Hebrew text, Kennicott’s Hebrew text or any Hebrew text that any of you are reading. We do not hesitate to state bluntly and openly that the King James text for the New Testament (Authorized Version) is superior to Erasmus’ Greek text, Aland’s Greek text, Metzger’s Greek text and any other that you are reading (or will read in the future).”

“Observe how accurately and beautifully the infallible English text straightens out Erasmus, Griesbach, Beza, Nestle, Aland, Metzger, Trench, Vincent, Davis, Wuest, Zodhiates, Elzevir, and Stephanus with the poise and grace of a swan as it smoothly and effectively breaks your arm with one flap of its wings. Beautiful, isn’t it? If the mood or tense isn’t right in any Greek text, the King James Bible will straighten it out in a hurry.”

“The King James test is the last and final statement that God has given to the world, and He has given it in the universal language of the 20th century … The truth is that God slammed the door of revelation shut in 389BC and slammed it shut again in 1611″