Misha Goetz performed the Shema. Shalom-Shalom, this is Crystal Sharpe and welcome to the Ancient Scrolls program.
Today we are going to look at some scriptures that point to there being two resurrections. We will read what Yeshua says about the resurrections, how Paul understood the resurrection and look at a couple of passages in the book of Revelation.
I will recite the Shema from Deuteronomy 6: Hear O Israel, the Lord God the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Psalm 24
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein.
Let’s pray:
Blessed is Your Holy Name in all the earth. Your name is above every name. You are the King of the universe, King over heaven and earth. You bring righteousness, justice and restoration to Your creation. We ask that You breathe on Your people Your breath of life. We thank You for Your Word, for Your truth. We thank You and bless You. Amen.
So, there were a couple of past programs where I had gone over a few passages concerning the resurrection and today we are going to go over it some new information. Churches that I have attended in the past really didn’t teach on the resurrection of the righteous; seldom was mentioned the general resurrection in Revelation 22:5, it was usually mentioned only in passing, never expounded upon. The resurrection of Messiah was taught once a year at the anniversary of His death at Passover.
The church, or ecclesia, back some 50 years ago, and some even now, focused primarily on the rapture minus the resurrection. They also believed then that the rapture could happen anytime. Forget the eschatology of the final events of history that the Lord had written out in His word concerning His plan for the end of the age. I question that God can change His mind concerning His prophecies. There are situations where God can change His mind concerning judgments because people can repent and turn to Him.
Yet, there are certain
Yet, Paul understood and taught the Thessalonians that the resurrection preceded those who were going to be “caught up.” I happen to believe what Paul had written and so I follow his understanding of the resurrection. Paul’s teaching is rather ancient and perhaps more accurate than some of the teachings that evolved in the last fifty years. He was first century along with Yeshua and His disciples so they what they believed was pretty much common amongst themselves and they taught others their understanding of it from Yeshua.
Reading through the Torah and the Prophets and the New Testament, it is clear the writers put their hope in the resurrection. It would mean they were going into a kingdom to be with their God.
Paul understood the righteous would go into the Messianic Age. They also understood the Sabbath Day was a version, a video, a rehearsal of what the Messianic Age would be like and also the Eighth Day in Revelation 21 where it is described as a new heaven and new earth. Paul also, speaks of this in I Corinthians 15. John in Revelation recorded for our benefit, the Messianic Kingdom will be ruling over all the nations from Israel. Replacement theologians have a real problem with explaining how that could happen.
Revelation 11 states that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. That is how it is going to be.
The message that Yeshua had for his disciples was Matthew 6: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. What does this mean? It means to prepare for the Messianic kingdom where everyone’s works of faith will be rewarded. He was teaching for us to not have worldly appetites; that we instead should be Messianic Kingdom minded. The things of this world are only temporary: houses, properties, vehicles, bank accounts, businesses, our youth, health; all of it fades with time. Look at this life as temporary.
The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) did three things: they dug wells (teachings concerning YHVH), built altars (show how to worship YHVH in the correct manner) and lived in tents (temporal dwellings showing their physical bodies was temporary). They were strangers in a world of vice, cruelty and idolatry. The appetites of the Patriarchs focused on another kingdom that was not of this world. They applied their faith, and their substance toward the “world to come.” They were righteous men of faith.
There is a Hebrew word for people who practice righteousness, it is Tsedek. I came across this site that explained that tsedek in its most ancient context probably meant “almsgiver.” These Patriarchs would be people of charity. They would give their substance to help others. Make no mistake, they were honored with substance here also, but that wasn’t the reason for them to seek after YHVH. Their reason was to seek after His righteousness, to be conformed to His likeness and image, to be obedient to Him. They knew this life would end, it would be the next life that would matter most.
To seek after God, to seek after His kingdom is to seek to do His righteousness and justice here. He will take care of the mundane things of life. This world is the preparation for the Messianic Kingdom and the Messianic Kingdom is a transition to the Kingdom of God as Paul teaches in I Corinthians 15, these are earthly kingdoms. We are not going to stay or live in heaven. We are to occupy earthly kingdoms here.
We sometimes think eternal life is heaven, it is not. John 17:3, Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. Yeshua is eternal life. Eternal life is like an idiom for resurrection in ancient thought. We are going to go over that in John 5, what does Yeshua have to say about it, eternal life and the two resurrections.
Let’s drop in on a conversation between Martha and Yeshua in John 11. This chapter begins with a certain man, Lazarus of Bethany, becoming ill. He is the brother of Martha and Mary. After the death of Lazarus, Yeshua speaks to His disciples that He is going to go and wake him up. Upon Yeshua’s arrival to Bethany, which was two miles from Jerusalem, Lazarus had already been dead four days.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” At this time she believed in the general resurrection. The resurrection of those good and evil at the end of the Messianic Kingdom. Revelation 20:11-15,
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life (He is saying I am eternal life). He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Yeshua is God of the living, not of the dead. Luke 20:38, For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live in Him.
Yeshua brings regeneration, resuscitation, resurrection. Eternal life is associated with resurrection and the resurrected go into His earthly Kingdom, the Messianic Age.
John 5,
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 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.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 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.
16 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:
17 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.
