which is a "mystery" to most.
When Christ returns to make war at the sound of the 7th Trump,we read that His armies
will follow Him.
It is at this time that
His Kingdom will be ushered in,
which is to say that
His Millennial reign will begin.
This is one statement to which most everyone agrees.
And so it is that we are
about to SEE another very graphic PICTURE
of what happens when
Jesus Christ returns at the 7th Trump.
That event is that ALL
of mankind
will be instantly changed
from flesh to spiritual bodies.
The apostle Paul in 1
Cor. 15 spoke of this event which he called a "mystery".
Of course he then revealed
it, i.e. explained it,
in very simple language
so that it is a "mystery" no more.
In the book of Revelation
that same "mystery" is revealed in PICTURE format
Before we see the picture,
let's first understand
what Paul said.
The subject he is addressing
is the death and resurrection of the body from flesh to spirit:
1 Cor. 15:44 It is sown a natural body;
it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body.
1 Cor. 15:50 Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Paul explains it and makes
it very simple for us to understand,
which I guess is why
it is a "mystery" to most.
[51] Behold, I shew you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
And about how long,
and precisely when will
this change of bodies take place?
[52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
Now don't let the phrase
"the dead shall be raised
incorruptible"
cause you to switch subjects
in the middle of a sentence.
The subject is the change
of bodies from flesh to spirit.
We read in verse 51 that
it is ALL who are changed
and here in verse 52
Paul breaks it down into two categories.
(1)
The "dead", who are the "spiritually dead", i.e.
the figuratively dead
(see
appendix 139 in the Companion Bible regarding the different use of the
word nekros translated "dead" in the NT).
They too will be elevated,
or raised to incorruptible
bodies,
and
(2) we Christians also!
Paul is simply saying
both the good and the bad,
those who are saved and
those who aren't,
will be changed, i.e.
ALL,
EVERYONE!
[53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality.
In other words there is
a "resurrection" from the flesh to the spiritual body,
and there is a also a"resurrection"
from mortality to immortality!
The resurrection from
flesh to spirit bodies happens to ALL at Christ's
return,
but the resurrection
from mortality to immortality
happens only to those
who are His at His coming.
That will be "The 1st Ressurrection" to eternal life!
The rest (those who are not saved at Christ's return) must wait until
the 2nd Resurrection to immortality after the Millennium,
and though they will
be in spiritual bodies throughout the Millennium,
they will be referred
to as the "dead", because they'll still have mortal souls.
You see, the "dead" (spiritually)
will STAND before judgment, after the Millennium.
"Dead"
is a condition of their soul, not the status of their bodies.
They are not corpses
who stand,
they are still mortal souls!
They just didn't make
it in the 1st resurrection.
It is that their soul
is still liable to die for it is still mortal and subject to the second death,
and that is where they
are headed if they don't shape up during the Millennium.
We will read of them
in chapter 20 of Revelation.
There is much confusion
in the ranks of Christianity
concerning the subject
of "resurrection"
because of the lack of
understanding of the use of the word "nekros"
and the failing to understand
the simplicity of the "mystery"
that Paul explains in
1 Cor. 15.
We have learned from the
apostle Paul
that ALL
flesh will be changed when Christ returns,
and it is at that point
to which we have arrived in Rev. 19.
Here then is the PICTURE
of the end of all flesh at the sound of the
7th Trump:
Rev. 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun;
and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,
Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
The original texts read
"to the great supper
of God".
The word "supper" used
is here is the Greek word "deipnon"
which comes from "dapane",
dap-an'-ay, Greek #1160;
from dapto (to devour);
expense (as consuming)
:- cost.
Don't be confused and
bring in subjects that are not being discussed.
This verse is not talking
about the marriage supper of the Lamb
which takes place later.
Jesus Christ is returning
and the flesh age is over
and all
mankind
will be changed into their spiritual bodies.
[18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings,
and the flesh of captains,
and the flesh of mighty men,
and the flesh of horses,
and of them that sit on them,
and the flesh of all men,
both free and bond,
both small and great.
So do you get the PICTURE
that there will be a
lot of carcasses lying around
for the birds to feast
on and clean up?
Pretty graphic isn't
it?
[19] And I saw the beast,
and the kings of the earth,
and their armies,
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,
and against his army.
Let's switch to the Book of Zechariah and SEE a PICTURE of their fate at the 7th Trump.
The 14th chapter of the
Book of Zechariah
gives us this same account
of Christ's return
when His feet touch down
upon the Mount of Olives.
Remember we just read
in Rev. 19:18 that "ALL FLESH"
is going to be consume
away at His return
and that includes the
earthly kings and their armies
which antichrist has
gathered at Jerusalem to make war against the Lamb.
Zech. 14:12 And this shall be the plague
wherewith the LORD will smite all the people
that have fought against Jerusalem;
Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,
and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
Rev. 19:20 And the beast was taken,
and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast,
and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
We are reading about the
events surrounding the return of Jesus Christ,
and not of the judgment
after the Millennium
and
"the" lake of fire which
causes the second death.
For the sake of clarity
in understanding,
reading
"a"
lake of fire
as it is translated here
instead of
"the"
lake of fire will help.
Why?
Because this verse is
simply saying that the
"one world political
system", i.e. the political beast,
and the false prophet,
which is Satan's role
as the spurious messiah,
will also be consumed
away for ever and ever,
GONE!
This is Babylon the Great
being
"utterly burned with
fire"
as we read in Rev. 18:8!
Now let's think for a
moment.
We know that Satan will
be loosed for a short time after the Millennium
to be used as a final
test for those who go through the Millennium.
But he will NOT be given
a one political system again
(for Christ is taking
charge as King of kings forever when He returns),
nor will he afforded
the role as false Messiah again, i.e. the false prophet.
Here's verse 21 to complete the 19th chapter:
This verse concludes the narrative contained in the three versesRev. 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him
that sat upon the horse,
which sword proceeded out of his mouth:
and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
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