a better resurrection

8/7/2019 A BETTER RESURRECTION

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-better-resurrection 1/18



Content

01 Denitions 03

02 Introduction 04

03 Law of the Harvest 05

04 Pattern of the Temple 06

05 Resurrection Chart 1 07

06 Jesus Christ 08

07 Old Testament Saints 09

08 New Testament Saints 10

09 The Multitude of Saints 12

10 144,000 Jewish Saints 13

11 The Harvest Saints 14

12 The Tribulation Martyrs 15

13 The Human Elect 1614 Summary 17

15 Resurrection Chart 2 18



Definitions

The Resurrection

‘Anastasis’, is the Greek word that we get

the English word, resurrection from, and it

means ‘raised to life again’ (Mat27.52-53).

The bible speaks of the resurrection as be-

ing the bringing back to life and refashion-

ing of the physical human body (1Cor15.44).

When a believer dies his spirit and soul go

to be with the LORD (2Cor5.8) while his

physical body awaits resurrection. At the

time of resurrection the believer will be

reunited with his body. In this process of

resurrection God regathers the matter of the individual body and recreates it into a

new spiritual body.

The Rapture

‘Harpadzo’, is the Greek word the bible

uses to describe the rapture (1Thes4.17).

The English bible uses the words ‘caught

up’ and the Latin bible uses the word‘rapture’ to describe this amazing event

(1Cor15.51-52). The bible clearly teaches

in several passages that Jesus Himself will

at a certain point near the end of this

present age, resurrect a group of both liv-

ing and deceased believers (2Thes2.6-7).

What makes it so amazing is that there are

some among us today who will go directly

to be with the LORD and have their bodies

resurrected without experiencing physicaldeath.

Believers Rewards

‘Misthos’, is the Greek word we translate

as reward, and it literally means ‘a pay-

ment for service’ (Mat5.12).

The title of this study embodies this

meaning, ‘A better resurrection’. This is

verse 35, which is taken from the book of

Hebrews, chapter 11 and shows us clearly

that believers through obedience and ser-

vice to the LORD are competing (1Cor9.24)

for crowns, positions and rewards of ime-

asurable value and excellence.

We must however be careful to state that

Jesus Himself told us how we should com-

pete. He said that if any wish to be great

then they should become the servant of all

(Mat20.26). This is the wisdom that comes

from above and is opposite of the ways

and wisdom of this world (Jam3.17).

Another point to clarify is that although itis a fact that believers will be judged, this

judgement (2Cor5.10) will be according to

rewards and not salvation. Nevertheless

one should heed wisely the admonition to

work out your own salvation with fear and

trembling, as we truely do serve a Holy

God (1Cor3.14-15).

3



IntroductionThe aim of this study is to resolve

once and for all the debate regarding the

timing of the rapture, and who will be in-

cluded in the rapture. This will be done

without taking a Pre, Mid or Post Tribula-

tion rapture position.

More than any other topic relating to

a study of the second coming, the raptureis by far the most intensely disputed and

talked about. And rightly so for it is truly

that blessed hope (Tit2.13) from which we

can comfort one another. However the

various teachings regarding the rapture are

the very source of our present confusion

and contention. Although it should be said

that each teaching about the timing of the

rapture (Pre, Mid & Post) does have truthin it, they all however cannot be right be-

cause they lack one important ingredient.

This ingredient is a correct under-

standing of the resurrection as laid out in

the book of revelation. All rapture theories

fail because they assume that the resurrec-

tion and the rapture are one time events.

The case is though that God has divided

the resurrection up into 7 different groups.And these 7 different groups are resur-

rected at 7 different times, and 7 differ-

ent places. Furthermore we will nd in the

book of revelation not 1 but 3 raptures.

This missing link has stared at us for

years hidden in plain sight within the pages

of the book of revelation. But in these last

days God is truly opening the books that

were sealed (Dan12.4) and releasing un-

derstanding (1Cor2.9-10).

Gods purpose in the grouping of His

people into these 7 groups is like the jour-

ney of the Olympic torch. The torch is lit

at point ‘A’ and handed to a runner. That

runner runs with it as far as he can and

then hands it over to the next runner. This

process is repeated until the nal runner

reaches point ‘B’ which is the destination.

The metaphor is that God has re-

vealed Himself to mankind in stages and

these stages will be represented in heaven

by the grouping of Gods people in the resur-

rection.

Another reason for the grouping of

Gods people into these 7 orders has to do

with reward. Reward is a topic very clearly

stated in the scriptures (1Cor3.8) but sel-

dom taught in todays churches. Most prefer

to think that we are all going to be raptured

at any moment, all at the same time and be

equal in heaven. But the bible reveals all

believers will stand before the judgement

seat of Christ (2Cor5.10) to receive all that

they have thought, spoken and done whilst

in their bodies on earth. It is revealed at

this judgement there will be both loss andreward (1Cor3.12-15).

Oh yes friends this promises to be a

brief yet thoroughly exciting, challenging

and quickening bible study. A fresh spiritual

perspective of how God is sorting out His

people according to their earthly decisions.

What has God in store for those who seek a

better resurrection and what of them that

neglect making those wise virgin prepara-

tions in this time of the quiet before the

storm.

4



Law of the Harvest For as in Adam all die, even so in

Christ shall all be made alive, but ev-

ery man in his own order, Christ the

rstfruits...1Cor 15.22.23

Before diving into the book of rev-

elation lets rst establish the principle of

distinction among Gods people. We can seeplainly from this scripture that there are

different orders within the resurrection.

‘Every man in his own order’ implies all

believers will be sorted out into differ-

ent groups. Then at that particular groups

time and place they will have their physi-

cal bodies resurrected.

Notice the phrase ‘rstfruits’ refer-

ring to Jesus. This is very interesting as itintroduces the symbology of the harvest

as applying to the resurrection. And it is

in this symbology of the harvest that we

nd more understanding as to why God has

divided up the people of God into groups

within the rst resurrection.

And the feast of harvest, the rst-

fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown

in the eld, and the feast of ingathering

which is in the end of the year. Ex 23.16

The law of the harvest was simple.

After the harvest was planted there was

always a small portion that matured early

and this part of the harvest was called ‘the

rstfruits’. Then at the end of the year the

bulk of the harvest was ripe and ready to

bring in. This portion of the harvest wascalled ‘the ingathering’ or the ‘general

harvest’.

The Hebrews were also instructed

to leave a portion of the harvest that was

dropped or missed by the reapers. This was

for the poor, the widows and the fatherless

and was called ‘the gleanings of the eld’.

The picture the harvest paints for us

is of three separate groups. One group thatmatures early and is therefore harvested

rst, ‘the rstfruits’. And the second group

which is the majority of the harvest and it is

reaped at the end of the season, ‘the gen-

eral harvest’. Then lastly there is a group

which is left over from the harvest, ‘the

gleanings’.

To the general assembly and the

church of the rstborn...and to the spiritsof just men made perfect...Heb 12.23

Here in the book of Hebrews we have

a scripture that builds upon the law of the

harvest principle and applies it directly to

the grouping of Gods people in heaven. We

see the ‘general assembly’ of saints which

is likened to the ‘general harvest’ or ‘the

ingathering’. Then we have ‘the church of

the rstborn’, saints which are likened tothe ‘rstfruits’ of the harvest. And lastly

‘the spirits of just men made perfect’ which

is likened to the ‘gleanings of the eld’.

This principle of the harvest and its

application to the distinction among Gods

people is important to understand as we

shall see God continues to use it throughout

the book of revelation when dealing withthe seven orders of saints that make up the

rst resurrection.

5



The Temple PatternKnow ye not that ye are the temple of God,

and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

(1Cor3.16)

Again let us lay a little more ground

work that will aid us in understanding the

resurrection and its 7 orders. Paul uses the

symbol of the Temple to describe the believ-

ers. As God had dwelt in the Temple, now by

His Holy Spirit He dwells in us.

The temple was divided up into 3

parts. An Outer Court where all could come

and go and worship outwardly. A Holy Place

where only the priests could go. There they

offered oil, incense and bread to God. They

were quite near to God but not the closest.

Then there was the Holy of Holies where God

Himself dwelt. Only the high priest could en-ter the Holy of Holies once a year.

And the very God of peace sanctify you

wholly...spirit and soul and body...

(1Thes5.23)

The believer himself is a type of tem-

ple. His body is the Outer Court, open for

all to see. With it he should obey and glorify

God (Rom12.1). His soul is the Holy Place, his

mind, will and emotions, should be renewed

with a desire to serve the LORD as did the

Levitical priests. Lastly the Holy of Holies is

the spirit of man. This is where Gods Holy

Spirit abides, and man has communion with

God. But sadly this is not the experience of

most believers, nor is it the testimony of

scripture. The bible reveals believers at dif-

ferent stages of spiritual development whichis natural, but, it also reveals the fact that

many Christians through neglect, or straight

out refusal, do not progress to become

spiritually mature.

For when for the time ye ought to be

teachers, ye have need that one teach you

again...(Heb5.12) For ye are yet carnal...

(1Cor3.3)

The point here is that by our own de-

cisions, and the abundance of Gods Grace,

we can move on from forgiveness to conse-

cration and sanctication (Heb6.1). We can

move toward the Holy of Holies and even

live in the Holy of Holies. A life of faith and

obedience, walking in the Spirit, or we can

choose to remain stubbornly in our esh or

soul life, refusing to forsake sin and self.

These choices however come at a cost. It

is not rocket science to understand that allour choices will and do have consequences.

Although one is forgiven he still must give

account of his life before Christ. This ac-

count will determine his reward and posi-

tion in the resurrection.

For the word of God is quick and

powerful...dividing asunder soul and

spirit...and is a discerner of the thoughts

and intents of the heart. (Heb4.12)

The veil of the Temple is open, but a

separation of soul from spirit must be ex-

perienced before one can live and minister

from the Holy of Holies. This is executed

by a submission to the word of God. So we

see that God has provided the means for us

to overcome sin, the world, and the devil,

and has based it on, our application of Hiswonderful provision. Therefore our choices

in light of Gods word, determine our pres-

ent and future states.6



(1Cor15:20-23, Rev1:5)

(Matt27:50-53, Rev5:8-10)

(1Cor15:51-52,2Thess2:6-7),Matt24:37-42, 25:1-13)

(Rev7:9-17)

(Rev7:1-8,12:1-5,14:1-5)

(Rev14:14-16,15:1-4)

(Rev6:9-11,20:4)



Old Testament Saintsorder two

And the graves were opened; and many

bodies of the saints which slept arose,

And came out of the graves after His

resurrection, and went into the holy city,

and appeared unto many. (Mat27:52-53)

The old testament saints are group

number two. The above verse is veryclear. A select group of believers from

the old testament period were physically

resurrected after Jesus was resurrected.

They went into Jerusalem, and witnessed

to people about Christ before going to

heaven. An absolutely amazing verse that

shows that the resurrection is in phases.

Notice, that not all the old tes-

tament saints were resurrected at this

point, only many. All however were

taken out of the place called Abrahams

bosom (Lk16:22) which was a waiting

place for the righteous in the earth. They

were then escorted to heaven by Jesus,

(Eph4:8) but only the selected many, en-

tered the resurrected group of old testa-

ment saints. These are a type of rstfruit

believers from the old testament period,from Adam to Jesus.

The four beasts...sung a new song...Thou

art worthy to take the book...for thou

wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God

by thy blood...and hast made us kings

and priests...and we shall reign on the

earth. (Rev5:8-10)

In the verse above we see thesebelievers in heaven represented by the

symbology of the 4 beasts. Space does

not permit exploring the symbolic lan-

guage the bile uses to describe the old tes-

tament saints, but I think some things will

be obvious to most. The relevant fact is that

these 4 beasts represent an order of resur-

rected saints, and not some angelic order as

most presume. They themselves sing of their

own redemption, and that they shall reign

with Christ as kings and priests on earth.This is very clear from these verses, and in

the original Greek manuscripts.

It is quite amazing that these verses

have been read by us all many times, and yet

although they stand out in the open, it still

takes the mercy of God to open our eyes to

them. Oh how much we need the mercy of

God.

These old testament saints are now

in heaven, and have there own special or-

der and position in the very throne room

of God. This order is complete, numbered

and nalized. We can only wonder of the

various known and unknown names of them

that occupy this regal order of saints. One

thing is sure, no matter how small or great

they were while they lived on earth, the onething they must have had in common was

sanctication, and a consecrated life. That

was obviously the dening factor that quali-

ed them as rstfruit believers, and thus to

be so richly rewarded.

So far now in the resurrection we have

Christ, the rst of the rstfruits and a selec-

tion of old testament saints. This leaves us

still to explore 5 more orders, one of which,we as believers will be a part of.

9



order three

New Testament SaintsBehold I show you a mystery; We shall

not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an

eye...(1Cor15:51-52)

The new testament saints are a very

interesting group. They consist of both liv-

ing and deceased saints who will be rap-

tured and resurrected together.

Then shall two be in the eld; the one shall

be taken, and the other left. (Mat24:40)

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that

ye may be accounted worthy to escape all

these things...and stand before the Son of

man. (Lk21:36)

Again God is selecting a rstfruit

portion only from the new testament pe-riod. This means not all believers, both

alive and deceased will be raptured and

resurrected at the rapture. This is an event

that for most is hard to comprehend. Nev-

ertheless the bible shows us two accounts

of this having already happened. We can

learn a lot from these two accounts. As

brief as they are we see a theme that

relates to our topic of choosing a better

resurrection.

And Enoch walked with God: and he was

not; for God took him. (Gen5:24)

Choosing a better resurrection may

manifest itself a little different from be-

liever to believer, but the principle is the

same. We must go on from forgiveness to

consecration and sanctication. The bloodof Christ, is for forgiveness, but, the cross

of Christ, is for our deliverance, from self.

These are related, but, worlds apart, just

as the outer court of the temple is greatly

different from the holy of holies. Enoch’s

walking with God implies being united with

God in His will and His word. This is the

path that leads us on to maturity.

And it came to pass, as they still went on,

and talked, that, behold, there appeared a

chariot of re, and horses of re, and part-

ed them both asunder; and Elijah went up

by a whirlwind into heaven. (2Kin2:11)

Here we see a chariot of re sepa-

rate Elijah from Elisha and then Elijah is

raptured by a whirlwind to heaven. This

is similar to the parable of the wise and

foolish virgins (Mat25:1) in that both were

Gods people yet one had extra oil. It was

also Elisha’s wish to receive a double por-tion of the spirit of Elijah upon seeing him

raptured. The metaphor is different but the

message is the same. God is the gardener

who seeks the entire harvest but takes the

mature fruit rst.

Behold a door was opened in heaven...I

heard as it were a trumpet...which said

come up hither...and immediately I was in

the Spirit and behold a throne...and roundabout the throne were four and twenty

seats: and upon the seats I saw four and

twenty elders...(Rev4:1-4)

This portion of scripture shows us the

heavenly perspective of the rapture and

the new testament saints in heaven. They

are represented by the symbology of the 24

elders. Their reward is great just like thatof the old testament saints, they occupy a

position in the throne room before God Al-

mighty.10



The four beasts and the four and twenty

elders...sung a new song, saying...thou

hast redeemed us to God by thy blood...

(Rev5:8-10)

Again we refer to Revelation 5:9 in

conrming the fact that not only the four

beasts, but the 24 elders as well are notsome sort of angelic host, but 2 distinct

orders of resurrected saints, by their own

omission. Now before we briey explore

the timing of the new testament rapture

we should remind the reader that this is

the rst of 3 raptures. Each of these 3 rap-

tures involves living saints being caught up

to heaven, so stick with me until you have

read all 3 accounts before making a deci-

sion.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all

slumbered and slept. And at midnight

there was a cry made, Behold, the bride-

groom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

(Mat25:5-6)

Most people think of the rapture as

an event that can happen at any time butthat is not true. This parable shows us that

there will be a period called the midnight

cry. It will begin with the only prophetic

event that could possibly awaken the

church. This event will also mark the mid-

night hour of earth. No other event than

the covenant Antichrist will make with

Israel can both awaken the church and

positively conrm the midnight hour. This

covenant starts the last 7 years of earths

present history, and reveals the personal

manifestation of Satan in a man, the An-

tichrist. We cannot fully comprehend the

spiritual awakening this will bring, but

the parable explains that it will initiate

a period of time called the midnight cry

period. In this period of time there will

be preaching by those that are ready, and

preparation and repentance by those whoare not.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for

that day shall not come, except there come

a falling away rst, and that man of sin be

revealed...(2Thes2:3)

Here we have a specic word on the is-

sue of the timing of the rapture. Paul speaks

to a group of believers that thought they

had already missed it. He says specicallythat a falling away, and the revealing of the

Antichrist, must precede the rapture. This

harmonizes with the midnight cry period

and correlates with the previous resurrec-

tion, in that God will have a victorious testi-

mony given to the world as a witness before

each resurrection. Notice as well that there

are 2 revealings of the Antichrist. The rst

is the covenant with Israel, this is primarily

for the awakening of the church (Dan9:27).

The second time is when he declares himself

to be god. This is a revealing to the entire

world (2Thes2:4).

Know therefore and understand, that from

the going forth of the commandment to re-

store and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah

the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three-

score and two weeks...(Dan9:25)

So we see that the rapture cannot

happen at any moment, but, we should not

think that means we cannot be caught off

guard. Preparation takes time. We see also,

that there will be a midnight cry period, an

awakening that will begin at the start of the

tribulation. But how long will this midnight

cry go on, before, the new testament saints

are raptured. Well the verse above may well

have the answer. It of course has its fulll-

ment in the rst coming of Christ, but, could

there be a double fulllment? Could there

be 69 weeks, or 483 days from the covenant

to the rapture. We know that part of the

covenant with Israel will be the rebuilding

of their temple, so they can begin the sacri-

ce and offerings again. This cannot happen

unless the Muslim mosque is rst removedand that sounds like the war of Ezekiel 38.

That said, this situation would resemble this

verse in every detail. Food for thought.11



The Multitude of Saintsorder four

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great mul-

titude, which no man could number of all

nations...stood before the Lamb...(Rev7:9)

The multitude of saints are order

number four in the resurrection. The rst

thing to notice here is the timing of this

resurrection. They are resurrected after

the 144,000 jewish saints are sealed inverse 3. This places them somewhere after

the midnight cry period, and well before

the half way point of the tribulation. (See

Chart;p7)

This group of saints are part of the

general harvest of believers. They are just

like the main body of a harvest, in that

they are uncountable. So many saints, from

Adam to this point in the tribulation. All

saints that died without the experience of

sanctication, such as the thief on the cross

beside Jesus (Lk23:43). This is also reected

in their reward and position in heaven.

Clothed with white robes, and palms in

their hands...therefore are they before the

throne of God, and serve Him day and night

in His temple...(Rev7:9,15)

Our heavenly reward and position

in the kingdom of God is reective of our

earthly obedience and appropriation of

Gods grace. The multitude of saints receive

white robes showing they are forgiven by

the blood of Christ and they receive palms

which symbolizes the celebration of the

harvest itself (Lev23:40). They receive a

position of service in the temple of God

and are promised never to hunger or thirst

again. There are however no crowns or seats

of authority as with the old and new testa-

ment rstfruit saints, who openly declare

they shall rule and reign with Christ (Rev5:

10).

This is without a doubt the larg-

est group of resurrected saints. Its truly

marvelous to see the merciful nature of

God in providing for all of His people. Just

as Christ had 12 disciples, He also hadHis inner circle of Peter, John and James

(Mat17:1, Mk5:37, 14:32-34). Those rst-

fruit disciples that chose to draw closer to

Jesus than the others. Jesus summed this

difference up so well when He visited Mar-

tha and Mary.

Now it came to pass...Martha received

Him into her house. And she had a sister

called Mary, which sat at Jesus’ feet, and

heard His word. But Martha was cumbered

about much serving, and came to Him, and

said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sis-

ter hath left me to serve alone...And Jesus

said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art so

careful and troubled about many things:

But one thing is needful: and Mary has

chosen that good part, which shall not be

taken away from her. (Lk10:38-42)

See Martha clearly represents the

harvest saints and Mary the rstfruit

saints. Martha goes no further than the

inner court of the temple. Her focus is

on what she can do for God, but, Mary

ventures onward, past the outer gates,

through the holy place and into the holy

of holies. Her goal was living in Gods pres-

ence and hearing His word (Jn17:17). The

multitude of saints will therefore be more

than happy with their place of serving God

day and night in His heavenly temple.12



144,000 Jewish Saintsorder five

Hurt not the earth...till we have sealed the

servants of our God in their foreheads. And

I heard the number of them which were

sealed, 144,000 of all the tribes of the chil-

dren of Israel. (Rev7:3-4)

Resurrection order number ve are the

144,000 Jewish saints. They take over the

torch of witnessing, from the new testamentsaints, after the midnight cry period is over.

While they are being sealed on earth, we saw

that the multitude of saints, were being res-

urrected and rewarded in heaven.

And she brought forth a man child, who was

to rule the nations with a rod of iron: and

her child was caught up unto God, and to His

throne. (Rev12:5)

In revelation chapter 12, the 144,000,

are symbolically represented as the man

child of the women, who is Israel. They are

raptured alive, up to God, just as the living

new testament saints were. This is rapture

number two. Notice the timing of this rapture

as well. It is mid tribulation. The remnant of

Israel has seen the idol of Antichrist put in

the temple, and has ed to the wilderness(Mat24:15). It is at this point that the two

witnesses take over the torch, of witness-

ing for the last half of the tribulation period

(Rev11:3).

And I looked, and, lo, a lamb stood on

the mount Sion, and with Him 144,000,

having His Fathers name written in their

foreheads...which were redeemed from theearth...being rstfruits unto God...(Rev14:

1-5)

There is so much happening at

this point of the tribulation, both in

heaven and on the earth, that the seal-

ing, rapturing, resurrecting and reward-

ing of this special group of saints, takes

place over 3 different chapters. Chapter

7 shows them being sealed. Then they

witness under Gods divine protection

throughout the severe trumpet judge-

ments of chapters 8 and 9, until they

are raptured in chapter 12.

Now in chapter 14 we see them

in heaven, along with the old and new

testament saints (Rev14:3). They are of

course as the scripture itself conrms

also, rstfruit saints (Rev14:4) and com-

plete the trinity of rstfruit believers inheaven. They are given ruling responsi-

bilities in heaven (Rev12:5), along with

harps so they can fulll their priestly

role of praise as well (Rev14:2). These

3 rstfruit orders, are sanctied believ-

ers who loved the Lord more than their

contemporaries. They represent the

fullness of Christ’s redemption, on earth

and in heaven, from the old, and new

testament, and tribulation periods.

There really should be no doubt,

in anyone’s mind by now, that God is

just, and will reward each one of His

people according to their earthly deci-

sions. This life here on earth, as it has

been said many times before, is a train-

ing and testing phase for our position

and place in eternity. Heaven and hellis but the rst step in a series of deci-

sions that culminate in a sorting out of

all people into their eternal roles. Let us

all choose wisely.13



The Harvest Saintsorder six

So we come to order number six in

the book of revelation. This group of saints

has an amazing story. They are the harvest

saints.

I looked, and behold a white cloud, and

upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of

man, having a golden crown, and in his hand

a sharp sickle. And another angel came out

of the temple, crying with a loud voice to

him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy

sickle, and reap: for the time is come for

thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is

ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in

his sickle on the earth; and the earth was

reaped. (Rev14:14-16)

These saints are the tribulation over-comers. They refuse the mark of the beast

and survive to the end of the tribulation

and are raptured alive, just before the bat-

tle of Armageddon. After they are raptured,

another angel comes to gather the world to

Armageddon. This order of saints shows us

Gods awesome mercy and preserving power.

The last 3 and half years of the tribulation

period will be the worst time the earth will

ever experience, and yet Almighty God can

still with ease reserve a faithful remnant

unto Himself.

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled

with re: and them that had gotten the vic-

tory over the beast, and over his image, and

over his mark, and over the number of his

name, to stand on the sea of glass, having

the harps of God. (Rev15:1-5)

In chapter 15 we see the harvest

saints in heaven after their rapture. They

are resurrected and have received there

place and reward. They are given harps

and sing the song of deliverance. A truly

tting song (Ex15) that compares their

experience of deliverance to Moses

leading Israel out of Egypt.

These tribulation victors, beat the

Antichrist and his economic chipping

system. They defeat the death penalty

and survive by the grace of God during

the most intense judgments the world

has ever seen. They are gathered to-

gether as wheat in a harvest and caught

up alive into heaven and stand before

Christ on the sea of glass in the throne

room of heaven.

This then is the 3rd and nal rap-

ture recorded in the book of revelation.

It happens prior to the gathering of the

army that will actually attempt to ght

against Christ. Notice there are two

gatherings here. First the harvest of the

earth are gathered and raptured alive

to heaven. Then the vine clusters are

gathered after this and thrown into the

winepress, which is Armageddon. Thearmies of Antichrist will be crushed in

the winepress of Gods wrath for their

blasphemous deance of God and their

worship of Antichrist.

This order of saints are part of the

general harvest and are therefore not

rstfruits. However they are more than

rewarded for their amazing survival or-deal, by being raptured alive into heav-

en and given the ofce of praise in the

heavenly sanctuary (1Chr25:6). 14



The Tribulation Martyrsorder seven

And when he had opened the fth seal,

I saw under the alter the souls of them

that were slain for the word of God, and

for the testimony which they held: And

they cried with a loud voice, saying, How

long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not

judge and avenge our blood on them that

dwell on the earth? And white robes weregiven unto everyone of them; and it was

said unto them, that they should rest for

a little season, until their fellowservants

also and their brethren, that should be

killed as they were, should be lled.

(Rev6:9-11)

This is order number seven, the very

last group of saints to be resurrected.

They are called ‘the tribulation martyrs’for obvious reason. They will comprise

every saint that will suffer martyrdom for

Christ in the coming tribulation period.

This group of saints will be more than any-

one can count. If you thought the tyranny

of Hilter, Stalin or Mao were bad then you

will have a hard time comprehending the

excessive persecution that is soon to be

unleashed under the last world dictator.And dont think yourself to be safe because

your not a christian or a jew. Although

christians and jews will top the persecu-

tion lists, humanity itself will be targeted

in general. Just take a look at the mes-

sage on the Georgia guide stones or read

the United Nation document ‘Agenda 21’.

The ofcial position of world polatics is

that humanity itself is the problem and

depopulation is the answer. So once thepersecution ood gate opens after the

midnight cry period the blood of martyrs

will ow and increase until the end of the

7 year tribulation period. So these mar-

tyred saints will wait under the alter of

God until there number is complete.

And I saw the souls of them that were

beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and

for the word of God, and which had not

worshipped the beast, neither his image,neither had received his mark upon their

foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived

and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

(Rev20:4)

The tribulation martyrs are not rst-

fruit saints but they are honoured above

the other general harvest saints for their

heroic testimony and are therefore given

a temporary ruling position with Christ forthe duration of the millenium. Notice the

prefered method of persecution will be be-

heading. The crimes of the near future will

be wittnessing for and believing in Jesus

and the bible, and refusing to worship a

man as God and being branded like cattle

into a global economic system. This should

awaken all believers to the gravity of our

present situation and motivate us to get

serious with our faith and christian walk.

Many will be unprepared however and

miss their oppotunity to go with the new

testament saints and be left to survive the

tribulation or die a martyr for Christ. Look

around in your church group today and

see how we are all being grouped by our

own decsisions. Your future is being deter-

mained here and now by your obedience or

disobedience to the word of God. We willall give account to God individually for the

life choices we make. Dont be deceived,

churchianity is not christianity.15



The Human Elect Who are the human elect? If the res-urrected saints are the heavenly govern-

ment under Christ (Lk19:17), who is there

to rule over ? If the saints in the resurrec-

tion shall be like the angels (Mt22:30), who

will continue the command to go forth and

populate the universe? (Gen1:28) These are

no other than the elect. The human elect

can be seen in the same harvest metaphor

the Lord uses to describe the rstfruit andgeneral harvest believers. They are the

gleanings of the eld (Lev19:9). Part of

the Hebrew harvest law was not to entirely

harvest the corners of the eld or gather

the gleanings. They were to be left for the

poor. In like manner the scripture teaches

that a remnant of humanity will survive the

tribulation. In that remnant will be both

good and bad people. The good people will

be invited into the millenial kingdom, whilethe bad will enter hell to await the great

white throne judgement. Lets look at a few

verses that explain this teaching.

Except those days be shortened, there

should no esh be saved: but for the elect’s

sake those days shall be shortened. (Mt24:

22)

Immediately after the tribulation...he

shall send out his angels...they shall

gather together his elect from the four

winds...(Mt24:29-31)

When the Son of man shall come...before

him shall be gathered all nations...and he

shall separate them one from another, as

a shepherd divideth his sheep from the

goats. And he shall set the sheep on hisright hand, but the goats on the left. Then

shall the King say to them on his right hand,

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the

kingdom...(Mt25:31-46)

God intends to nish what he began

in the garden of Eden. Apart from the res-

urrected saints who make up the heavenly

government, God has planned a continu-

ance of the human race. Doubt it not, the

leftover populations from all nations on

earth will be judged by Christ before His

Millenial Kingdom begins. Those that goin will live in their natural bodies and be

sustained by miraculous means for the en-

tire 1000 years. The nature of things will

change somewhat under the Millenial reign

of Christ on earth. The longevity of life will

return to as it was before the ood.

But the whole point of the Millenial

Reign of Christ is to test the Human Elect.

Those that remain faithful to Christ afterSatan is released at the end of the 1000

years will enter the New Heavens, and the

New Earth, were they will be eternally sus-

tained by the tree of life (Rev22:1-5). This

will be full circle, like back in the garden

of Eden with the Human Elect making the

right choice and eating from the tree of

life.

You are come unto mount sion, and unto

the city of the living God, the heavenly

Jerusalem, and to a innumerable company

of angels, To the general assembly and

church of the rstborn...and to the spirits

of just men made perfect.

So there we have it, the general as-

sembly of saints, the church of the rst-

born or rstfruit saints and the spirits of just men made perfect, the human elect.

16



SummaryIf there are still any remaining doubts

as to the lesson that the resurrection is

divided up into groups of saints pertain-

ing to reward then let us look again to the

Temple. The Hebrew Temple was a shadow

of the heavenly Temple and was given by

divine revelation to David (1Chr28:11-12,

19). Part of this pattern was positions and

responsibilities of the priests. This is were itgets interesting for us because there were 2

classes of priests. Each class of priests had

various responsibilities within their group

but there were only 2 groups. When we

think of the Old Testament temple priest

we usually think of the Levites but they

were the priests assistants. They had many

temple duties, but, the actual priest ofce

itself was not the for Levites, but, it was

given to the sons of Aaron. God promisedAaron that his descendants would minister

to the Lord. The Levites however were giv-

en for the service of the sanctuary and the

daily temple duties.

Aaron was separated, that he should sanc-

tify the most holy things, he and his sons

forever, to burn incense before the LORD,

to minister to him, and bless in his nameforever. The Levites, their ofce was to

wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of

the house of the LORD, in the courts, and

in the chambers, and in the purifying of all

holy things, and the work of the service of

the house of God. (1Chr23:13,26,28)

This is the closet description we have

of why the saints are grouped in the resur-

rection. It is because in heaven we will allhave a function and an ofce to ll in the

heavenly sanctuary. These positions are be-

ing lled today by the very decisions we

make now in this eeting life of ours. You

see the primary purpose of our existence is

to be conformed to Christ. That’s right, its

not evangelism or your career or even your

family. Its rst and for mostly about being

conformed to the image of Christ (Rom8:

29, 12:2). That means being like Christ,

experiencing what Christ experienced and

drinking the will of your heavenly Father.

So we have the sons of Aaron and

the sons of Levi, a picture of the heavenly

government. The rstfruit saints and the

general harvest saints. It all really comes

down to obedience. How much of God do

we want? God has given all of himself to

us, and dare we give any less in return? To

receive more of God we must rst make

room for him by emptying out more of ourself.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

(Jhn3:30)

The only problem one would have

with the teaching of the resurrection or-

ders is the reality of personal accountabil-

ity. That is that Jesus Himself will judge

us all by what we did, thought and said in

this life. Believe me when I say to you that

there is no cheap grace. There is no such

salvation that gives one a license to con-

tinue living their life for themselves. We

are bought from the clutches of hell itself

by the high price of Gods own blood. The

sinless blood of Jesus. We are therefore

His slaves, slaves of righteousness. Today

the Spirits work is for those with ears tohear. He is calling out saints. Saints from

among saints. Do you hear the Spirits call?

17



OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS • Resurrected after Jesus (Mat27:50-53).

• Seen in heaven as the 4 beasts (Rev5:8-10).

• Rewarded with regal authority, and a high priesthood position (Rev4:8,5:8-10).

NEW TESTAMENT SAINTS

• Raptured and Resurrected at the end of the midnight cry period; possibly 483 daysfrom the start of the Tribulation (Mat25:1-12,Dan9:25).

• Seen in heaven as the 24 elders (Rev5:8-10).

• Rewarded with regal authority, and a high priesthood position (Rev4:8,5:8-10).

144,000 JEWISH SAINTS • Raptured and Resurrected directly in the middle of the Tribulation (Rev12:5).

• Seen in heaven as the 144,000 Jewish man child (Rev14:1).

• Rewarded with regal authority, and a high priesthood position (Rev14:3-5).

THE MULTITUDE OF SAINTS • Resurrected after the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish Saints; Approximately 1.5 years

into the Tribulation (Rev7:9).

• Seen in heaven as an uncountable group of saints (Rev7:9).• Rewarded with a levitical priesthood position (Rev7:15).

THE HARVEST SAINTS • Raptured and Resurrected just before the battle of Armageddon (Rev14:15-16).

• Seen in heaven as the Tribulation survivors (Rev15:2).

• Rewarded with a levitical priesthood position (Rev15:3).

THE TRIBULATION MARTYRS • Resurrected after the battle of Armageddon (Rev20:4-6).

• Seen in heaven as the Tribulation martyrs (Rev6:9-11, 20:4-6).

• Rewarded with a levitical priesthood position and are additionally granted regal

a better resurrection

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