It says in verse number 21,
for since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Again, emphasizing the fact
that there is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ.
You know, if you're gonna be made alive,
if you're gonna be resurrected,
it's through Christ and Christ alone.
But he says, but every man in his own order.
So we're talking about the chronological order
of the resurrection.
He says, Christ, the first fruits.
Afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming,
then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God,
even the father,
when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and power,
for he must reign till he has put all enemies
under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is dead.
Now this is a very important passage
about the second coming of Christ
and about the rapture,
if you wanna call it that,
the first resurrection
or when the dead in Christ will rise first
and we which are alive and remain are caught up together,
be with them in the clouds.
Very important,
because the Bible here gives us a very clear timeline
of the resurrection, does it not?
He says, Christ, the first fruits.
Now, those who are these followers of Peter Ruckman
or those that are these dispensationalists
or, you know, and they say,
well, I'm not a hyper dispensational,
I'm just a dispensational.
It's like, shut up,
it's all a bunch of false garbage.
It's like, well, I'm not a hyper Calvinist.
You know, what are you then?
I'm just a kind of Calvinist.
I'm just kind of a dispensational.
I'm just kind of, I'm not kind of anything.
You know, you're kind of following lies.
So dispensationalism is a false doctrine
and it's not kind of right
and it's not, well, just don't take it too far
and become, and nobody wants to say that they're hyper,
because you know what hyper means?
Too much.
So who's going to say,
I'm too much of a dispensationalist?
Therefore, is anybody really going to admit
that they're hyper anything?
So guess what?
These people that say they're a dispensationalist,
they're really a hyper dispensationalist
because even if you're one ounce dispensational,
that's too much.
So it's a stupid word game to say,
well, I'm dispensational, but I'm not hyper dispensational.
If you go find the guy that they're calling hyper,
he'll tell you he's not hyper.
You know, and if you find the one that's,
you know, I'm a four point Calvinist or five point,
it's all false doctrine
and we shouldn't even be dabbling in it, okay?
Stay away from it.
It's not biblical.
And this is what those that are, you know,
these, and these that believe in a pre-Trib rapture, okay?
And look, if you believe in the pre-Trib rapture,
I don't know what, you know, you need to watch that movie.
Okay.
You know, if you believe in the pre-Trib rapture,
you don't read the Bible much
or you've been severely brainwashed by your church
because the Bible clearly says it's after the tribulation
and there's so much scripture to prove that.
But those who believe in a pre-Trib rapture
or dispensationalist or hyper dispensational
or they're these ruckmanites,
this is what they'll teach.
There are seven raptures, seven raptures in the Bible.
And then they have all these different resurrections too.
They've got multiple resurrections.
They'll say, well, you know,
there's a resurrection before the tribulation.
Then there's a resurrection partway through the tribulation.
Then there's a resurrection at the end of the tribulation.
Then there's another resurrection after the millennium
and have all these different resurrections going on.
Now look, what does the Bible teach here
about the resurrection of the dead?
It teaches that it comes basically in three stages,
including the resurrection of Christ.
I mean, this passage, it could not be any clearer.
He said, this is the order.
And now look, this is the resurrection chapter,
1 Corinthians 15.
And he says this, he says, look, here's the order.
Every man in his own order.
He says, Christ the first fruits,
that's step one, the first fruits, okay?
But that's not a resurrection of believers.
That's just a resurrection of Jesus only.
One guy, one person, the Lord Jesus Christ himself
resurrected.
So Christ the first fruits afterward,
okay, did everybody get that?
Afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming.
So let me ask this.
Is there a resurrection of believers before Christ's coming?
No, because there's Christ the first fruits,
then afterward there's they that are Christ's that is coming.
So wouldn't you say that the resurrection of believers
is going to occur at the coming of Christ?
Couldn't be any clearer, could it?
Okay, now let's see if this is consistent
with 1 Thessalonians 4.
1 Thessalonians 4 says this,
that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout
with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God,
and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
So when does 1 Thessalonians 4 say the dead are gonna rise?
At the coming of Christ.
When does 1 Corinthians 15 say
that the dead are gonna rise?
At the coming of Christ.
So it's pretty clear, isn't it, pretty simple?
Very consistent.
You say, well, don't confuse the rapture
with the second coming of Christ.
Two different things.
Okay, well, is this the third, is that the third coming?
You know, is this coming 1.5?
Look, the rapture is the coming of Christ
according to 1 Thessalonians 4
and according to 1 Corinthians 15,
because what happens first?
The dead in Christ rise first.
And that happens at the coming of Christ, okay?
Very consistent.
But keep reading.
So he said, Christ the first fruits,
afterward they that are Christ's that is coming,
then, do you see the word then?
So isn't he telling us what comes next?
Then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God,
even the Father.
So when does Jesus deliver up the kingdom to the Father?
After the millennium, right?
It says, when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and all power.
This is when he puts down that final rebellion
in Revelation 20, and it says,
for he must reign till he hath put all enemies
under his feet.
When does that take place?
The great white throne after the millennium,
when all enemies are put under his feet,
every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess.
And then look at this,
the last enemy that shall be destroyed is dead.
So that is when the final resurrection
of the dead takes place, okay?
Go to John 5, John chapter 5.
So the Bible is crystal clear here in 1 Corinthians 15,
that there is Christ the first fruits,
then there is a first resurrection of believers
at Christ's coming,
and then there's a second resurrection of believers
after the millennium, right?
So we have Christ the first fruits,
afterward they that are Christ's coming,
then come at the end,
and the end is defined for us as after the millennium,
when everything is put under his feet,
and he delivers up the kingdom of the father,
the last enemy that shall be destroyed is dead.
Now look at John 5, and tell me if that's consistent
with what I've just explained.
It says in verse 29, I'm sorry, verse 28.
Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice,
and shall come forth, they that have done good
under the resurrection of life,
and they that have done evil
under the resurrection of damnation.
Now, this is talking about in one hour,
all that are in the graves hearing his voice,
and some rising to a resurrection of life,
and some rising to a resurrection of damnation.
Not a resurrection of life, they're not coming back to life.
A lot of times people misunderstand the word resurrect
to mean come to life, no.
Resurrect means to raise up,
but he's gonna raise up the dead,
and they're going to remain dead.
Because in Revelation 20, he said,
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.
So it's still dead.
The dead are judged out of those things
which are written in the books.
Then they're cast into the lake of fire.
Okay, so again, this is talking about one hour
when they will all hear his voice.
Now those that believe in a pre-Trib rapture,
here's what they'll say when you show them this verse.
Well, that hour there, that takes place over,
that's talking about two events
that are over 1,000 years apart, they'll say.
They'll say those two events,
the resurrection of the just
and the resurrection of the unjust
are taking place over 1,000 years apart,
and yet God uses the word hour.
Isn't that amazing?
No, it's not amazing, it's not true.
It's not right, that's not what hour means.
An hour is 60 minutes, okay?
And if the word hour is ever used metaphorically,
it's talking about a specific moment in time.
You know, a certain time has come, this is your hour,
you know, this is your time.
We're not talking about two events 1,000 years apart,
that wouldn't be an hour.
There's no way you're gonna make an hour out of that, okay?
I don't know where people come up with this stuff.
But basically what this is referring to, according to Jesus,
isn't Jesus saying there's gonna be an hour
when every single person in the grave, here's what,
everybody who's in the grave,
and they will all be resurrected at the same time,
and that the good and the evil, the just and the unjust,
will all be resurrected at the same time,
one group to be damned and one group to be saved, right?
And to be brought to life.
Well, when is this referring to?
Let me ask this, is it referring to the first resurrection?
No, because at the first resurrection,
also known as the rapture,
that's when only the believers rise, okay?
The unsaved do not rise in that resurrection.
But according to 1 Corinthians 15,
go to Revelation 20 if you would,
according to 1 Corinthians 15,
there is another second resurrection
that takes place after the millennium, right?
Because he says, here's the order.
Christ, the first fruits,
after the day that Christ is coming,
then at the end, he talks about death being destroyed.
He talks about a third resurrection.
I'm not gonna call it the third resurrection,
I'm gonna call it the second resurrection,
because Christ is the first fruits.
It's the first fruits,
then there's the first resurrection of believers
and the second resurrection of believers.
Boom, boom, boom.
It's so simple,
but people have tried to make it complicated
because they've lied.
And it says in Revelation chapter 20 here,
when it describes these exact events,
it's perfectly consistent with 1 Corinthians 15,
it says in verse four,
and I saw thrones and they sat upon them
and judgment was given unto them.
And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God,
and which did not worship the beast,
neither his image, neither had received his mark
upon their foreheads or in their hands,
and they what?
Lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years,
but the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
Okay, so we're talking about here the first resurrection,
which takes place before the millennium, right?
Which takes place at the coming of Christ, okay?
Now, I want you to pay very close attention
that maybe this sermon is a little bit too doctrinal for you
but get some smarts and then listen up.
I want you to pay very close attention
for the next few minutes,
because I'm afraid I'm gonna lose some people
because I don't want, you know,
I'm trying to make this as simple as I can,
but I really want you to pay attention
because this is really key here.
Very important what I'm gonna say
over the next couple of minutes.
Listen, he says here that they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years.
That tells us that the first resurrection
takes place before the millennium, right?
Because they come up and they live again
and then they reign for a thousand years, okay?
That's the first resurrection, okay?
Now, those that are pre-trib will say
that this is not the first resurrection.
Why?
Because they believe in a pre-trib rapture
and then they say, well, here it says
that in the first resurrection,
it includes people who've been beheaded
for not taking the mark of the beast.
That means they went through the tribulation, right?
So this proves a pre-tribulation rapture,
or a good night, proves that the pre-tribulation rapture
is stupid because it shows here that the first resurrection,
and they'll say, well, the first resurrection
comes in three stages.
Okay, is that what 1 Corinthians 15 taught?
No.
It taught Jesus' resurrection,
afterward the day that our Christ is coming,
then cometh the end.
So with that in mind, doesn't it make sense
to call this the first resurrection?
Because we're not counting Christ
because he was the first fruits,
that he was not a believer, he was the savior himself.
They that are Christ that is coming are the first fruits,
okay?
They come up before the millennium
and they include people who went through the tribulation
because they've been beheaded for Christ in many cases.
Okay, but here's the part that I really want to drive in
because there are some people who mistakenly think
that the first resurrection or the rapture
takes place after God has poured out his wrath.
Now here's why they come to that conclusion.
Because they're reading the Bible chronologically here,
and they see basically the wrath being poured out
in Revelation, okay?
And they see basically the vials of God's wrath
being poured out.
And then after that, they come to chapter 20
and say, well here, he's saying these people are resurrected
and they're reigning with Christ,
therefore they say that they're resurrected
right at the very beginning of the millennium
after the wrath is poured out.
Because basically what we believe
is that the resurrection takes place post-tribulational
but that it's pre-wrath.
Because the Bible's real clear when this takes place.
It takes place when the sun and moon are darkened, okay?
He said the sun is darkened, the moon is darkened,
then they see Christ coming in the clouds,
the trumpet sounds, he gathers the elect.
Then after that, he pours out his wrath.
And his wrath is encompassed in the seven trumpets
and the seven vials, okay?
Now, those who believe that chapter 20
is describing the resurrection are wrong.
And I'm gonna prove it to you,
but you have to pay close attention.
And if you pay close attention,
you'll see without a shadow of a doubt
that that post-wrath paradigm is false.
Let me prove it to you.
Because the Bible here is describing
those who came up in the first resurrection
as sitting on thrones and ruling and reigning
for a thousand years.
Does that mean that they're just now being resurrected
in chapter 20?
No, they've already been resurrected years earlier.
Not pre-trib, no, of course not.
Post-trib, post-tribulational, but pre-wrath,
because they do include those that were beheaded
for the cause of Christ,
which proves that they went through the tribulation.
But they were not there for the outpouring of God's wrath.
Here's the proof.
And then obviously there's lots more proof,
but here's the proof from this passage.
It says in verse five,
the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished.
That's the key right there.
This is the first resurrection.
Now think about this for a moment.
If those who believe in this post-seven years,
post-Daniel 70th week, post-wrath resurrection,
this rapture that takes place after God pours out his wrath,
you know that we're gonna be here
while God's pouring out his wrath,
that we're gonna be here for the whole seven years, okay?
If that were the case and the rapture were taking place
at this point in Revelation 20, okay,
why would any dead be left in the grave
that would live again when the thousand years are finished?
Think about that.
Who understood what I just said?
Put up your hand.
David, is it making sense?
Okay, about two people.
Okay, let me try to explain it better.
Okay, if after the wrath is poured out and everything,
and we're in Revelation 20,
the millennium's about to start,
if this is when the first resurrection's taking place,
then wouldn't all believers be caught up?
Doesn't the Bible teach that?
Okay, so who are the dead
that are gonna live again a thousand years later?
Well, you might say, oh, well, that's the unsaved.
You know, right?
Because the saved, they're all going up,
and then the unsaved are remaining in the grave.
Wrong, because the unsaved are not gonna live again.
Because when they stand before God, are they alive or dead?
He said, I saw the dead.
It's not a resurrection of life.
It's a resurrection of damnation.
They stand before God dead.
So when it says the rest of the dead lived not again,
who are we talking about, saved or unsaved?
Anybody who's gonna live again is saved.
Anybody who lives again is saved,
because the dead, the unsaved are never gonna live again.
They stand before God dead.
This is talking about the second resurrection,
which takes place after the millennium,
because remember 1 Corinthians 15,
Christ the first fruits,
after a day that our Christ is coming,
then come at the end,
and he talks about a post-millennial resurrection.
Jesus talked about it when he said in one hour,
the saved and the unsaved will all be resurrected, okay?
One's a resurrection of life, living again.
One's a resurrection of damnation.
So in order for people to be left in the graves
that are called the rest of the dead,
and he's saying the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years are finished,
that would mean that there would have to be a period of time
between when the first resurrection and the rapture happened
and when they begin to rule and reign
with Christ a thousand years.
There'd have to be a period of time
for other believers to die
that would be considered the rest of the dead
that are not gonna live again.