Here we are in Revelation Chapter 20. By now you should have this memorized.
I mean, this is the fourth sermon here, so we only have one more after this.
There's a lot of information, and the name of the sermon is Resurrections in the Bible.
In Revelation 20, it talks about the first resurrection,
and it gives reference without saying second to the second resurrection.
But, you know, I wanted to talk about this because I thought it was important,
but at the same time, I didn't necessarily think it was a whole sermon.
So we're going to look at resurrections in general in the Bible,
and we'll kind of end the sermon talking about the resurrections mentioned
in Revelation 20 and show the distinction.
Notice what it says in verse 4.
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, in which did not worship 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.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
And so the Bible here mentions the first resurrection,
and if it mentions the first resurrection, the implication is there's a second resurrection.
You wouldn't say the first resurrection unless there's another resurrection coming, okay?
Now this event, the first resurrection, well, this takes place at the rapture, okay?
And we'll talk about that as we go on later on during the sermon
and show the distinction here.
But when it says first resurrection, it's implying there's another resurrection.
Verse 6, blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.
On such the second death hath no power, okay?
So those that take part in the first resurrection,
the second death will have no power over them.
That shows you everybody resurrected at the first resurrection was saved.
No unbelievers are going to get resurrected at the first resurrection
because the second death has no power over everybody resurrected at the first resurrection.
And the distinction being mentioned here is because at the second resurrection,
what you're going to see is unsaved and saved people resurrected.
So this first resurrection, the second death hath no power over them,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Why?
Because they're resurrected before the millennial reign, okay?
At the rapture, they'll be raptured during the tribulation,
they'll escape the wrath of God,
and they'll rule and reign with Christ for the millennial reign.
Okay, that's what the Bible teaches.
Now go to Genesis chapter 5.
Genesis chapter 5.
Genesis 5.
Genesis chapter 5.
And so the first thing I want to talk about here tonight,
and we'll go on to the first and second resurrection later on in the sermon,
is I want to talk to you about two characters in the Old Testament.
I want to talk to you about Enoch and Elijah.
Okay, Enoch and Elijah.
Both of these were people that were not killed.
They did not see death in the Old Testament, and yet they went to heaven.
Okay, Genesis 5 verse 24.
And Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah,
and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years.
So he lived 365 years and begat sons and daughters.
And all the days of Enoch were 365 years,
and Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Okay, it says God took him.
It doesn't say God killed him.
Okay, because back then, obviously, people lived very long lives.
365 was like being a child when you die, right?
It's a very young age to die, and at 365, God takes him.
Okay, and he is taken up to heaven.
Okay, he's not killed.
Now go to 2 Kings 2.
2 Kings 2.
Now Enoch went to heaven, but did he get a glorified body when he went to heaven?
No, he did not.
Okay, now I want to show you Elijah real quickly,
because with Elijah, it's very specific that he went to heaven.
There's no question about it.
Okay, with Enoch, people could try to argue,
but with Elijah, there is no question that it says he went to heaven.
Now, I believe the reason why Enoch was taken to heaven
is you actually see Enoch in the book of Jude.
He talks about the end times events.
It's very interesting.
He talks about the end times events,
and then all of a sudden, he is taken up to heaven.
He doesn't die.
He's like a picture of the rapture.
Okay, and so he is taken up to heaven.
It says he walked with God.
He's a godly person.
2 Kings 2, verse 9.
And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha,
ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee.
And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing.
Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee.
But if not, it shall not be so.
And it came to pass as they still went on and talked,
that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire,
and parted them both asunder.
And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
So Elijah was not killed, but where did he go?
He went to heaven.
I mean, isn't it very clear Elijah went to heaven?
And yet, don't they tell us, don't a lot of people say that,
well, nobody in the Old Testament went to heaven.
Like you couldn't go to heaven because Jesus had not died.
And so I've heard some people say that Elijah is kind of just floating up there.
Okay, that he's kind of like up there, but he's not like all the way.
He's like halfway there.
I mean, you say that man on the moon is not real.
Well, maybe that's Elijah.
Maybe he's like halfway there.
And they have this attitude, Elijah is kind of partway there because what they teach
or a lot of people teach is that in the Old Testament, nobody went to heaven.
They went to Abraham's bosom or paradise or the heart of the earth.
They went to the good part of hell is what they teach with Abraham's bosom.
Well, what about Elijah?
It says he went to heaven.
Oh, it's just an exception, brother Stuckey.
Well, show me the person that I mentioned is going to paradise.
Because if that were actually the doctrine,
wouldn't you be seeing people go into paradise?
I'd have to double check, but I'm pretty sure if I can remember correctly
that the word paradise is never mentioned in the Old Testament.
And it's mentioned a few times in the New Testament.
I believe one time it's mentioned in the four gospels,
which is technically before the resurrection of Jesus.
And I believe two times if I remember correctly afterwards.
But here's my question.
If everybody in the Old Testament went to paradise,
why don't you just see that word paradise popping up left and right?
Doesn't that make sense?
Because the word heavens in the Old Testament,
but you don't see the word paradise popping up left and right.
Well, if everybody went to paradise, why don't you see that?
If Elijah went to paradise, why does it say he went to heaven?
Why did he go up if he's going to the center of the earth?
It doesn't make any sense.
He went to heaven.
That's what it says.
How was he able to go to heaven?
He was able to go to heaven because Jesus was a lamb
slain from the foundation of the world, the Bible says.
Okay, it was always God's plan that Jesus would die
and pay for the sins of the world.
When Jesus died on the cross, even though we had not committed any sins yet,
Jesus died for each and every sin we will ever commit.
That is why our salvation is an eternal salvation,
because the sins have already been paid for.
You either believe all your sins are paid for, past, present, future, or none of them.
And so look, all of the sins were paid for.
But you know, realize this, that Jesus,
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
God was always going to pay for those sins.
It was always the plan.
It was always known.
That was always the way of salvation.
Okay.
And so people in the Old Testament that believed on Jesus, you know what?
They were saved.
They believe in a coming Messiah, a coming Christ.
They look forward to the cross, as Brother Matthias preached last week.
And you know what?
They were saved within eternal salvation,
just like we're saved within eternal salvation.
They didn't have to hang out in the middle of the earth
till Jesus died for the sins of the world.
Now we see Elijah went up into heaven.
Okay, now go to 1st King 17.
1st King 17.
But once again, Elijah did not get a glorified body.
Okay, Elijah went to heaven.
His soul went to heaven, but he did not get a glorified body
because according to Romans 8, as we've talked about recently,
I mean, that's something we look forward to.
That's the hope we have that we're going to get the glorified body.
The rapture didn't take place yet.
Okay, one day it will take place.
So we looked at Enoch and Elijah.
Let's talk about the resurrection of those who have died in the past
because during the Bible, don't you see a lot of resurrections?
So then you say, well, why does it say first resurrection
in Revelation 20 if there's a lot of resurrections?
I mean, there are a lot of people resurrected.
Okay, notice what it says in 1st King 17, verse 21.
And he stretched himself upon the child three times
and cried unto the Lord.
And so, O Lord, my God, I pray thee,
let this child's soul come into him again.
And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah
and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house
and delivered him onto his mother.
And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
So here's a boy who is dead.
And yet this child is brought back to life.
He's resurrected.
Okay, turn to 2nd Kings 4, 2nd Kings Chapter 4.
I'll show you one other example.
You say, well, why is this not the first resurrection?
Or why doesn't this get counted in the list of resurrections?
Because of the fact the child was resurrected to die again.
The child was resurrected, but the child would one day die.
Okay, the child didn't get a glorified body.
The child's not still alive today.
The child was resurrected, but the child ended up dying.
Okay, we're going to see later on that Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection.
The first resurrection is the first time anybody's going to get a glorified body.
Okay, but I want you to understand something else.
Actually, keep your place in 2nd Kings 4.
Go to Genesis Chapter 2 real quickly.
Let me explain something to you.
Genesis Chapter 2, because you have to understand what does it mean to be dead?
What does that even mean?
For the body without the spirit is dead.
That's what it says at the end of James Chapter 2.
First, the body without the spirit is dead.
What is dead?
It means the body and the spirit are no longer together.
We have a body.
We have a soul.
We have a spirit.
Okay, when the body and the spirit separate for as the body without the spirit is dead,
it says.
So here's the thing.
Somebody might be pronounced dead at dead somewhere dead at a hospital or whatever.
It doesn't necessarily mean they're dead, though.
We don't know if the spirit still in that body.
Okay, for as the body without the spirit is dead.
There's a lot of times where people are brought back to life and everything,
but we don't know if they're technically dead by God's standards,
that the spirit has actually departed from the body.
In the Bible, Paul the Apostle, right?
I mean, he was stoned and everything.
They thought he was dead.
And I mean, they might have checked his pulse and whatever.
I'm not really sure, but it's just like all indications where Paul was dead.
What happened?
Well, he just kind of gets up and keeps going.
Why?
God wasn't done with him.
Okay, for as the body without the spirit is dead.
So what takes place when somebody dies?
Okay, when somebody dies, what the Bible teaches is this.
The spirit returns onto the Lord, whether they're saved or unsaved,
the body's in the ground, and the soul goes either to heaven or hell.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Okay, what it says in the Book of Ecclesiastes is the spirit of man.
The spirit goes to the Lord and the spirit of a beast.
The spirit of an animal goes to the ground, not referring to hell,
but just the spirits no longer there.
Okay, the difference between one of the differences between humans
and animals is this, that when a human dies, whether they're saved or unsaved,
the spirit returns onto the Lord.
Now, that doesn't mean that they're going to heaven, though,
because it's the soul that goes to heaven or hell when you die.
With an animal, when they die, the spirit goes to the ground.
I believe it's Ecclesiastes chapter three that talks about that.
Now, Genesis chapter two.
I added this just a couple hours ago.
Let me turn to Genesis two myself.
Let me show you something else.
Genesis chapter two, verse seven.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Man became a living soul.
Okay, now, when it comes to the word soul in the Bible, it's a pretty confusing thing,
because soul can sometimes just reference to a person in general.
The soul that sent it shall die and everything.
But at the same time, we have a body.
We have a soul.
We have a spirit.
This is a very deep study.
But what I want you to understand is the difference between humans and animals is that
we have a soul.
Animals do not have a soul.
When an animal dies, when I was a kid, because I was a dog person, right?
I had a dog.
My sister had a cat.
Okay.
And so there's this movie I saw as a kid.
All dogs go to heaven.
I was like, yes.
And like the sequel to that movie, the devil is a cat.
And as a kid, I thought that was great.
I was like, yeah, this is awesome.
But, you know, it's not reality, though, because no animal goes to heaven or hell when
they die.
Okay.
When an animal dies, they're just in the ground.
Now, I want you to realize something.
When I was a kid, man, I loved my dog.
And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
To love animals, love dogs, love cats, they can be affectionate.
They can be your friend and everything like that.
But let me say something.
There is a big difference between a human being and an animal.
And I'll tell you something.
When our son was born, it's like, wow, because when I was a kid, I loved my dog.
But I'll tell you what, it's no comparison to actually having a child.
I mean, any parents in this room would say, absolutely, that's true.
I mean, having a child, you know, and it's just like, there's just no comparison.
And it's like in the world.
I mean, the crazy liberal world we live in today where it's like they try to put animals
on the same level as humans because we're all just evolved animals from the past anyway.
Right.
Well, here's the difference.
An animal, their spirit goes to the ground.
A human, their spirit goes up to God, and an animal does not have a soul.
Okay.
Humans have a soul.
And if that person is saved, that soul goes to heaven.
If that person is unsaved, that soul goes to hell.
Okay.
Animals and humans aren't the same at all.
Okay.
Now turn to Second Kings, four, Second Kings, four, Second Kings, four,
Second Kings, Chapter four.
And something I've been kind of studying recently, the difference between spirit and
soul, and it's a very, very deep study.
So I do want to preach on it, but I don't want to say anything that's going to be
inaccurate.
So it's something I'm kind of because here's the thing.
You know, if you remember in Hebrews four, verse 12, you know, the famous verse on
the word of God being quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword and
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.
It's really saying, hey, this is how powerful the word of God is.
It even divides the soul and the spirit.
The indication is the soul and the spirit are similar.
They're very close and of the joints in a marrow, which is also something that's
very linked together and everything.
And what it's indicating is that the soul and spirit are pretty similar.
Okay.
They're not the same thing.
It's a pretty deep study.
But when a person dies, it's their soul that goes to heaven or hell, and their spirit
returns on to the Lord.
According to the book of Ecclesiastes, second Kings four, second Kings four, verse
34.
And he went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth upon his mouth and his eyes
upon his eyes and his hands upon his hands and stretched himself upon the child.
And the flesh of the child waxed warm.
Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro and went up and stretched himself
upon him.
And the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
And he called Gahazi and said, call the Shunammite.
So he called her, and when she was coming on to him, he said, take up thy son.
Now, people could have different opinions about certain people.
They could think about Lazarus, who was resurrected from the dead and everything.
Look, I don't believe with someone that saved that, you know, well, they died
and everything.
And before they were resurrected, they were in heaven.
Then they were brought back down.
I mean, we could talk about Paul the Apostle.
He knew a man who went up to the third heaven.
That could be an exception who said he said he couldn't utter those things.
That's a whole other topic.
What I'm saying is all these examples of resurrections, just because, you know, they
seem like they were dead.
I don't think that necessarily means that the body and the spirit had separated.
Okay.
The body and the spirit separate.
The soul is going to be in heaven or hell.
Like, I don't really think that's the situation.
I think they're resurrected.
And by all outward signs, you would say that they're dead.
Okay.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that the body and the spirit had separated and just
everything was done and they were brought back from heaven or brought back from hell
to live again.
Okay.
So you see people being resurrected.
But the reason why this is not called the first resurrection or anything like that is
because they would be resurrected to die again.
They did not get a glorified body when they were brought back.
Okay.
Now go to Matthew 27.
Matthew 27.
So we saw Enoch and Elijah.
We talked about how people in the Old Testament that were saved went to heaven.
And there's no new thing under the sun.
It's the exact same as it's always been.
We saw various people that resurrected.
There's a lot in the Bible.
Okay.
Point number three.
Let us look at a zombie resurrection.
Okay.
We're going to look at a zombie.
You say a zombie.
You believe in zombies, Brother Stuckey?
Well, the Bible actually does mention a case where there are zombies.
Okay.
People brought back from the dead.
Okay.
Now, not like in these movies and everything like that.
Where it's like, or whatever.
But let me just show you here in Matthew 27.
Verse 50.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
And behold, the veil of the temple was written, twain from the top to the bottom.
And the earth did quake, and the rocks went.
And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.
Okay.
And so here is an example.
And I remember somebody showed this to me like 10 years ago.
And they're like, hey, I mean, zombies are in the Bible.
It's like, no, I don't believe you.
It's like, whatever.
And I kind of read over it before, and then they showed that to me.
I was like, and I mean, technically everyone who was resurrected, they were dead and brought
back to life as well.
But here's an example of many bodies of the saints.
So no unbeliever is being brought back.
These are saved people.
These are saints.
These are believers.
But, you know, it says many bodies of the saints which slept arose now and came out
of the graves after his resurrection and went into the Holy City and appeared on
to many.
Okay.
Now, it doesn't really give us a lot of detail about this.
So, you know, it doesn't really tell us.
Well, I mean, did they come back from heaven, like, you know, completely?
Or is it just the bodies there?
You know, I'm not really sure, whatever.
But there's an example of them resurrecting.
And that was given as a sign to people to believe that Jesus rose again.
It was the real deal.
There are many signs that God actually used at the beginning.
This is stuff you would not see today.
Okay.
It mentions that at the end of the Book of Mark, how there's going to be certain
signs, right?
They shall take up serpents.
They drink any deadly thing, speaking in tongues, not referring to the Pentecostal
jibber-jabber, but, you know, speaking in actual language, stuff like that.
There are certain signs.
Here's an example of a sign that took place.
And so you say, Brother Stuckey, do we believe in zombies around here?
Well, I mean, in rare situations in the Bible, you do see somebody who was dead
brought back to life.
You know, here's an example of this.
Okay.
And go to Matthew 28.
Matthew 28.
Matthew Chapter 28.
Let's talk about Christ's resurrection, though.
Okay.
Matthew 28, verse 5.
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that
ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen.
As he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell
his disciples that he has risen from the dead.
And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee.
There shall you see him.
Lo, I have told you.
So we see here the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Okay.
Now, I want you to understand what took place at the resurrection of Jesus.
Go to Acts Chapter 2.
Acts 2.
Acts Chapter 2.
Because when Jesus Christ died, remember he said, into thy hands, I
commend my spirit.
Okay.
The spirit shall return unto the Lord who gave it.
Right.
But there's the body and the soul of Jesus Christ.
Now, the body was in the ground.
The soul was in hell, according to the Bible.
Okay.
Acts 2, verse 31.
He seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ.
Okay.
So the resurrection of Christ.
What does it mean by the resurrection of Christ?
That his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
So the resurrection says his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Okay.
Now, I want you to understand that the Bible is written in a very intelligent way, and
sentences are not going to be, like, confusing and contradict themselves midway.
Okay.
Is the soul being in hell a good thing?
Is it good if somebody goes to hell?
No.
Is it good if flesh sees corruption?
No.
The sentence wouldn't make a whole lot of sense if one was a good place and the other
was a bad place.
Because what they teach about paradise is that, you know, Jesus was just in paradise,
just kind of hanging out.
He wasn't actually in hell.
But it's like, that doesn't really make sense with a sentence.
Because your flesh seeing corruption is a bad thing.
Your soul being in hell is a bad thing.
You don't really write sentences where it would be a good thing than a bad thing.
I wouldn't say it's a contradictory sentence, but you just don't write that way.
It'd be a very bobo way to write it.
It doesn't make sense.
And you don't see that in the Bible, right?
Remember we talked about Matthew 7 just a couple of weeks ago about how narrow is
the way, you know, straight is the gate, narrow is the way, broad is wide.
It makes sense straight and narrow because broad and wide.
Okay.
The sentence is going to line up.
And since the flesh seeing corruption would be a bad thing, your soul being in hell would
be a bad thing.
And what it's saying is this, that, you know, the resurrection spared the soul of Jesus
from being in hell.
And it spared his flesh from seeing corruption.
See, the resurrection was good for both the soul and the flesh.
Okay.
Because corruption's bad and hell's bad.
Okay.
So his soul was not left in hell.
So Jesus' soul was in hell for three days and three nights.
Now I've heard this preach, and I believe this, that during those three days and three
nights, although it's really confusing to understand how this works.
I mean, Jesus paid for all of our sins in those three days and three nights.
I believe that.
Okay.
And his flesh seeing corruption.
Why does it say his flesh should not see corruption?
Because when your body dies, it takes time to decompose.
And what it says in the Bible about Lazarus, Lazarus was dead for how many days?
Four.
And this was very powerful because of the fact at that point, there is no doubt Lazarus
is dead because it says, behold, he stinketh.
The body had seen corruption.
There is no question.
Behold, he stinketh because the body's decomposing.
Well, Jesus was resurrected before he saw corruption.
His flesh did not see corruption.
Now, if he had been dead for four days, guess what?
His flesh would have seen corruption.
Now, I understand, depending on where somebody dies and the temperature and things like that,
that can affect how fast a body would decompose the same with an animal, depending on where
they die and the temperature and things like that.
I'm just saying that's what the Bible is trying to show you that basically Jesus
was resurrected before his body was able to decompose.
Okay.
So the resurrection of Jesus was a resurrection of a soul in his body.
So what takes place?
Well, the soul goes in the body come together.
And obviously he was here for a time period, and then he went up to heaven.
Now go to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15.
You say, what's the difference between Jesus Christ and these other resurrections?
Well, besides the fact that Jesus was God, besides the fact he resurrected himself,
it's and besides the fact his soul was in hell.
Well, here's the difference.
The glorified body's there.
See all the resurrections we looked at before.
They're resurrected to die once more.
Well, Jesus Christ died once for all.
Oh, sinner receiver, right?
Once for all never died again.
I mean, that little boy that was resurrected, you know, one day when he was 60, 70, 80,
90 years old died again.
Okay.
But Jesus Christ did not die again.
And so he's known as the first fruits of the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 20, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20.
But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept.
Now, what does sleeping mean?
Well, I mean, it's referring to dying here.
Okay.
Oftentimes Jesus will use a word.
Well, you know, he's sleeping and sometimes like, oh, he's taking a nap.
No, no, no, no, he's dead.
Okay.
It's like a nice way to say that he died, except as believers.
Hey, you know what?
Honestly, your body's just sleeping for a time period because you will be glorified
one day.
There's no question about it.
Okay.
And so he says he's the first fruits of them that slept for since by man came death
by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as an Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order.
Okay.
What is that order?
Christ, the first fruits.
Okay.
He's the first fruits of the resurrection.
Afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming.
When's that referring to?
It's referring to the rapture at his coming.
Now notice there doesn't seem to be multiple comings in the Bible.
Sounds like there's one.
Okay.
Because, you know, the pre-tribbers say, well, there's a first coming, second coming,
third coming.
And it's like it's confusing, right?
No, at his coming.
Okay.
Afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming.
What's that saying?
It's saying at his coming, they will be resurrected.
Those that are saved but dead in Christ.
Okay.
Now look at verse number 12.
So let's talk about this first resurrection.
Verse 12 of first Corinthians 15.
Now, if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there
is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen?
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain.
And what Paul is saying is this.
You know, if it's preached that Christ rose from the dead, why are there people,
some people saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Because if Christ rose again, there's going to be a resurrection of the dead.
Okay.
And we know Christ rose again.
And it's like, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
So either Christ is going to rise again and all of us are that are saved or there's
none whatsoever.
Okay.
Verse 14.
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain.
You see, here's the thing.
If there was no resurrection of the dead, if Jesus never rose again, our church is
meaningless.
It's pointless.
This religion is based on the fact that Jesus rose again, different than any other religion.
Muhammad didn't rise again.
Buddha didn't rise again.
And let me tell you something.
There have been religious leaders that have been martyred, if that's what you want to
call them, religious leaders that have been killed before of cults and various religions.
Here's the difference.
Jesus rose again.
What if Jesus did not rise again and he just died a horrifying death like other cult
leaders?
Well, then he's just a cult leader.
There is no difference between him and everybody else.
Our religion is based on the fact that he rose again.
And I want you to understand something.
Can I give you physical evidence that proves a resurrection?
No, but I believe I can logically prove it because there are people that actually saw
the risen Christ and that is the reason why they were willing to die because they
actually saw it with their own eyes.
Would you be willing to die for something that turned out to be false, that you knew
was false?
If you knew it was false, would you be willing to be tortured to death?
But you know what?
There was people that actually saw his resurrection and it's undeniable because many
people saw it.
And there's nothing from 2000 years ago that there's more verifiable proof of that
people have written down.
People have said we saw the risen Christ.
It was undeniable.
Okay.
And if it was fake, then why were all these people?
Because throughout history of all the apostles and the followers, many of them died because
they said we visibly saw Christ risen.
Why would they do that if it wasn't true?
It wouldn't make any sense.
See, it would have been the end of the religion if Christ never rose again.
But Christ did rise again.
So everything we do has meaning.
Why?
Because since Christ is rising again, it means all of us will rise again one day,
right?
At the resurrection day when the trump of Christ, right?
As we sing verse 15, yea, and we are found false witnesses of God because we
have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up.
If so be the dead rise not.
Paul says this.
If Christ didn't rise again, we're a false witness.
We're a false witness if Christ didn't rise again.
We're a bad person.
We're bad people.
We're spreading a lie if Jesus didn't rise again.
Now what's interesting, it says it's false witnesses.
Now there's a religion called the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses, they preach like the opposite.
They preach that Christ did not rise again.
Now you might not realize that that might surprise you.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
You say, what do they believe?
Well, they believe in a spiritual resurrection.
They don't believe in a bodily resurrection.
Jehovah's Witnesses think the body's still in the ground.
They don't think he ever rose again.
You say, what should we call these people?
False witnesses.
Because they're preaching a lie about the resurrection.
It's funny because their biggest holiday is, guess what?
Easter.
Hypocrites.
You don't even believe Jesus rose again.
They don't believe in a bodily resurrection of Jesus.
And yet Easter is their big holiday where they invite people.
And you know, in the US, they always rent out this big convention center, free for all.
And then they bring a bunch of people in to tell them,
hey, Christ did not physically rise again.
Then our religion is meaningless.
You say, what are these people?
You know, the people that are followers of Jehovah's Witnesses
and are out there spreading the gospel.
Yeah, you know what?
They're deceived, but they're also evil false witnesses.
Why?
They're doing the work of the devil by teaching that Christ didn't rise again.
They believe it was only a spiritual resurrection.
You say, brother Stuckey, but there's so many verses that disprove them.
I mean, they roll back the tomb.
The body's not there.
Yeah, I know.
Try telling Jehovah's Witness that right over their head.
They don't believe it.
They just explain away verse after verse after verse after verse.
They do not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
That was just a spiritual resurrection.
No, no, no.
The soul of Jesus was not left in hell, but the body did not see corruption.
I mean, just all the verses they just did not.
I mean, his flesh did not see corruption.
Well, how are you going to answer that?
I'm not sure what they say to that.
You know, they look at all those verses and they just don't believe in it.
So what are they?
Well, I mean, according to verse 15, instead of Jehovah's Witnesses,
they're Jehovah's false witnesses because they're preaching a lie about the resurrection.
They're saying that, I mean, can you imagine being a Christian religion
and you don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
You know, it's funny because 100 years ago,
nobody would have ever said that Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians.
Nobody would have ever said the Mormons were Christians.
Nobody would have ever said the Seventh Day Adventists were Christians.
In fact, you know, going back 100 years ago, even 50 years ago,
even 20 years ago in Christian bookstores in the US,
they would never have any Catholic information.
Never.
Why?
Catholics were considered a cult.
They're considered false.
Now you go to a Christian bookstore, you can get rosary beads.
It's like, you know, why weren't they considered Christian?
They don't believe in this.
They don't believe in salvation.
They don't believe salvation by grace through faith.
They believe in all their witchcraft and voodoo and all that weird stuff they do,
all that hocus pocus magic.
Oh, it's holy water and everything.
And it's just like, but we had to remove the holy water during this coronavirus
because it could be dangerous.
It's like, I mean, ridiculous.
Okay.
But, you know, what are Jehovah's Witnesses?
Well, they're false witnesses, okay?
Because they don't believe in a resurrection.
They do not believe.
Let me say something.
A person can be saved without believing that Jesus went to hell.
A person cannot be saved if they don't believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus, though,
because the emphasis on salvation is the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
By all means, I believe the soul of Jesus was in hell for three days and three nights.
A person can be saved without believing that, though,
but they cannot be saved without believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The death, burial and resurrection.
That's the gospel.
And if they just believe in the death and the burial, like the Jehovah's Witnesses,
no, you can't be saved.
So if you ever do talk to a Jehovah's Witness,
you do have to show them that Jesus physically rose again.
And let me tell you something.
I've gotten plenty of Jehovah's Witnesses to save in the US.
You have lots of opportunities.
I probably got about 15 saved in my life.
I found them actually to be receptive,
because many are just kind of studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses.
They're not like completely hooked in and everything.
But every single time I had to show them the physical resurrection of Jesus
because they can't be saved without it.
So here's the thing.
I mean, if you're out here, you say, man, I'm a soul winner.
Wait, you got to know what those verses are.
If you run into a Jehovah's Witness,
you're going to have to show them a little bit more
than you'd show just a Catholic on the street.
Why?
They don't believe in the physical resurrection, and they must believe that to be saved.
Notice what it says in verse 16.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain.
You're yet in your sins.
So Christ did not rise again.
Jehovah's Witnesses, Jehovah's false witnesses.
You're yet in your sins.
Okay, then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most miserable.
And you can see the emphasis, you know, falling asleep on the body,
which is showing that it's referring to the fact that Jesus actually physically rose again.
But I want you to see in verse 19.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most miserable.
See, here's the thing.
If we are running a church and going out preaching the gospel,
but Christ did not rise again, you know, we're most miserable.
You say, why?
We don't have a hope.
There's nothing to look forward to.
I mean, if there is no resurrection, what's the purpose of any of this?
I mean, literally, there would be no purpose of this church
if Christ did not rise again, because if Christ didn't rise again,
we are yet in our sins.
Nobody died for our sins.
Then if Christ did not rise again, nobody died for our sins.
And look, there's going to be no resurrection of any saved person.
And all of this is meaningless because our religion is based on the resurrection.
Go down to verse 50, verse 50, verse 50,
first Corinthians 15, verse 50.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
So the Bible says this flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God.
If you die right now, your flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
You say, well, what happens to me?
Your soul goes to heaven, not your body.
One day you're going to get the glorified body.
But until you get that glorified body, you're not worthy of going to heaven in your body
because your body is full corruption in sin, all of us.
So look, if you die right now, your body is going to be in the ground,
but your soul is going to go to heaven.
When the rapture takes place, there will be a glorified body.
And then guess what?
You can inherit heaven, but corruption cannot put on incorruption.
The Bible says, okay, verse 51,
Why does it say we shall not all sleep?
Because at the rapture, there are going to be some people alive that are saved.
Most that are saved are going to already have passed away, but not all shall sleep.
Because at the rapture, there will be people that are going through great tribulation
that we which are alive remain in the coming of the Lord.
Okay.
And you know what?
They will be raptured.
We shall not all sleep.
Okay.
But we shall all be changed.
Now, why does it say we shall all be changed?
Because those that are saved and alive are not going to be killed at the rapture.
Now, I remember hearing someone told me this one time.
They say, I think at the rapture, everybody's just killed by God.
And then they go to heaven.
It's like, no, no, no, they don't physically die.
They're going to be changed, but they're not going to be physically killed right
before they get the glorified body.
Okay, they're going to be changed, though.
The Bible says much like Enoch.
Much like well, I mean, Enoch didn't get the glorified body.
Okay, but you know, we're going to be changed.
Okay, those that are alive.
Let's say it happens in 10 years and we're alive.
What's going to happen for the first time in human history is the fact that a glorified
body is going to take place for those that are dead in Christ and those that are alive.
Verse 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.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.
Go to 1 Thessalonians 4.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
1 Thessalonians 4.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
So this event is known as the first resurrection.
It's going to be the first time in human history where anyone got a glorified body.
Everyone who's saved.
And look, here's the thing, every single one of us, assuming you're saved,
every single one of us will be part of that first resurrection.
Because if we die before the rapture, we're going to be resurrected.
If we're alive at the rapture, we're going to be resurrected.
And if you're not, then well, then you're a false believer.
You're a false witness.
Okay, it's like all of us are going to be part of this.
Okay, now people in the future, not all of them are going to be part of it.
Some people are going to be born after this time and some people are not going
to be saved the rapture but end up getting saved later on and everything.
We'll talk about that later on.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope.
So Paul says, I do not want you to be ignorant.
I do not want you to be without knowledge.
I'm going to give you information on the rapture so you can be aware of what happens, okay?
And he wants you to be aware of what's going to happen to them which are asleep, okay?
Why?
He does not want them to sorrow as those that have no hope.
Because there are people out there with no hope.
Those that don't believe in a resurrection have no hope.
Those that are not saved have no hope.
We have a hope that is steadfast and sure.
We know this is going to take place.
And he says, I don't want you to sorrow because I want you to be aware
of what's happening to those that are dead in Christ, okay?
Those that are in heaven.
Verse 14.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
What is he saying?
Hey, those that are dead and saved, those that are in heaven, you know what?
At the rapture, Jesus is going to bring them with him.
As well as us if we're saved during that time period, okay?
He says, I'm telling you this, I don't want you to sorrow.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain onto 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, okay?
So what's going to take place at this rapture?
Those that are already dead in Christ, they will rise first, okay?
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, okay?
So I don't know if, you know, they start to rise
and then all of a sudden they get to our level
and we rise at the same time or if they rise and get ahead of us
and we follow after, but those that are dead in Christ shall rise first,
then we which are alive and remain onto the coming of the Lord.
Verse 18, notice this, because I'll tell you what,
1 Thessalonians 4, preacher people often go here.
I don't see anything about a preacher rapture.
We haven't talked about the timing of the rapture at all,
but they'll go to verse 18 and they say,
well, this proves the preacher rapture.
They say, wherefore comfort one another with these words.
They say, well, see, we're comforted because we won't have any tribulation.
Did it say anything about tribulation?
The comfort is that those of us with lost loved ones
are going to see them once again.
That's the comfort.
And it is a comforting thing.
When I was in college, I had a soul warding friend of mine who tragically died.
He was 20 years old.
I will see him again at the rapture.
Whether I die before the rapture,
which I personally think that is still a long ways off,
but you know, or am I alive during that time period?
I'm going to see him again.
And you know what?
The context here is that it's comforting
that you're going to see your lost loved ones again.
And look, of course, that's a comforting thing.
It's a comforting thing when you have lost loved ones that,
and what's really sad,
what's really sad is when someone dies, it's not saved.
That's what's really sad because here's the thing.
Most of us probably have lost loved ones who were saved
and lost loved ones who weren't saved.
Relatives who weren't saved.
I remember, you know, I got saved as a freshman in college
and I got saved and I was learning all these new things.
And one thing I knew right away is this to be saved,
you must believe one saved always saved.
And the reason why is because when I had the gospel preached on to me,
that was preached on to me.
And I understood very clearly that,
yeah, you got to believe there's no works before or after salvation.
Okay, so I understood you had to believe in eternal security and everything.
And then of course I got saved and the person who got me saved,
imagine this, the person who got me saved
was an independent fundamental Baptist
who I'm friends with today.
Imagine that an independent fundamental Baptist
is the one who got me saved.
In fact, that's how most people get saved.
They get saved from somebody who's,
do you ever hear these stories?
Man, I got saved from a Mormon.
I got saved from a Seventh-day Advent.
I got saved from a Methodist.
I mean, are there some exceptions
with maybe some of the Protestant religions or non denomination
where there's some people that are saved in there
and they get a family member saved?
Yeah, there's some exception.
Not with the Mormon's good night
or the Jehovah's Witness or something off the deep end.
Yeah.
I mean, are there some saved people at mega churches like Victory or CCF?
There's some, not a lot, but there's some non denominational churches
that are kind of just never talk about any doctrine.
Because here's the thing.
The cults like Jehovah's Witnesses, they talk about what they believe.
They talk about doctrine.
The Mormons talk about what they believe.
So the only way somebody is going to be saved in those churches
is if we get somebody saved
and they're too embarrassed to tell their wife that they got saved.
And they just kind of go through the motions like,
ah, Naaman, right?
Someone like Naaman where it's like, you know, forgive me.
I'm just going to, you know, I'll be in front of a false god.
I'm not really worshiping it.
You know, in my heart, I'm with you.
It's like very few exceptions.
But there are some saved people in non denominational churches.
But here's what I was trying to say.
I understood very early on.
You had to believe in eternal security to be saved.
I understood that right away.
Okay, I knew that was part of the gospel.
And I remember I had a conversation with my grandmother
just a couple weeks after I got saved and maybe a couple months.
I don't remember the exact date, but I remember, you know,
and she lived a long, long distance from where we did, like 16 hours.
So I didn't see her that often.
I didn't see her most years.
I remember I talked to her on the phone.
She's like, oh, she's like, I heard you're going to church and everything.
I heard you got saved and you're talking about the Bible.
She's like, I'm so excited.
She's like, I heard you're a Baptist.
I was like, yeah, I'm a Baptist.
And you know, I didn't know what she believed.
And I didn't know all these denominations either, what all of them believed.
And she said, well, she's like, I love the Baptist.
She's like, there's just one doctrine I don't like about the Baptist.
Once saved, always saved.
It was like a bullet wound.
I mean, it hurt.
I still remember that time I was on the phone because, like, you know, I was just like,
because I knew, I mean, that's salvation because I didn't know what she believed.
I didn't know about her church and everything.
I was hoping.
And it's just like, oh, man, she likes the Baptist.
That's good and everything.
But she doesn't believe once saved, always saved.
It was like a bullet wound.
It's painful.
You know, my grandmother died less than a year after I got saved.
In fact, I had two grandparents who died within a year after I got saved.
One of them was an atheist, my granddad on my mom's side.
And then my grandmother on my dad's side died.
One of my grandparents had died before I was born.
So I still have one grandparent left.
But, you know, the year I got saved, two of them died unsaved.
You know, it's painful when you have people that you know that you care about,
especially if they're nice people that are in hell.
But, you know, if you don't believe salvation, you're not saved.
And you know what?
That's sad.
But, you know, it's comforting to know that if you do have a lost loved one that was saved,
you know what?
You're going to see them again one day.
The Bible gives us the guarantee.
That's the context of 1 Thessalonians 4.
The comfort is in knowing you're going to see your lost loved ones again.
Okay, now turn in your Bible to Revelation 20.
Revelation 20.
And so, look, that's the first resurrection.
I mean, we've talked about it on recently through the Roman series.
We kind of made reference.
We've talked about it all through the Book of Revelation.
But, you know, we talked about that before at the rapture, what takes place.
That's the first resurrection.
So we saw Enoch and Elijah.
We talked about them.
We talked about various people being resurrected.
We talked about a zombie apocalypse, so to speak.
Zombie resurrection.
You know, there were many of them rose.
We saw Christ's resurrection, who's the first fruits.
We saw the first resurrection.
And then let me show you the second resurrection, which I believe it's okay to call it the
second resurrection.
I'll show you why, even though it doesn't directly say that.
But the resurrection is going to take place after the millennial reign.
Now go to Revelation 20.
Look at verse four.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given on to 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 received
his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands.
And they lived and reign with Christ a thousand years.
Okay, so those that live with Christ and reign a thousand years are those that are
at the rapture.
Everyone who was saved before the rapture and everyone who was saved at the time of
the rapture.
So everyone who was dead and those that were alive and saved.
Okay, but verse five, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand
years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
So according to verse five, is there going to be any resurrection during the thousand
years?
No, the rest of the dead live not again.
Now, in the context here, I believe in generally saying the rest of the dead, he's
referring to save people.
Okay, but whether it's just referring to save people in reference or, you know, save
the unsaved, there's no resurrections during that thousand years.
Okay, there will be no resurrections.
Say, what about people that get saved after the rapture?
Well, when they die, their soul goes to heaven.
Their spirit returns unto the Lord who gave it.
Their bodies are not resurrected yet.
Okay, not during the thousand years.
That's what it says in verse five.
There is no resurrection during the millennial reign, but it says until the thousand years
were finished.
And the way that's written grammatically, the implication is this.
Hey, after the thousand years, they will be resurrected.
Now, I don't want to talk too much about this because next week we'll talk about
the great white throne judgment, and this is kind of intertwined.
But let me just show you two verses real quickly, and we'll close up here.
Go to John chapter five, John five, John five, because I talked about this in the whole
body cast into hell series.
I believe it was the introductory sermon where I talked about that at this resurrection
that's mentioned in Revelation 20, and we'll talk about it some next week.
What's going to happen is it's going to be a resurrection of saved and unsaved people.
No unsaved people were resurrected at the first resurrection, right?
Didn't we look at that?
But after the thousand years are finished, everyone's going to be resurrected.
That has not been resurrected.
And you say, why?
Well, because as we'll talk about next week, those that are going to go through the great
white throne judgment, what happens?
Well, their worms not going to die, which is in reference to the body.
They are going to be given a new body that they have, like the unglorified body where
they're going to be basically thrown into the lake of fire and burn forever and ever.
And the body will reunite with the soul.
Their worm dieth not, the Bible mentions that.
We'll talk about that again next week a little bit.
But then there's also going to be the resurrection of those that were saved that got saved after
the rapture.
Why?
Well, they need their glorified body.
Why do they need the glorified body?
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
They've got to get that glorified body, but it's not going to take place during
the millennial reign.
Okay, now notice what it says in John 5 verse 28.
John 5 verse 28.
I know this is a kind of a deep topic and everything.
I just I don't want to miss anything in revelations or passing.
There's a lot of topics covered that are just kind of barely mentioned.
John 5 verse 28.
Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming.
Okay, so let me ask you a question.
Do you believe that the hour is coming?
I do.
The Bible says don't be shocked.
Don't marvel.
Marvel not.
Don't be shocked.
Don't marvel at this.
The hour is coming.
I believe there's going to be an hour.
Okay, the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice.
Now he says all that are in the graves.
Does that say all the saved people?
No, it doesn't.
It says all that are in his grave shall hear his voice.
Okay, there is coming an hour when everyone in the grave shall hear his voice.
Say what does that mean?
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.
The Bible is saying there is an hour coming where everybody in the graves is going to
hear his voice and going to rise again.
You say what about those that have already died in Christ and were at the rapture?
Well, they're no longer in the grave.
They got the glorified body.
The body rose again already.
But now everybody else who has died, they are going to rise again.
There is an hour coming.
Now why does this say those that have done good versus those that have done evil?
Because if you're saved, there is no sin on your record.
There's no big screen TV that says, hey, when you were 12 years old, you did this to
this little kid on the playground, right?
You stole a cupcake at a birthday party when you were nine.
And we're going to show everybody this terrible sin that no, all there's going to be is good.
So we're going to be going and look, this is not going to be the judgment seat of
Christ that was mentioned.
Now I can't prove this to you, at least as far as I know, maybe in the minor prophets
or major prophets, there's verses that would make reference.
But I believe at this resurrection for those that are saved, I believe they're going
to be given certain rewards as well.
But the judgment seat of Christ that was mentioned, I mean, that's in reference to
before the millennial reign, okay?
I believe they will also get the rewards and everything.
But just because it logically makes sense to me, I don't want to give you a dogmatic
opinion when I can't point to a verse that says this will happen to those that are
resurrected, that are saved at the second resurrection.
What I can tell you is they're going to get a glorified body, though, because
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, okay?
And what I can tell you is those that are resurrected that are unsaved, they're going
to go through the great white throne judgments, okay?
And they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation.
So when is this hour referring to?
It's referring to the event that's talked about in kind of the latter half of Revelation 20.
In the earlier half, it's saying, hey, until the thousand years are finished, it's
giving you kind of the forerunner to what's going to take place later in Revelation 20,
which we'll cover next week.
But it's giving that implication, hey, they will rise again, but not during the millennial reign.
Turn to Daniel 12.
We'll close up here.
Daniel 12, Daniel 12.
Daniel Chapter 12, Daniel 12.
So you need to realize that at the first resurrection, there's going to be no unsafe
person that rises again.
The only time they rise again is for the great white throne judgment, which is after
the millennial reign of Christ.
Okay, and the purpose for that is they must be judged for their actions because right
now, if somebody dies and gets thrown into hell, you know, someone like, you know,
someone like your neighbor that was a nice person that was Catholic is going to suffer
the same amount as, you know, you know, Pope Francis when Pope Francis dies, unless
there's a last minute salvation.
That's not going to happen, my friend.
Okay, your Catholic neighbor that dies unsafe.
He's going to suffer an equal amount as Pope Francis when they die right now, but they're
going to be judged the great white throne judgment.
Well, who do you think is going to suffer more in hell after that judgment?
Obviously, Pope Francis, because God is fair.
God is just.
And so those that are unsafe, they've got to get a correct punishment for the actions
they did.
Now, going to hell alone is a punishment enough.
They must get a proper judgment.
So basically, you know, if somebody commits bigger sins and worse sins, they're going
to suffer in hell more, but not right now until after the great white throne judgment.
And what's going to happen is the body and soul, the worm diet, not they're going
to be given a new body that's going to be somehow tortured in hell and in the Lake
of fire forever and ever.
Okay, so they're going to be resurrected and those that are saved, they got saved
after the rapture.
They're going to be resurrected, and I presume they will probably be given rewards as well,
but it's not the judgment seat of Christ.
Something maybe similar.
I'm not really sure.
Daniel 12 verse two, though, notice this.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall wake.
Sleeping in the dust of the earth is referring to people that have passed on.
They've died.
Some do everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
You say why?
Because there is an hour coming when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice.
Some to heaven, some to hell.
You say, when is that time?
It's after the thousand years we've already covered the millennial reign of Christ several
weeks ago, right?
It's after the millennial reign of Christ.
And what it says that let me just read this to you from revelation where it said, but
the rest of the dead live not again until the way that's written, that's implying
they will live again.
Okay, but until after the thousand years were finished.
So this sermon was not really necessarily as much applicable as other sermons I preach,
but it's important for us to understand the Bible and know the Bible.
And so the biggest thing we can take away is this that you know what?
We have a hope and our lost loved ones that have passed on.
We will see them again one day.
What a glorious day that will be.
Let's close in word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to just
read your word and help us to know your word and to love your word and help us
just to be able to take in the comforting words that you give us, God, and the great
hope that we have.
And help us to do everything we can to get lost people saved.
You know, before these events were to take place and help us to really understand
the reality of hell and to meditate on from time to time to in order to motivate
us to go and preach the gospel.
God, we just pray these things in Jesus name.
Amen.