I Corinthians

Chapter 15

"Apostleship Asserted and Claimed [1-11]."
"Claim Established by His Doctrinal Teaching [12-58]."
"Resurrection Certain, Christ is Raised [20-28]."

This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and made available with written permission by http://www.theseason.org

The fifteenth chapter continues with this doctrinal letter from Paul, and now he is going to address such matters as where are the dead? How many bodies do we have? including many other subjects concerning our flesh and spiritual bodies. Paul will start out by establishing the fact of his apostleship. He was appointed by Jesus Christ. Paul will also teach as to what it means that Christ rose from the dead, and in so doing Jesus brought about the defeat of death. However in another sense, this chapter is also prophetic, for it deals with what will happen at the end of this earth age of the flesh bodies, and the entering into the Millennium age where there is no flesh.

I Corinthians 15:1 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;"

Paul is telling the Corinthians; when you hear the truth, you had better be willing to make a stand. An "apostle" is "one sent forth", that carries that gift of teaching that he or she would give to others. However, the gifted teacher will never do your thinking for you, for he will present the foundation for you to build your own thoughts upon. When you allow someone to form your thinking patterns and direct all your thought pattern, then you are entering into a cult. The cult always wants to govern all aspects of your life and thinking, and when that cult deals with evil spirits, it becomes an occult. A gifted teacher, or evangelist will teach you how to think for yourself. This is why we are not to accept any man without first checking them out in the Word of God, and thinking for ourselves.

I Corinthians 15:2 "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain."

Notice that there is a condition to this statement of Paul: "if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you" Many times our memories fade a little as time passes and we forget many things that we should have remembered. This is why we need a refreshing of things that are in God's Word to keep them at the front of our memory, to keep us from slipping back into our old ways.

I Corinthians 15:3 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,"

Paul is reminding these Corinthian Christians that everything that he taught them was from the scriptures, from the Word of God, which at this time was the Old Testament. It was written in the Old Testament, because everything concerning the life, death and resurrection of Christ was prophesied centuries prior to Jesus' birth.

The entire chapter of Psalms 22 is the record of exactly what happened when Christ was hung on the cross. We know from Isaiah 53 another record of Jesus' affliction and death.

Isaiah 53:3 "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."

Jesus took the insults and sufferings not for Himself, but He was doing it for each person that would believe on His name, and seek repentance to the Father in Jesus name. Stop and think of it for a moment; it is very difficult to be despised and suffer great grief, and yet at the same time try to give a spiritual up-lift to those that are doing the despising and rejecting of you.

Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows: ye we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."

Jesus carried our sorrows and pain that went along with those sicknesses. This could be translated spiritually also, for the world is spiritually sick. This is saying that Jesus died on the cross to carry your pain for you, if you are a believer. The requirement of believing is that you have repented to our Father in Jesus name. There is no in-between, you either believe that Jesus is the Messiah and have repented, or you have not. When we are focused on the suffering of our Lord and Savior, then when this world scorns at you, you can take it, for you understand that the suffering that our Lord Jesus Christ has gone through was for you. The reason that Christ was willing to do this is found in Hebrews 2:14.

Hebrews 2:14 "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;"

God created the devil back in the first earth age, and the devil rebelled against God. That rebellion caused judgment by God upon Satan, and the carrying out of the sentence will take place at the end of the Millennium age. When Satan fell one third of all of God's children fell also and followed Satan, and this would require the same judgment upon all of these souls. So in the death of Christ, it provided a way whereby God would not look upon the sins of His children that would accept the provision that God has made. By the repenting of their sins and using the blood of God's own perfect Son Jesus Christ as their covering, their sins would be taken from them. This is why it is necessary for our repentance to be "in Jesus Name", for in His name, we are accepting the only provision, or way that God Himself will accept for your forgiveness.

Once you have repented of your sins, you become one of Jesus' sheep and you are continually known to Him.

John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."

Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."

Jesus was pierced with that sword while he hung on the cross to pay the price for every sin that you and I would commit, and that price is accepted when we repent of our sins in Jesus name. Jesus did not take the sword for something that He had done, but for what you and I have done; for Jesus was perfect in all manner when He lived His life in the flesh. To say that He was not perfect is to blasphemy the very Spirit of God. He was without spot and without blemish."

We could go on and on with the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ from the Old Testament, and the altar call would be just as real as the preaching coming from the New Testament. This is what Paul preached; "Christ Crucified, the death, burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament", with the reality of Jesus' Life right before them in their lifetime. Jesus' death was current events to the world at that time, and the Jews were out to hinder the preaching of this gospel, just like they are today. The more the trouble the Kenites caused the more the gospel went forth. At first Paul was one of the Jews that was out to stop the preaching of Christ, and then on the road to Damascus God struck him down, and Paul's life was changed.

I Corinthians 15:4 "And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

Here again the Old Testament is the documentation for the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Hosea 6:2 "After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight."

When Christ died on the cross he went to where the souls of them that had died prior to His death and were held, and He preached the gospel to those souls. The preaching was during the time of the three days that Christ's physical body was in the tomb, and then on the third day, Jesus Christ came out of that tomb, and those souls came with Him, to be present with the Father. So is it a great mystery that Christ came out of the tomb on the third day? It shouldn't be to those that study all of God's Word, and know the prophecies that God wrote to us through His Prophets. Our Father's Word will always document the life of Christ.

During the time that Jesus Christ was here on earth, though He had all the power of the universe, the purpose of His coming in the flesh was to pay the price with His death on the cross. That was the purpose, and when it happened those prophecies of the Old Testament were all fulfilled. Jesus' shed blood on the cross paid the price for your sins and mine. It gave each of us the right to approach the throne of God in faith, and repent of our sins in Jesus name. The Name of Jesus is the only name or authority in the entire universe that will give you the credentials to ask God for the forgiveness of your sins. No one else can do it for you, and it must come from you.

God knew that each of us could not reach and stay in a state of perfection, so through the blood of Christ, we have our freedom in Christ daily. Sure after you have been saved and baptized you will fall back into some of the old ways, and it is normal for all people as long as you are in your flesh body, you will have the flesh nature. That is why daily, as we fall short of God perfection, we must seek His forgiveness in Jesus name. Then we have peace of mind from those things that have been forgiven, and the guilt will not remain with us. If the Lord and His Spirit has removed those things, then why do we allow other of Satan to throw them back into our face?

I Corinthians 15:5 "And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:"

"Cephas" was Peter. Luke 24:33 "And they rose the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,"

Luke 24:34 "And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,"

"The twelve" was the term that was given to all of Jesus' disciples, and the reason that there were only eleven present then was that Judas was killed by the Kenites, to cover up their role that they played in the crucifixion. Peter is speaking here in Acts 1.

Acts 1:16 "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus."

David wrote the words uttered by the Holy Spirit. in Psalms 69:22; "Let their table become a snare before them: And that which should have been for their welfare, let it become their trap." The thirty pieces of silver paid for the potters field, should have been for welfare, but instead it became a snare and trap for their wicked deeds. The religious leaders had to have Judas killed to keep him quiet and to have the matter covered up. Though many today have come to believe the lie of the Kenite religious leaders concerning Judas, the truth still lies in God's record for those that seek the truth.

Acts 1:17 "For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry."

Acts 1:18 "Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."

The point that is brought out here is that the common tradition that Judas went out and hung himself, by himself for this act, is not what Peter is documenting here. Peter is saying that Judas was split open by these Jews from throat to groin, and then his body was hung, and they flung his body forward to the point of all of his insides "burst asunder in the midst" [his stomach area] pouring out on the ground. This is not what the mind of a repentive soul would do, one that has just given back the restitution thirty pieces of silver. No, the Kenites; the same religious leaders that plotted to kill Jesus and followed through with their murderous act on Jesus; these were the same ones that murdered Judas to cover up their murderous act.

Matthew 27:3 "Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,"

After Judas saw what he had done, with a broken repented heart he went back and threw the thirty pieces of silver on the temple floor, and repented for the thing which he had done. This sin when repented is just as forgivable as the ones that you and I commit in our lives, and when it is repented in Jesus name, the slate is wiped clean.

Matthew 27:4 "Saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? see thou to that."

In saying "What is that to us"; The truth and the spilling of innocent blood simply didn't matter to the Kenite religious leaders, they sought to murder Jesus right from the start of Jesus' ministry, and now they were successful in their murder plot. "See thou to it", there was one loose end that now has to be tended to, and they did it by making Judas look like he hung himself, only they split Judas open first.

So even though Paul is saying "the twelve", we know that one was missing.

I Corinthians 15:6 "After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."

Paul is telling these Christians at Corinthians that there were still some of those five hundred witnesses walking the earth during the time of this writing, that were there and saw Jesus in person after the resurrection.

I Corinthians 15:7 "After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles."

I Corinthians 15:8 "And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time."

The time that Paul saw Jesus was while he was on the road to Damascus to kill and imprison Christians.

I Corinthians 15:9 "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

This is the reason that Paul considered himself an apostle born out of season. Paul was a very zealous person, and what ever Paul did he gave his entire effort. Paul felt that his religion demanded that he murder Christians. He pulled them out of the churches, men and women alike and stoned some of them right on the spot. Paul tried to stop any work of those that followed this one from Nazareth.

Acts 9:3 "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:"

Acts 9:4 "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"

God changed Saul's name from Saul to Paul after he was saved.

Acts 9:5 "And he said, "Who are Thou Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard to thee to kick against the pricks."

Acts 9:6 "And he trembling and astonished said, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." "

Ananias was the one God sent to Paul to inform him of what Jesus had for him to do.

Acts 9:15 "But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], "Go thy way: for he [Paul] is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear MY name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:"

After Paul's conversion, God used Paul to write over half of all the writings that go to make up God's sacred New Testament Scriptures. Paul appeared before kings and even caesar in Rome, and Paul went on to Great Britain to bear witness before the people of the house of Israel that were settled there.

Acts 9:16 "For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for MY name's sake."

Yes, Paul was born again, or "from above" after the time that Jesus walked on this earth, but Paul was an apostle of Christ, sent forth by Christ just as the other apostles were sent for on their ministries. Paul did not think of himself worthy to be called an apostle, but we see from the Scriptures that Paul was a chosen vessel of Christ. Paul had accomplished something in his life that reaches right to our generation, and he makes a difference on our lives every time we pick up one of his letters or epistles and read it. Paul always teaches on three levels when he teaches, and this is why it is important to know who he is speaking to and why.

I Corinthians 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

Paul is stating a fact here, that he has worked harder and traveled farther than all the other apostles, but he stated, it wasn't in myself that these things were done but by the grace of God which was within me. It was by the gift that God placed within Paul that made all of Paul's work successful. Paul was grateful that God would forgive him for the persecution that he had caused to the other members of the body of Christ.

There was a time when Paul thought he was serving God, but Jesus met him on that road to Damascus and showed Paul the light. Paul was a changed man from that day forth and he used the gifts that God gave him.

I Corinthians 15:11 "Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so we believed."

Paul is telling the Corinthians, "I am what I am, like it or not". Yes I persecuted the church, but now I am preaching the gospel of Christ. It doesn't matter who is delivering the Word, just as long as the work gets done.

I Corinthians 15:12 "Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?"

Remember that there were some Jews scattered amongst the Corinthians, and these Jews called the Sadducees taught that there was no life after death. You live this one time and that is it. Paul is now saying that if you claim to be Christians and you say there is no resurrection than you are deceiving yourself.

I Corinthians 15:13 "But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:"

In other words, you are saying; "if all of the dead are not risen, then Christ must not be risen also." This is the exact subject that Paul was addressing in I Thessalonians 4 where Paul is addressing the question, "Where are the dead?" The Thessalonian Christians were starting to lose their faith over the belief that when they died, their souls would remain in the ground. and Paul was saying that this line of thinking was as the heathen thought.

I Thessalonians 4:13 "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope."

It is from these verses that the church world today has devised their so-called "rapture theory". Let us see just how willing you are to bet your soul on that theory once you take a fresh look at what Paul really said: Because that is what you are doing when you rely on it in the last days.

After Paul told the Thessalonians to live right in the community, and search their souls for sin in their lives, they were then to repent of any sin. Paul moved next to what happens when death comes to this flesh body. This topic is important to Paul, for it is the stabilizing factor to the Christian life. It removes the fear that comes from the unknown of ones death. Paul give this information for one reason, so that we not be ignorant as the heathen are, concerning our soul after this flesh body is dead. In other words, Paul doesn't want Christians stupid.

The concern is over "them which are asleep". The concern is over the loved ones that have died and left them and their bodies have been placed in a hole in the ground. The heathen fears come from the fact that they do not know what happen to the soul after death, for they have no hope after death. Those that sleep [are dead physically] are not out there in a hole in the ground, but all Christians must believe that they arose to be with the Father, just like Christ did also. All the dead are with God; all of them. "To be absent from the [flesh] body is to be present with the Lord." Ecclesiastes 12:7

I Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

The subject again is "that ye not be ignorant as to where the dead are". If you are a Christian, you know and believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and on the third day arose and came out of the tomb alive. If you do not believe this, Paul classifies you as ignorant, and heathen [non-believers]. When Christ ascended back to the Father on the fortieth day after His resurrection, all the souls went with him into heaven that had passed on. Some of those souls went to wait for that time of judgment, while others went to the glory of God. However there are no souls that remain with their decaying flesh body in the ground, none.

I Thessalonians 4:15 "For we say unto you, by the word of our Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent in no wise [precede] them which are asleep."

Paul is addressing "we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord," as those who are still alive and living in their flesh bodies from then to the time when Jesus Comes back at the seventh and last trumpet. We will discuss this later in this chapter in I Corinthians 15: 50-55, however there is not going to be a time when any person living in their flesh body will separate from their soul prior to that seventh trumpet. This time of the coming of Jesus Christ is called "the gathering back", and it marks the end of this age of the flesh.

"Shall not prevent them", would be more accurately translated "We are not going to precede [go before] them". We simply cannot precede them for the simple reason that the souls that are of the dead are already there with God. This is the only logical fact that can come from this verse, and if you do not or cannot believe this, that the souls of those that have died are with God; then you believe in "soul sleep", just as the heathen do.

Once you understand the hope and the glory that Paul is speaking of here, then you no longer are ignorant of God's glory. Whether a soul is victorious, or sentenced to hell, all of the souls of the dead are now with the Father, and not in the ground.

I Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;"

Here again, we will get much deeper into this later in this chapter. However, Paul is stating that the Lord is going to descend at the seventh trump [the last trump], and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Why? Because they are already there. There is no way that any "living" can go first, because the soul of the living person is still here on earth in their flesh body. The soul doesn't depart until that silver thread of life has parted from their flesh body, meaning that they have died. The details of how this shall come to pass is what the book of Revelation is all about, and that is why Revelation is important to us living today.

So just prior to Christ's return, all of the events surrounding the times just prior to His return are written in the prophecies in the Old Testament and in the Revelation. Jesus gave us another report of these seven seals, in the gospels of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, and as we are witnessing these events right before our eyes today as current events, we know it is even at our doorstep.

If you have images of massive numbers of people flying away, traffic jams, and all sorts of weird things happening forget it, for Paul will make the truth clear to you before we end this fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians..

I Thessalonians 4:17 "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Paul clarifies "clouds" in another book when he compares our Christian life to the running of a race, and in that race the runners are clustered together like a cloud. It meant that at the beginning of the race they are in a massive group running together, when they go to where they are going. So if in this massive group, where will they meet the Lord at the seventh trump? So the place or condition that we will be in, will be in the "air" or as the Greek text puts it, "breath of life body" [your soul body] and not in our flesh body. Friend, you will be in another form, other than what you are in today, and this will also be discussed later in the fifty first verse.

So back to I Corinthians where Paul is addressing the fact that some of the Christians in Corinth just don't believe that Christ arose from the dead, nor that there is life after death. We saw that Paul called them, the "ignorant, or Heathen".

I Corinthians 15:14 "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."

Paul is saying that if Christ is not risen then we are all wasting our time studying the Word of God. It is taught by some weak minded souls, that the disciples stole the body of Christ from the tomb, that Christ was really drugged while he was on the cross. This is directed to these weak minded folks that would believe such trot.

Jesus Christ came, born "Emmanuel", born in a manger as the king of Israel. In His first coming he came as a servant and as the Savior, however the next time He comes it will be as "The King of kings and the Lord of Lords". Friend, if you don't believe that Christ rose from the dead, then you are wasting your time being a Christian.

I Corinthians 15:15 "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 that the dead rise not."

If the dead have not already been raised in Christ, then that would make us all a bunch of liars. This was the exact position that Paul was in before he was struck down on the road to Damascus. Paul was a zealot for the Sanhedrin Jewish leaders to track down Christians for preaching that Christ was raised up from the dead. Then when Paul saw the almighty power of Christ, he knew that Jesus was raised from the dead, for there He was in person.

I Corinthians 15:16 "For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:"

You had better watch out when you follow someone that teaches soul sleep. It is from soul sleep that the rapture doctrine comes from, and you place your soul in danger. At death instantly the soul returns to the Father that gave it, and to believe other wise is to be ignorant and heathen [non-believer].

I Corinthians 15:17 "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins."

If Christ is not raised from the dead, then your sins have not been paid for, and your soul is still in danger of hell fire. What this is saying then, is that Christ is not the Son of God, He was not able to conquer death, and everything that they Bible says is a big lie. You know that this is not true, for Jesus Christ did come out of that tomb, and on the fortieth day He ascended into heaven where He is at the right hand of the Father, for intercession on our behalf.

You may not see Him personally, but you can feel the touch of the Holy Spirit of Christ, and you know that His Word is true. You can feel His presence in your heart and mind.

I Corinthians 15:18 "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."

This would make John 3:16 a lie if Jesus did not come out of the tomb.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting [eternal] life."

This means that when you come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that there would never be a break from when your soul was first created in the first earth age, through this of the flesh and right on into eternity. There will never be a time when your soul will perish or be destroyed or lay sleeping in a grave. To perish means total destruction where all records and knowledge or your existence will be no more, not even in the minds of your family members, or God Himself. This is what Satan and those of Satan want you to think happens to the soul temporarily after the flesh body is dead. However that other [spiritual] dimension of the soul and spirit will not take place until after our soul has departed from this flesh body.

I Corinthians 15:19 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

If all we have are the things of this flesh body and the life that surrounds it, then what a miserable outlook on life it would leave us. However, there is hope and our hope is for the life after this life in the flesh. If we had just one glimpse of what life in the spirit is like, there would be nothing satisfying in this flesh life. This flesh body is doomed from the day we were born, and it gets sick and faces many sufferings whereby the spiritual body will not. However as long as you are in this flesh body, and the Spirit of Christ within us, we will continue to survive and find peace of mind no matter what the conditions are around us.

I Corinthians 15:20 "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept."

You can count on it, Christ has risen from the dead, and there is no such thing as salvation by grace until the First fruits of the dead came forth. Jesus Christ paid the price and defeated death when He came out of that tomb on the third day. Those that were in the prison, which is that part of paradise for those that did not overcome, then had the opportunity to receive salvation.

According to the Old Testament law, there were only three that even had the slightest chance of overcoming, for they are the ones that did not see death, but were taken by God before they passed. These were Enoch that was taken, Elijah who went up in the whirlwind, and Moses whose body God took. However all the others fell short and were preached to when Christ went to the grave. Christ became the First fruits, and the others followed.

I Peter 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

When Christ's flesh body was put to death, then through His Spirit our soul can be quickened or made alive to eternal life. This price had to be paid only once, and Jesus Christ was the only perfect man in the flesh that could pay the price; "the Just for the unjust".

I Peter 3:19 "By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison,"

Again this prison for the spirits is where the souls of them that died prior to Christ death on the cross went until the time of the crucifixion.

I Peter 3:20 "Which sometimes were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

Christ went all the way back to Noah or the beginning to preach to all the souls that had lived in the flesh and died and He offered them the same salvation that you and I have today.

I Corinthians 15:21 "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."

Death came when Satan interfered with the perfect plan of God, and man fell to sin. God told Adam that if you partake of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that was Satan, you shall die. Adam sinned and went against God's commandments to him.

I Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

When we look up in the Strong's numbered concordance and Greek dictionary, we see that this is the only place in the whole Bible that this Greek word "alive" is used in this form. It is # 2227 in Strong Greek dictionary. "zoopoieo, dzo-op-oy-eh'-o; to vitalize, to make alive, to give life." This does not mean to be given eternal life, but it does mean that Christ revives all. Remember in Luke 16 in the parable where the rich man was lying in torment and asked that God would send Lazarus, the poor man, to warn his brothers of the judgment. Was he soul sleeping? Of course not, he could see Abraham and he could see Lazarus being taken to the bosom of Abraham, and he knew exactly what was going on. Why? Because he was there across the gulf that separated him from Abraham and God.

All souls are made alive for some are going to eternal rewards, while others are going to paradise also to be held for the day that they will be sentenced, tested, to perish. If soul sleep was true then that rich man that wanted the favor from Lazarus would not have been going through such torment while in the place of holding after his death. He could see the throne across the gulf and he knew that he missed it all, and there was nothing that he could do about it. He could see those that overcame, and the rich man knew that he had failed.

Christ makes all alive, though not eternally for the sinners that have not repented, but alive until the the time of judgment. This documents that there is no such thing as soul sleep.

I Corinthians 15:23 "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming."

This may be a bit confusing, but this is referring to God's elect and the coming of Jesus Christ, and it will be discussed later in this chapter.

I Corinthians 15:24 "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."

At the very end of the Millennium age, the Son will deliver His Kingdom up to the Father. At the time of the Judgment God will put an end to all the rule and all power and authority that Satan will have on this world, or anywhere. That is when God will send Satan and all his realm and all evil and those that chose to follow him into the lake of fire.

I Corinthians 15:25 "For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet."

Jesus Christ must reign until all of His enemies, which includes Satan, the fallen angels and all the souls of them that chose to follow him will be destroyed. This comes after the time of judgment and the Millennium thousand year reign of Christ kingdom on earth. This is why the full Godhead will not be on the earth until after the Great white throne judgment and hell has turned Satan and his realm to ashes. There are two death as we read of in Revelation 20.

Revelation 20:11 "And I saw a great white throne, and Him That sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."

This is John writing and speaking as Jesus is showing him what is going to happen in the future. John is viewing the time at the great white throne judgment, and the events after the age of the flesh is over, and after Jesus has returned and His thousand year Millennium is over and finished.

Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

There are several things to notice here; first that the dead that are judged at this time are those whose souls that have not received Jesus Christ and under the shed blood of Christ. They are spiritually dead.

There are two sets of books kept, one is the "book of life" where only your name is written, and that is because all sins have been forgiven and are blotted out, and the only thing remaining is your name.

The second set of books kept by God are for the spiritually dead, and all their works are recorded and will documented and they will be used here on judgment day. The dead will be judged out of the books by their works and their refusal to accept the shed blood of Christ as the sacrifice for their sins.

Revelation 20:13 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

The sea that gives up the dead, is from the earth age of the Millennium, and those places where God holds the fallen angels and those not allowed into the Millennium age, will be delivered up to stand accountable at this time. This verse is directed only to the souls that are spiritually dead. Every souls will stand accountable for all of their works.

Revelation 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

There is only one thing that will allow a soul to survive this judgment and that is the blood of Christ, and your name recorded in the "book of life". All other spiritually dead souls will be ushered into the lake of fire, right along with Satan, and all his demonic realm, and that includes that sweet old lady that was to good for the blood of Christ. It includes the minister that had devised another way to salvation, and it includes you if you follow them in their ways.

Revelation 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

It is pretty cut and dry, with no loop-holes. You are either part of the eternal kingdom or you are not, there is no way out or through except for the saving blood of Jesus Christ. Your name is either written in the book of life, or it is not. Satan is going to be destroyed at this time, and all those that chose to follow him.

I Corinthians 15:26 "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

This last enemy that shall be destroyed is "death", which is one of Satan's names, and that will be the second death. It is the death of all evil, and it is a spiritual death. Friend, not even Satan is destroyed until after the great white throne judgment. The first death is the death of your flesh body, while the second death is the death of your very soul itself. It will be blotted out as though it had never existed, not even in the minds of your mother and loved ones. This is the most tragic thing that can happen to a child of God.

I Corinthians 15:27 "For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith "all things are put under Him" it is manifest that He is excepted, Which did put all things under Him.."

Then, when the great white throne judgment is over and finish, and Satan and all sinners are turned to ashes, then the entire Godhead will come to this earth and dwell with us. Then the eternal kingdom will be in existence as it is written in Revelation 21.

Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

This old "terra firma" will be completely made over, the old earth as we know it today will not exist, and in it's place will be this new holy city, and a new earth completely made over to our complete satisfaction.

Revelation 21:2 "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

God allowed John to have this vision and see far into the future of his time so that you and I would have a picture of what we have to look forward to as part of the bride of Christ. Jesus Christ would adorn this new city for His first love, his bride, and that is you and I and all that go to make up His church.

Revelation 21:3 "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."

The Greek text reads, "the throne" instead of "of heaven", and that means that it is our Heavenly Father that is doing the talking. I don't believe that it is possible to imagine the splendor of this new Jerusalem with our human flesh minds. Did you get that, this earth is where the new heaven and the new earth will be located for the third eternal earth age which has no end, ever. Not off on some distant planet, but right here on a rejuvenated earth.

I Corinthians 15:28 "And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him That put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."

This sums up what our life is all about, for when that new eternal kingdom has come, our Heavenly Father will have put all evil, Satan and all the realm that supported and followed him to ashes, then you will either be part of the Father kingdom, or you will not exist in any form, not even in a memory.

Friend, in Christ all are made alive in their souls, but that is only until the time of the second death, after the great white throne judgment. The grave has no victory. Jesus Christ is the first fruit, and He has defeated death, and this shall come to pass at the end of the Millennium age. What a wonderful place this world is going to be.

I Corinthians 15:29 "Else what shall they do which are baptised for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"

Many people take this way out of context and they believe that you can actually baptize a living soul, to take the place of one that has passed on. They believe that one can proxy a baptism for a dead person. Where all Paul is saying here is; If you don't believe that Christ was resurrected, then why would you be baptized in Christ's name if He couldn't defeat death Himself? Who wants to be baptized in the name of any dead man? Even the thought of such a thing seems silly when you think logically about it.

But Christ has the victory over death, and there is no sting to a one that is under the blood of Christ.

I Corinthians 15:30 "And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?"

Paul is saying that he faces death daily for the sake of the name of Christ, of course I believe that Christ did rise from the dead. If Paul didn't believe in the resurrection, there would be no way that he would go through such trouble.

I Corinthians 15:31 "I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily."

This is really a messed up job of translating. What Paul is saying; is that the joy that I see in you and in your conversion, though I face death daily, it is worth it. Paul gave his entire life for the sake of seeing those dear souls come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sometimes people say some harsh things about you when you plant a seed of truth, or speak your mind when something needs to be said. Remember that sometimes one of your seeds will germinate and from it will come a new mature Christian, who will love the Lord all because of what you said or did. It becomes worth it all when a soul who is lost come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:32 "If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die."

Paul in his expression is quoting from Isaiah 22:13; "And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: "let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die."

This was at a time when men did fight beasts in the arena, and they fought for their very lives. Paul is saying that if He didn't believe that Christ was raised from the dead, his life would have little more importance that the sweet victory that came from one of these fights. It would be a time of eating, drinking and making merry for when you died that would be it. But he says that that is not the case.

Christ did die and He is resurrected, and there is a purpose for facing death in preaching the gospel. It is worth it all.

I Corinthians 15:33 "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."

To make this in modern day terms, Paul is saying that if you keep bad company, you are going to turn out just like they do. It is a matter of your character that is at stake here, for if you run with the wrong crowd, it has to take a toll on your character. In the computer generation, we say, "garbage in, garbage out". What goes into your mind effects what comes out of your mouth.

Just like we are not to keep bad company, we are not to be afraid to walk amongst sinners and evil places to reach the lost, for that is exactly what our Lord did to reach the lost.

I Corinthians 15:34 "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame."

This is to say, get a little common sense about yourself and think before you act. There are many that do not have the knowledge of God concerning the resurrection of Christ. They do not know things concerning life after death, and concerning what happens to a soul after the physical body dies. The knowledge of God contained in His Word gives us all that information. Than if you don't have it, it is really a shame for you stumble into all sorts of false doctrine, and teachers that lead you in dead end spiritual roads.

I Corinthians 15:35 "But some man will say, "How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?"

Paul is now going to tell us what happens and we bury them in the ground. Pay attention so that you will understand and there will be no confusion. So if you believe in the resurrection, than how does it happen? Where does it take place, and with what body does the dead rise?

We are talking about the physical body and it's change. In other words, what happens to the flesh after death, and the soul after it has departed from the body?

I Corinthians 15:36 "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:"

It is important to understand the word "quickened", Remember in verse 22 Paul stated; "in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." This Greek word for "quickened" is the same Greek word for the "coming alive". It means that all, sinners and saints are made alive through Christ. It doesn't mean that the soul is raised to eternal life, for the soul is not the subject here, but the question is what happens to the physical body?

It means to "revitalize" [# 2227 in Strong's] the soul, and become conscience and ready for judgment. This doesn't mean that all souls are saved, but that all souls are given life to continue as they were. If that soul was lost, it will still be lost, but the final death will not take place until after this age of the flesh is over, after the Millennium age, and the Great white throne judgment is finish. Then will be the time of the "second death" or the death of the lost souls. It means that the soul has put off the flesh body, and put on their spiritual body, but their soul is still condemned to death if it is not in right standing with God.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

By placing the Word of God in your mind, it becomes the standard for all of your thought, and it directs the intents of your mind, which is you heart. Christ is the Living Word, and He can discern the intent of your mind, you can't fool Him. Within man's soul is his spirit, and the spirit is the intellect part of His thought process.

You have to be able to separate those things to understand the resurrection. Paul is now going to explain our flesh body to us, not the soul, the spirit, or our thought process, but our flesh and blood body.

I Corinthians 15:37 "And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:"

Paul is comparing our flesh body with other living things, such as a grain of wheat. When the seed is separated from its parent plant it is as naked as a new born baby. This is the body of the wheat, and this is not the grain that you see coming for in new plants next year. This seed of wheat that you set aside for the next years crop is what must die before it can raise up again in a new form. That body of wheat is gone, and that is what happens to our flesh. It must die before the new beautiful spiritual body can come forth.

The flesh body must die and be buried in the ground, for no where is it recorded that a flesh body will resurrect from the dead. Christ's body did rise again, for it paid the price for our sins for one and all times. However, when Christ's body came out of the tomb, it had to be transfigured or flesh man simply could not see Him.

The body of the wheat or of flesh that dies and is planted in the ground is not the same body that springs forth into new life. It is the Spiritual body that ascends to be with the Father, not the flesh. Again the subject is the physical body.

When you plant any seed, flowers, corn, or wheat, there is an embryo deep inside of the body of that plant. As the body of the parent plant decays, it feeds this little embryo that is deep within that seed or kernel of corn. Then when the water, and temperature, and soil are just right, then that embryo springs forth into new life, and a new plant is formed. That is exactly as it is with our flesh body, the old flesh body must die before the new life of our new spiritual of soul body can come forth. The time that it takes for the new spiritual life to come from the death of the old flesh body is instant.

The instant that the flesh body dies, the soul and spirit body is present with the Lord that gave it in the first place. The flesh decays back into the elements of the earth that it is made of, and your soul returns to the Father. Paul could not have made it more simpler than the using of a grain of wheat in comparison to our flesh bodies. Just as all of nature functions, so it is with man.

I Corinthians 15:38 "But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body."

The body that you have was given to you because it pleased God. We are talking about physical bodies now, and not the souls. Your body was given to your soul for the sake of pleasing God with it, and that is the only purpose that your soul exists in your physical body. Though the flesh body may miss a limb or part, the spiritual body within is still whole and complete. In all of nature, all seeds within them have their embryos for the sake of continuing life after they are gone.

Why did God create the different races on the sixth day, and Adam on the eighth day? To give Him pleasure with the different seed. There is nothing to be ashamed in race for it pleased God to create you as your are. If it pleased God, it had better please you and make you proud of your race.

I Corinthians 15:39 "All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds."

Remember that we are still talking about flesh body, and not the soul. The fact that each of these types of creatures are not all created alike. The dog, or cat, or robin, or fish all look different in their body structure, because their physical bodies were all created differently. They don't look alike, nor act alike yet in their own ways each of them have their own beauty. When the dog has her pups, you know that a fish or a cat will not come from that dog, for she will give birth to a dog. Plain and simple as it is for it is given by God according to His plan.

Genesis 1:24 "And God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind cattle, and creeping things, and the beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so."

Genesis 1:25 "And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw it was good."

God didn't want the snakes to breed kitties, nor the sheep to breed cows. He doesn't want man to cross with an animal, but each flesh which man is, to bring forth its own kind. God has a plan and you and I are part of that plan. That kernel of corn, the fish and you in your flesh body are all part of that plan of God. Each soul that God has created must enter into the embryo of it's flesh mother and be born. It must go through this flesh age only once, and then give up its flesh body. It is from the death of this flesh body that the soul then returns to the Father to be judged for its actions while in your flesh body, and while in the flesh, innocent of the first earth age, but each soul has the right to chose God or Satan.

The conflict started back in the first earth age at the rebellion of Satan, when one third of all souls or children of God rebelled with Satan. Now in this age, God has provided a way that all souls could be brought back to him and that way is through your fresh start in your flesh body by choosing Christ or Satan. God created your soul for His pleasure, and your flesh body houses that soul during this part of God's plan. When your flesh body dies, then it is time for the soul to move back to the Father from where it came, from when He placed your soul into the embryo of your mother at conception.

There are many different thoughts on this matter only remember that Satan likes to twist the truth, and make God's reality a lie. It is important what you believe, for that is what saves or condemns your soul. When your flesh body dies, then your soul returns to our Heavenly Father to give account for all those things that you have said and done while in your flesh body.

All souls when they return to the Father will at first rejoice, then some will have their countenance fall as they are sent to the other side of the gulf. The question here and now is, why would you even listen to any minister that would teach "soul sleep" which condemns a man to hell. Hell simply will not exist until after the Millennium age and the Great white throne judgment, and each soul has been judged? If they would be so careless with God's Word on these matters, what kind of God is this man teaching you? Our God is fair, and He would not burn someone in hell before they are even judged. Our God is a loving God and He desire that no one be destroyed until after they have been instructed and given a choice to chose for themselves. Because of what is being taught today and during the time of the great deception, there will be a Millennium age. If you are sent to hell it is of your own choice. Thank God it is God that does the judging and not some one verse super preacher of today.

Those people that teach that the dead body is going to rise up out of the grave simply don't know what they are talking about. Flesh causes you to sin, and when we are done with this flesh body, it is done away with. Why would you want any part of that old decaying body. The flesh body dies to give your spiritual body new life and a new body that will not age and get sick.

I Corinthians 15:40 "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another."

We are still taking about bodies, and not souls. "celestial bodies" are heavenly bodies, while "terrestrial bodies" are earthly bodies. Paul is telling you that within what you call "self", you have two bodies, and earthly body that will die off and return to the elements that it is made of, and a heavenly body or soul that at the death of the earthly body returns to the heavenly realm or dimension that it came from. Each of the bodies have their own glory or dignity and honor.

I Corinthians 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory."

This is as it is, and it is for this reason that God calls His children "stars". God asked Job to give Him answer to this question in Job 38. Job 38:7; "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Each of the stars are different and so are each of the children that God created. Every one of them has a different body. Yet every last one of them was created for God's pleasure.

Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

I Corinthians 15:42 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:"

This is what happens to the dead body, for this body is doomed to corruption of decay from the day each of us are born, to the day we die. That is the ageing process, and no matter how you try to extend your life, it will not be for more than a few years. When this flesh body is finished, the soul that is within it is raised in incorruption. We are talking about flesh bodies, and what happen to them.

We will be getting deeper into the difference between these two bodies, the corruptible body which ages, and is made of the dust and elements of the earth; and the incorruptible body which shall never age and get old. It will look the same through a thousand years as the day that it was created. It never gets sick, and has complete knowledge and recall. The difference between the two of these bodies is one is of flesh, while the other is spiritual and of a different realm.

Our flesh bodies are corruptible, and it is the greatest pollutant on the face of this earth. It is for the satisfaction of the needs of the flesh that all pollution is caused, whether in the air, in the waters, or across our land, all pollution is for the satisfying of these flesh bodies that are corrupting or decaying and need attention to be repaired. Flesh is corruptible. However when the corruptible body is planted in the earth, a new body comes for that does not desire nor need then things of the flesh to satisfy its needs. This new body is our incorruptible soul body.

I Corinthians 15:43 "It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:"

In the flesh body we fall short all of the time, whereas when our soul body is raised we have God's power within us. In that new body we will have that body that is not weak nor will it get sick and age. And when we are raised it is like being turned lose into a freedom that these fleshly minds can never understand. We are never to shorten the time in this flesh body that God has given us for we have a duty and mission here in the flesh, but on that day when it is all over, we will have that glory and power God has placed in our new incorruptible body.

In Adam we all die in the flesh, but in Christ we are raised incorruptible. Even sinners are replenished and brought back to their incorruptible state, some to be held for judgment and their trial and some for eternal rewards. Your flesh body is not what is judged, but your soul that is within that flesh body is returned to the Lord to for its rewards.

I Corinthians 15:44 "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."

There is a natural body, which is your flesh body, and there is also a spiritual or soul body. The two are different and when the natural body, or flesh body dies the spiritual body is "raised", or in the Greek text "egiro, awakened, become active from its death". You have two bodies, one natural body contains your spiritual body, and that spiritual body is awakened to a new life, when the flesh or natural body dies and releases your soul. Your spirit and your soul are together, for the spirit is your "self", "the intellect of your soul" which houses your spirit within you.

Your spirit never leaves your soul, even at the death of your flesh body. Satan does not have any power over your spiritual body, but only your flesh body. Man and Satan can tare this flesh body to peaces and cause you to do all sorts of things, but no-one can damage your soul, not man, not Satan nor the angels. God is the only one that can destroy the soul and that comes at the end of the Millennium age, following judgment. However through deception Satan can cause you to sin against God, and thus be in trouble before the Almighty God. But that is why we have repentance in the name of Jesus to become right-standing before the Father again.

It just can't be made any clearer than Paul has made it here. You have two bodies, the flesh and the spiritual bodies. When the flesh body dies, then the spiritual body is awakened and come alive within itself. It starts to live a life without the baggage of the flesh body confining it to the limits of the flesh.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then [at death] shall the dust [flesh body] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit [spiritual body] shall return [instantly] to God [Father] Who gave it."

Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."

This is written by Solomon to the flesh man that walks under the sun, and when the life of the flesh is over, it has no more knowledge or thought than a stick or rock. It is useless, but the soul that is within it is gone and with the Father.

I Corinthians 15:45 "And so it is written, "The first man Adam was made a living soul;" the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."

The word "Adam" means "ruddy complected", where blood is shown in the face. When God created Adam from the dust of the earth, he placed a living soul with his body. The last Adam was brought about through the generations of births through the natural process, and we read in Luke 3:23-38 the blood line or lineage of Jesus all the way back to Adam the first created. It is through the last Adam, or Jesus Christ that "quickening" or "life giving" spirit enters into man's souls.

I Corinthians 15:46 "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural: and afterward that which is spiritual."

Paul is asking, Why was it all this way? Why is it required that before one can have spiritual eternal life, that there must be a flesh body or natural life first? Why do we have to be born in the flesh first before we can be born of the spirit?

I Corinthians 15:47 "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."

Remember what God said to the angels in Genesis 1:26; "And God said, "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air..."

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."

In other words, Let us make ourselves in our own image on earth. So each soul must pass through that natural or flesh body made of the dust of the earth, and God Himself would also pass through this flesh age just as each soul was required to do. So God Himself through His creation, brought about the conception of Jesus Christ, and He gave instructions that Jesus name should be called "Immanuel", which means "God with us".

So we see that each soul was to pass through this earth age of the flesh, in a flesh body, and God Himself came through that same natural form also.

John 1:14 "And the Word [Jesus Christ, Immanuel] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

Jesus Christ came to pay the price that none of His created souls could do in the flesh. Jesus was perfect in His flesh life, and He set the path for us to follow.

I Corinthians 15:48 "As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly."

When you build your life around the things of the flesh and live only for the pleasures of life, then that is when your flesh nature controls your being. However when you are living in the Spirit, then the inner man forces the flesh or your natural man to get itself under control. It is a matter of which part of you controls your being, the one that is in tune with God, or your selfish nature.

I Corinthians 15:49 "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."

Every soul that has ever existed will pass through the life of the flesh or natural body, However, there are many souls that refuse to be born of woman through the birthing process, and they are called the "Nethilim", or "fallen angels". In Genesis 6:6, they are called the "sons of God", and they are the same angels Jude wrote about in Jude 6.

Jude 6 "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

They came to earth and took the daughters of flesh man to wed, without being born from an embryo and taking on human form. So Paul is telling us that everyone is going to be raised into that spiritual body for judgment day. Judgment day for the unjust is at the end of the Millennium age. All souls shall rise into the heavenly spiritual body, but the flesh body has nothing to do with the condition of the soul of that body. We are not talking about souls but we are talking about bodies.

I Corinthians 15:50 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."

Paul is saying that you can count on this for a fact. Flesh and blood cannot be part of the Kingdom of God. Your flesh body is going to drive you to sin and that is its nature. When you are under the nature of your flesh body, it will not allow your inner man to control you. There is no way that flesh and blood can become part of the kingdom of God. As long as you are in your flesh body, you simply cannot keep from breaking part of the laws of God. Your mind is incapable of retaining all the law, and applying it to every moment of your life. This is why we have repentance, and it is also why flesh and blood will not be here when Jesus Christ's kingdom is established here on earth for the Millennium kingdom.

I Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,"

Paul is now going to show us a mystery that deals with our generation, for a mystery is something that cannot be understood. However, when the details and clues of the mystery are know, then it is no longer a mystery. This mystery deals with a time when something is going to happen all over the earth to all flesh bodies, when these flesh bodies are not die anymore. Why will this be? Because all people living in their flesh bodies will be changed instantly from their flesh bodies, into their new incorruptible bodies. We have already established that each of us have two bodies, one is of the flesh, and the other body is a spiritual body that is within our flesh body. The spiritual body is not made alive or freed from the flesh body until the flesh body is done away with.

I Corinthians 15:52 "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."

The time that it will take to change all the physical or natural bodies on this earth into their spiritual bodies will be faster than you can wink your eye. It is instant. Paul is telling us that this change will come "at the last trump", and that is when there are no more trumps. He identifies that trumpet as the seventh trumpet, and we know that this is the very moment when Jesus Christ comes back to earth to establish His Millennium kingdom, right here on earth. We are talking about God's trumpets here and on the sixth trumpet Satan comes to earth to deceive the whole world.

If you are waiting for a rapture, then you are going to be raptured by someone other than Jesus Christ for He is coming to earth to set up His kingdom here. The seventh trump is the exact time when the change takes place, and at no other place.

Remember the "dead" are the "spiritually dead" in Christ. "Raised" again means to "become awakened", to become active from another existence. The soul will shed its flesh and blood body to take on the new spiritual body, which is the incorruptible body. You may be spiritually dead, but you will also take on your new incorruptible body, which you will live in for the Millennium age kingdom of Christ.

Everyone is going to enter into the only dimension whereby any soul can be judged. This change from the flesh body into your new spiritual or incorruptible has nothing to do with the condition of your soul. If you were lost before, you still will be lost, and if you have received Jesus Christ and are under His shed blood, you will be in that same spiritual condition. What is happening is at the sounding of the seventh which is the last trumpet all flesh will be done away with, and all souls will now exist in their spiritual bodies.

This bring out another point to consider, for if you are changed, the instant of the sounding of the seventh trumpet into your spiritual body, then whoever you see at the sounding of the sixth trumpet, when Satan arrives is a fake. If someone claims to be Jesus Christ, and you are still in your flesh body, than that supernatural person is an impostor, a fake, a liar, an Antichrist. That can't be to hard to understand. If your kids are younger than you, or grandma is still in the nursing home, than that man is a fake.

This is what we covered above concerning I Thessalonians 4:13-17. This is why Paul does not want us ignorant concerning the dead. Death is not the end but the beginning of the new life, and Paul does not want Christians especially to be ignorant as to were the dead are. Lets review it again.

I Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."

Believing that Jesus died and rose again is required of all Christians. At the seventh trump God is not going to raise soul rotting in the ground, but they are already there with Him, and at Jesus coming these souls of dead loved ones will return with Christ to the earth. There is not meeting half way as the rapture theory teaches, but at their arrival you who are alive at that time will be changed to the same spiritual bodies that they have.

If you have your faith all wrapped up in a rapture doctrine you are walking on very dangerous ground, for you are waiting in the flesh body for something that you will not see in the flesh body. Sure Satan will be supernatural when he comes, and he will present himself exactly as your rapture doctrine expects him to come. The rapture dogma was developed in 1830 by Margaret MacDonald in Scotland when she was in a sick and mentally ill condition.

The Scottish minister Edward Irving, took this evil vision, and formed it into what is known today as "the Rapture doctrine", and through Robert Norton's book, "The restoration of Apostles and prophets; in the Catholic Apostolic church", the view became popular. The exposing of the origins of the rapture theory is completely revealed in Dave MacPherson's book; "The Incredible Cover-up". No part of the Catholic church has ever accepted this tradition as truth, yet certain protestant churches have accepted Margaret's evil vision as truth.

Margaret MacDonald had these visions, and she later stated that it was evil, but these preachers picked up on every word of her evil vision, and down through the years that "evil lie" has been honed or perfected, and polished into a tradition that much of the church world now believes in.

I Thessalonians 4:15 "For this we say by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the time of the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep."

Like was stated before, in the Greek it states that there is no one that is alive at the Lord's coming that will precede them that are already with Him. If each soul goes back to the Father at death, then there is no way that those souls are still in the ground to be here when Jesus returns. Why? They are already there with Him.

I Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"

This seventh trumpet is the trumpet of God and the other trumpets are the soundings angels of God, sounding out the event of the six trumpets dealing with deceptions by Satan. The trumpet is announcing that something is about to happen before that event comes into operation. The seventh trumpet announces that God has had enough of this age of the flesh, and the new kingdom is about to begin. The dead in Christ shall rise first for they are already with Him. Their soul went immediately to be with the Father when they breathed their last breathe of life in their flesh body. That can't be that hard to understand.

In verse fifty Paul said "I want to show you a mystery", and here Paul is saying, "I don't want you to be ignorant"; are you?

I Thessalonians 4:17 "Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

In Hebrews 12:1; "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

This is the same Greek usage of the word "cloud" that he spoke in I Thessalonians 4:17. The clouds that Paul is speaking of is that we are going to gather in one large family. Joel talked of a cloud of locust, only here we are talking about a cloud of Christians. The "air" as given here is not "pneuma" or sky, but from "aemi" in the Greek, # 109 in the Strong's, and it means the "breath of life" or your "spiritual body".

This is exactly what is said in I Corinthians 15:51, for we are all going to change in an instant into our "breath of life", or "spiritual bodies", to meet the Lord at His arrival at the seventh and last trumpet. Each of us that lives in the flesh bodies at the time of the "day of the Lord", at the seventh trumpet are going to greet the coming of Jesus in our spiritual bodies. Don't get carried away with the fairy-tales of the church world today, or you will have sealed your fate with "the mark of the beast". When some preacher tells you that you do not have to study Revelation or some other part of God's Word, they are trying to seal your mind into taking the mark of the beast. There is a "sealing" time coming and it is going on right now. We are living in the final generation which started with the Jews reestablished their homeland.

Revelation 9:4 "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."

This is the instructions that God is giving to Satan and his fallen angels when they are coming to this earth. Your "mind" is in your forehead, and "to be sealed" is what you put in your mind that prepares you for what is coming. If you think in your mind that the rapture is true, than you have taken a lie, or "seal" of Satan the beast, and sealed your mind with his mark. However if you have the plan of the entire Word of God in your mind then you know that you will never see Jesus Christ in the flesh, but the one claiming to be Christ is the fake Satan, in the role of Antichrist. You need the entire Word of God to protect you, for in it are all the events that allow you to keep yourself from being deceived by the many false winds of doctrine that are going around today.

We will live the entire Millennium age of Christ's kingdom right here on earth in our spiritual body. Jesus is coming back to earth to stay at the seventh trumpet, and He is not leaving. If you are saved under the blood of Christ, you will never leave or be separated again from Him, ever. Those that don't make it will be turned to ashes after the Judgment.

I Corinthians 15:53 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

Through this entire chapter Paul has brought to our attention that we have two bodies within each of us. We have our physical body, which is made up of flesh and blood, and we have our spiritual body which is called our soul. The flesh body will die at some point in time and the spiritual body or soul body that houses or spirit will live on after death. "Mortal must put on immortality" applies only to the soul, for all flesh will be gone at death, or at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. So immortality applies only to the soul body, and even in the incorruptible body the sting of death of that soul is still on it if that soul has not received eternal life. Immortality for the soul in the Millennium age is only one those souls that have eternal live, and did not worship Satan, and take on his name, and the number of the beast.

So the flesh body must be put aside before we put on our incorruptible body that will not age through the entire Millennium age. The Word "Mortal" again means "liable to die". The object of this verse is the body, and the corruptible flesh body must be changed into the body that doesn't grow old. All through this fifteenth chapter we have documented that Christ is a live, and that he lives, and it is for that reason that we are Christians. It would be senseless to be Christians if Christ did not come out of the tomb.

"This mortal must put on immortality," again means that the soul that is mortality must also put on immortality. Christ taught in Matthew 10:25-28.

Matthew 10:25 "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of the household?"

It is sufficient that the pupil become like his teacher. Our purpose is to keep on studying to where you can have people rely on what you say. When Christ walked the earth, if they called Him Beelzebub [Satan, or lord of the flies], know also that they will also say that you are of Satan. Jesus is telling us to not worry about it, we will have the victory.

Matthew 10:26 "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.".

God has already revealed everything that you will face in His Word, and there will be nothing that you will go through that should be a surprise to you. You can expect what is prophesied to come your way, as well as the protection that will be given you by God. The thing that is important is that you are obedient to God's Word, and His Son, and keep committed to serve Him.

Matthew 10:27 "What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops."

Those things that are revealed to you by your studies, and in the night are the things that you tell others about. Jesus is telling His disciples that those thing that they here Him teaching about, those are the things to tell others about. The "Preaching from the housetops", means "to spread the Word."

Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him Which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Man can kill your body but no man, not even Satan can kill your soul. To "destroy" is to cause you "to perish" or "cease to exist". It is only God that can judge your soul to hell fire and that comes after the judgment day. "Mortal" means "liable to die", and whether your soul dies or not is left up to God's judgment.

I Corinthians 15:54 "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in Victory." "

So your soul must put off the physical body, and this soul but be changed from a state of possible destruction by sin, and put on immortality through the shed blood of Christ before this saying can be true. "Death is swallowed up in Victory", when your sins are blotted out and made as they had never been committed. Then we have eternal life in Jesus Christ. There is still death until after the Millennium age.

I Corinthians 15:55 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

Because Jesus paid the price the grave has no victory, it may in our hearts of our loved ones, but in time that will be all over and done. It is so comforting to know that our loved ones are there with Him. At the end of the Millennium age, then all sting of death will be removed. Even the thought of those that did not make it will be removed from our minds.

I Corinthians 15:56 "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."

It is through the law that sin is given power, and people seem to enjoy breaking the law. "Strength" as given in the Greek text is "dunamis", "a power or abundance", and the power that sin has is pointed out to us through the law of God. The "law" is the school master that teaches us God's ways, and when we fall short of the law, the sting of death is placed upon us.

I Corinthians 15:57 "But thanks be to God Which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jesus Christ is the only way; He is the door to salvation. He arose from the dead to defeat that sting of death brought on by our sins, and it is through His blood that we are saved.

I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Christians are suppose to make a stand for what they know is right and make a difference in this world. We are committed to the work of the Lord where ever we may be, and we are responsible for the gifts that God has given to us. We are to plant seeds of the truths of God's Word, and to set the example for others around us.

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