But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
1 Corinthians 15:23
When you look out from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem toward the Mount of Olives you will notice the burial tombs of many Jewish people. The tombs face the Golden Gate on the Eastern wall of Jerusalem, the gate through which the Messiah will return, and the reason many have chosen this as their final resting place is because of their desire to be among the first to take part in the resurrection of the dead which occurs at the coming of Messiah.
But it comes at a price. Burial plots on the Mount of Olives can be as high as US$30,000!
Even in death, people still want to have the advantage of front row seats over others, and they are willing to pay for it!
In rebutting the suggestion that the dead are not raised with the facts of the resurrection, Paul also explains there will be a very clear order to it:
Jesus is the first to rise, never to die again. As we have seen, Paul has very clearly established that all hope of the resurrection of the dead flows out from and depends upon Jesus’ rising from the dead. (v23).
Then, at a moment in history, Jesus will raise all those who have died believing in Him, and after that, those Christians who are still alive will also have their earthly bodies transformed into resurrected ones. (v23).
Jesus will ultimately reign upon the earth, in His Kingdom for 1000 years. It will be a time when all injustice, suffering and pain will be subdued – a reign of peace and prosperity the world has never seen before. At the end of this time, He will then hand the Kingdom back to His Father. (verses 24-25).
One of the great hopes of the Christian faith is the promise of the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ. It will be a time when all the wrongs of the world are righted, and evil is once and for all decisively destroyed!
Christians will have front row seats to it all, because of their faith in Jesus and it will not cost them a single cent!
For further reflection: Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
When you look out from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem toward the Mount of Olives you will notice the burial tombs of many Jewish people. The tombs face the Golden Gate on the Eastern wall of Jerusalem, the gate through which the Messiah will return, and the reason many have chosen this as their final resting place is because of their desire to be among the first to take part in the resurrection of the dead which occurs at the coming of Messiah.
But it comes at a price. Burial plots on the Mount of Olives can be as high as US$30,000!
Even in death, people still want to have the advantage of front row seats over others, and they are willing to pay for it!
In rebutting the suggestion that the dead are not raised with the facts of the resurrection, Paul also explains there will be a very clear order to it:
Jesus is the first to rise, never to die again. As we have seen, Paul has very clearly established that all hope of the resurrection of the dead flows out from and depends upon Jesus’ rising from the dead. (v23).
Then, at a moment in history, Jesus will raise all those who have died believing in Him, and after that, those Christians who are still alive will also have their earthly bodies transformed into resurrected ones. (v23).
Jesus will ultimately reign upon the earth, in His Kingdom for 1000 years. It will be a time when all injustice, suffering and pain will be subdued – a reign of peace and prosperity the world has never seen before. At the end of this time, He will then hand the Kingdom back to His Father. (verses 24-25).
One of the great hopes of the Christian faith is the promise of the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ. It will be a time when all the wrongs of the world are righted, and evil is once and for all decisively destroyed!
Christians will have front row seats to it all, because of their faith in Jesus and it will not cost them a single cent!
For further reflection: Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.