Christian Church of God, Grand Junction, Colorado Statement #10 page four
age begins with the First Resurrection and ends with the Second. The Post-Millennial Age judgment period exists between the Second Resurrection and the Third. Resurrections provide clear demarcations between each of these phases of World Salvation. Each of these eras are pictured by one of God’s Holydays: The Christian Era begins with the Passover season and Christ’s resurrection, it ends with the event observed as the Feast of Trumpets. The Millennial Age is represented by the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles. The Post-Millennial Age, just after it ( the Great White Throne Judgment ) is represented by the Last Great Day, the final Holyday of Biblical origin. It was in reference to the meaning of this day that Christ introduced the ‘whosoever wills’ aspect of this stage of development of His Plan. (John 7:37-38)
With this, one can now see the great importance of the Doctrine of the Resurrections and Eternal Judgment to Christian Theology. This is OUR Day of Salvation. It is our objective to be included in that “better resurrection” (Heb. 11:35) the first, and to be raised to immortality (or changed) at Christ&rsuo;s Coming. (1st Cor. 15:50-54)
SUMMARY:
- The First Resurrection occurs at the Second Coming and includes only the truly converted Saints up to that point in time;
- The second resurrection occurs after the 1000 years and includes only those who never had opportunity for salvation;
- The third resurrection occurs after the second resurrection generation has lived through their opportunity period, and includes ALL of the dead of all time for Final Sentencing (Eternal Judgment).
- The righteous are reaped into the White Cloud harvest by Christ (Revelation 14:14-16) and,
- The incorrigibly wicked are reaped by angels into the Grapes of Wrath harvest (Revelation 14:17-20).
Additional Reading:
John 5:25-29 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Romans 8:9-17 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. …For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. …The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Matthew 19:27-28 “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Revelation 5:9 “And they (the Saints) sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For you were slain, And have redeemed us to God by your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” (NKJ)