THE FIRST RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

There is some debate over what this First Resurrection is. Some wait for new bodies, others believe their old ones will be built stronger and better than before, and there are some, a few, who believe this resurrection takes place within and has nothing to do with flesh, bones, and sinew. This paper will examine the later. I also know that this may make many uncomfortable, I simply ask that you pray fully, and consider, as I promise I will do the same.

Remember in all things, “Let God be true” and consider that “every man” may be a liar. That goes for me as well. Daily I pray God will unfold to me the truth, and I have found that many times, I have thought I knew what was what, only to find that I was wrong. But even in that error, God makes a way to bring us higher. I have no doubt that God will reveal all things to the pure of heart, who truly seek and want to serve God.

This paper is what I consider to be a strong essay on what and how the first ressurection takes place. I pray it blesses you as I know writing has blessed me.

Okay, now that I got the disclaimer over, let’s begin.

Let’s start here:

1 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; 2By which also ye are saved, IF YE KEEP IN MEMORY what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

Did you notice Paul said, “IF ye keep in Memory”… You see this puts a whole new spin what many believe salvation is. Here Paul is saying, you are saved IF you remember the gospel he preached. So much for just accepting Jesus in your heart and the rest takes care of itself.

“Not all who cry Lord, Lord” know God and Christ (enter the kingdom of God)

Paul here is saying, we must REMEMBER the Gospel preached to be saved and if we FORGET this great TRUTH we are no longer saved.

It is when we believe the Gospel, and when we believe on the NAME (Nature) of Christ, that we are saved… The question I think many should ask, when seeking salvation, is, “what are we saved from?”

This is important question because very few actually know what it is we are saved from. Most believe we are being saved from a fiery eternal torture. They believe they are saved from a terrible future, however, for brevity’s sake, I can assure you, this is NOT WHAT WE ARE SAVED FROM.

Salvation is all about TODAY, not just tomorrow. Salvation is about the HERE AND NOW, not just the hereafter.

But what is it really that we are saved from?

Luke 7:50
And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Here we see the woman was saved from her PRESENT CONDITION. And it was her FAITH, that saved her.

What I believe we are saved for in a nutshall is our carnal mind.

John 9:25 … one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

Here BLINDNESS is a great word picture of our ignorance before Christ is FORMED in our heart (thinking).

Christ is the TRUTH, so the “seeing” of the truth is an allegory for “precieving/understanding” the truth– This in a nutshell is what we are saved from, our IGNORANCE/BLINDNESS/DISEASE/SIN/DEATH

We are saved from our carnal mind, from our ignorance, we are saved from sin, we are saved from OURSELVES (seperation). Remember, there is no seperation in God, there is only UNITY. This is what this essay is about.

This is why we must REMEMBER the gospel. That is to say, the revealed truth which is Christ. REMEMBER the gospel, which is the TRUTH, is within us all. And if we forget such great Liberty, there is no remission of sins.

This is why Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is WITHIN” – “Christ IN you” — Noah had to go WITHIN the arc to be saved. Salvation is WITHIN, hidden in these earthen vessels we call humanity.

Many people will say, that the TRUTH is not WITHIN US, but far from us, and that we must INVITE IT IN as opposed to LETTING IT OUT.

John 1:9 ”That was the true Light, which lighteth EVERY MAN that cometh into the world.”

You see, EVERYTHING has its existence in Christ. There is ONE GOD, ONE SPIRIT, ONE BAPTISM, THAT IS IN ALL AND THROUGH ALL.

What this means in a nutshell, is the only place we can be SEPERATE from God, is WITHIN our THOUGHTS. Which is what happens in THE ADAMIC (ignorant) Man.

In other words, if we forget the truth of who we are in Christ, than we deny the truth of who we are and enter into a delusion called the Carnal Mind and the result is we suffer as Joe, Peter, Linda, Bert, etc, etc.

Let’s continue to see what Paul preached.

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

The first thing Paul taught was that CHRIST died for our sins. This Christ, according to JOHN 1, is within ALL men, even those who don’t know it.
John 1 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

So, we are not talking about a “literal” man here, but the SPIRIT OF LIFE, the WORD OF GOD, CHRIST that is within us all. That Spirit is the WORD OF GOD, which is TRUTH.

The Man Jesus manifested THIS WORD to all as the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD. Jesus, The Man, did not appear until many, many, years AFTER the BEGINNING of CREATION. Yet the SPIRIT (WORD) that JESUS manifested, was and is, the very WORD OF GOD that takes away the SINS OF THE WORLD.

So in essence, Paul is saying that this TRUTH that is in us all died for our sins.

So what are our sins you may ask?

Well, if the wages of sin is death. To be carnally minded is death. Then SIN is our ignorant carnal thinking. In fact, Sin is even called the “thought of foolishness” in scripture.

To truly understand what is said here, let me interpret what Paul is really saying by rewriting a bit.

1 Cor 15:1 – For I told you first, which you also believed, that the truth died (was buried and forgotten) because of your ignorant thoughts and beliefs.

It is not coincidence that Christ (truth) dies at Golgatha, which is the place of the Skull. It is no coincidence that Christ now sits in the Temple of God, and our Temples are located on either side of our brain. It is also no coincidence that Christ is given a crown of thorns before he dies. Because “thorns”, according to the parable of the sower, are symbolic of the “cares and thoughts of the world”

When the thoughts of the world (lies) rule our mind, then the truth (Christ) is indeed put to death in our thinking. Then it is neatly buried in a tomb called our Flesh. And what happens when people go looking for the TRUTH in the CARNAL MIND (tomb)? They don’t find it. Because you cannot find the LIVING among the DEAD, or the ENLIGHTENED among the IGNORANT.

Back to Paul and his teaching.

3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the SCRIPTURES.

Most people just skim past these last words. We won’t, because it opens our eyes to a great revelation. What “SCRIPTURES” was Paul talking about? It couldn’t have been the New Testament because they weren’t written yet. He must have been speaking about the Old Testament.

So, somewhere in the Old Testament it seems, there is a story of the SON OF GOD being put to death… Sound familiar?

Genesis 2:17 – But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

That’s right. ADAM is who Paul was talking about? The First man. The son of God that died because he hung on a cursed tree. Now here is where WE come in.

Do you know what Adam means in Hebrew? Strongs defines it as “MANKIND.” Male and Female he made THEM and called THEM ADAM (Mankind)

Could this be these “scriptures” Paul spoke of. Could this also be speaking of what happened to us all?

Did WE, like ADAM, eat of the Knowledge of Good and Evil after being tempted and drawn away by their own soulish lusts (Eve). – Eve is symbolic of MANKIND’S soul… This is the FLESH OF MY FLESH AND BONE OF MY BONE. I will have an article posted about this at a later date.

In that moment Adam (Mankind) forgot who they were. They separated themselves from God and began to see God as outside of them. They began to fear God and started covering themselves with fig leaves (vain religious traditions and beliefs). Isn’t that what we all did as well?

adam

Like Adam, Paul was simply saying that Mankind had simply forgotten the truth of who they were. Mankind had forgotten their connection with God, they forgot that they are ONE WITH GOD.

Paul goes onto say that when ADAM (Mankind) did this, when they forgot the truth, the (CHRIST) Truth in Them died… Until it is raised again.

Now how does this happen you say? Well the first man is FORMED out of dust. In scripture dust is compared to lies, imagination, idolatry, sin, you name it. So in fact the 1st Man (The dead man) is formed in lies. This is how it happens.

From the instant our flesh Mom and Dad name us, and we believe that is who we are, we also begin to believe that we are a separate being. Our experiences mold is into this Ego called, Bob, Mary, Tyrone, or John. And then the day comes when someone whispers in our ear that we are sinners, damned and doomed. And this REALLY kills THE SPIRIT WITHIN.

Romans 7:9 – For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

As the days pass from our birth into this literal world, Mankind is brainwashed to believe they are something they are not. And so Christ dies, the truth dies. Because Christ took on the Sins of the World… Because the truth was forgotten for the lies we began to believe… But the story does not end there.

1 Corinthians 15:4 – And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Here Paul tells us that the TRUTH that was dead and buried rises again on the 3rd day. I like to call it the 3rd day in our spiritual tri-mester  – You see it is this 3rd day when that Dead Seed (truth) comes back to life and most importantly, the Gospel is remembered.

Did not Christ say, the HOLY SPIRIT will bring to Remembrance all things?

Now here is the crux of the matter. Later, Paul begins to teach what the Resurrection from the Dead really is.

The first thing that should be pointed out is that if it was a literal physical resurrection from literal graves, then where was all the confusion coming from? Why did they need further explanation from Paul. Today, no one in Christianity has a problem believing that literal dead will be raised again. The problem seems to be the belief that it is not literal, but spiritual. You see today, no one really understands that or believes that.

Look, scripture tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is mystery, so not everything is so cut and dry.

1 Cor 15:12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

I don’t think you would find many Christians today that will NOT say there is a literal resurrection, but I do believe there are NOT MANY that will say the Resurrection takes place INSIDE US, in our minds.

Scripture states the FLESH PROFITS nothing, but a majority of the Christian faith revolves around the FLESH resurrection. I think the reason most people don’t understand THIS is because they don’t really believe they are “Dead” already in Adam.

Some are even TWICE DEAD = The Pharasees :(

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Jesus here tells everyone plainly. I AM THE RESURRECTION. And who is Jesus? THE TRUTH revealed IN MAN… The truth is resurrected. He that believes the TRUTH though he were DEAD shall LIVE!

Many are ignorant of this. They want their carnal lives to live forever. They are waiting for a new body of flesh and bone that will never perish. They are waiting to be immortal HUMAN beings as opposed to understanding they are already eternal spirit on a journey through valley of the shadow of death. (Their own ignorance)

Scripture is so clear, 2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

The outward (ADAM) man dies, the inward (CHRIST) man RESURRECTS!

Let’s look at that another way, shall we… The OUTWARD MAN – adam lives OUTSIDE THE GARDEN. ADAM sees GOD as OUTSIDE OF HIMSELF. Yet, the INWARD MAN is WITHIN (Christ IN you) (Kingdom of Heaven is WITHIN) (that day you shall know I (Christ) am IN the FATHER, and the FATHER IN ME, and I IN IN IN IN YOU)

The INWARD man is RENEWED (resurrected) – The OUTWARD MAN perishes and is CAST AWAY.

The Hope of Glory is NOT Christ rising from the literal, physical grave. Not to say that THIS DID NOT HAPPEN WITH JESUS. Just talking about what the HOPE OF GLORY means for us CHURCH, settle down peanut gallery :)

I digress, The Hope of Glory is CHRIST IN YOU. Today, you are the seemingly EMPTY Tomb he rises from. Paul understood this and even went so far as to say in Galatians that “It is not longer I that live, but Christ”

This is a mystery, the DEAD (ignorant) shall be raised (brought to understand the Truth)

This is the FIRST RESURRECTION of the Dead. It is the resurrection out of our ignorance and into the NEWNESS OF LIFE. Now, look at this next line closely.

21For since by man (PLURAL) came death, by man (PLURAL)came also the resurrection of the dead.

Notice how it doesn’t state by “A MAN” or by “ONE MAN” came death, and by “A MAN” or “ONE MAN” came also the resurrection.

It says, by man (Mankind) came death (Ignorance) and by Mankind comes also the resurrection (understanding the truth of unity)

22For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Christ shall ALL be made alive.

47The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The first man “You and I” is of the earth (soulish and carnal), the Second Man (You and I) as hard as it may be to believe, is Our Unity in CHRIST.

The 1st “US” sees things as Natural, temporal, limited, and does whatever it wants. The 2nd “US” is “Christ IN US” and only does what the Father wills.

Howbeit the FIRST is NOT SPIRITUAL in thinking but CARNAL… This is why we MUST be BORN AGAIN (Resurrected)… Because the FIRST MAN doesn’t understand the things of God… The SECOND BORN AGAIN man ENTERS THE REST OF GODS KINGDOM … the Second Man is CHRIST/ CHRIST IN US.

The 1st shall be last, and the LAST MAN (CHRIST) shall be first! And here is the good news…

49As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Paul explains this happens to us all!

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

We are all changed into Christ. The mystery which has been HIDDEN for the ages… is best summed up in one scripture… CHRIST IN YOU… This is the ONLY HOPE of GLORY there is.

ROMANS 14: 8For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end

For this is the way… Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

So stop looking to the literal clouds for Christ to return, stop waiting for your death to know eternal life, the TRUTH is in us all… If we are ignorant of that Truth, the Truth is dead. The good news is on the 3rd day it RESURRECTS in us, as us, when we REMEMBER the GOSPEL PREACHED.

The DEAD man forgets he is God’s Child, he forgets the Truth of who he is because of his sin (foolish thoughts). But the Truth will Rise again within us all and we shall be raised INCORRUPTIBLE and know we are God’s child.

Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (Knowing this Truth we leave our ignorance behind and never again allow Lies and Ignorance to rules our lives.)

P.S. as far as Christ being “risen from the dead” AGAIN – I say amen and amen… Are we not the literal body of Christ and members in particular. 

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Jacob
http://www.JacobIsrael.org
“The Truth Will Change You”