A Better Resurection

           The following is the fourth segment of a four part series examining the

scriptural truths related to the subject of resurrection.  My motive and purpose

for writing is to  enlarge upon  and bring additional light  to the generally held  and accepted theological concepts .The Christian community at large would say that there is  just one resurrection of the dead occurring tat the end of the age.  There would be conflict and argument among them as to whether it occurs before the tribulation period or after that prophesied event.

            Before considering the present topic let us just briefly review what has been covered. First we examined Seventy Weeks Are Determined to establish beyond any question  that the ‘seventy weeks’ of Daniel’s prophecy were fulfilled completely with the advent, ministry and crucifixion of Christ and the subsequent ministry of the apostles to Israel. This destroys the concept that the last or the seventieth week has application to national or ethnic Israel at the end of the age.  Next the subject of Rapture or Resurrection? was subjected to scriptural exposure to prove that there is no pretribulational ‘rapture’ of the body of the church as a whole.  The central passage used to prove that erroneous concept (IThesl.4:13-17) is actually describing the resurrection after the tribulation. The third segment dealt with the twelfth chapter of Revelation for the purpose of showing that a faithful remnant of saints will be caught up into heaven just prior to the onset of the tribulation (3 1/2 years and not 7 as asserted by dispensationalists). Its title was The Woman and the Man Child. The first twelve verses of chapter eleven and all of chapter twelve fit to together showing that the large body of the church will necessarily go through the tribulation and suffer persecution and martyrdom. Then the resurrection occurs immediately after the tribulation. This is revealed in verses 11 and 12 of chapter eleven.

            The current topic will now require that we explore the truth that there is more than one resurrection in addition to the translation of a faithful remnant before the tribulation. The phrase… that they might obtain a better resurrection… appears late in chapter elven of Hebrews after recounting at length the demonstration of faithfulness by a  significant number of the  old testament saints. This statement triggers the necessity of further investigation as to what is meant. At Revelation 20:6 we read: Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.” The passage is enlightening for we see that besides these the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were completed. We also see from verse five that this is the first resurrection.   This truth raises some extremely significant spiritual issueswhich the theological world clearly does not understand and Its implications are enormous both for Christians and non-Christians as well. The apostle Paul sheds additional light on the subject at Phil. 3:10-11 where we read “That I may know him , and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”  The word used for resurrection here in the Greek has a special emphasis. (Exanastasis-meaning literally ’the out resurrection from among the dead’). Did Paul question his faith? No, but he understood that there would be more than one resurrection. He sought to partake in the one described at Rev. 20:6 recognizing that there was a prerequisite for that applying to him which he states in the context of this passage. This reality is completely obscure to those who are preaching today’s version of the gospel. Paul wholeheartedly sought after ‘a better resurrection’, i.e.’ the first resurrection;. Today’s apostate church has no comprehension of this reality.

       Calvinistic thinking totally prevails within the church today with its precepts of ‘unconditional election’ and ‘the perseverance of the saints’. So if God’s covenant in Christ is unconditional for those who are among the elect, and there is no possibility that we might fail  of the grace of Godin  the performance of faithfulness then there is no room or reason for more than one resurrection. However, if these tenets cannot be supported by the scriptures (and they cannot) then we must examine the truth at a deeper level to reveal the consequences of both unbelief and unfaithfulness.

            Consider the scriptural evidence for more than one resurrection. Again Rev.20:6 states in part ‘on such the second death hath no power’ and in verse five  “but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”  At revelation 2:26 we read: "And he that overcometh, and keep my works unto the end (a condition) will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken in shivers…. What about those alleged Christians who do not ‘keep my works unto the end’, and what becomes of the nations broken as a potter’s vessel? Moving beyond the judgement (Rev.20) we find much additional spiritual activity which is ignored in today’s apostate churches. At Rev. 22:2 we see “in the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bear twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”         

            The tenets of Calvinism, part of which have been adopted by dispensationalists (unconditional election and perseverance of the saints), have been used to effectively destroy the truths of the scriptures and make   ineffective the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word of God.  There is indeed more than one resurrection and every believer in Christ should adopt the wholehearted commitment expressed by Paul for there are dire consequences for unfaithfulness and failure to continue steadfast unto the end. God cannot be mocked and indeed Christian friend it may be that you will not attain unto the first resurrection out from among the dead…a better resurrection.

David Lance Dean                        For a more complete explanation of the content

                                                          summarized above there is an entire chapter  in

                                                       my book These Prophets and the Revelation. See

                                                       authordavidlancedean.com

                                                                        

The Woman and the Man Child

                 The subject of this writing has the purpose of bringing a new understanding

to a portion of scripture which has been misinterpreted and completely corrupted. My reference is to the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation.  This falls within the context of end time prophecy and it has a connection to a four part series in which I am seeking to cover the subject of resurrection in much detail. We began with Daniel’s prophecy of the ‘seventy weeks’ with the purpose of proving that the prophecy has been completely fulfilled and has no application to the teaching that the final week occurs at the end of the age. This foundation had to be laid for the purpose of proving that there is no pretribulational rapture of the church as is held by those who endorse dispensational theology. The second blog was a detailed account establishing that the resurrection occurs after the tribulation and there is no pretribulational rapture of the entire body of the church.  The text of I Thessalonians 4:13-17 was explained to be the description of that resurrection event when compared with other scripture and not  a description of the so-called rapture. This leads us to our current topic.

            The text in chapter twelve of Revelation describes a great wonder seen in heaven consisting of a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars. This of course is a metaphor which needs to be understood. Where then does the metaphor come from and how do we interpret it? The metaphor is drawn from Joseph’s dream recited from Genesis 37:9-10. From that text we can discern that the sun, moon and stars represent the whole household of God as it existed at that time and is represented by the family of Jacob (Israel). So by application of the Revelation text we can see that the woman along with her offspring represent metaphorically all of God’s people, i.e. the church. We further see that the woman is with child and is in travail ready to give birth. Then the text reveals to us the dragon (Satan)  is operatung through his instrumentality the beast having seven heads and ten horns. This entity is more thoroughly described in Revelation 13:1-2 and we glean from other scriptures  as detailed in Daniel 7:7 & f that this beast in both texts is one and the same and represents the final worldwide kingdom under the control of Satan at the end of the age. In modern vernacular that is the “New World Order” which will prevail universally at the end of this age. Then we see in verse four that the woman is in travail and ready to give birth. The dragon seeks to devour her offspring as soon as it is born. In verse five of the text we read that she “brings forth a man child which is to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child is caught up to God and to his throne.”  We now need to know how to interpret the text up to this point.

            The woman who is clothed in the metaphor is the entire church living on the earth at the end of the age.  She is in the travail of birth for within her resides a people who have been perfected and purified by the workings of the Holy Spirit in them. Through their faithful responses to Christ he has been thoroughly formed in their hearts. We do not know their number. We only know that Christ has been formed in them through their enduring faith.  Thus, this remnant out from the church as a whole is “caught up (to snatch or seize violently, to take away by force-Strong’s Concor.) to God and to the throne.” The preparatory text for understanding this phenomenon is found at Rev. 11:1-2 in the measuring of the temple (the house of God, i.e. the church) finding those who are worshiping  in truth therein in contrast to the court without which is given unto the Gentiles to be trodden under foot forty and two months. This divides the people of God into two spiritual conditions and prepares our understanding as to why a remnant (the man child) is caught to the throne. Then we see in verse seven that the woman (the church) ‘fled into the wilderness’ finding a place which God has provided to sustain her for a thousand two hundred and three score days (the period of the duration of the tribulation).

                This catching up of the man child precipitates warfare in the heavenly realm.

The Lord has procured the spiritual ground through the man child to evict Satan from any access to the heavenly realm which he has retained continuously since the fall of man. “… the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was there place found any more in heaven…..he was cast out of heaven, and his angels were cast out with him.” (portions of verses 7, 8, and 9). “And I heard a loud voice. Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame hum by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:10-11).

            We then see the devil as cast down to the earth having great wrath for he knows he has but a short time. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed (the church remaining on the earth during the tribulation), which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”(Rev.12:17).

            The purpose of this series of blogs is again to clarify and explain the extreme confusion in the church on the subject of resurrection and in the case of the ‘man child’ a translation (catching up of living and faithful saints into the heavenly kingdom) prior to the three and one-half year tribulation.

            A fourth presentment will be made soon to finalize and summarize this study on the subject of resurrection. You would profit to read them all as well as chapter twelve. It is recognized by the writer that this account of the text is entirely new to almost everyone who will read it. Obtain my book These Prophets and the Revelation for an entire exegesis of end time prophecy.

David Lance Dean                                     website: authordavidlancedean.com

Rapture or Resurection?

            My most recent post was entitled Seventy Weeks Are Determined.  It summarizes and explains the fulfillment of the very important prophetic text of Daniel 9:24-27. Understanding that the fulfillment of that text was consummated in the ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, and the subsequent carrying of the gospel by the twelve apostles to Israel is of utmost importance and contradicts the widely accepted view that the final “week” of the seventy weeks is yet future.  In fact the prevailing interpretation of that text is the springboard for a complete distortion of subsequent New Testament revelation. I intend to prove in a series of four blogs the truth of the foregoing statement and uncover all of the scriptural truths related to the subject of resurrection. I suggest that you read and understand the content of that previous posting as a prerequisite for the current one and the two additional ones which are to follow.

            Dispensational theology which was popularized over a century ago by the introduction of the Scofield Reference Bible with its numerous notes has thoroughly corrupted an accurate interpretation of many of the most important truths of Scripture. Let’s begin with their theological aberration that there will be a rapture of the entire body of the church prior to a period of tribulation which they say will last for seven years. The tribulation is according to various texts of Scripture is only three and one-half years in duration. After they have completely corrupted the text of Daniel 9:24-27 by introducing a supposed covenant between the Jews and the Antichrist which is subsequently breached by him; they then would proceed by having us to believe that the church has already been “ruptured” prior to the tribulation and God’s dealings are now solely focused on the Jews or national Israel. Leaping from this completely erroneous interpretation of the Daniel text they would take us to I Thessalonians 4:13-17 in the New Testament and identify that text as the supposed support for this pretribulational “rapture”.  That text reads as follows: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that we sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which ae alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which ae asleep. 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: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” If you would then notice the context following it states that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. So the day of the Lord follows immediately after the resurrection (not a supposed rapture) which is described in detail in the foregoing text. The day of the Lord is that execution of judgment coming upon the earth after the tribulation and then subsequently after the resurrection. It is not that which follows the supposed pretribulational rapture. The fact that this Thessalonians text is speaking of the resurrection and not a falsely fabricated rapture can be verified by many other scriptures. Compare Matthew 24:29-31 as describing the same event. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the=moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven………….and he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together  his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” This is the resurrection immediately after the tribulation. Compare also Luke 21:27-28, I Cor. 15:51-52, Rev.11:11-12.  These texts all describe in some manner the resurrection occurring after the tribulation. The concept of a pretribulational “rapture” of all of the church is a theological aberration fabricated by the adherents of dispensational theology and completely endorsed in the notes in the Scofield Reference Bible.

            What dispensational theology has done by transferring the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy to the end of the age proclaiming its fulfillment in a seven year tribulation results in the denial of the anointing and ministry of Christ to Israel of old. Again please see my previous post Seventy Weeks Are determined to gain the true interpretation of the seventy weeks of Daniel’s prophecy. Numerous other misinterpretations of the word of God have resulted directly from this wresting of the Scripture by dispensational adherents. There is much more to be discovered on the subject of resurrection and we will examine those truths in subsequent posts.

David Lance Dan

For a complete understanding for the distortions and heresies of dispensational theology obtain a copy of my book Christian Zionism and the Scofield Reference Bible by visiting my website: authordavidlancedean.com

Seventy Weeks AreDetermined

            I have written on this subject frequently in the past as a full chapter in each of my three published books includes details of what has been termed as Daniel’s seventy weeks. My purpose in this blog is to add just a point or two of clarification. This passage has been badly misinterpreted by many who have been nurtured in dispensational theology and these distortions have resulted in the perversion of many other scriptures resulting in the formulation of a system of theology which departs in significant ways from the truths set forth in the Bible.

            The pivotal passage in question covered here in some significant detail is Daniel 9:24-27. Let us break down the phrases in the text and provide explanation and interpretation as we move through it. Before beginning with the text it must be stated unequivocally that there is no “gap” in the fulfillment of the prophecy but it sets forth seventy consecutive weeks from the point of beginning to the consummation of the period as it relates to Old Testament Israel, i.e. its application is solely “…upon thy people.” The “weeks” are weeks of years, that is to say that each week is a period of seven years as understood by the Israelites from their history and written records (See Leviticus 25:8-10). Thus seventy weeks is a total of 490 years (70 X 7) and is to be understood as measured by the Hebrew calendar. Therefore, we must determine precisely the points of beginning and ending.

            “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city,(this portion of the text is covered above) to finish the transgression and make an end, of sins, and to make reconciliation , and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” Verse 24 0f the text provides us with a summary of what was accomplished in the person and work of Christ for he is the consummation and object of the prophecy and the accomplishment of all of the verse in his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection.   The final phrase of the verse to anoint the most Holy” is clearly fulfilled in the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist as recorded in the gospels. We see there that the Holy Spirit descended upon him and his anointed ministry to Israel began immediately.

            “Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” Verse twenty five directs us to the restoration of the destroyed city of Jerusalem and the ministry of recovery of the tenets of the law. This was accomplished beginning with the arrival of Ezra the priest “ a ready scribe in the law of Moses…”(Ezra 7:6) “who had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it…”(Ezra 7:10). This is the beginning of the recovery of the testimony of the law under the precepts of the Old Testament covenant and it was accompanied by a lengthy decree written by Artaxerxes I, the king of Persia.  It is contained in this chapter and identifies the decree referred to in Daniel 9:25. This is the beginning point of the “seventy weeks”. This recovery period of ministry including the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the wall covered one week or forty nine years and later involved the ministry and work of Nehemiah in the building of the wall. (See the book of Nehemiah). He arrived about thirteen years after Ezra.

            “After three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince which shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” In verse 26 we first see the reference to the crucifixion of Christ, i.e. “shall Messiah be cut off.” The rest of the verse is related to the judgement executed by God on Israel and Jerusalem with its destruction at the hands of the Roman prince Titus. According to history this happened in 70CE.

            “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…” Again this phrase gives us a confirmation of Christ’s death on the cross causing sacrifice and oblation to cease.  It also encompasses his ministry to Jewry covering three and one-half years and the subsequent ministry of the twelve apostles to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel “for an additional three and one-half years. A total of “one week”. The final phrases in the verse confirm the judgement to  be poured out on the desolate (Jewry) “for the overspreading of abominations” Many in Israel believed from the ministry of Christ and many more from the testimony of the apostles.

            The ending point of the seventy weeks is clearly seen in Acts, chapter seven with Stephen’s lengthy discourse addressing and condemning the seventy elders of Israel—the counsel—the Sanhedrin. This is a formal rejection by the recognized authority of the Israelites and because of their rejection and violent murder of Stephen they confirmed their position as to Jesus Christ.  In my writings I have used the date of 457BCE as the beginning of Ezra’s ministry authorized by the decree of Artaxerxes 1 and this would set Stephen’s sermon to the Sanhedrin at 34CE.  However, the secular calendar has been modified a couple of times and is not accurate or even really relevant to determine these seventy weeks. These weeks were determined in accordance with the Hebrew calendar and quantified precisely to equal seventy seeks or four hundred and ninety years measured precisely thereby.

David Lance Dean                         See my books The Israel Deception and Christian

                                                            Zionism and the Scofield Reference Bible       

Visit my website: authordavidlancedean.com