This World, That World (11)

Luke 20:34-38 (34) And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: (35) But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: (36) Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (37) Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (38) For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. There are some professing Christians today who essentially hold to the position of the Sadducees in that they deny a physical bodily resurrection of believers yet to come. One such belief system is called Preterism, which, like those Paul warned of in 2TI 2:18, is known to essentially affirm that “...the resurrection is past already...,” in a one-time show of power over the grave by Jesus Christ and those who arose with Him (MAT 27:51-53). They tend to spiritualize the scriptures which speak of Christ's second coming and the attendant bodily resurrection, or they ignore them, or they wrest them (2PE 3:16) to conform to their presuppositions. One such example of wresting is in the way they have been known to treat the following text: Job 19:25-27 (25) For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (26) And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (27) Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. Job, who was suffering intensely in the flesh, here anticipated a bodily resurrection at the coming of the Lord. There is no doubt as to what Job hoped for when one compares this text with JOB 14:7-15. This text flatly opposes the notion that there is not a physical resurrection from death in store for believers. To counter this, some Preterists argue that the phrase, “yet in my flesh shall I see God” should have been translated “yet OUT of my flesh shall I see God.” In other words (as God rebuked Job in JOB 40:8), they disannul God's word to justify their own position. This is almost invariably what happens when a heretic who claims to believe in God's holy word is condemned by God's holy word: the heretic condemns that particular text as NOT being God's holy word. A standard method of doing this is by resorting to “original language” arguments which assume what cannot even be proven: that the copies of Hebrew or Greek manuscripts to which the gainsayer defaults are flawless representations of the original autograph of an apostle or prophet (which the gainsayer has likely never seen). In this case, the Preterist looks at the underlying Hebrew of JOB 19:26 and sees that “in my flesh” is comprised of two Hebrew words (min/minniy/minney, Strong's #4480; basar, Strong's #1320). The first of these two words basically acts as a preposition in such a construction and apparently can mean “out of” according to Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. But it can also be translated as various other prepositions such as “from,” “above,” “after,” “among,” “through,” “by,” and “with.” In fact, the very same Hebrew pairing of #4480 and #1320 is found only four verses earlier in JOB 19:22 where it is rendered, “Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied WITH my flesh.” Now, why would a Preterist opt for rendering that pairing in JOB 19:26 “out of my flesh” when he could have rendered it “from my flesh,” “through my flesh,” “by my flesh,” or “with my flesh” or just left the text alone? The answer seems obvious: “out of my flesh” better suited his presupposition which was shot to pieces by the way the text read before he amended it. And that's the “wrest” of that story. There is a certain bodily resurrection coming. Here is what we know about it: 1. It has been guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the firstfruits. 1CO 15:20-23; ROM 8:11. 2. It occurs at Christ's return. 1CO 15:23; 1TH 4:14-16. 3. It will be very visible, audible, sensible. 1CO 15:52; 1TH 4:16; 2TH 1:7-10. 4. It will be a sudden event, not a process. 1CO 15:51-52. 5. It will be accomplished by the voice of Jesus Christ. JOH 11:43-44 c/w JOH 5:28-29; 1TH 4:16. 6. It will be one general resurrection of just and unjust. JOH 5:28-29; ACT 24:14-15. 7. The dead saints shall rise before the living saints. 1TH 4:15-17. 8. All saints shall be given sinless, incorruptible bodies. 1CO 15:35-53; PHIL 3:20-21; 1JO 3:1-2. 9. The kingdom of God is thus delivered up to God. 1CO 15:23-24. 10. It will occur at the last day, the end of the present heavens and earth. JOB 14:12-15; JOH 6:39-40; JOH 6:44; JOH 6:54; JOH 11:24-25. 11. The unjust will be raised unto judgment. JOH 5:28-29; 2TH 1:7-10; MAT 25:31-46. 12. Death, hell and the unjust will be destroyed. HOS 13:14; 1CO 15:54-55; REV 20:13-15. Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.