The Concept of Resurrection and Eschatology

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1st Corinthians 15. Part VI
(verses 27-31)
December 30th 2018

Foundation of Resurrection

So last week we read the following:

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.

And we talked all about first-fruits, first born, and the like in the context of the Bible. Then we read:

21 For since by man came deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

And we talked at some little length about this concept – that in Adam all people die in a couple ways and how in Christ all are made alive.

And we talked about resurrection, and justification, recalling Romans 5:18 which says

“Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all.”

The Study of Eschatology

It was in this context that I presented the idea that if or since God hung the entire human species and our sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. and death on one man named Adam, who took all of us inhabitants into the abyss of separation from God, then I trust that He hung the entire Human race and through another superior man saved us . . . all. Anyway, having been talking about the resurrection, Paul now says:

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Many people wonder about the importance of eschatologyStudy of “last things”—TGNN teaches all biblical eschatology was fulfilled in 70 A.D. More or the study of end times and when confronted with questions about it happening often say:

We’ll whether He has come or not doesn’t change anything – God is still on the throne and I am ready to be raptured or to die and meet him either way.

In some sense this is good and true and right. But in another sense, it is a dodge of a very important fact – IF he came back – like he and his apostles promised that he would, then we have arrived at a very different age – and if we are in that age, we are not in the age where we are still waiting for Him. And if we are in that age, then the faith looks very, very different than how it is presented to “them/then.”

Here’s why. At verse 23 Paul writes, regarding the resurrection:

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Of course, futurists are waiting for this to occur at anytime from right now out into the future. But if he came, and those who were Christs at his coming were raised, then we MUST consider what he writes next very seriously, when he says at verse 24:

24 “Then cometh the end,”

The End in Paul's Writing

This end is described in the remaining verses where Paul adds:

. . . when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

At this point we are left with some questions.

What end is Paul talking about? What death? All death, I would hope and believe. Most people believe that he is talking about “the end” . . . of the world, and many believe that this end is coming and that that is when everything will cease.

But let’s take a little survey of the scripture relative to what Paul says here about, “then cometh the end.”

We know that the Apostolic Record opens up with John the Baptist preaching that the axe was laid at the root of the tree and warning all about the wrath and end to come.

The writer of Hebrews opens his epistle up, ad speaking of God talking through prophets of old, then saying that He has . . .

Jesus referenced this end or those last days when teaching his chosen twelve the following in Matthew 10:21-22

21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

We read that today and think we are heading for the same end as they were, the end of all things, but we are not.

We

Understanding the End of the Age

Closer to his death, Jesus in Matthew 24, responds to his apostles asking him about the end of the ageThe close of the old covenant era, fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not the end of the world., and he says:

Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

He also said in that same chapter:

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Insights from Paul

Many years later the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Rome and said:

Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. (kosmos)

Then to the church at Colosse said:

Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.

Earlier in that chapter he said:

Colossians 1:5-6 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.

Then to the believers at Thessalonica, Paul wrote:

1st Thessalonians 1:8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

Exhortations From Other Apostles

The writer of Hebrews told the Jewish convert to remember:

Hebrew 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Paul wrote to the church at Rome:

(13:12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

He wrote to the church at Philippi:

(4:5) “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”

Then speaking of the end that Jesus mentions to the Apostles and then that Paul references here in our chapter of 1st Corinthians 15, Peter – who wrote way late in the game:

1st Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

Peter . . . the end of all things? All things relative to that age, absolutely.

Final Warnings From John

Finally, John the Beloved, the last to write it is believed, wrote in his epistles:

1st John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Later in 1st John 4:3 he wrote:

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already it is in the world.”

Now listen to our text again where Paul says:

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 “Then cometh the end,”

That end that was prophesied about, that John came to warn about, that Jesus said was coming, that Paul said was near, and that Peter and John both said had arrived. The end of that age. And with it came the first-fruits of the grave – Jesus – for His bride, who afterward were His at His coming.

Then came the end of that age. Now listen to the rest of verse 24, and how Paul describes what would be AFTER the end of that age:

. . . when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Go back to verse 24 where Paul says:

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God.

The Kingdom and the End Times

Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

This time and day was prophesied of in the Book of Daniel as he wrote hundreds of years earlier:

Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Then at verse 24 of the same chapter Daniel adds:

Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Because of the hyperbolic nature of the language of these passages, some have trouble assigning their fulfillment to 70 AD, and the reason for this is that they see the descriptions as literal and material and not figurative and spiritual. What Paul is describing in verse 24 of 1st Corinthians 145 is the winding up or the consummation of the affairs (LISTEN) under the “mediatorial reign of Christ.” The word “end” (telos) properly describes a limit, termination or completion of a thing.

The Role of the Messiah

Remember, the one true God named YHWH was Father to the Nation of Israel and had promised to send them a Messiah. This Messiah – YHWH’s only begotten Son – would do – “fulfill” – complete all that was necessary for God to accomplish His will and ways on earth. That mediatorial work and labor of Yeshua had a beginning in the material world – launched at the incarnation, and it would have an end – not at His death (thank God) nor at His resurrection, nor at His ascension. That end, according to Paul, would come when He returned with Judgment on those who rejected Him and with reward for those who received Him by faith, which is called “His Bride” in scripture. This bride is the church that the gates of hell would not possibly prevail against – she was under apostolic rule – living apostles who would not fail their call; apostles who were killed off one by one (except for John who was taken with the Bride) and once they were gone the end of that age was complete.

Jesus and the Kingdom

Once that event occurred – and those who were His Bride at His coming were raised up to life – Paul says, “then cometh the end,” when . . . he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. In describing the angels of heaven and comparing them to Jesus, the writer of Hebrews asks (in chapter 1:13) But to which of the angels said God at any time, “Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

Years ago, it was this very passage that launched me into a search based on the fact that scripture clearly teaches that at some point in time, Jesus would NOT be at His Father’s side forever, but would instead “sit there until a point in time.” It also led me into seeing the ontology of God a little differently than the spoon-fed Trinity we often hear about. So when is that point in time when Jesus would step aside? It’s at that point in time described by Paul here in 1st Corinthians 15, where, again, he says: Then comes the end . . . when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The End and Jesus' Reign

In all of this, we see some inextricable factors that must be taken into consideration. First, there will be an end, and in that end, Jesus will step from his place at the right hand of the Father. Admittedly this end occurs only after Jesus returns but John and Jesus and the apostles (who wrote) all said that that end was approaching, coming, getting close, near, “at hand” and finally upon them – so much so that John the Beloved opens Revelation.

Kingdom of God: Spiritual vs. Material

up with Jesus saying on at least seven occasions:

I come back quickly.

And if He came back, then the end came too – its as simple as that. And at the end of all things, which Peter said was present in his day, Jesus would have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; This would occur when he will have put down all rule and all authority and power. (Until that day we know that . . .) he (Jesus) must reign, until he hath put all enemies under his feet. And finally, we know that once all enemies are under His control (Verse 26)

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

So, we have to ask ourselves, is it possible that all of these things have occurred?

Spiritual Victory and Sovereignty

NOW LISTEN _ PLEASE _ The answer we give to this question is predicated on whether a person see’s the Kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future. as a literal material kingdom here on earth to come OR whether they are able to see it as a spiritual kingdom that was established nearly two thousand years ago in heaven and on earth, and therefore it would be a Kingdom that is NOT of this world, and a Kingdom: established on high, A kingdom that operates on the heart and mind of individuals and not externally. One that is not subject to material growth or physical presence, but one that is viewed as having been wholly victorious spiritually, while leaving the physical world to its own devices.

What I mean by that last point is that we have to understand that God’s victory is spiritual and the victories are all seen from this invisible perspective, and not from the products or perspectives of a material earthly world.

For this reason, even though Jesus conquered sin, we still have sin in the world that is not His. And he overcame Satan, but we still have dark-evil in the world – And that He overcame death, but materially all people continue to die!

Choices and Responsibilities

But once every single human being leaves their flesh, the victory Jesus has had will be manifestly declared to all – and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus is Lord.

It is an interesting concept of Jesus delivering up the Kingdom to His Father but when we think about it, if all the labors are over, and the mediation assigned to Him is done and the victory has truly been had, and Jesus purpose in reconciling the world to God, and rescuing His Bride, and establishing the Kingdom, and bringing judgment upon the House of Israel is complete, God is then truly victorious and resumes what He started in Eden.

I submit that Jesus has assumed His place among the children of man, as the Son of Man, and as our only true Lord, Savior and King and that he will reign over that kingdom of resurrected human beings forever more – it is an eternal kingdom, but the power and the glory and the entire universe of all things are in the hands of His Father.

So where does that leave us in this world, and where does that leave those who are Christ’s by faith?

Remember, God through His Christ has accomplished EVERYTHING necessary for every single person to decide how they will spend their life time. I maintain that because of Christ the world has returned to the Edenic state where all of us are free to choose – but our choices, if they be selfish and evil – cannot trump His victory.

This leaves all of us – especially Christians – living on what I call a two-way street. He made a garden – Adam and Eve chose what to do in it. He made an earth – human beings choose how to resonate and respond to it. He parted the Red Sea and gave the Nation of Israel a promised land – they chose how to enter it and what to do once they got there.

And so, it is with the finished work of His Son. It is finished his work of having total and complete victory over all spiritual powers in high and dark places – over the works and wonders of Satan and hell and the grave. And every human being is left, in the face of this amazing victory, with the decision on how they will respond to this wonderful completion.

The question has every since the biblical end, one of whether people want the victory in their lives – or not.

Therein lies

Understanding the Finished Work of God

The choice and response on our part.

I sort of think of this wonderful economy given by God is like teaching a kid to surf. You pick the kid up and drag them out into the surf. You adjust them on the board you have provided. You turn them to face the shore, and you wait and choose the right oncoming swell. As the wave approaches you, in the roll of God completing everything for us, push the child into the wave that is behind them, supplying the speed to catch it. And then the rest is up to the child. They will in all probability fall off the board the first time – and many times after that. But you repeat this over and over and over again, representing God and the sustenance and support he gives to all in this world of inertia. But the thing is it is up to the kid to try to stand . . . or not. She or he can remain on their belly over and over again and or not even make an attempt to surf.

This is how I see the finished work of God by Christ in our world since the end of all those things Peter talked about. He has taken us out, put us on the board He provided, turned us in the right direction, and has chosen the swell. He has steadied us and then launched us into the wave – but it is up to every single person to choose to stand and try and learn from all of this that has been done for them . . . or not.

Revelation and the Promise of Overcoming

Now, let me wrap tonight up with an observation. In describing the world and Kingdom after the consummation of all things, Revelation 21, describing the age that would continue for us, and says:

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my SON!”

And we are left with the fact that in this age of the Victorious Kingdom, those who want God in their lives, those who choose to try to stand for Him, will – must – overcome – and stand.

I submit that MOST will not nor care to be Sons and Daughters. They have zero interest – and God knew this and still had victory for them, through His Son.

But I also submit to you that there are those who do want to learn to stand – to overcome – and that the promise for them is that they will “inherit all things, and God will be His or her God, and he and she will be his Son or daughter.

Encouragement for Seekers

Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. is for anyone seeking to not just live in this world, for those who love the things of this world over the things of God, it is for seekers of God who yearn and desire to be Sons and Daughters.

Our focus is on this group. It's not to provide a church, or to sell you books, or get your memberships or allegiances. We are in place specifically to relate with and encourage all seekers of truth WHO long to overcome, and to therefore inherit all things as Sons and Daughters of God.

We are all here to overcome with you and it's interesting but that word “overcometh” is Nih-ka-o – from it we get our ever popular Nike – which means to subdue (literally or figuratively):–conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory. He has had the victory over all things and the question remains – have we, as followers and disciples of the King, allowed Him to do the same for us in our lives? Again, AGAIN – LISTEN – He has done it all on our behalf, paving the way and removing all the obstacles that would render us prisoners – sin, death, the grave, and Satan. Now the question remains, have we first desired to overcome as Sons, and second, have we looked to Him and His power and victory to accomplish this?

The reconciliation has happened on behalf of the world. CITE 2nd Cor 6 STOP

But after admitting this Paul said:

Now, reconcile yourselves. And this is the reason Christians and Christians – they have and seek to reconcile themselves – their lives, their ways, their will – to the will of God the Father.

How does this happen? His only begotten has shown us how to be Sons and Daughters. Choosing Him and His ways.

Paul's Teachings on Dominion and Subjection

Over our, following the King and giving our Lord our allegiance, we reconcile ourselves to God the Father. And enter into his eternal kingdom as Sons and Daughters, having the Nikao over all things by and through the power of Him who overcame them first.

At this point Paul, speaking of Jesus, says at verse 27:

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

This passage is speaking of Jesus when it says, And when he has put all things under his feet. But Paul seems to think it important to explain his use of the word, “all” here and adds, “But when he (God, by the way) saith “all things are put under him,” it is obvious that he (Jesus) is an exception, which did put all things under him.”

The Role of Psalm 8

Couple of things about this passage. First of all, it seems like Paul is citing a passage from somewhere else as he quotes God saying prophetically, (it appears), that “all things would be put under the Christ.” Again, we have a problem finding this passage although there is a passage in Psalm that says such a thing . . . Psalm 8:6 – but it has application to man and man’s dominion of man. Some scholars do not feel justified to use this passage as the basis of Paul’s words. But I do. This is what the verses say there in Psalms 8:

Psalm 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

Jesus as the Second Adam

Obviously, these verses are speaking to the nature and state of Man, His position on earth relative to the order of thing and his domination over them – the sheep and oxen fowls and fish . . . right? To me, Jesus of Nazareth, born of a woman, born under the Law, the Second Adam, is perfectly described here. And it is something we overlook in the ambiance of trinitarian rhetoric – that is this:

God, who is called the Father all through scripture, took His words and filled the child born of a woman with them. His name was Jesus. He did this because it would take a man to redeem mankind – He obviously was not going to do the redeeming from heaven – for His reasons the redemption of flesh had to occur by flesh.

So where man was given dominion over all animals, the Son of Man, Jesus, had dominion over everything – and this is how Paul was able to take these passages from Psalm 8 and apply them to his description of the Messiah.

So here in verse 27 all Paul is doing is saying that when he says that Jesus overcame all things He Himself is exempted from the all things – that’s the whole point of this passage.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

When Paul wrote this, that time had not happened when all things were subdued by Christ. Satan was roaming in anger, knowing His time was short, and all sorts of prophetic utterances had to be completed which were culminated in His promised return, so as a result Paul says, “and when all things shall be subdued unto Him.”

Then he describes what things would look like at that time – which we will discuss next week.

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