So we are alive. We've been live for a little bit. We already got one person logged on. Things are good. So I think we can go ahead and start. There it is. I'll take my glasses off so I can see what I'm doing. Excuse me. Start off with that. Okay, here we are, September 8, 2024, lecture discussion number 215 on the book of Joel Daniels, Revelation, Job, Genesis 2, Genesis 9, Genesis 14, Genesis 15. That's where we are as usual. We, and by we I mean me, we have a massive pile of information left over from the previous lectures. And it has to be gone through carefully, meticulously sifted. 1 Corinthians 15.36 would seem to be the most complicated. That's where he says this, foolish one, this is the Apostle Paul talking to somebody, foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. That's what he says. That's the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul. And we have 1 Samuel 2.6-8 where it says this, the Lord kills and maketh alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up And so we see the relationship now between all of those, the Old Testament passages and the New Testament. If you don't find some kind of connectivity, you don't find the Old Testament and the New Testament melding together somewhere, then you're askew. Let me just put it that way. So constantly look for Old Testament verses that apply to New Testament and the reverse obviously, the reciprocal is true. The immediate question then leaps to the forefront, that being obviously, why does death precede life? Because that's what he says. The Lord kills and makes alive. Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. Why does death precede life? It's an interesting discussion. I think you'll like it. I hope you do. How are we foolish if we are unable to comprehend why this is the case? What was sown? For those of you who wish for a more literal translation here, you'll discover that Paul's response to the person who asked this question was, thou senseless one, and you without mind or understanding, you inconsiderate and thoughtless creature. That ultimately is the original Greek or Latin sometimes. Clearly somebody asked Paul a stupid question proving once again that there are indeed what? Stupid questions. So who asked the question here? Why did Paul respond the way he did? I mean, it was a powerful response. Again, you senseless one, and you without mind or understanding, you inconsiderate and thoughtless creature. That's what he says to him when he hears that question. Obviously, Paul has a temper. That is 1 Corinthians 15, 36. So again, who asked this question? What's the totality of the question that's being asked? And why is it stupid? What's being discussed here? It's really the Holy Spirit. How is the Holy Spirit's answer here overwhelming? Because the Bible is inspired as we know. How can we figure it out? What do we do? And we go back to where we always go, Pinky. Same thing we always do. We approach this kind of biblical problem by gathering more information. In this case, we should begin by noticing that death must occur in order for resurrection unto life to be realized. And that's mostly and typically a statement. There are exceptions because there's resurrection unto permanent death, right? So, again, we've got to figure out why death has to occur in order for resurrection unto life being realized. We can understand resurrection unto condemnation. This is resurrection unto life as God defines life and death, not by how we define it. And I would insert here that the questioner was likely a Gnostic or a Pharisee. And I think that he was challenging the Apostle. Christ himself, God in the flesh, called the Pharisees what? Fools, all having been likely one of the Pharisees that was called a fool. He was a Pharisee, Paul was, and he was incredibly intense. He was a sold-out Pharisee, if you will. Matthew 22, 15-22 and Matthew 23, 13-36. Jesus calls them fools and blind, Matthew 23, 17. And Paul replicates that language. I don't think that's an accident. Again, fine things attach themselves in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and best you can do that. As you know, the Pharisees and the Sadducees made a habit of asking God, and they didn't know it was God, but they had a habit of asking God what they thought were unanswerable paradoxical questions. They were trying to catch God in a mistake, right? They didn't know it was God. Again, let's give them some credit there. They just thought it was an endowed individual. They didn't know that it was God himself. All of which Christ, who being the omniscient God-man, easily rendered solvable. So they would come to him with these unsolvable paradoxes and he would just destroy them. He did it over and over and over again. Ultimately, he would leave the Pharisees and the Sadducees humiliated. Because what would they do? They thought they had this great question. They got a good trick. They're going to fool this guy. They'd get a big crowd around to see him destroy this Jesus guy. They get destroyed themselves and humiliated and they end up being mocked by the crowd that they encouraged to be there. The confrontation didn't go very well, in other words. Note that Satan initiated this tactic. this unsolvable paradoxical question that he asks God all the time. You see it in Job 1. We covered Job 1 at length and I hope you understand that this is exactly a satanic process here. Job 1 is the definitive scripture of all of this. Christ, I submit, attaches these antagonists to Satan, John 8.44. He says to them, their father is Satan. Obviously we have Matthew 4, Luke 4, and it also demonstrates this kind of stuff. Mark 1, where Satan is trying to do the same thing to Christ himself. The point is, yay, finally a point, I got to page 3, I got to one point, yay for me. This was not an innocent, sincere question here. Hang on. In case you were worried that you are the one asking the dumb question, that's not what's happening here. This was not an innocent, sincere questioner. Instead, it's the evidence. The evidence is on the side that this was a wicked, stupid antagonist at best, trying to catch Paul in some kind of trap of sorts. Anyway, I think we can immediately proceed by presenting the subject at hand here is the resurrection of the dead bodies. So the question had to do something with resurrection. And actually it does, and the Bible identifies the question. I'm just deliberately obscuring it for now. Intentionally. When we focus on the word sown, we go where? Where do we go? We go to the sower and the sown seeds. This wicked, stupid, Gnostic, likely, Pharisee then is attempting to discredit the truth of the resurrection. Essentially what he's doing is he's asking how can the body be resurrected, especially if it's been utterly completely dissipated. I get this question quite a bit, what about the bodies of the people that were killed in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, they were completely dissipated, how are we going to get them resurrected? And the same thing is true when the body goes to dust, all you see is dust. How are you going to resurrect that body? That's what the question ultimately was, in some sense. And when you hear a question like that, then you should immediately go to light speed and head to Genesis 2.7, because somebody says you cannot resurrect a body that's dissipated into the dust where the body was coming out of the dust originally. Genesis 3.19, Ecclesiastes 3.20, 3.19, Ecclesiastes 12.6-8, all of that is dust, the dust subject. Dust and all is vanity figure prominently here. You see those things constantly connected. All is vanity and dust is connected. So how can we conceive, believe, and know that God intends to resurrect bodies that have returned to dust? How can we know this is true? The wicked, stupid questioner implies that it's impossible. That's what he's doing. It's impossible. See Matthew 19.26, Luke 1.37, Job 42.2, and Luke 18.27. And the solution to this resurrection question, how can we know that we're going to be resurrected even though the body has gone to dust or been completely annihilated and dissipated? How can we know that we're going to be resurrected? Again, the inference is that it's impossible. It can't be done. And the solution here that Paul gives this particular person is attached to seeds. The body and a seed are connected. He connects seed, the seed of a plant, to the seed of the body is what he does. And why is that? And why does this answer the question? Because it does. We should also quickly bring Genesis 3.15 forward. Once again, Genesis 3.15 is throughout scripture. It's everywhere. You're going to find it all the time. The serpent shall eat dust. That's what he says. That's part of the punishment of Satan for being evil. Again. And you shall eat dust all the days of your life, Genesis 3.14. So dust and death have this relationship. God says at the trial there that the seed of the serpent shall bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. So now we have seeds involved in humanity and into an angelic being. Again, Genesis 6 now is here. Epilemic mutation. With that said, this seed theme begins at Genesis 129 and God said, behold, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, you shall eat it for food. Also to every animal of the earth, every bird of the air, and of everything that creeps on the earth in which there is a living soul. So he's saying that Not only does every tree yield seed, but we have seed in every bird and everything that creeps on the earth and everything that's a living soul. So why do I have this emphasis on seeds when it comes to this? Anyways, we should expect mankind is once again, what has he done with mankind? He's talked about seed in mankind, seed in animals. He's put animals and mankind together again. He does it all the time, constantly. It's all over the Bible. You see that relationship. And God says this. And for today, though, let me skip something here. Other than mankind is always linked to animals, but for today we should look at the behold. What great truth is it, Genesis 129? Behold, I've given you every herb that yields seed. There's something incredible about that sentence. And it's happening in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 36. And after God says this, and behold, after he says all of that, on Genesis 129. Then he goes to Genesis 131, which you know what it is. And he says, and behold, my emphasis is not nearly as high. My leaping capability has diminished to zero. There's somebody driving by here, and I know that it could be for me. But it's not. Yay. But there's 131 Genesis after the behold, he says, it's very good. Why? What's the behold there? Behold, it's very good. Or it was the behold. Something amazing is being said in that sentence. Something incredible. Incredible doctrine. One thing we can notice is that God is declaring something about himself. What is he declaring? He's declaring his goodness. I'm good. Behold, I'm good. We should go, well, that's not such a big deal. Well, it's an incredible deal. And somehow this explains Deuteronomy 22, 9 through 12. And again, do the same thing as much as you can. Find every verse, every scripture, every passage you can that has seed references to it and put them all together and see if you can figure out what the seed is and why the seed is being described to handle a question on resurrection. So 22, 9 through 12 Deuteronomy, you shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed. Lest the yield harvest of the seed which you have sown in the fruit of your vineyard is defiled. Don't mix your seeds up. What's he talking about there? Come on, you can do it. He's saying don't mix seeds. Because I've got seeds of animals and I've got seeds of humans. I've even got seeds of angelic beings. Don't mix them up because you defile everything that's mixed up like that. Don't put your seeds of the vineyard in with the other seeds. Don't mix them. Don't mix seeds. Where is that in the Bible, in the book of Genesis? That would be Genesis 6, wouldn't it? That's why Deuteronomy 22, 9-12 says what it says. That's why that commandment is there. That's what it means. Keep in mind here, The plan is to fully understand the extraordinary complexity of 1 Corinthians 15, 12 through 54. That's what we're attempting to do by us, and I mean me. 1 Corinthians 15, 12 through 54 is just absolutely loaded to the brim with information and purpose. It's incredible. It's got more answers than you could possibly even begin to grab. That's why he starts out with, you foolish one. You inconsiderate idiot. John 12, 24 must be brought to the forefront. This is where Jesus Christ answers his disciples saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, there we go, a grain of wheat falls into the ground and what does it do there? It dies. It remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit, 1 Corinthians 15, 35-58. So he's saying that seeds die. They have to die. Let's go back to the beginning here. Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. That's what Paul is referencing here in 1 Corinthians 15, 35-58. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. Obviously, Matthew 13, 3 through 30, the good seed and the tares, right, has a prominent place in this subject as well. So we got all this stuff now to assimilate and filter through and try to figure out what is being said and why is it being said and what the great truth is here. And also Joel 117. Yeah, I got Joel in there today. How about that? The seed shrivels under the clods. Storehouses are in shambles. Barns are broken down because the seed has withered. What is the typology? What is the symbolism that's the seed? All of that to get to the primary symbolism that is the seed. Hopefully most, if not all, of you are recognizing already that there's an attachment between the seed and resurrection. So if I want to know about resurrection, resurrection of human beings, resurrection of the animal kingdom, resurrection, if I want to know about it, I have to understand seed. God has placed resurrection into his creation. Specifically, he did it, he put it into the vegetation. Fruits and plants and trees, that's what he did. The question was 1 Corinthians 1535. This is the question now. I'll lay it right out here. How are the dead resurrected? That's what he asked. How are the dead resurrected? Tell me how. And Paul responds back to him that the answer is hidden in fruits and plants and trees. A tiny seed produces a mighty oak, as does the seeds of animals. He also said, how are the dead resurrected and with what body do they come? That's the question in its totality. And Paul addresses all of that, the seeds of animals, the seeds of plants and fruits and trees. He addresses all of it in 1 Corinthians 15, 37-39. Something that we have given attention to a few lectures ago. That is the ongoing issue with regard to resurrection of animals. Though the body has gone to dust and is blown by the wind, God only requires a quantum particle. The seed sown, the Holy Spirit continues, and what you sow you do not sow that body that shall be. Let me repeat that. Paul through the Holy Spirit said this. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be. In other words, you're not getting the same body. So the seed of the body that you have is not going to come out, it's coming out as a different body completely. Not totally, but completely as a difference. So what's he saying with all of that? How does this answer the paradox that the Pharisee Gnostic submitted? And of course, how is this question a mockington? He hit the Gnostic or the Pharisee, both, probably both, at one point or another, or Sadducee, and he's involved in some of this kind of activity. How is his question of mocking taunt an impossible contradictory conundrum? How is it contradictory? When a seed is buried in the ground, it essentially dies, according to the Bible. It decomposes. It ceases to be in seed form. But there is life in the dead seed. Dead seed. Life that springs forth, John 12, 24. A new plant, if you will, will rise up. Just as the planted seed is the body, God gives a body as he pleases and to each seed its own body, 1 Corinthians 15, 36. So then we have the easy question. How many plants have there been throughout all of time? How many plants? How many trees? Trillions and trillions of them, huh? An uncountable number. So Paul adds to the plants. To each seed its own body. Well, who is it in that statement? To each seed its own body. So who is the its here? Who is included in its? Well, he tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, he lines it all up. He includes all of it. Paul answers that next, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 39. All seeds, all flesh is not the same flesh. There is a man's seed, there is another seed that's animals, another seed that's sea creatures, another seed that's birds. That's what he says. Not all flesh is the same flesh. Not all seeds produce the same body. They produce different bodies. Because they're seeds. You plant a rose seed, you don't get a cucumber. So that's why he's trying to cut content. Obviously he's talking not just to the Pharisee guy, but also to the entire group of people that are listening. But notice the context here, which is the question, how are the dead raised up? How do you raise the dead? Give me your process. And with what body do they come? The context is resurrection and within this context Paul does what? He includes the sea creatures, the birds, the beasts, the animals, that's what he does. How many plants have come from a fallen seed? How many animals have died? Trillions upon trillions. And how much of mankind has died? The answer is all of it so far. Everybody has died, except for one. Some people will say John the Apostle did not die. I would hope that's true and I would hope that he comes to my house someday. Do I deserve it? No. Will I enjoy it? Oh, absolutely. There is a strong view out there that you should be aware of that John the Apostle has never died. It's interesting to consider it. Not necessarily true, but it's interesting. One of the disadvantages of being old and infirm is that the saliva in my mouth accumulates to the point where sometimes all I do is spit on the front row. So I never sit in the front row. Hopefully you'll find some of this helpful as you deal with all of this that comes with aging and death and all of that that's ubiquitous for all of us. And hopefully you will find what he says in 1535 through 1558 comforting. Paul concludes with 1 Corinthians 1558. Therefore, he says, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So, obviously, understanding 1 Corinthians 15, 35-58 brings immovability, brings steadfastness, where you're immovable and you are steadfast, always abounding, knowing that your labor is not in vain. That's what's happening in 1 Corinthians 15. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So if you know this, what happens to you? We go from being jelly and weeping and flailing about to somebody who's steadfast, somebody who's immovable. So 1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 58 becomes critical information. Understanding the totality of it becomes very, very valuable. Okay. And we got through some of that. So next what we do is we go to comprehend the firstborn mystery. You didn't even know there was a firstborn mystery, but there is. Hopefully some of you noticed that I slipped in a trap. I said something that was an intentional trap to see how many of you would say, oh yeah, that's right. Does God require only a quantum particle? That's what I said, right? Does he? Does God need only a quantum particle in order to resurrect the body? For that matter, does God need a seed? How much of a seed does he need? How many seeds? Why did he use seeds? Why does he call him seed? He's obviously making an association. This is why the Jews reject cremation. They won't cremate because they believe that cremation is assigned to annihilationism. And they also thought it to be a pagan practice. And also you have the ovens of the Nazis that burned millions and millions of Jews with the ashes completely co-mingled. How does God separate all the ashes is the question. You can see why Paul said, you idiot. Quit being an idiot. And obviously, how does God separate all the ashes is an intentionally stupid question. It's okay to have a stupid question if it's intentional. Maybe not. That's why I am... And you should understand, I look at this Pharisee question and I see the relationship to the Hyper-Calvinists here. Every time. I'm sorry about that, but not really, that's a big sorry. I see people who all the time say that this group of seed cannot blossom. It cannot be resurrected. That seed won't work. It's dead. It's gone. It's completely annihilated. God can't find it. He doesn't want to do it. That's the stuff of your hyper-Calvinists. And God can easily restore the burned bodies and all the ashes. He can sift through them and find every single body, can't he? He can do it instantly, can't he? That's what he says, instantly, I'll do it instantly. And every snowflake is different, everything is unique, everything is distinct, and he'll find everything. So you get a picture of how good he is and how powerful he is when you see things like this. He can easily restore those burned to ash and their bodies. He is God, he needs nothing, doesn't he? Which then means he chooses to describe resurrection of mankind and animals as seeds and plants and trees. That's what he chooses to do. That's his allegory, if you will. That's his symbolism. But why does he choose seeds, plants, and trees? We've got Matthew 27, 52 now coming to the party, I guess, for lack of another term. Graves were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Let me repeat that. Graves were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. What fell asleep in that sense? I'll get to that in a minute. After his resurrection, Christ's resurrection, they went into the Holy Series and appeared to many, Matthew 27, 53. So therefore, the intentional stupid question that I ask has to be modified. He doesn't need a quantum particle. He doesn't need it. He has a purpose to the body returning to dust. Genesis 319, Genesis 27, Ecclesiastes 3. What is the purpose? Why does he want the body to return to dust? It comes from dust. Why did he want the body to come from dust? Why does he want it to return to dust? What's his plan? What's it mean? How does it work? Why is it this way? The body goes to dust. How is this a condition for resurrection? Death is connected to sin. What happens to the sin of the dead? I have Lazarus here in the rich man, right? We have a picture of what happens to the sin of the dead. Okay, it's for us to attempt to calculate all of this. His reasonings. Will the graves open at the rapture? They opened at his resurrection and he's the first born of the resurrected, right? Will the graves open at the rapture? Will those who witness this see the open graves? And if God opens the graves, does he take some of us and he say go back into the cities and show everybody that you're alive? Does he replicate Matthew 27, 52 through 53? Is that what he does? It seems logical that Matthew 27, 52 through 53 has a direct relationship to the abduction and the rapture of the bride and the church. If he abducts the bride and he opens graves and he sends people into the cities to testify, then he pulls them out. We have almost the first stage of the resurrection, of course, then the second stage becomes a little bit more complicated. If I am correct about that, that the graves are going to be open all over the world, imagine the impact of that. Now begin to recognize why people go, wait a minute, why Israel then changes. Colossians 115, He Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creatures, it says. Colossians 116, for him For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible. All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things consist. That's a powerful verse. He's the firstborn over all creatures and I'm aware that many translations, they don't like that. So they've changed the creatures because that implies animals, right? Sea creatures, birds. Don't want to have that, got to get rid of that because we want them all annihilated. So they put creation there. They say instead of first born over all creatures, they have the first born over all creation. It's a lot more ambiguous. I object to that obviously. God himself is the first born over what kind of things? Living things. You will see commentary that says, well, he's not talking about living things. He's talking about principalities. He's talking about offices of government. That's what he's talking about. No, he's not. He's talking about living things. He doesn't care about all the rest of that stuff. That's just silly. He is life. Christ himself is the firstborn of living souls. He's the life, John 11, 25. He's the light of life, John 8, 12. He delights in living souls. He doesn't delight in offices and thrones. All things are obviously living souls, whether angels or human or animals. Christ is the firstborn of the three realms, which makes the most sense to me, being the adorable, highly trained religious professional that I am. At Colossians 1.18, Christ is referred to as the firstborn of the dead. Now what does that mean? That in all things he may have preeminence. I don't watch the time. How am I doing? Okay. First time ever. What does it mean that he is the firstborn of the dead? What's that mean? Why would they say that? Why? The Bible says it. Why? So how's it true? What's it mean? His is the preeminent death. That's obvious. His death has supremacy. That's obvious. He is the begotten one that dies. That makes sense. We got all of that. So, Psalm 27, I will declare the decree that the Lord has said to me, you, my son, today I have begotten you. It is not to be construed that Christ is created. Don't make a mistake like that. That's absolute, total heresy. He is the infinite God in the flesh. He is above. He is the supreme one with eternal unity with the Godhead, the triunity itself. Therefore, he's equal to God. He says so over and over and over again. And God says it about all of them. He does not differentiate. So Christ has absolute primacy. Philippians 2.6, 2 Corinthians 3.17, John 14.9, John 1.1-5, John 12.45. With all that said, the firstborn of the dead implies that Jesus Christ is what? He's the first to die. Oh, people will say, well, that can't be. He didn't show up and his death was 28 AD. But you're not taking into account Revelation 13, 8, are you? That's the lamb slain before what? Before the foundations of the earth, of the world. Time is a foundation. So, he is the lamb slain outside of time. And when you're outside of time, you're going to be first for sure. Time doesn't apply to him. As you know, God introduced time into the world, and by design, time began to affect the angelic realm, the animal realm, and the human realm. We're all under time. He is not. So he's the firstborn of the dead. So what does that tell you? One thing that you can get from me today about that is it tells you that he is timeless. He has authority over time. Christ being slain before time, therefore, means exactly, makes him the firstborn of the dead. That's only one aspect of it. There are many other aspects. But for today, his death is outside of time. Why is his death outside and inside of time? We think it's inside. He knows it's outside. So why does he do that? His death is alone. There is no death equal to his death. He dies so that we may live. Foolish one, what is sown is not made alive unless it dies. Let me read it this way. Foolish one, what is sown is not made alive unless he dies. His death makes our death insignificant. Once again, time, the mystery of time, plays some kind of role here. God installs it in Genesis 1, 16 through 18 to rule over the day and rule over the night. So how does time rule and divide the light from the darkness exactly? How does this time rule stuff and this division from light from darkness? How does that all work? And why is it this way? Okay, let's take a little break here, right by a little something powerful to drink. That water is powerful. We have houses falling into the Mendenhall River by the 10s and 20s. Water is powerful. So we should take stock to where we are at this point. Christ is the firstborn of every creature, of all creatures. Christ is the firstborn of the dead. The one whose death is timeless. It happened before time and it goes beyond time. Well, wait a minute, how do you go beyond time? Well, you have to be timeless to do that. It's discussing his infinity. Time is not infinite, time has a start. And both of those verses that I just mentioned testify the mystery of godliness, the hypostatic union, the God-man, being that he is both God and man. God does not die, but man does. So the body of Christ dies, and it did die, but he cannot die, because he's life. And it's something that will never be fully understood. We'll never understand the hypostatic union, the God-man, the greatest mystery of all. Neither man nor angel can comprehend the mystery of godliness, the great mystery of 1 Timothy 3, 14 through 16. None never will know the greatest of all these mysteries. Again, why won't we know? We can't comprehend it, that's the problem. All we can accomplish for now is to realize that these statements in scripture are attached to the person Christ is, and he is the word of God himself, the word that added humanity and will forever be in humanity, Exodus 21, 1 through 11, tells us that he will be pierced. Of course, he's pierced. We can thus conclude that he is the firstborn of all creatures, creatures being the animal kingdom, the human kingdom, and the angelic, Ezekiel 1, 1 through 28. His humanity allows Christ to be the firstborn of mankind, the firstborn of many brethren, Romans 8, 29. But how does he also be the firstborn of the angels and the animals? Some might insist that God does not address this question, but of course he addresses this question. Why would God make a search of scriptures to find out what he's doing with the animals? Why didn't he just lay it out plainly? Why didn't he say, I'm going to save the animals, I'm going to save the infant children, I'm going to save the believers, But he has a way of making you do something. Search for it. Figure it out. Understand it. If you don't, you won't have any steadfastness. You won't be immovable. You won't know what you're doing and you'll be like the plant that gets hit by the sun or the wind and can't blossom. It's caught by the thorns. And we all do. We're human. We have frailty. But anyway, some might insist that God has not addressed the question. They're intentionally contrarian. Does that sound familiar? God will not resurrect the animals. Ha. Animals are just like rocks. Ha. Sound like the foolish one to you? That's what they are. Those who believe that God resurrects all but... I'm sorry. Yeah, see, the point of it is that I have the position that God resurrects everything, as much as is possible, as much as he will. And the point is that we should search the scriptures in order to find out if that's true. I usually ask those if they believe that God does not remember his animals, does he forget his animals or does he not care about his animals? Answer that question, foolish one. Does he not know which animals are his? Or does he just forget them? That he's not going to resurrect them? Is that goodness? O foolish ones, why do you insist on this position? It is destructive and it is ungodly. I've ranted on that before. The hurt that it causes, especially children, Breathtakingly huge. Horrible. I shouldn't say this, but I will. We had somebody come by the other day, and they said their dog died. And the dog had grown up with a little boy, and he was now 12 years old. And then somebody came to the house, and they euthanized the beloved dog. And the little boy just said, don't close your eyes. Don't close your eyes. That reminded me of my dog, Tickle. He was run over by a car and I carried him home. I insisted he was still alive. We had to take him to the vet. But he was dead. I never forgot it. And that's the problem. If you have no humanity, hang on, You don't understand that God loves his animals. If you don't understand that, again, I ask the question, does he not remember them? Does he forget? Does he not care about his animals? What kind of attitude is that? That's the prevailing attitude, and I got a letter the other day from a guy in Texas that said his church is being torn apart by this. I don't know what the name of it is, but he didn't leave it to me. And the envelope is up there. Apparently you can now just email an envelope letter. So that was interesting to me, because I like physical copies instead of digital ones. Anyway, where am I? Immediately we should bring the law of the firstborn to the fray here, Exodus 13, 2-16, where God says, You shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb. What's he mean by that? The first animal, human being that comes out of the womb, that opens the womb, that's the firstborn law. That's the beginning of the firstborn law. Exodus 13, 15. The Lord killed all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Why did he do that? Again, once again, animals are right there with humanity. As usual, man is joined to animals. Learn to expect that. If you go through life not knowing that, you've got problems. You'll never get things right. But today focus on the great truth that the firstborn is sacrificed. Christ is the firstborn. Was he sacrificed? Absolutely he was. Obviously mankind is a creature, animals are creatures, different flesh, 1 Corinthians 15, 39. All living souls. Christ is the firstborn of all living souls. He is the living soul, the one who gives life to all living souls. John 11, 25, John 8, 12. Being the firstborn and the firstfruits of the resurrection, carries the obvious. By being both God and man, he's the last Adam. 1 Corinthians 15, 44-52, Jesus Christ became a life-giving spirit. The first Adam became a living being. So obviously Christ has always been a living being, a living spirit, and a life-giving spirit. He's the one that gives life. Obvious question here, angels, what are they? What are they described as? They have some physicality, they can eat, they can speak, they can move around, they carry swords, they ride in chariots, they have multiple wings, some of them. Are they spirits? The answer is yes. Who gave the spirits life? That's Christ again. Why is Christ the last Adam? The correct translation is that he's the last man. Adama means man. First written in 1545. So whenever you start to collect multiple statements in scripture, it's wise to combine them when they all contain elements that are clearly identical. And such is the case with all these first verses. Once one is able to identify the similar, then the plan should be to search for the main, the first position of truth, if you will. So we're going to try to do that here a little bit. First, number one, 1 Corinthians 15, 20, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. So who are those who have fallen asleep? Has anybody fallen awake? We have some that have fallen asleep. Number two, he's the firstborn of all creatures, Colossians 1, 15. Do all creatures fall asleep then? He is also the head of the body, and he is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything, Colossians 1.18. So there's three in a row that have to be placed side by side or in some kind of sequential order. He is before all things, and in him all things consist, which means to be found in him, 1 Corinthians 1.17. Let me read it again. He is before all things, so that means he's outside of time. There you go. And in him all things are found in him. All things are found in him. So what's found in him? Offices, governmental positions, buildings? Gravity, obviously. He says so. But note the emphasis on all things. Are animals, angels and mankind all things? Yes, they are. Living things is his thing. Number four, Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, Revelation 1.5. Number five, the purpose that he foreknew, he became confirmed to the image of the Son so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren, Romans 8.19. Number six, he's the first and the last, Revelation 1.17. I, the Lord, am the first and with the last I am he, Isaiah 41.4. I am first, I am the first, I am the last, besides me there is no God, Isaiah 44, 6. Number 8, listen to me, I am he, I am the first, I am also the last. Indeed, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has stretched out to the heavens. When I call them, they stand up together, Isaiah 48, 12, 13. What's that referring to? He created the angel. That's what he says. Indeed, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has stretched out the heavens." So he reaches into the heavens. Some people think that's the universe, but it's a lot more complicated. Okay, what do we now know? If we were to list the key points, yay, a key point, we should discover the intent. And there is an order to 1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 58. Do you suppose that this is an important attribute? In other words, there's this absolute bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, nice order, 1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 58. You think that's a happenstance? Obviously not. Christ is the only one who can resurrect the dead and the only one who will resurrect the dead. He is the firstborn of the dead. His death is the preeminent death because His death is the sacrificial death for all who believe in Him. His death makes the dead alive. Good, I see it. I'm on my way. He's the firstborn of all creatures. All creatures are in Him. He made them. and in him they all can be found. The implication is resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, 39-49. Of all creatures, he knows all things. What's the implication? Again, will he forget? Will he remember? Will he forget what he knows? Will he forget who he made? This finally answering the question, how much resurrection will there be? Billions upon billions. The numbers cannot be known. Only God knows the uncountable number. Christ is the last man. Again, the last Adam. Why is he the last one? Is he the angel of the Lord? Yes, he is. This we know. Did that make him the last angel also? Does last infer final? Is this referring to the last man as a life-giving spirit, which is juxtaposed with living being in 1 Corinthians 15.45? The first Adam was of earth, made of dust. The last Adam also what? Made of dust? Through Mary? 1 Corinthians 15.48. The heavenly man has a body. What's the body made of? It's a human body. Is it made of dust? I get through. What does it mean? He has to be human, doesn't he? Well, it's complicated, and I know. How shocking is that? It's quite difficult to consolidate into a manageable state. These subjects have yet to be solidified by commentators over hundreds of years. I've found every commentator I can, and nobody can figure it out. 1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 58. It is a goldmine. My assessment is quite likely to be wanting, therefore, Nonetheless, I will endeavor to persevere here. We've got a couple of pages. Obviously, clearly, this is the mystery of godliness. Christ has added humanity. He's fully God with a human body. And the human body is totally subordinated to his deity. All of man, all of Adam, us, have a body that is subject to disease, decay into corruption, and death. Animals likewise. Again, animals follow humanity. Christ through Psalm 16, 8-11 and Acts 2, 25-28 had a body that did not go into corruption. His body did not go into corruption, yet it was dead. Thus the principle is established. Our human bodies, as presently constructed, cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Why not? Why can't we enter the kingdom of heaven with our current bodies? Because the body follows the state of our spirit. our soul. Those who believe in Christ with all of their souls shall be given a glorified body as he has and can enter into the new city of Jerusalem. Those who do not believe in Christ will not. They will have the body of decay and disease and corruption. There are two processes that are utilized here by God, resurrection or translation. The dead in Christ are resurrected and will be raised incorruptible, 1 Corinthians 15, 51-58. And those that sleep, I'm sorry, those that shall not sleep will be translated, they'll be changed in an instant without any time occurring. So I have those that are sleeping and those that do not sleep. What does that mean? And I should interject here that sleep, when assigned to believers, John 11, 25, is only referring to the state of the dead body, never to the mind. In fact, sleep is only used to describe the body of the saved. The body sleeps, never the mind, never the consciousness, never the spirit, never the soul. Now you have to ask yourself, what kind of body did the wicked get? Revelation 20, 11-15. 1 Corinthians 15, 12-58 literally covers the resurrection of the dead through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ only. If the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. Who are these dead? Why are they raised? Why are they made alive? How many will there be? In other words, why does Christ resurrect dead bodies of living souls that live? Every living thing that lives and moves will live, Ezekiel 47.9. Every living thing that lives and moves will also live. I have to spit stuff out of my mouth. Sorry, I'm disgusting. Ezekiel 47.9. What if Christ only resurrected some, but not all? He resurrects all, doesn't he? Not just the saved, but also the wicked. He resurrects them all. Gives them all a body. One glorified, one corrupted and diseased and decayed. What if he only did some of them? Because if you have annihilationism, you might as well keep going with it, right? Run it to death. That's where it goes. I've got to find my place here, I don't do that as well as I used to. But if he only resurrected some but not all, what would be the impact of that? If he only resurrects some, he doesn't resurrect everybody, just some, what's he saying then? What's the opposite of resurrection? Annihilationism, that's correct. So he obviously will not ever do that because of existence. He is given existence. And clearly if the wicked are reunited with their corrupted body, it demonstrates their immortality. They are immortal. They have existence. The wicked are resurrected to face judgment. That's also a central aspect of all of that. 1 Corinthians tells us that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, 20-23. Christ will deliver the kingdom to God, the Father, 1 Corinthians 15, 24. What's the meaning of that? Christ comes back. He's king. He's the messianic king for a thousand years, and he will deliver that kingdom that he has to the Father. That's the coming of the end, if you will. That's a post-millennial event. In other words, after 1,000 years and the release of Satan and the final Magog-Gog war, Christ gives the kingdom to the Father. So there's this transference thing going on here. He delivers the kingdom. The impact of rejecting the truth of the resurrection follows the delivery of the kingdom. And how are those two connected? And next is the seed parable. What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. All flesh is not the same flesh. There's flesh of men, there's flesh of animals, there's another flesh of birds, another flesh of sea creatures. Does that remind you of anything? That's in 1 Corinthians. I could have been reading Genesis 1, 20 through 31, the sixth day of creation. Because he replicates it almost perfectly. Notice that 1 Corinthians 15, 39, 43 references the animal kingdom, includes the animal kingdom in the question of 1 Corinthians 15, 35. How are the dead raised up and what body do they come with? Animals are included in the answer to that question. Why? The subject of resurrection dominates 1 Corinthians 15, 35-58. So if you want to learn resurrection, you want to be able to answer the question, how will the dead be raised? What body will they come with? Study 1 Corinthians 15, 35-58. Pick it apart. And it's, oh, I should say this, it's foolish to suggest, to believe that God would not allow his animals' resurrection. The animals that he made, his animals, Psalm 50, 10 through 11, to be made without an immortal soul. He would not do that. He would not create a living soul that didn't have a living soul. It makes no sense. He didn't do it. Okay, you can talk to me about mosquitoes and all that stuff. So also, and I have to cover that at some point, there's an issue of the breath of life and the body made from dust. If it is sown a physical body, it will be raised a spiritual body, a glorified body. The last atom is the life-giving spirit, 1 Corinthians 15-58. And lastly, and appropriately, concludes with the truth that the last Adam swallows up death. Death will be no more for all those who are resurrected, believing in the blood of Christ. And again, that's 1535-58, 1 Corinthians. And we've barely begun. We have hardly even scratched the surface. Christ is the last Adam because only he can restore all things. Who can do the job after he's done it? There can't be anybody that comes after him. Because if you come after him, then he's not God. So he's the last man, because no one can do what he does, no one can improve on what he does, and no one has to do what he did. So anyway, the plan for the next time we get together is to assemble as much of all of these as possible. into one great big hole. That's W-H-O-L-E and not H-O-L-E like many of you just immediately thought. So at that point I guess I'll call it good. Remember now thy creator In the days of thy youth Before the golden bowl breaks Or the silver cords lose Before the housekeeper trembles And the grinders are done Remember now thy creator Before the evil days come When the evil days come And the dark years draw nigh When the sun, moon and stars Give no light to the sky Before you make that last journey On to man's long, long home Before the funeral bell tolls When the funeral bell tolls And the dark shadows creep And the mourners stand by The closed doors in the street Yeah, the day will soon come In that much you can trust Remember now thy creator Before the flesh turns to dust For the dust shall go down Into the earth once again And then the spirit returns Back to God where it came When time gives way Unto eternity All else is but vanity Vanity of vanities All but the duty of man To love his creator And keep his command Now hear the words of the preacher Look to the Savior you must Remember now thy Creator Before you meet Him as the judge