Return of Christ

The resurrection in other New Testament passages

POST OVERVIEW. A study of miscellaneous New Testament passages about the resurrection, particularly emphasizing the fact that all believers will be glorified in the resurrection, whether living or dead.

Another chapter in my upcoming book, “The Resurrection: when the church is glorified.”

Having covered the major New Testament passages about the resurrection, we now turn to other places where this event is mentioned or referenced. In reviewing these verses we will emphasize that all believers will be resurrected, whether they are physically still alive or “have fallen asleep.” This is consistent with what we have already seen in other New Testament passages, that there is one resurrection event of both the living and the dead (see 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-55).

1 Corinthians 6:14 – Now God has not only raised the Lord but will also raise us up through His power.

This verse makes clear that “raised” or “raised up” speaks of resurrection, for “God has ‘raised’ the Lord” definitely refers to the resurrection of Jesus. Paul then makes the declaration that, as certainly as God has raised (resurrected) the Lord Jesus, so He will also “raise us up” (resurrect us) through His power. As God raised up Jesus in glorious resurrection on the third day, so He will raise up all believers in glorious resurrection on the last day.

Philippians 3:20-21 – 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Those whose citizenship is in heaven are all those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether they are physically living or dead. These are the ones who eagerly wait for the coming of our Savior. When Jesus comes, He “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.” All believers currently dwell in “a body of humble state,” whether their body is living (and groaning; 2 Cor. 5:2, 4), or their body has already died. But at the resurrection, all those whose citizenship is in heaven will be glorified. There is no distinction made between the living and the dead. When He comes, He will transform all believers into His glory.

1 John 3:2 – Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

The “we” that John is addressing in this verse about Jesus’ return and the resurrection is obviously all Christians because he calls them “beloved” and “children of God” (John 1:12). There is no distinction made between the living children of God and the children of God who have already died.

Thus when Jesus appears in power and glory, “we will be like Him.” All believers, whether dead 1,900 years like the Apostle John or still living like you and me, will be glorified when Jesus appears. This is the resurrection, which applies to all believers equally.

Colossians 3:4 – When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Here Paul expresses the same idea that John expresses in 1 John 3:2 (above). Every believer, whether alive or “asleep,” is now in a state of eager anticipation (Phil. 3:20) as we await the coming (παρουσία) of the Lord Jesus. We await in our humble state, where we appear very ordinary and where our bodies groan (2 Cor. 5:2, 4). But when Christ appears, we will all be changed (1 Cor. 15:52). All believers will be resurrected and will appear with Him in our glorified bodies.

Matthew 24:37-41 – 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

In this passage from the Olivet Discourse, only Matt. 24:40-41 concern the resurrection of the saints but 24:37-39 are given to show that the context is the coming of the Lord Jesus on the last day. We know from our entire study of the resurrection and from the two passages which we have just considered that the coming of the Son of Man and the resurrection of the saints are simultaneous events. When Christ is revealed, then the saints will be glorified. This is explicitly what Jesus is teaching in this text.

24:37-39. Jesus speaks about the state of the world when He returns in glory. As when Noah was building the ark and was also preaching righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) to the world of the ungodly, so will the world be before the coming of the Son of Man. In that day the world will be living in rebellion to God and will go through their daily routines as if there is no God and as if God has not given laws and commandments which must be obeyed. While the faithful church proclaims the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the need for repentance, the world indulges their sin and their wickedness, denying God and living as if there will never be a judgment. The wicked world will not “see all these things,” so they will not “recognize that Jesus is near, right at the door” (Matt. 24:33). They refuse to repent (Rev. 9:20-21) and so are surprised when the day of the Lord comes upon them with sudden destruction (1 Thess. 5:2-3), and they will not escape the judgment. The world will be terrified at the coming of the Son of Man (Rev. 6:12-17).

24:40-41. But while 24:37-39 tells of the judgment of the unsuspecting ungodly at the coming of the Son of Man, 24:40-41 speaks about the resurrection of the righteous who are on the alert and are ready for the Lord’s coming. In the first scene (24:40), two men are in the field. At the coming of the Lord, the believer is “caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17) in the resurrection while the unbeliever is left on the earth to face the wrath of the Lamb in terrifying judgment (Rev. 6:15-17; 19:21). The second scene is similar as two women are grinding at the mill (24:41). As the Lord descends from heaven with a shout (1 Thess. 4:16), the believing woman goes up in glorious resurrection while the unbeliever faces “the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15).

The two verses describe the same truth. At the coming of the Lord, those believers who are alive and remain will be “taken,” meaning they will be gloriously resurrected and will meet the Lord in the air.

CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated that the resurrection of the saints on the last day at the coming of the Lord is a common theme throughout the New Testament and has shown that the teaching about the resurrection is consistent between the various New Testament authors.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 7/2/2024                     #707

Summary of 1 Thessalonians – doctrine and imperative

POST OVERVIEW. A summary of the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians giving the letter’s  doctrinal teaching and its imperatives (instructions and commands). This emphasis on doctrine and imperative is a feature of the Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method for epistles, which I explain in greater detail in my upcoming book on discipleship (in late 2024).

INTRODUCTION. Recently some brothers and I completed a study of 1 Thessalonians. In our study, we employed the Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method for epistles. The “DBS method for epistles” emphasizes the doctrinal teaching in the epistle and the epistle’s behavioral imperatives (commands, exhortations, instructions). Awareness of the doctrinal teaching of the epistles develops theological convictions and study of the behavioral imperatives yields conscious repentance and obedience.

DOCTRINAL TEACHING OF THE EPISTLE > > > THEOLOGICAL CONVICTIONS

BEHAVIORAL IMPERATIVES OF THE EPISTLE > > > REPENTANCE AND OBEDIENCE

The following are the key doctrines and imperatives from 1 Thessalonians.

KEY DOCTRINES FROM 1 THESSALONIANS

1:4. “your election.” DOCTRINE OF ELECTION states that, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), in eternity past, God has chosen / elected all the people that He will, in time and space, call to salvation, that He will justify by faith and that He will glorify in the resurrection on the last day. This election is entirely based on God’s sovereign will and is not conditioned on any merit, quality or action of the chosen (therefore is called “unconditional election”). By the use of His providence, God will certainly bring to justification every one of those He has elected in eternity past and He will raise them up in glory on the last day.

1:5. In Thessalonica, the gospel, which is God’s appointed means of calling sinners to repentance and faith, came to them “in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Even Paul was amazed at how powerfully the gospel had worked in Thessalonica.

1:10. In this one verse there are actually four separate doctrinal truths. “wait for His Son from heaven.” The doctrine of the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory. “whom He raised from the dead.” The doctrine of the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus “rescues us from the wrath to come.” The doctrine of the wrath of God against sin (Rom. 1:18; etc.) and the doctrine that Jesus is our Savior and He rescues us from God’s judgment by His substitutionary death on the cross.

2:19. “in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming.” Here we discovery that when Jesus returns, His saints will be present with Him. This means that, at His coming, the saints are not still waiting for the Lord, but are with the Lord.

This is the first of several teaching points that Paul will make in this epistle about the return of Jesus, about the resurrection of the saints and about the day of the Lord. The epistles to the Thessalonians contain much important doctrine on these topics of the end times.

3:3-4. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that persecution for your faith is a normal part of the disciple’s life. (See 1 Peter 1:6-9; 4:12-19; 2 Tim. 3:12; Matt. 5:10-12; etc.)

3:13. Another verse about the saints when Jesus returns. “The coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” Once again, we see that Jesus’ saints will be with Him when He comes.

4:13-18. Clear doctrinal teaching about the resurrection of the saints, particularly about the order of events of the resurrection and about how the resurrection of the saints relates to the coming of the Lord Jesus. A GO-TO PASSAGE ON THE RESURRECTION AND ON THE RETURN OF CHRIST. [See the full teaching on this passage in my blog #700 on May 6, 2024, entitled “The order of the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.”]

5:2-10. Paul’s teaching on “the day of the Lord.” In a sense, “the day of the Lord” and the resurrection are two sides of the same coin. Both of these relate to the return of Christ but each one relates to a different group. While the resurrection relates to believers being glorified when Jesus returns, “the day of the Lord” relates to the terror and judgment that comes upon the unrighteous when Jesus comes in judgment. Same event, but two different experiences.

Paul’s teaching on the day of the Lord:

  • The “day of the LORD” is a common theme among the Old Testament prophets. Therefore, Paul is not inventing a new term or a new idea but is building on what the Scripture has already revealed. Paul’s teaching is necessarily consistent with other scriptural teaching about the day of the LORD. (See Joel 1:14-15; 2:1-11, 30-31; Obadiah 15-21; Micah 5:10-15; Zeph. 1:7-18 (very clear!).)
  • 5:2. The day of the Lord will come upon the unrighteous without warning and without mercy. (Matt. 24:37-41)
  • 5:3. Sudden destruction, so there will be no time for rescue or escape. In fact, on the day of the Lord, the time for rescue has forever passed and the time of judgment has come. There is no hope on that day.
  • 5:4-5. Believers are not in darkness but are sons of light and sons of day (Ephesians 5:8-9; Rom. 13:12-13), so we will not be caught unawares when the Lord returns.  
  • 5:9. “God has not destined us (believers) for wrath (1:10), but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The doctrinal truth is that everyone is heading for one of these two destinations. All those outside Christ are “destined for wrath.” All those in Christ are destined for salvation. It is incumbent upon every person to honestly assess which destination is his. If you are currently destined for wrath, then I urge you to immediately repent and bow the knee to the Lord Jesus.
  • 5:10. Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us. Here Paul references the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, that Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of His people (2 Cor. 5:21; Romans 14:9).

IMPORTANT IMPERATIVES FROM 1 THESSALONIANS

2:11-12. “Walk in a manner worthy (of the God who call you into His own glory and kingdom).” Paul implicitly exhorts the Thessalonians to live their lives in a way that brings glory and honor to Christ. They have recently turned to God from idols (1:9) and now Paul is instructing them to live a new life consistent with their profession of faith in Christ. This, then, is a general call to obedient, holy living. (Specifics follow.)

4:1. We request and exhort you in the Lord that you excel still more (in your conducting yourselves in a manner that pleases God). (Intro to imperatives.)

4:3. Abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Peter 2:11; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:3-5) It is likely that the Thessalonians lived in a culture of pervasive sexual immorality. They were Gentiles and had been idol-worshippers (1:9) and had been complete strangers to the holy requirements of God’s Law (Eph. 4:17-19). Now Paul tells these new believers to abstain from sexual immorality. Cold turkey. Stop it! NOW! And this command applies to all professing disciples of Jesus today.

4:4. Although it is difficult to know specifically what Paul is saying here, the idea is clear. Exercise strict self-control over the desires of your physical body “in sanctification and honor” (4:4). Before these Gentiles had given themselves over to their lusts, but now in Christ, they must “possess their vessel in honor.” Sexual behavior is now controlled by Christ.

4:5. “Not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles.” Before it was completely acceptable, even expected, to behave in lustful passion, but now, as disciples of Jesus, not so. Also notice that, although these Thessalonians were from the uncircumcised, they are no longer Gentiles. Paul contrasts these uncircumcised Thessalonians with Gentiles. Why? Because now “there is neither Jew nor Greek, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Now, since Jesus has come, the primary identifier for all mankind is not Jew or Gentile but it is disciple of the Lord Jesus or perishing sinner. The Thessalonians are no longer Gentiles but they are now uncircumcised disciples of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, they no longer act in “lustful passion.”

4:9-10. Love one another. Love of the brethren. “Excel still more.” Learn what it means to love the brethren and then excel at that activity. Love one another! (John 13:34-35)

4:11-12. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business.” Here we must discover the essence of what Paul is teaching and then bring it into our 21st century context. I think the idea is that the life of the disciple is not ostentatious and extravagant but is simple, orderly, and disciplined. The disciple does not spend his life in dissipation (1 Peter 4:3), indulging the flesh, but lives “a quiet life” of worship, witness, and prayer.

5:6, 8. Do not “sleep,” but be sober and alert. “Sleeping” here is to be understood figuratively, meaning do not wander through life like those who are sluggishly sleepwalking. Rather, live a life of purpose and vigor, staying “alert.” Be alert to sin’s temptations and flee. Be sober about the things that distract you from striving toward the goal of holiness. Do not love sleep (Proverbs 6:10), but rather buffet your body and make it your slave (1 Cor. 9:27). Deny the body’s cravings, especially if it obstructs your will. Your discipline and your will must control your body’s desires or you will be useless as a disciple. The Lord does not recruit sluggards into battle, but instead seeks out obedient soldiers.

5:12-13. “Appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and esteem them very highly in love.” (Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Peter 5:5, 6) Those who labor among the flock as teachers of the Word and shepherds of the flock should know that they are loved and appreciated. Make every effort to love your pastors and elders in tangible ways so that they can labor with joy and be encouraged in their labors.

5:15. “Never repay another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” In classic Pauline fashion, the apostle tells us not to do one thing, but rather to do another. The unsaved man, when he is treated unfairly, seeks to fight back with evil. Revenge is the angry response of the pride of the flesh. But the disciple of Jesus seeks to give good for everyone, regardless of how he has been treated. The disciple accepts unjust treatment, whether intentional or unintentional, and continues to seek good for all concerned.

5:16-18. “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.” These three short verses have served me as “go-to” verses for obedience and as a strong defense against wrongful thinking. Whenever I sense that I am getting discouraged or depressed, I check my thinking and, more often than not, I find that I am discouraged because I am allowing my thoughts to dwell in a negative place. I also find that this “negative place” is a place of disobedience. I am thinking about something the Bible commands me not to think about or I am not thinking about those things that the Bible commands me to consider. Thus, I am being disobedient. To break this spell, I turn my mind to 1 Thess. 5:16-18 and begin to rejoice. I start to obey the command to rejoice. That usually dispatches the depression, but if that does not work, I will begin to fervently “pray without ceasing.” Obeying the Word, I rejoice, I pray and I give thanks for all the Lord has given me. This obedience will drive away the discouragement, which is the side-effect of poor and disobedient thinking.

5:22. “Abstain from every appearance of evil.” (1 Thess. 4:3) Appearances are important! The image that you project to others will determine the credibility of your witness. Matt. 5:16. Your personal holiness testifies to the legitimacy of the gospel. “Does Jesus really change people, or do people just sign up and then try to act nice?” The disciple must ask himself, “Does the life that I live before others attest to Jesus’ power to really save people from their sin?” What gospel does your behavior preach? Because you have come out of the closet as a witness for Jesus, people are evaluating your life and determining whether Jesus is worth following at all. This begins by abstaining from every appearance of evil.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/15/2024                   #701

The order of the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

(This post will be a chapter in my upcoming book, “The Resurrection: when the church is glorified,” which will be published in 3Q 2024.)

THE RESURRECTION SO FAR IN 1 THESSALONIANS

Before we dig into our focus passage, which is explicitly about the resurrection of the saints, we will briefly review what Paul has already said implicitly about the resurrection earlier in the letter.

2:19. “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming (παρουσία)?” Paul and the Thessalonians will both be “in the presence of the Lord Jesus at His coming” (παρουσία). “In the presence of the Lord Jesus” must be with the Lord Jesus.

This agrees with 4:16-17, where the dead in Christ and those who are alive and remain will be “caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.” This also agrees with 3:13 (below).

3:13. “He (the Lord) may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming (παρουσία) of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

The first key word here is with (μετὰ followed by genitive). Jesus will be coming “with all His saints.” It is important to note that the coming of our Lord Jesus will not be for His saints, which would mean that His saints are still on earth, but His coming will be with His saints, which means that His saints are already in the air (4:17). Since “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven” (4:16), we conclude that the resurrection of the saints occurs immediately before “the coming (παρουσία) of our Lord Jesus,” and then Jesus returns with all His saints.  

The second key word is all (πάντων). Jesus will be coming “with all His saints.” This means that none of the elect will be missing. All the dead in Christ plus all those who are “alive and remain” will be with Jesus at His coming (παρουσία).

KEY POINT: The resurrection of the saints must occur immediately before Jesus’ coming (παρουσία). And this is exactly what we see in Paul’s teaching in 4:13-17.

THE ORDER OF THE RESURRECTION IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-17

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

4:13. Paul is prompted to tell about the resurrection (of the saints) because the Thessalonians are unclear about the events of the last day. Thus Paul begins by talking about “those who are asleep” (i.e., those believers who have already physically died), but he quickly moves to teach about the resurrection of all believers, whether asleep or living.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming (παρουσία) of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

4:14. The first phrase of this verse bears on the fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. A paraphrase might be, “Since Jesus was resurrected . . .”

In 1 Cor. 15:1-23, Paul makes a more detailed case for the certainty of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and for how Christ’s resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all those in Christ, but here the apostle makes clear that, as Christ died and rose again, “even so (οὕτως) God will bring with Him (i.e., with Christ; see 3:13) those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

Paul’s message to the Thessalonians in this verse is, “Do not be worried or anxious about those who have fallen asleep (i.e., physically died). Know for certain that these will be with the Lord Jesus when He returns.”

Now the apostle will go on to describe the events of the resurrection of the saints and how the resurrection relates to the coming (παρουσία) of the Lord Jesus.

4:15. Paul’s first phrase communicates the idea that what follows is God-breathed doctrine and is, therefore, trustworthy and true (“the word of the Lord”). Then the apostle tells us that, at the coming of the Lord, the saints who are alive and remain will be resurrected after those saints who have fallen asleep (i.e., died). Even at this point in the passage, we can begin to discern the order of the resurrection, but with 4:16-17, Paul will remove all ambiguity.

4:16-17. In these two verses, Paul gives us the most explicit teaching found in Scripture about the order of the resurrection.

The events begin with the announcement of the coming of the King when we will hear a shout (of command), the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God sounding together (4:16), declaring to the entire world that, “NOW Jesus is coming! The King of kings is coming to judge the earth” (Psalm 96:13; 98:9; 2 Tim. 4:1).

After the announcement of Jesus’ coming, we discover that “the dead in Christ will rise first.” All those in Christ who have physically died will be resurrected first. Immediately after this comes the resurrection of the living, whom Paul describes as those “who are alive and remain.” Finally, as “the Lord Himself descends from heaven,” all the resurrected saints rise up together “to meet the Lord in the air.”

This passage in 1 Thess. 4 answers many questions about the resurrection of the saints, but it also leaves a few questions unanswered.

A COUPLE OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Question: When do these events of the resurrection occur? Even though Paul’s teaching explicitly connects the return of Jesus Christ, which occurs on the last day, with the resurrection of the saints, it is possible that some may still be unclear on when the resurrection occurs.

Answer: According to Jesus in John 6:39, 40, 44 and 54, and according to John 11:24, the resurrection occurs on the last day. Since this is explicitly stated five times in John’s gospel, this answer is unambiguous. THE RESURRECTION OCCURS ON THE LAST DAY.

Question: In this passage (1 Thess. 4:13-17), we have seen that, on the last day, all the dead in Christ are resurrected, then all those believers who were still living (“alive and remain”) are resurrected, then they both rise together to meet the descending Lord Jesus in the air. But Paul does not disclose what happens next other than to say that “so we shall always be with the Lord.” The question that follows is, “What happens after the resurrected saints meet the descending Lord Jesus in the air on the last day?”

Answer: Jesus continues to descend to earth with His saints to destroy all the unrighteous. Explanation: Perhaps the best cross-reference for this is Rev. 19:11-21. This passage is the climax of the book of Revelation and pictures the Lord Jesus riding on a white horse as He comes (or “descends”) to judge the nations. “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations; He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (19:15). The awesome scene has an overwhelming sense of finality and concludes in 19:21 with the Lord killing all the unrighteous of the earth. And in the midst of this passage, in Rev. 19:14, we read of “armies clothed in fine linen, white and clean, following Him (Jesus) on white horses.” These armies are all the resurrected saints who have risen “to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17) and who are now “following Him on white horses” as He descends in judgment. (See also 1 Thess. 3:13; 4:14.)

Restating the answer, then, AFTER THE SAINTS MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR, THE LORD AND HIS ARMIES OF RESURRECTED SAINTS CONTINUE TO EARTH TO RENDER FINAL JUDGMENT ON ALL THE UNRIGHTEOUS.

Other passages that confirm this interpretation about what happens when Jesus comes from heaven are Jer. 25:30-38, Rev. 6:12-17 and any Old Testament passage that talks about “the day of the Lord.” Another consideration is Psalm 110:5-6, a powerful psalm about Jesus’ return in judgment. When the Lord (Adonai) comes “in the day of His wrath” (110:5), “He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country” (110:6). The point is that, when the Lord Jesus comes in His παρουσία (1 Thess. 4:15), He is coming to judge the earth (Ps. 96:13; 98:9).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/6/2024                     #700

REVELATION 5:6-14: THE VICTORIOUS LAMB APPEARS IN HEAVEN

(This post is a chapter from my upcoming book, “Studies in Revelation 5:6 – 20:15,” which I hope to publish in the third quarter of 2024.)

TIME PERIOD OF THIS SCENE: The beginning of the thousand years

PRECEDING SCENE: Rev. 20:1-3. Jesus binds Satan in the abyss for the thousand years.

FEATURES OF THIS SCENE: After completing His mission of death and resurrection, the victorious Lamb arrives in heaven (~AD 32) to the praises of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and myriads of myriads of angels. The Lamb takes the book from the One who sits on the throne and prepares to break its seven seals.

SCENE THAT FOLLOWS: Rev. 6:1-2. The first seal and the rider on the white horse with the bow.

BRIEF REVIEW: We have finished our study of Rev. 20:1-6 in which the thousand years are explicitly mentioned, but we have not finished our study of the scenes in Revelation which take place during the thousand years. Rev. 5:6-14 occurs at the very beginning of the thousand years as the victorious Lamb returns to heaven, having perfectly accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4; 19:30). Consistent with our view of Rev. 20:1-3, we would say that this scene takes place around AD 32. Jesus has died and been raised from the dead; He has commissioned His church (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8) and He has bound Satan (Rev. 20:1-3). Now it is time for Him to take His seat at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1; etc.) and to open the seals of the scroll.

5:6-8. The Lamb appears and takes the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Then the heavenly beings begin to praise the Lamb.

9 And they *sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” – Revelation 5:9-10

5:9-10. These words of praise for the Lamb are full of meaning.

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders “sang a new song.”

WORTHY. Their new song begins with “Worthy are You to take the book.” The key word is “Worthy.” Earlier we had seen that the living creatures and the twenty-four elders had worshipped Him who sits on the throne, Him who lives forever and ever, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God” (Rev. 4:10-11). Then in heaven a strong angel had asked, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” (5:2). The new song answers that question. The Lamb who was slain is worthy. As the Lord our God who sits on the throne is worthy, so the Lamb who was slain is worthy. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” (Rev. 5:12).

PURCHASED WITH HIS BLOOD. The Lamb “purchased with His blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (5:9). This is obviously speaking of Christ’s atonement on the cross. But who specifically are these whom the Lamb purchased? The answer is that with His blood the Lamb has atoned for every person who will ever be saved. In all the universe, there is only one place where atonement has ever been made and will ever be made. Atonement for all who will ever be saved was made by Jesus in His death on the cross. The theological fact is that the only place and time that the redeemed could ever have been purchased was when Jesus uttered, “Τετέλεσται,” on the cross and bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30). So, all who were ever purchased were purchased at the cross.

PURCHASED FOR GOD. And we also see that Jesus purchased these for God. Jesus poured out His blood “to purchase for God people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” The Lord Jesus did not shed His blood (i.e., die) to purchase nothing. Rather, in His death on the cross Jesus’ blood purchased people for God, and Jesus’ resurrection confirmed that the transaction was accepted by God. Those for whom Jesus died were actually purchased with His blood for God. Jesus’ atonement really atoned, and those for whom Jesus atoned will be saved.

We have thus seen that Jesus atoned for all the sins of all those who will ever be saved and He purchased for God only those who will be saved. Therefore, we conclude that Jesus the Messiah purchased for God with His blood all the elect (Eph. 1:4; etc.) and none other.

NOTE ON REV. 14:3, 4 AND THE 144,000: In a future study we will be looking at Rev. 14:3, where we will once again see the word “purchased.” “The 144,000 had been purchased from the earth.” We will see that the 144,000 in Rev. 14:3 must be the same group that the Lamb purchased in Rev. 5:9 and, therefore, must also represent all the elect.

Before we continue with the interpretation of this passage, we should note two things. First, we remember when this scene is taking place. This scene in heaven of the victorious Lamb occurs at ~AD 32, at the very beginning of the thousand years. Second, we observe that, in this scene, there are no saints in heaven, at least none that John mentions. Both of these are significant details.

PURCHASED BUT NOT YET PRESENT. Because Revelation is biblical prophecy, the default paradigm for interpretation is figurative and symbolic (See “Introduction.”) Thus even the visions themselves may be best understood figuratively. That is, in fact, the case here. Notice who we see in heaven in this passage. Besides the Lamb we see the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders (5:8) and “myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands” of angels (5:11), but we do not see any people, whether souls or saints. Where are they?

The answer is that there are no souls or saints mentioned because there are none in heaven when this vision occurs. The vision presents the situation in heaven at ~AD 32 at the very beginning of the thousand years when the commissioned church is in its infancy and the ingathering of the nations has only barely begun. Of course, if we were speaking literally, we would see heaven already populated by numerous Old Testament saints, but we are viewing a figurative vision of heaven as “the church” (basically, the apostles and a few others) prepares for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So, in the vision, we see no saints in heaven. The Lamb has purchased “a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, etc.” (Rev. 7:9), but that great multitude has not yet been gathered from the nations. Every member of the great multitude has already been purchased for God by the atoning blood of the Lamb, but (figuratively) none of them have heard the gospel call demanding repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus, and so none of them have been saved so as to appear in heaven. (Contrast this scene with the scene in Rev. 20:4-6, which takes place during the thousand years, where we explicitly see souls in heaven reigning with Christ. These souls are those who heard the gospel call while they were living and believed in the Lord Jesus for salvation.)

The point is that, at this point in time, atonement has been made by the victorious Lamb, but the commissioned church has not yet used “the bow” of the gospel to conquer the nations (Rev. 6:2) and to gather in the great multitude of the elect.

5:11-14. These verses describe the worship that the worthy Lamb receives from all the heavenly beings for His magnificent work of atonement. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” (5:12).         

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/6/2024                     #699

When does the resurrection occur? (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54)

OVERVIEW. A brief article reviewing Jesus’ teaching in the gospel of John chapter 6, which tells us that the resurrection occurs on the last day. To be included in “The  Resurrection: when the church is glorified.”

WHEN DOES THE RESURRECTION OCCUR?

Many of the questions about the resurrection are complex, but the question of when the resurrection occurs is straightforward. The resurrection occurs on the last day. Jesus unambiguously declares this four times in the gospel of John, in John 6:39, 40, 44, and 54 (“I will raise him up on the last day”). Our Lord is here obviously speaking about the resurrection of the righteous, and that resurrection occurs on the last day. Later in the gospel, Martha testifies to Jesus about Lazarus, her brother, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day (John 11:24).” Nothing could be clearer.

IMPLICATIONS OF THIS TEACHING

Since the resurrection occurs on the last day, we know the “when” of all passages which talk about the resurrection. If the passage is speaking about the resurrection of the saints, then the passage is speaking about the last day. For example, in 1 Thess. 4:14-17, Paul teaches us about the order of the resurrection.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:14-17

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

4:14. On the last day, God will bring with Jesus the resurrected saints who had previously been dead in Christ (“asleep in Jesus”).

4:15. Those in Christ who are living at the time of the coming of the Lord will not be resurrected before those who are dead in Christ.

4:16. On the last day, the Lord Jesus Himself will descend from heaven, then those who are dead in Christ will be resurrected first.

4:17. Then the disciples of Jesus who are physically alive on the last day will be resurrected, and they will join those who were physically dead in Christ to meet the descending Lord Jesus (4:16) in the air.

CONCLUSION

From this study we have learned the following truths:

  1. The resurrection occurs on the last day. (John 6:39, et. al.)
  2. The resurrection of the dead in Christ and of those who are alive in Christ occurs together on the last day. (1 Thess. 4:16-17) Thus, all those in Christ are resurrected on the last day.
  3. Christ returns on the last day (1 Thess. 4:16) concurrent with the resurrection.
  4. Those who are resurrected will come with Christ on the last day (1 Thess. 4:14; confirm 3:13).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 4/4/2024                     #698

Revelation 14:1-5. The activity of the 144,000 (Part 2)

POST OVERVIEW. A detailed study of Revelation 14:1-5 where the 144,000 are with the Lamb on Mount Zion. This study explores the details of this scene and discerns the timing of these events.

This article will be included in a future larger work called “Studies in Revelation.”

See also Post #692 (2/8/2024) which addresses Rev. 7:1-8.

CONCLUSIONS FROM STUDY OF REV. 7:1-8

In the previous part of this study in Rev. 7:1-8 we made two important conclusions.

First, “the 144,000” represents all the elect, all the redeemed of all time. The 144,000 represents all those who will ever be justified by faith, all those who will ever be born again, all those who will ever pass from death to life (John 5:24), all those who will ever be called and justified and glorified (Romans 8:30). The 144,000 represents all old covenant saints (twelve tribes) together with all new covenant saints (twelve apostles), “a great multitude which no one could count.”

Second, we concluded that this picture of “sealing” in Rev. 7:2-4 is giving us a picture of God choosing His elect “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4) and then giving them an invisible “seal” identifying them as chosen by Him.

So, the sealing of the 144,000 is the figurative identification, in eternity past, of all the bond-servants of God of all time, the setting apart of those who will be purchased by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 5:9; 14:3), who will be called and justified (Rom. 8:30) and who will be glorified (Rom. 8:30; Rev. 7:9).

OBSERVATIONS FROM REVELATION 14:1-5

We will keep in mind that the 144,000 we see here in Rev. 14:1-5 are the identical group that we saw in 7:1-8 but at a different point in time. That means that the crucial interpretive task for this passage is to determine when this takes place.

14:1. In this vision, the Lamb (the glorified Jesus Christ) is “standing on Mount Zion” (Mount Zion represents heaven) with the 144,000.

THE LAMB IS STANDING. Notice that the Lamb is standing. Psalm 110 describes the reign of the Messiah on the last day and, according to Psalm 110:1, the Lord (Adonai, Jesus) was to sit at the LORD’s right hand until His enemies were made a footstool. Since in this scene the Lamb is no longer sitting at the LORD’s right hand but is now standing, we conclude that He is getting ready “to rule in the midst of His enemies” (Psalm 110:2). The Lamb is standing on Mount Zion as He prepares to mount His white horse (Rev. 19:11) and to come from heaven to judge the nations.

THE NAME HAS REPLACED THE SEAL. Remember that previously the 144,000 had the seal of the living God on their foreheads (7:3), but now, instead of a seal, that same group has the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. What is the meaning of the seal being replaced by the name?

Our study of Rev. 7:1-8 revealed that the invisible “seal of the living God” was given to identify those who had been chosen before the foundation of the world for salvation (Eph. 1:4). This seal, invisible to man but visible to God, remained on each individual believer to identify them as those who were predestined for glorification (Rom. 8:29-30) until their glorification was realized. So, when the elect person was “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), they were identified by the seal of the living God. When by grace he was saved through faith (Eph. 2:8), he was still marked with the seal. When he physically died and departed to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23), the seal continued to identify him. But at the resurrection, this elect person received his eternal glorified body and the intended end of his sealing had finally been realized. With his glorification, the final state of salvation had been reached and there was no longer any need for an identifying seal. Thus, where once there had been a seal, there was now “His name and the name of His Father” on the saint’s forehead. What we see, then, in Rev. 14:1 is the Lamb, the glorified Lord Jesus, standing in heaven amidst all His glorified saints.

There is other evidence in this passage that confirms that “the 144,000” represents all the elect and that, in this scene, the 144,000 have been glorified.

ALL THE REDEEMED. We observe that in Rev. 14:3, “the 144,000 had been purchased from the earth.” But we also see that in Rev. 5:9, they sang a new song to the Lamb, “You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” Then in Rev. 14:4 we read again of the 144,000, that “these have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.” The point is that, in each occurrence, those who have been purchased represent all the redeemed.

GLORIFIED SAINTS. Since the 144,000 are in heaven with the glorified Lamb, they, too, must be glorified (for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” 1 Cor. 15:50).

So, again, in Rev. 14:1, we can see that this scene pictures the Lamb, the glorified Lord Jesus, standing in heaven amidst all His glorified saints.

WHEN DOES THIS SCENE TAKE PLACE?

We have identified what the various elements of this scene represent and now we are in a position to determine when this scene takes place. The fact that we see glorified saints means that the resurrection has taken place when the saints received their glorified bodies. In Revelation, glorified saints appear either on the last day or in eternity in the new heaven and the new earth. We know that this scene does not take place in the new heaven and the new earth because the Lamb (Jesus) is standing on Mount Zion (14:1) as He prepares to complete His work of judgment on the unrighteous (see “THE LAMB IS STANDING” above). Therefore, this scene must take place on the last day. In fact, this scene figuratively presents the glorified saints after they have been “caught up together to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17) in the resurrection. The Lamb is acting as the glorious warrior-King, marshalling His army of saints around Him (Psalm 110:3; see also Psalm 149:5-9) as He waits for heaven to open. And when heaven opens and the Rider on the white horse appears (Rev. 19:11), He will be followed by the glorified 144,000 because “these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:4). That will be the time when Jesus comes with all His saints (1 Thess. 3:13), when “God will bring with Him (Jesus) those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14). The glorified saints will be “the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, following Him on white horses” (Rev. 19:14). What we see, therefore, is that this scene in Rev. 14:1-5 takes place just after the resurrection and just before the coming of the Lord Jesus in judgment.

CONCLUSION

Our study has revealed that the 144,000 represents all the elect, all the redeemed, all those chosen by God for salvation. There are two appearances of the 144,000 in Revelation. The first appearance, in Rev. 7:1-8, pictures the setting apart (“sealing”) of all of God’s people for salvation in eternity past (see also Eph. 1:4, “chosen”), while the second appearance, in Rev. 14:1-5, represents all the saints, all the redeemed, now glorified in heaven after the resurrection and just before they follow the Lord Jesus as He comes to judge the earth (Rev. 19:11-21).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/8/2024                     #693

Revelation 7:1-8. The activity of the 144,000 (Part 1)

POST OVERVIEW. A detailed study of Revelation 7:1-8 and the sealing of the 144,000. This study explores the timing of this “sealing,” the identification of the 144,000, and the nature of “the seal of the living God” in this scene. (The 144,000 also appears in Rev. 14:1-5. This will be another post.)

This article will be included in a future larger work called “Studies in Revelation.”

See also Post #693 (2/8/2024) which addresses Rev. 14:1-5.

THE PRIMARY INTERPRETIVE TASK

We encounter the 144,000 only in Rev. 7:1-8 and in Rev. 14:1-5. As is typical of the prophecy of Revelation, the primary interpretive tasks for the reader are discerning when these two scenes take place and who or what is represented by the figurative elements of the scene.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTS. Before we begin to dig into the text, we will make a few general comments. First, these two appearances of the 144,000 represent the same group of people. In other words, whoever the 144,000 represents in 7:1-8, it represents the identical group in 14:1-5. Second, we assume that the number 144,000 has figurative significance and is not to be taken literally. Third, knowing that numbers in Revelation often have symbolic meaning, we will begin our exploration of these two passages by noticing that the number 144,000 is the sum of twelve times twelve times one thousand. Twelve is significant because it recalls the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New Testament. In Revelation, the number one thousand represents a large unspecified number. Therefore, one possible interpretation of what the 144,000 represents would have something to do with a really large number of people from the Old Testament era and from the New Testament era. Fourth, in both appearances, it is clear that the 144,000 represents saints. In 7:3, the bond-servants of God are going to be sealed on their foreheads and in 14:1, they are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, “having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” Thus we know that the 144,000 are certainly redeemed.

OUR INTERPRETIVE APPROACH. Because the 144,000 in Rev. 7:1-8 is the identical group that is presented in Rev. 14:1-5, we can use clues taken from either appearance to help us identify who this group represents. Also, whatever is true of the group in one appearance must be true of the group in the other appearance, because it is the identical group in both scenes.

Our next step will be to simply read the two passages carefully and observe what we see occurring there.

OBSERVATIONS FROM REVELATION 7:1-8

7:1. Four angels are “holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.” (A figurative picture, but the meaning is unclear). Reading ahead, we see that these winds, once released, will “harm the earth and the sea” (7:2) and will “harm the earth and the sea and the trees” (7:3). Thus these winds represent a threat of harm.

7:2. John “saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun (the east), having the seal of the living God.” Who is this angel who is ascending and who has “the seal of the living God” in his possession? Also, to what “angel” would the living God entrust His seal?

And we also must ask, “What does this ‘seal of the living God’ represent?” It must be of immense significance, for not only is it the “seal of the living God” but history cannot move forward until this sealing has been accomplished. These are clues to what this seal represents.

7:3. The angel ascending from the rising of the sun (7:2) cried out to the four angels, “Do not harm . . . until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” The interesting word here is “we” (see Genesis 1:26; 11:7). It seems that this “angel” is working together with the living God to seal the bond-servants of God. Again we ask, “Who is this ‘angel’ that shares the responsibility with God of sealing His bond-servants?” We conclude that this “angel” represents Jesus. Thus we see that Jesus and the living God are both involved in this sealing of the bond-servants of God. This gives us more information about what this “seal” represents.

SEALED PASSIVELY. It is also worth noting that the sealing of the bond-servants is accomplished by the living God without the active participation of those who were sealed. That is, the 144,000 were passive in their sealing. This is a clue to what the seal represents.

ALL ARE SEALED. We read that “the bond-servants of our God” were sealed (7:3, 4). We ask then, “Are these who are sealed all of ‘the bond-servants of our God’ or just some of ‘the bond-servants of our God?’” The only answer that makes sense is all. It must be that all the bond-servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God. Now we think, “What ‘seal’ would Jesus and the living God apply to all the bond-servants of God?” This, too, is a clue to what the seal represents.

IDENTITY. The identity of “the bond-servants of our God” is not difficult to determine. In Rev. 11:18 we read, “the time came to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great.” Again in Rev. 19:5, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Thus, as we suspected, “the bond-servants of God” is just a phrase for believers, for the redeemed, for the disciples of the Lord Jesus.

REVIEW. We should take a moment to review what we have learned so far.

  • The bond-servants are sealed together at the same time as a group.
  • All the bond-servants of God are sealed with the seal of the living God.
  • The 144,000 are passive in this sealing. That is, they are sealed by the will of the living God alone.
  • “The bond-servants of God” simply means believers (the elect, the redeemed).  
  • The 144,000 represents the full number of believers (proving that 144,000 is figurative).
  • The angel “having the seal of the living God” appears to represent Jesus.

We have gone through the passage very slowly and deliberately, making observations and venturing a few interpretations, but we must still answer three crucial questions.

  1. What does this sealing of the bond-servants of God mean? What is its significance?
  2. What or Who does the 144,000 represent?
  3. When does this sealing of the bond-servants of God take place?

CONCLUSIONS

First, since “the bond-servants of God” represent the full number of believers, we conclude that “the 144,000” represents all the elect, all the redeemed of all time. The 144,000 represents all those who will ever be justified by faith, all those who will ever be born again, all those who will ever pass from death to life (John 5:24), all those who will ever be called and justified and glorified (Romans 8:30). The 144,000 represents all old covenant saints (twelve tribes) together with all new covenant saints (twelve apostles), “a great multitude which no one could count” (7:9).

Second, as we consider the characteristics of the “seal of the living God” and what event of redemptive history this sealing could represent, we conclude that Rev. 7:2-4 is giving us a picture of God choosing His elect “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4) and then giving them an invisible seal identifying them as chosen by Him.

So, the sealing of the 144,000 is the figurative identification, in eternity past, of all the bond-servants of God of all time, the setting apart of those who will be purchased by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 5:9; 14:3), who will be called and justified (Rom. 8:30) and who will be glorified (Rom. 8:30; Rev. 7:9).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/5/2024                     #692

The resurrection in 1 Peter 1

POST OVERVIEW. Here we take a careful look at three verses in 1 Peter 1 to discover how the fact of our future resurrection should give us confident hope today.

Although not the central theme of 1 Peter, the resurrection, both of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and of all believers on the last day, appears in various places in the first chapter of 1 Peter. This article looks at the appearances of the resurrection in 1 Peter 1.

God the Father has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3

THE CERTAINTY OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. Here Peter explicitly mentions “the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Thus the resurrection of Jesus is presented as an established fact that Peter does not need to prove. The apostle Peter was an eye-witness to the crucifixion and then to the empty tomb. According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:5, after the Lord’s resurrection, He appeared to Peter (Cephas) first. Peter saw the glorified Jesus Christ ascend to heaven in the cloud (Acts 1:9) and he heard the two “men” (angels) say He would come back the same way He left. Peter was as certain of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as a human being can be.

LIVING HOPE. So Peter is not here arguing for the resurrection of Christ, but he is encouraging these scattered believers by telling them what the resurrection of Jesus means to them. The historical fact of Jesus’ resurrection has given to all believers a “living hope” that, as Jesus was glorified in His resurrection, so all believers will be glorified in their resurrection on the last day. The “living hope,” then, is the confident anticipation of that day when we will receive our eternal resurrection bodies. Believers have a living hope of future resurrection because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead in glory as first fruits (1 Cor. 15:20-23).

who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. – 1 Peter 1:5

WHAT SALVATION? The apostle here speaks of a salvation that will be revealed in the last time. In this verse, “in the last time” refers to the last day. But what “salvation” will believers receive on the last day? We remember that all believers have already been saved by faith (Eph. 2:8-9). We also know that all living believers are being saved through our sanctification. But in the future, “in the last time” all the believers of all time will be saved in glorification at the resurrection. Therefore, this “salvation ready to be revealed” again refers to the resurrection of the believer on the last day.

fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 1:13

What exactly is this “grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ?” We know that the “revelation of Jesus Christ” refers to Jesus’ Second Coming, His παρουσία. Jesus’ παρουσία is described in 1 Thess. 4:15-17 and in that passage, it is clear that Jesus’ παρουσία occurs at the same time as the resurrection of the saints, on the last day. Thus, the “grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” is a reference to the resurrection of all believers. In 1 Peter 1:13, therefore, the apostle is instructing believers to fix their hope (see “living hope” 1:3) on their resurrection when Jesus returns.

To confirm this interpretation, consider Colossians 3:4. “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” What Paul is teaching in this verse is that when Christ returns in glory, we will also be glorified. So, when we consider 1:13 in the light of Col. 3:4, we conclude that “the grace to be brought to us” is our resurrection in glory. Therefore, our hope is fixed on the resurrection.

SUMMARY

What we have seen is that, in 1 Peter 1, the anticipation of the resurrection of the saints on the last day gives believers confident hope as they face the various trials (1:6) of life between the advents in a fallen world.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/31/2024                   #690

Matthew 24:34 – An exegetical study

POST OVERVIEW. In Matthew 24-25, we find the so-called Olivet Discourse, where our Lord tells His disciples of the things that are to come in the future.

This is a long and technical article that does a detailed exegesis of Matthew 24:34 in order to discover the correct understanding of this difficult verse.

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. – Matthew 24:34 (NASB)

AN INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGE

The reason I want to study this verse is because it presents us with an interpretive challenge. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Person speaking in this verse. Because Jesus is the Son of God, we know that He is always correct when He speaks. Yet, as we read this verse, we encounter a situation in which it seems that Jesus may not be correct. What do I mean?

THREE SIGNIFICANT FUTURE EVENTS

In response to questions from His disciples (Matthew 24:3), Jesus has just spoken to them about three significant future events, namely, about the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70, and about the events of the end of the age and the sign of His coming (παρουσία), both of which have not occurred to this day. Since we are in the 21st century almost two thousand years after Jesus spoke these words, it is obvious that “this generation” (24:34) has long since passed away, yet it seems that “all these things” have not taken place. So, this is the interpretive challenge: “How do we reconcile Jesus’ words with our historical reality?”

TWO POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

As we consider this quandary, it becomes apparent that there are only two possible solutions to this dilemma. Either the correct understanding of “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 reveals that Jesus spoke truth in this verse, or the correct understanding of “all these things” reveals the truth of Jesus’ words. In our study, we will examine each of these possible solutions to determine which one is the most reasonable.

AN OVERVIEW OF MATTHEW 24:2-35

Before we begin to dig deep into Matthew 24:34, however, it would be helpful to get an overview of Matthew 24:2-35 so that we can see the context of these verses and better understand our Lord’s teaching about the end of the age.

Jesus begins the dialog (Matt. 24:2) by making a prophecy about the destruction of the temple buildings. We know that the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, approximately forty years after Jesus spoke these words. The Greek and the English (NASB) of Matt. 24:2 follow.

Matthew 24:2

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Οὐ βλέπετε ταῦτα πάντα; ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἀφεθῇ ὧδε λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον ὃς οὐ καταλυθήσεται.

And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

Matthew 24:3

This is a key verse in the discourse, because here the disciples ask the questions that will form the basis for Jesus’ prophecies about the future. The disciples ask three questions in Matt. 24:3 – “When . . . what . . . what?”

Just as an aside, it is likely that the disciples thought they were asking about one event with three different features. That is, they probably assumed that the destruction of the temple (“these things”), Jesus’ coming, and the end of the age would happen simultaneously in one cataclysmic event. In fact, however, they were asking questions about three distinct events.

  1. Prompted by Jesus’ words about the destruction of the temple and “all these things” in 24:2, the disciples ask, “When will (all) these things happen?” Here the disciples were asking the question, “When will the temple be destroyed?”
  2. Next, they ask, “What will be the sign of your coming?” Here the disciples were asking for the signs that will occur just before or during Jesus’ coming (παρουσία).
  3. Then they ask, “(What will be the sign) of the end of the age?” In other words, “What extraordinary events will occur in the last days of the last days that tell us that the end is near?”

These are the three questions the disciples asked Jesus, and these are the three questions that Jesus answers in Matthew 24:5-35. The disciples asked, “When . . . what . . . what?” and Jesus will answer their questions with “When . . . what . . . what.”

The verses that address each of the three questions are as follows:

  • Matt. 24:15-20 and 24:34 address the destruction of the temple (and of Jerusalem) (“all these things” in 24:2 and “these things” in 24:3). In 24:15-20, Jesus tells what will occur in AD 70 so that “not one stone will be left upon another” (24:2). Then in 24:34 Jesus tells when “all these things” will occur.
  • Matt. 24:5-14 and 24:21-28 tells what the signs of the end of the age will be. These are the extraordinary events that will occur which indicate the end is near. Within these verses there seems to be an intensification of evil as the end approaches. For example, 24:5-8 twice hints that things will get worse (24:6, 8), and then in 24:9-14 things do get worse until “then the end will come” (24:14). In 24:21-22, the “great tribulation” occurs and those days must be cut short to allow some of the elect to be saved. Finally, in 24:27-28, Jesus makes clear that His coming (“the coming of the Son of Man”) will mark the end of the age.  
  • Matt. 24:29-31 explicitly tells what the signs of the coming (παρουσία) of the Son of Man will be.

Now we will examine the two possible solutions.

FIRST POSSIBLE SOLUTION: CHANGE THE MEANING OF “THIS GENERATION”

In the first possible solution, the assumption is made that “all these things” includes all the events Jesus has mentioned in the discourse so far in 24:2-31. So, according to this view, “all these things” is interpreted to include the destruction of the temple in AD 70 (24:15-20) plus the events of the end of the age (24:5-14 and 24:21-28) plus the sign of the coming (παρουσία) of the Son of Man (24:29-31). We also know that, according to the Lord Jesus (24:34), “all these things” will take place before “this generation” passes away. Thus, the interpretive task for this possible solution is to find a meaning for “this generation” that allows “all these things” to take place before “this generation” passes away.

How would we go about completing this “interpretive task?” In considering the phrase “this generation,” one well-known Bible teacher, who holds to the view that “all these things” includes all the events Jesus has mentioned in the discourse so far in 24:2-31, explained his position this way: “ ‘This generation’ in 24:34 cannot refer to the generation living at that (sic) time of Christ, for ‘all these things’ (vv. 15-31) did not ‘take place’ in their lifetimes; rather (it is) a reference to the generation alive at the time when those final hard labor pains (v. 8) begin.” To state this position in other words, we might say that, when referring to “this generation” in Matt. 24:34, Jesus was not speaking about “this generation” at all but was speaking about “that generation” who would be living many years in the future.

A SOLUTION THAT IS NOT A SOLUTION

In the attempt to maintain the necessary condition that Jesus is always true in His prophecies, this proposed solution has ignored the plain meaning of the inspired text of Matt. 24:34 and has imposed another meaning instead. In the inspired text, our Lord said, “This generation (Greek ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη) will not pass away until . . .” The only proper meaning of “this generation” in this verse is as a reference to the people who were living at the time Jesus spoke these words. The following observations support this statement.

  1. When speaking in terms of time, the word “this” (οὗτος in the Greek) refers to now or the current time. For example, Joshua 24:15 says, “Choose you this day whom you will serve,” meaning “Choose now.” By contrast, in temporal terms the word “that” (ἐκεῖνος in the Greek) refers to not-now. For example, in eschatology, the end of the age will occur on that day, which is not-now. Therefore, when Jesus speaks of “this generation,” He is referring to the generation living while He was speaking, that is, the generation living “now.”
  2. In Matthew 24:2-35, in every instance when our Lord speaks about the future, He uses the word “that” (plural of “that” is “those”). We read in 24:19 about “those days” in the future when Jerusalem is being destroyed. Again in 24:22 we twice encounter “those days” talking about the future days of the great tribulation. In 24:29, “those days” also refers to the future. Thus, if in 24:34 Jesus had intended to refer to a future generation, He would have spoken of “that generation.” Since Jesus speaks instead of “this generation,” we conclude that He is referring to the generation living while He was on earth.
  3. Aside from 24:34, the phrase “this generation” appears five other times in the gospel of Matthew, in 11:16; 12:41, 42, 45; and 23:36. The context of the first four appearances requires that Jesus is referring to the generation to whom He was speaking. In the fifth appearance (23:36), while it is not required that Jesus is speaking just to His own contemporaries, it is certain that He is not speaking to an unspecified group of people living thousands of years in the future. This evidence indicates that, in 24:34, Jesus is referring to the generation living when He made this prophecy.

This cumulative evidence leads to the conclusion that, when our Lord said, “This generation (Greek ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη) will not pass away,” He was certainly referring to the people who were living at the time He spoke these words. Since that is the case, we are forced to reject the first proposed solution and turn our attention to the second alternative.

“UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE”

In our study so far, we have reached an exegetical dead-end in trying to interpret “this generation” in any sense other than the normal, natural meaning. We have concluded that “this generation” is “the generation living at the time Jesus spoke these words.” Therefore we will now consider the other possible solution, namely, a correct understanding of the phrase “all these things.”

Admittedly, at first reading of Matt. 24:34, it seems that, when Jesus says “all these things” in this verse, He is referring to all the events that He has mentioned since the start of the discourse. But we will discover that, although this might be our first assumption, this is not the required interpretation.

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR. We know, from our previous work, that “this generation” refers to the generation living when Jesus spoke these words. We also know, from 24:34, that “all these things” will take place before “this generation” passes away. So, to put this into concrete terms, we know that “all these things” will take place within the time span of a normal generation, say, the next thirty to fifty years. We therefore conclude that “all these things,” whatever that includes, will take place between AD 60 and AD 80.

This deduction is especially helpful because, in Matt. 24:3, the disciples had asked Jesus a “when” question regarding the destruction of the temple. The disciples’ question, “When will these things happen?” in 24:3 was prompted by Jesus’ statements in 24:2 about the destruction of “all these things” in the temple. We had mentioned earlier that, when the disciples asked, “When . . . what . . . what?” in 24:3, Jesus had answered “When . . . what . . . what” in 24:5-35 but, until 24:34, Jesus has not given the disciples a “when” answer. But now we observe that the only place in the discourse where Jesus offers a “when” answer is here in 24:34. That is, Jesus’ only guidance on when the temple will be destroyed is here in 24:34 where He says, “Before this generation passes away.” Of course, we also know something the disciples did not know. We know that the temple was, in fact, destroyed in AD 70, about forty years after Jesus spoke these words and therefore also before “this generation” passed away.

THE INTERPRETIVE TASK. All of this leads us to a “crisis of interpretation.” From what we know and what we have just deduced, we are persuaded that, in Matthew 24:34, Jesus is only prophesying the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Thus, the interpretive task becomes justifying our claim that “all these things” in Matthew 24:34 applies only to the destruction of the temple and does not include Jesus’ coming or the end of the age. We will offer three pieces of evidence which justify the claim.

EVIDENCE / THE CASE

Our first piece of evidence involves Matt. 24:33 and this verse’s role in the discourse.

33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. – Matthew 24:33 (NASB)

EVIDENCE OF MATTHEW 24:33. In Matthew 24:33, it is apparent that Jesus is answering the disciples’ question (24:3) about His return and, by association, about the end of the age, but there is nothing in this verse to suggest that He is saying anything about the destruction of the temple. This is especially informative for us since we now know that the destruction of the temple and the return of Jesus are separated by at least two millennia. This means that when Jesus refers to “all these things” in 24:33, He is only referring to “the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age” (24:3).

We can also see in 24:33 that Jesus is answering a “what” question, not a “when” question. The phrase, “When you see all these things,” refers to “what will be the signs” in 24:3, but it supplies no information about when. That means that from Matthew 24:5-33, Jesus has not answered the disciples’ question about “when” the temple will be destroyed. We suggest that the missing answer is supplied in Matthew 24:34.

TEXTUAL COMPARISON OF MATTHEW 24:2 AND 24:34. To review, in Matt. 24:2 Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple when “all these things” will be torn down. Then in 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus, “When will these things happen?” certainly in reference to the destruction of the temple. In 24:15-20, Jesus details what the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem will be like and finally, in 24:34, He tells the disciples when this event will happen. The verses are below. (NASB – any emphasis is mine)

And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” – Matthew 24:2

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” – Matthew 24:3

“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” – Matthew 24:34

COMMENTS / OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE TEXT. Notice that the identical phrase, “all these things,” appears in both 24:2 and in 24:34. This could be interpreted as a rhetorical device to connect the two verses and to show that “all these things,” refers to the same things in both verses; namely, the destruction of the temple.

Also observe that in both 24:2 and in 24:34 Jesus uses the phrase, “Truly I say to you.” This is significant for two reasons. First, this phrase causes 24:2 and 24:34-35 to stand out and to show that they serve as bookends to this section (Matt. 24:2-35) of the Olivet Discourse about the events of the end times. The purpose of these “bookend” verses is to open the section and then to conclude the section. Here, Jesus opens the section predicting the destruction of the temple and concludes the section by telling when that destruction will take place.

But second, in this section of the Olivet Discourse (24:2-35), “Truly I say to you” appears only twice, only in 24:2 and in 24:34. As above with the phrase “all these things,” so also here this could be interpreted as a rhetorical device to connect the two verses and to show that they refer to the same things; namely, to the destruction of the temple.

These observations suggest that there are textual reasons to think that 24:34 is referring only to the destruction of the temple.

JESUS’ LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE TIMING OF HIS COMING. The third piece of evidence in favor of understanding “all these things” in 24:34 as referring only to the destruction of the temple has to do with what Jesus says about His own knowledge about the timing of His coming (παρουσία). Note that in Matt. 24:36, Jesus says that “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Jesus is clearly speaking about His coming (παρουσία) and He admits that even He, the Son of God, does not know the timing of His coming or the timing of the end of the age. He therefore cannot make predictions about when all these things (including His coming) will take place. We conclude that, in Matthew 24:34, Jesus cannot be declaring that His coming will occur before this generation passes away, because He has admitted (24:36) that He does not know when His coming will occur. Because Jesus cannot tell the “when” of His coming or the “when” of the end of the age, the only “when” He can be giving in Matthew 24:34 is the timing of the destruction of the temple. So we conclude that all these things in 24:34 refers to all the events around the destruction of the temple.   

SUMMARY

Based on the work presented in this article, we conclude that all these things in Matthew 24:34 refers only to the events surrounding the destruction of the temple and does not refer to either the coming of Jesus or to the events of the end of the age.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 10/31/2023                 #676

Basic interpretive principles for Revelation 5-20, Part 2

POST OVERVIEW. The second in a two-part series of posts stating and justifying two key interpretive principles for Rev. 5-20 and presenting two crucial questions for applying these principles to a given text in Revelation. (The first post of this series was post #671.)

This second post is about Key Interpretive Principle #2, that the characters and events of Revelation chapters 5-20 are to be understood as symbolic and figurative, not literal.

INTRO. The purpose of this two-part series is to present two powerful principles for helping the Bible student interpret the visions in Revelation 5-20 and to explain two crucial questions which emerge from these interpretive principles.

TWO PRINCIPLES AND TWO CRUCIAL QUESTIONS FOR REVELATION 5-20

THE TWO KEY PRINCIPLES STATED. The two key principles are 1) Revelation 5-20 is not written in chronological order, and 2) our default assumption is that the characters and events of Revelation 5-20 are to be understood figuratively or symbolically, not literally.

In the previous post (#671), we stated and justified Key Interpretive Principle #1, that Revelation chapters 5-20 are not chronological. We now turn to Key Interpretive Principle #2, that the characters and events of Revelation chapters 5-20 are to be understood as symbolic and figurative, not literal.

JUSTIFICATION OF “NOT LITERAL, BUT FIGURATIVE AND SYMBOLIC.” Key Interpretive Principle #2: The default assumption is that the characters and events in Rev. 5-20 are to be understood figuratively or symbolically, not literally. To justify this principle, I refer the reader to a two-part series of articles on my blog site (Post #622, 2/16/2023 and #623, 2/16/2023), which addresses this precise subject. The essence of these two posts is expressed in the quote below from Post #623.

QUOTE FROM POST #623. “One of the most obvious features of these chapters (Revelation 4-20) is a continuous pouring forth of strange and powerful visions of angels and dragons and earthquakes and hailstones. Just speaking for me personally, I cannot imagine what a literal interpretation of these visions could possibly mean, so I have always thought that most of these were intended to be symbolic of other biblical realities. After all, Revelation is the ultimate example of the genre called biblical prophecy, and, as in all biblical prophecy, the symbolic and the figurative are common. So, while there are certainly parts of this section of Revelation that should be understood literally, the overwhelming majority of these chapters presents events and characters which only make sense if they are symbolic and figurative. In fact, the great challenge of interpreting Revelation 4-20 is determining the meanings of the many images and events that John records.

The following give evidence of the need for a symbolic or figurative interpretation.

  • The Lamb in Rev. 5:6ff
  • The seals of Rev. 5, 6
  • The four horsemen of Rev. 6:1-8
  • The 144,000 of Rev. 7:4-8; 14:1-5
  • The seven angels with the seven trumpets of Rev. 8-9
  • The star from heaven in Rev. 8:10; 9:1ff
  • The abyss (bottomless pit) and the smoke in Rev. 9:2-10
  • Locusts and scorpions in Rev. 9:3-10
  • Twice ten thousand time ten thousand horsemen Rev. 9:16
  • Kill a third of mankind Rev. 9:15 (2.5 Billion people??)
  • Two witnesses, fire flows out of their mouths Rev. 11:5
  • The woman Rev. 12
  • Red dragon Rev. 12
  • The beast Rev. 13:1-10
  • Another beast Rev. 13:11-17
  • The angel and the sickle Rev. 14:17-20
  • Seven angels with seven bowls Rev. 16:1-12
  • Armageddon Rev. 16:13-16
  • Scarlet beast and the woman Rev. 17:3-18
  • The destruction of Babylon Rev. 18
  • The Rider on the white horse Rev. 19:11-21
  • The angel from heaven Rev. 20:1-3
  • The dragon, the key, the chain, the abyss (bottomless pit) Rev. 20:1-3
  • Thousand years Rev. 20:2-7   [END QUOTE]

For those who desire to read the full posts, here are links to posts #622 and #623 on interpreting Revelation’s symbolism.  Post 622    Post 623

CRUCIAL QUESTION #2. Since most of the characters and events in Rev. 5-20 are understood figuratively and symbolically, the student of Revelation is compelled to frequently use their Bible study skills to ask and answer crucial question #2, “WHO OR WHAT does this symbol represent?”

AN EXAMPLE FROM REVELATION 20:1-3; WHO IS “THE ANGEL?”

My recent three-post study on Revelation 20:1-3 (posts #668, #669, and #670) was done to determine when in human history “the thousand years” occurs, but an important part of that larger study was identifying “the angel” in this scene in Rev. 20:1. To discover the identity of “the angel,” we employed crucial question #2, “WHO does this symbol (“the angel”) represent?” For an example of how the WHO crucial question is used, follow the link to post #668.

SUMMARY. Stating and justifying Key Interpretive Principle #2, that Revelation chapters 5-20 are figurative and symbolic, not literal. Also, presenting crucial question #2, “WHO OR WHAT does this symbol represent?”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 9/15/2023                   #672