Foundations of Premillennialism . . . Part 3

THE FIRST RESURRECTION AND THE
GENERAL RESURRECTION, (Cont.)
Robert Shank

It is highly significant that, in contrast with numerous general references to the future “resurrection of the dead,” a particular future resurrection is spoken of as a “resurrection from among the dead” --- the same ablative construction used to describe past instances of resurrection. Paul uses the ablative construction in Phil. 3:11, “that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” The Greek text is emphatic, with a special form of anastasis with the prepositional prefix ex and the repetition of the article before the adjectival phrase for added emphasis, ten exanastasin ten ek nekron, “the out-resurrection which is from among the dead.” The resurrection Paul has in view is not a general resurrection of the dead, for resurrection will be universal for all mankind, and there is no need to strive to attain it. When Paul speaks of resurrection in general, he speaks simply of anastasis nekron, “the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6; 24:21, 1 Cor. 15:12, 13, 21, 42). In contrast, writing to the Philippians of the special resurrection which is his goal, he speaks of “the out-resurrection which is from among the dead” (the Greek text is the most definitive form possible). The general phrase “resurrection of the dead” is used with reference to all mankind, including Jesus and the faithful, but the definitive phrase “resurrection from (among) the dead” is used with reference only to Jesus and the faithful, never with reference to all mankind.

Paul’s distinction between the two resurrections becomes especially significant in the light of Lk. 20:35, 36, “But those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead. . . cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” Here again is the ablative construction with ek and also the repetition of the article before the adjectival phrase for added emphasis --- the most emphatic form possible, tes anastaseos tes ek nekron, “the resurrection which is from among the dead.” Christ’s words have reference to a privileged resurrection which all men are invited to share, but only if they qualify and are “accounted worthy to attain” that resurrection and “that age” that will follow it ---the Messianic Age of Christ’s rule over the nations. Paul’s great desire and goal to “attain the out-resurrection from among the dead” (Phil. 3:7-11) is totally consonant with the words of Christ in Lk. 20:35, 36. The words of Christ and of Paul have no application to a general “resurrection of the dead” in which all men must inevitably participate, but instead have reference to a special “resurrection from among the dead” reserved for the faithful who qualify as “sons of God” and “sons of the resurrection” and thereby “attain to that age” and the privileged resurrection (the “first resurrection” of Rev. 20) with which that age will begin.

In his great resurrection passage (1 Cor. 15) Paul writes that

in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he has destroyed all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (vs. 22-26)

It will be observed that in v. 24 I have omitted the word comes (supplied by most translators). There is no ginetai in the Greek text (cf. Montgomery, who correctly omits comes, and translations in which it is italicized as not in the Gk. text). The common rendering “then comes the end” has encouraged many to assume that Paul meant that at the coming of Christ then comes the end of the world, involving a universal resurrection and judgment, the conflagration of the earth, and the inauguration of the eternal new heaven and earth. But lexical and grammatical considerations forbid such assumption.

The Greek adverbs of time which can be rendered “then” are tote (149 times in NT), eita (15 times), and epeita (I7 times). Our concern is with epeita (1 Cor. 15:23) and with eita (v. 24). Epeita conveys a strong sense of temporal succession, thereupon, thereafter, then, afterwards (Thayer) and is used in enumerations of time and order or (in two instances in NT) of order alone (Thayer). Eita also conveys a strong sense of temporal succession, then, next, after that, and in enumerations is used “to mark a sequence depending either on temporal succession. . .or on the nature of the things enumerated” (Thayer). Examination of the 15 instances of eita in the NT indicates that it never is used in the sense of “then” as merely indicating a point of time (a function served only by tote), but serves only to denote sequence in a line of succession.

Paul uses eita five times. In four instances (1 Tim. 2:13; 3:10 and 1 Cor. 15:5,7) the fact of temporal succession with an interval is unmistakable. It would be extremely arbitrary to assume that in his only other use of eita (l Cor. 15:24) Paul does not again have in view temporal succession with an interval --- especially in view of the fact that the adverb of concomitance is tote, and also in light of the fact that context suggests such interval. Consider 1 Cor. 15:22-26 again:

In Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order [tagma, rank, company, class]: Christ the firstfruits. . .[interval]. . .afterward [epeita] they that are Christ’s at his coming. . .[interval]. . .after that [eita] the end [telos], when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death [cf. Rev. 20:14].

Kling writes, “afterward --- eita introduces a new epoch (analogous to epeita) which follows after an interval, when we have the conclusion of the whole development.”⁸

In his great resurrection passage, Paul has in view the facts of physical death and resurrection. “As in Adam all die [no exceptions],” he writes, “so also in Christ shall all be made alive” in physical resurrection (no exceptions). The total resurrection must include all three tagmata: (1) Christ the firstfruits, (2) those “who are Christ’s at his coming,” and (3) those who do not belong to Christ. In Paul’s survey of the tagmata of the resurrection, specific mention is made of Christ and of “those who are Christ’s,” but specific mention is not made of the third tagma (“the rest of the dead,” Rev. 20:5) whose resurrection is comprehended in the telos.

What is the telos of which Paul speaks? According to Thayer telos signifies the “end, termination. . . the last in any succession or series. . . in 1 Cor. 15:24 [it] denotes either the end of the eschatological events, or the end of the resurrection, i.e., the last or third act of the resurrection (to include those who had not belonged to the number of hoi tau Christou en tei parousiai autou [those who are Christ’s at his coming].” Thayer’s latter interpretation of the significance of telos in 1 Cor. 15:24 is correct, for it is completely consonant with the total eschatological disclosure of the Scriptures and the distinction which the NT makes between “the resurrection of the dead” and “the resurrection from the dead.”

Meyer comments on 1 Cor. 15:22-24 (italics his):

Paul regards the resurrection of all, including Christ Himself, as one great connected process, only taking place in several acts. . .. Paul accordingly describes the tagma which rises first after Christ Himself (the aparche) thus: thereafter shall the confessors of Christ be raised up at His parousia. . . . Although Christ is the first-fruits of the believers, He is nevertheless at the same time the beginning of all [the total resurrection of all men]. According to Paul, therefore, the order of the resurrection is this: (1) it has begun already with Christ Himself; (2) at Christ’s return to establish His kingdom the Christians shall be raised up; (3) thereafter --- how soon, however, or how long after the Parousia is not said --- sets in the last act of the resurrection, its close, which, as is now self-evident after what has gone before, applies to the non-Christians. . . . The last act of Christ’s Messianic rule consists in the close of the resurrection, namely, the raising up of the non-Christians; this He performs when He is about to hand over the rule to God.⁹

The foregoing considerations are completely consonant with the categorical affirmations of Rev. 20:4-6 concerning “the first resurrection” of “the blessed and holy” and a later resurrection of “the rest of the dead,” separated by “a thousand years” in which those who “have part in the first resurrection” will live and “reign with Christ a thousand years.”

THE CHURCH, ISRAEL, AND THE GREAT GATHERING
OF THE NATIONS INTO THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF GOD

In the forty days between his resurrection and ascension, our Lord instructed his apostles more fully concerning “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). At the end of the forty days, the apostles had one question concerning the kingdom:

Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:6-8)

In his final words to his apostles before his ascension, Jesus assured them that, at the time fixed by the Father, the Davidic Kingdom will indeed be restored to Israel. Meanwhile, their mission until that time is to preach and teach his gospel in all the world.

To men of Israel, Peter preached that Jesus is the promised Messiah, that he has suffered to redeem men from sin, and that when Israel repents, God will “send Jesus, the Messiah appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the time for the restoration of all things of which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old” (Acts 3:18-21). In God’s own time, when Israel repents, God will send Jesus the Messiah “to restore all things,” including the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, as Jesus assured the apostles just before his ascension.

Meanwhile, God is gathering “from among the Gentiles a people for his name” (the Church), as James declared in the Council in Jerusalem, and after this is accomplished

I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David [the royal House of David and the Davidic Kingdom of Israel, under the reign of Messiah, Son of David] which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, in order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old. (Acts 15:14-18)

Paul writes that God has turned the failure of Israel into blessing for the nations in salvation for the Gentiles through the gathering of the Church from the nations. But how much greater will be the blessing of the nations when Israel, provoked to “jealousy” by the Church, turns to God in renewal of penitence and faith and comes into her promised restoration and fulness (Rom. 11:11-15). Israel’s partial blindness is only for a time, until the Redeemer comes to “remove ungodliness from Jacob” and “all Israel is saved,” and Israel’s irrevocable election is fully implemented (11:25-32) for the blessing, not of Israel alone, but of all the world.

“Few there be” that find the Way in this present age, but it will not be so in the Millennium. In that day “the rest of mankind will seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name” --- the Church (ethne, acc. rather than nom.), composed predominantly of Gentiles, and reigning with Christ over the nations in the Millennium (Rev. 2:25-29). “The rest of mankind” (kataloipoi, the “remainers”) will be those who survive Armageddon and the judgment of the nations (Mt. 25:31-46) which will follow the return of Christ to restore the Davidic Kingdom to Israel and to make of it the world kingdom of Messiah.

The faithful of the churches will reign with Christ over the nations, not as autocratic bureaucrats (though political authority in the service of the King is indicated), but as “priests of God and of Christ” (Rev. 20:6; 5:9, 10) whose service for Christ will be a spiritual ministry to the people of all nations. After the restoration of the Davidic kingdom, Israel, first among the nations, will be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” as God intended (Ex. 19:6). Service to the nations as “priests of God and of Messiah” will be the joint privilege of the Church and Israel (Isa. 61:6, Zech. 8:23). In the millennial kingdom both Israel and the Church will enjoy not only a golden age of glory and blessing, but also the time of their greatest service for God in a ministry to the nations which will bring the great gathering of humanity into the everlasting kingdom of God.

(Let none assume that this constitutes “a second chance” as some, poorly informed, have foolishly charged, for any who had opportunity and refused to obey the gospel in this age will not be present, 2 Thess. 2:8-12; 1:7-10, Rev. 20:5.)

The Millennium will close with the release of Satan for a brief time, when he will again “go out to deceive the nations” and to instigate a great final apostasy and rebellion, which will end in fiery judgment (Rev. 20:7-10). Then will follow the great general resurrection and judgment (vs. 11-15), after which will occur the inauguration of the eternal new heaven and earth, the dwelling place of God and his people forever (Rev. 21,22).

CONCLUSION

The historical foundations of premillennialism in the apostolic and early-centuries churches of Christ rest on the solid biblical foundation l)f the total prophetic and eschatological disclosure of the Scriptures of the OT and NT. I sincerely believe I have demonstrated this in the 517 pages of my book Until, which I commend to the thoughtful consideration of my brethren.

I am well aware that my eschatological understanding , compatible with the understandings of many great men of name and fame in the Restoration movement, are not shared by the majority in our brotherhood today. My commitment, however, must be to the word of the Scriptures rather than to whatever opinions may be currently popular in the brotherhood.

Far more than for unanimity of understanding of all facets of biblical eschatology, I am concerned about the sincerity and strength of our commitment to the authority of the Bible rather than of the opinions of men. Without such commitment there can be no true faith and allegiance to Christ and to God and his Word. True commitment to the authority of the Bible will leave us free to study the Scriptures objectively, and free to declare our findings and to differ among ourselves as brethren without breaking fellowship over matters not germane to faith and obedience to Christ and the gospel and to faithful discipleship. Let our concern be for the candid pursuit of truth and understanding rather than for the defense of opinions. Let us not fail God as stewards of holy truth entrusted to us in the words of Holy Writ. We will all answer in that Day, not one to another, but to the Author of the Book. --- Robert Shank, 624 Kings Avenue, Mt. Vernon, MO 65712. (You may purchase Until directly from Robert Shank at the above address, $11.95 postpaid.)

 

Notes

1. Loraine Boettner, The Millennium, Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co., 1957, p. 30.

2. Ibid., p. 31, quotation from B. B. Warfield, "The Millennium and the Apocalypse," reprinted in Biblical Doctrines, 1929, pp. 647, 648, 662.

3. David Brown, Christ's Second Coming: Will It Be Premillennial?, New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1851, p. 460, italics his.

4. Christ, the true "bright Morning Star" (Rev. 22: 16) will give him­self to the faithful of the churches --- collectively the Church, his Bride ­in perpetual eternal union in the Marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9).

5. H. A. W. Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Gospel of John (Wm. Urwick, trans.), New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1884, p. 186.

6. T. B. Baines, The Lord's Coming, Israel, and the Church, London: W. H. Broom, 1878, p. 69f.

7. AV fails at this point, following Textus Receptus and rendering "the resurrection of the dead." I examined 22 trans. that follow the superior Gk. texts, rendering "the resurrection from (among) the dead."

8. Christian Friedrich Kling, Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Corinthians (Philip Schaff, trans.), Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, on 1 Cor. 15:24.

9. Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Epistles to the Corinthians (G. D. Bannerman, trans.), New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1884, p. 355f.