I doubt that you can, but I will ask anyway, convincingly explain (6) and how someone can be priests of God and of Christ, after they are dead, thus while they are in a disembodied state? I'm not saying you can't maybe explain it, I'm saying you can't convincingly do it. But maybe you will prove me wrong and say something that never crossed my mind before and that it makes sense to me?
It is not up to me to convince you. I am merely a witness and only the Holy Spirit can reveal the truth to you.
First of all, I believe you still do not understand exactly what is the FIRST RESURRECTION is. We can't resurrect from the dead
what has already been "resurrected from the dead," and we can't make something dead again that
we've had an Oath made to us in the first resurrection that we can never die. Thus either our understanding is in error of the dead in Christ, or Christ made a mistake.
John 11:25-26
- "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
- And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
I believe it. And if He's not talking about the Physical death of the body, He
has to be talking about
our Spiritual existence with Him. Please understand this, when we are born again in Christ, we are made
SPIRITUALLY ALIVE inward instead of our flesh. At the moment, Christ has made us kings and priests in his kingdom to PREACH the gospel right now on Earth! RIGHT NOW, since we already have the first resurrection. We were saved and are part of God's Spiritual kingdom...ON EARTH - through the Church. Christ being the first resurrection means there is no need for a second because when our FLESH physically dies, we simply transfer, leaving the body of this death to go to the Spiritual realm of Heaven and CONTINUE reign with Christ. Guess what?
FOREVER!
Thus at the Second Coming, Christ will bring those who have physically died (speaking as a man) with Him when He comes again
because all of those people who have already spiritually resurrected in Christ (born again) while they were on Earth. Also, note that it says "though he were dead, yet shall he live." In other words, Christ is saying the person may have died in man's earthly vernacular, but from the heavenly perspective,
he lives on and is not dead. Christ is not saying he's dead but He'll live from that death later, but even if you die, you shall be alive. Your flesh body is dead, but in your spirit you were ALREADY alive, living and reigning with Christ, whether you are still physically alive on Earth or in heaven after you physically died.
2nd Corinthians 5:6-8
- "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
- (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
- We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
For the Christian to be absent from the body in death is to be alive, present with the Lord and reigning together with him. But from man's perspective on earth (whom the scriptures are talking to) the person has died. From the
true perspective, he's not dead but alive and reigning with Christ.
Revelation 20:4-5
- "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
Now, the rest of "
what" dead? Obviously, the dead who have physically died but didn't have part in the first resurrection (spiritually born again while on Earth). Clearly some souls of the dead go to live and reign with the Lord (according to scripture), while the rest of the souls don't live again until the second resurrection when we read that they are raised up to stand for judgment.
1st Thessalonians 4:13-14
- "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
- For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
Jesus died and was resurrected up to new life and so were the saints! Thus they cannot be dead in the sense that they are in the grave in a state of unconsciousness waiting for the second resurrection. Remember, we are already made alive while on earth. So those who have physically died, their souls will be with Christ, and Christ will bring the dead (speaking as a man) back with him. Because "though they are dead, yet they live." When the scriptures say Christ will bring the dead with him, or that the
dead in Christ shall be raised first, he's talking to those of us on earth who speak of those who have departed as the dead. Because obviously, no one in Christ is dead. So He's not saying those who have died are actually dead/not-alive, because that contradicts other scriptures that clearly say that the
dead in Christ both live, and that they that they never die. That's not a metaphor, they actually never die. Notice it doesn't say the "dead will be changed", but
only those who remain and are alive will be changed in an instant. Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of heaven, but those coming from heaven don't need to be changed. We have two options. Either there are no saints in heaven with spiritual bodies, or they have their spiritual being already because they are in heaven. We can't have it both ways. Moreover, the 24 elders represent the saints of God in heaven, so we have other evidence of this truth.
