The Hope

Introduction

The Hope is a research paper which gives the exact details surrounding the events concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the events that follow.

In this study you will find that there is no private interpretation! Only scriptures from the Bible are used, which are the Word of God and are astonishing in their accuracy!

The scriptures in this paper are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Study this paper “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32.

 

Study prepared by: John W Cadwallader

1. THE LAST TIMES, THE END, THE SUNTELEIA (SERIES OF EVENTS)

   The following are synonymous terms:

  • THE RETURN
    THE ADVENT
    THE SECOND COMING
    THE APPEARING OF OUR LORD
    THE PAROUSIA
    THE PERSONAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST

The above involves two stages: A and B below.

A. The following are synonymous terms:

  • CHRIST’S RETURN FOR HIS CHURCH (BODY OF CHRIST)
    THE GATHERING TOGETHER
    THE DAY OF CHRIST
    THE FALLING AWAY
    THE DEPARTURE
    THE APOSTASY
    THE APOSTASIA

These events of this stage in order are:

1)  Shout & The dead in Christ rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Note: Daniel 12:1-3 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Amp (The Amplified Bible) – For the Lord Himself will descent from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first.
Dake’s (The Dake Annotated Reference Bible) – shout-command, Gr.Keleusma, a cry of incitement; and order; the call of preparation for action. This is the shout of command for the dead arise as in the case of Lazarus. This will be followed by the shout of the archangel and the trump of God, whose great and terrible blasts, like those on Sinai grew louder and louder until the heavens and earth did shake.

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2) Alive believers immediately follow, caught away in the clouds, and meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Amp – Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord!

Dake’s – Saints will be with Christ in heaven during the tribulation (2 Thessalonians 2:7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. [Amp – For the mystery of lawlessness (that hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority) is already at work in the world, but it is restrained only until he who restrains is taken out of the way]. (Revelation 4:1) After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

NIV (The New International Version) – “we who are still alive [are] caught up.”  The only place in the NT (New Testament) where a “rapture” (from the Latin Vulgate rendering) is clearly referred to. Some hold that this will be secret, but Paul seems to be describing something open and public, with a loud voice and a trumpet blast, with the Lord – the chief hope of the believer.

Dake’s – “caught up” Greek – harpazo, to carry off; grasp hastily; snatch up; to seize

overpower; to plunder; from this we get our word “rapture” meaning the act of transporting, as harpazo is used in Mt. 13:19; Acts 8:39; Cor.12:2,4; 1 Th. 4:17; Rev. 12:5.

 

3) Alive believers become immortal, dead believers become incorruptible

(1 Corinthians 15:54)

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall it be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Amp – And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.

Note: Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. (Also see 11 Timothy 1:10 in the Amp) [It is that purpose and grace] which He now has made known and has fully disclosed and made real [to us] through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who annulled death and made it of no effect and brought life and immortality (immunity from eternal death) to light through the Gospel. (Also see Titus 1:2) In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

 

4) Christian saints rewarded at bema (11 Corinthians 5:10) this will take a period of time.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Amp – For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing].

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NIV – This accounting has nothing to do with justification, which is credited to the Christian fully and forever through faith in Christ, instead, it refers to what we have done with our lives as Christians – things done while in the body. Although the body is wasting away, we are responsible for our actions while in it. Non-Christians, too, are morally responsible and liable to God’s judgment.
Note: Romans 2:5 (Amp) But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God’s judgment will be revealed, verse 6 For he will render to every man according to his works [justly, as his deeds deserve]
(Also see Romans 14:10) But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

  • Christ does not come on the earth. We meet him in the air. This is a raising, not a resurrection. Only those born again of God during the Age of Grace (or Church of the Body) are affected: in other words, Christians born again since Pentecost. All unbelievers, Old Testament saints and the Church of the Bride remain unaffected.
  • B. The following are synonymous terms:
  • CHRIST’S RETURN WITH HIS CHURCH (involving saints and angels)
    THE REVEALING
    THE APOCALYPSE
    THE APOKALUPSIS
    THE DAY OF THE LORD

1. The wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10) And to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Amp – And [how you] look forward to and await the coming of His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead-Jesus. Who personally rescues and delivers us out of and from the wrath [bringing punishment] which is coming [upon the impenitent] and draws us to Himself [investing us with all the privileges and rewards of the new life in Christ, the Messiah].

Vengeance, judicial sentence (11 Thessalonians 1:7) And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
Dake’s – his mighty angels: Greek – dunamis (inherent power) indicating that angels are part of God’s power over the vast creations. The true ones help God maintain order over others who are now in rebellion. (Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of spiritual wickedness in high places). Amp – (Ephesians 6:12) For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
Lamsa’s (George M. Lamsa’s) – translation from the Aramaic of the Peshitia – (Ephesians 6:12) For your conflict is not only with flesh and blood, but also with the angels, and with powers, with the rulers of this world of darkness, and with the evil spirits under the heavens. NIV – (Ephesians 6:12) not against flesh and blood.

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A caution against lashing out against human opponents as though they were the real enemy and also against assuming that the battle can be fought using merely human resources. Rulers…forces – the apostle Paul’s earlier allusions to powerful beings in the unseen world (11 Thessalonians 1:8) In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

On God-rejecters; the Wicked one destroyed (11 Thessalonians 2:8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

Amp– And then the lawless one, (the antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming. [Isaiah 11:4] But with righteousness and justice shall He judge the poor and decide with fairness for the meek, the poor, and the downtrodden of the earth: and He shall smite the earth and the oppressor with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

Dake’s – 11 Thessalonians 2:8 And then. When? When he who hinders is taken out of the way, then shall that wicked be revealed (v7-8). Antichrist cannot possibly come until after the rapture (the gathering together – “The Hope”) of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16(17&18)

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

 

For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming, Gr. parousia of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descent from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

All who go in the rapture – the gathering together will not be here during the days of the antichrist and during the tribulation of Revelation 6:1-20, Matthew 24:15-21, Daniel 12:1.

 

The Son of Perdition, the Man of Sin, the Lawless One, the Anti-Christ revealed (11 Thessalonians 2:3&8) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (departure – the gathering together) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: the antichrist.

 

Amp – Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition). Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak words against the Most High [God] and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and think to change the time [of sacred feasts and holy days] and the law: and the saints (who believed [after] the departure)shall be given into his hand for a time, two times, and half a time (three and one-half years]. (Revelation 13:1-5).

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Dake’s – 2 events precede the “day of the Lord”

  • Falling away. Gr. apostasia, defection, revolt, apostasy – referring to the great one during the tribulation days between the rapture (the gathering together – or departure) and the second advent or coming of Christ.
  • Not one soul will be left on the earth that has either died since Pentecost or who is still alive and are Christians [born again according to Romans 8:9 &10].
  • Multitudes will soon be saved afterward through an awakening. See Acts 2:16-21 and Revelation 6:9-11. The great whore of Revelation 17 will destroy multitudes of Christians during the first 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th week, while the antichrist is coming to power over the 10 kingdoms inside the old Roman Empire.
  • The man of sin revealed.

Tribulations, lying wonders, delusions upon the earth (Romans 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit

Amp – Therefore [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. John 3:18 He who believes in Him[who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation-he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]

NIV – condemnation. The law brings condemnation because it points out, stimulates and condemns sin. But the Christian is no longer “under the law.” See note in NIV 6:14 sin shall not be your master. Paul conceived of sin as a power that enslaves, and so personified it. The meaning is not that the Christian has been freed from all moral authority. He has, however, been freed from the law in the manner in which God’s people were under law in the Old Testament era. Law provides no enablement to resist the power of sin; it only condemns the sinner. But grace enables. Amp – Titus 2:11and 12 For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind. It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world.

 

(1 Thessalonians 1:10) And to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (Romans 5:9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Amp – Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.

Dake’s – If Christ died for us while we were ungodly, sinners, and enemies, how much more will he do for us since we have become reconciled, godly, and friends. If He saved us by His death, how much more can He save us by His life.

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(11 Thessalonians 2:9-12) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Amp – The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels-[all of them] lying wonders. And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false. In order that all may be judged and condemned who did not believe in [who refused to adhere to, trust in, and rely on] the Truth, but [instead] took pleasure in unrighteousness.

Dake’s – His preparation and revelation will be a work of Satin. The Satanic angel now in the abyss will come out and use the human Antichrist to fulfill Satan’s will in the last days, he will be endued with Satanic powers. With every cunning art and wicked practice men and demons can produce in order to deceive men who reject truth. This states the reason that God will permit such strong delusion at this time. If men determine to go to hell, there is nothing further that God can do to rescue them.

NIV – For this reason. Because of their deliberate rejection of the truth, God sends them a powerful delusion. God uses sin to punish the sinful. The lie, not just any lie, but the great lie that the man of lawlessness is God.

2. Resurrection and Judgment; everyone but the Church of the Body will appear before the judgment seat, where God’s judgment sentences will be pronounced, after they have been resurrected. John 5:28 & 29 Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. Acts 24:15 And have hope toward God which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. Luke 14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Amp – Then you will be blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied), because they have no way of repaying you, and you will be recompensed at the resurrection of the just (upright).

  • a. Resurrection of the Just (Revelation 20:1-5); first resurrection.
    And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Amp – And he gripped and overpowered the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times]… 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loose a little season. Dake’s – bottomless, Gr. abussos: unfathomed; enormous; abyss; unbounded; immeasurable depth.

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  • 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were be headed 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. Dake’s – I saw thrones; the thrones here are those that saints will have, providing that all saints will rule with Christ in some capacity as kings and priests. Amp – Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom authority to act as judges and to pass sentence was entrusted… Note: Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions shall serve and obey Him. 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Dake’s – the rest; the wicked dead who were not blessed and holy and who were not in the first resurrection. This proves 1,000 years between the first and second resurrections.
    20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Amp – Blessed (happy, to be envied) and holy (spiritually whole, of unimpaired innocence and proved virtue) is the person who takes part (shares) in the first resurrection! Over them the second death exerts no power or authority, but they shall be ministers of God and of Christ (the Messiah), and they shall rule along with Him a thousand years.
  • b. Resurrection of the Unjust; second resurrection.
  • After 1,000 years Satan loosed (Revelation 20:7) And when the thousand years are
    expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
    Dake’s – When the 1,000 years are up it will be time for the segregation and destruction of all rebels, including Satan, and the renovation of the heavens and the earth by fire, which will result in the New Heaven and New Earth.
    Note: Amp – 11Peter 3:10-13 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish(pass away) with a thunderous crash, and the [material] elements [of the universe] will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up. 3:11 Since all these things are thus in the process of being dissolved, what kind of person ought [each of] you to be [in the meanwhile] in consecrated and holy behavior and devout and godly qualities. 3:12 While you wait and earnestly long for (expect and hasten) the coming of the day of God by reason of which the flaming heavens will be dissolved, and the [material] elements [of the universe] will flare and melt with fire? (See Isaiah 34:4 All the host of the heavens shall be dissolved and crumble away, and the skies shall be rolled together like a scroll: and all their host [the stars and the planets] shall drop like a faded leaf from the fig tree). 3:13 But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise in which righteousness (uprightness, freedom from sin, and right standing with God) is to abide. Dake’s continued – Satan, his angles and demons will be loosed from the abyss. Satan and his hosts will go throughout the earth to deceive the nations who have not wanted the reign of Christ and who, in their hearts, have longed for an opportunity to get rid of such strict laws and rigid suppression of their lusts.

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  • The rebels will mobilize in the land of Gog and Magog, north of Palestine in Asia and ascend upon Jerusalem from the north.
    The rebels from all parts of the earth will surround the camp of the saints,
    and the capital Jerusalem. Fire will come down from God out of heaven and devour every rebel. The devil will be taken and cast in the lake of fire forever.
  • Deceives nations, great battle (Revelation 20:8) And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
    NIV – Gog and Magog symbolize the nations of the world as they band together
    for a final assault on God. (Also see Ezekiel, chapters 38 & 39).
  • Devil cast into lake of fire where the beast and false prophet are; eternal torment
    (Revelation 20:10) And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be  tormented   day and night for ever and ever.
    Dake’s – The beast and false prophet were cast in the lake of fire 1,000 years before this. They are still there after 1,000 years, proving that hell and eternal torment are realities. If one cannot burn up in 1,000 years he will never do so.
  • Book of Life is opened; unjust judged according the their works (Revelation 20:12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
    Amp – 20:12b …And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books.
    NIV – The principle of judgment on the basis of works is taught in (Psalms 62:12, Jeremiah 17:10, Romans 2:6, 1Peter 1:17, and elsewhere)
  • Sea, death and hades give up their dead (Revelation 20:13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
    Amp – And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done [according to their motives, aims, and works].
    NIV – Hades; equivalent to Hebrew Sheol
  • Death and hades cast into lake of fire; death destroyed (Revelation 20:14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
    (1Corinthians 15:25,26) For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
    Amp – For [Christ] must be King and reign until He has put all [His] enemies under His feet. See Psalm 110:1 The Lord (God) says to my Lord (the Messiah), Sit at My right hand, until I make your adversaries your footstool.
    15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
    Amp – The last enemy to be subdued and abolished is death.

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  • NIV – The destruction of death will occur at the end of the second-coming events after Christ conquers his enemies (Revelation 19:11, 20:5-14) at the great white throne judgment (when death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire).
  • Those not found in the Book of Life cast into lake of fire (Revelation 20:15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

2. THE END, THE TELOS (FINAL-MOST POINT) 1 CORINTHIANS 15:24-28

  1. All shall have been judged, sentences passed, rewards given; kingdom of Israel delivered to God (1 Corinthians 15:24)
  2. New heaven and new earth (1 Corinthians 15:25,28)
  3. All subdued to Christ (1Corinthians 15:25,28)
  4. God is all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28)
  • 15:24 Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. AMP – After that comes the end (the completion), when He (Christ) delivers over the kingdom to God the Father after rendering inoperative and abolishing every [other] rule and every authority and power.
  • Dake’s – “Then” – At the end of the Millennium. This is proved by the fact that Christ must reign 1,000 years to put down all rebellion and then deliver the kingdom to God that He may be all in all as before rebellion started.
  • 15:25 For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. (See Psalm 110:1) The Lord (God says to my Lord (the Messiah) sit at My right hand, until I make your adversaries your footstool.
  • 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
  • NIV – This destruction of death will occur at the end of the second-coming events after Christ conquers his enemies at the great white throne judgment (when death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire).
  • 15:27 For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith “All things are put under Him”, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him.
  • Dake’s – The Father is the excepted one.
  • 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him.
  • Amp – However, when everything is subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also subject Himself to [the Father] Who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all [be everything to everyone, supreme, the indwelling and controlling factor of life].
  • Note: Amp – Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death [in victory; He will abolish death forever]. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the reproach of His people He will take away from off all the earth; for the Lord has spoken it. (See 11 Timothy 1:10) [It is that purpose and grace] which He now has made known and has fully disclosed and made real [to us] through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who annulled death and made it of no effect and brought life and immortality (immunity from eternal death) to light through the Gospels.
  • Amp – Titus 1:2 [Resting] in the hope of eternal life, [life] which the ever truthful God Who cannot deceive promised before the world or the ages of time began.
  • Amp – Revelation 21:4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.

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The Hope

Attachment 1

The Apostle Paul describes our new bodies and gives an illustration or comparison with plant life, celestial bodies, and inanimate objects. 1 Corinthians 15:35-52

15:35 But some man will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?
15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
Amp – You foolish man! Every time you plant seed, you sow something that does not come to life [germinating, springing up, and growing] unless it dies first.
NIV – Plant organisms, though organized similarly in their own order, are different, the seed sown is related to the new plant that sprouts, but the new sprout has a different and genuinely new body that God has given it.
15.37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
Amp – 37a Nor is the seed you sow then the body which it is going to have [later]…
15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
See Genesis 1:11 And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Dake’s – Every man will have his own body, not that of another. He will have his own color appearance, size, shape, features, and characteristics and be exactly like himself in the resurrection. Men will be men and women will be women. Such bodies will be like Christ only in the sense of immortality. God gives every person his own body.
15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beast, another of fishes, and another of birds.
Dake’s – No two kinds of animals have the same flesh or flavor, this is also true of vegetables, grain, and other things in nature.
15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
Dake’s – Gr. epouranios, There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies which have different glories even as the sun, moon, and stars differ in glory.
NIV – Here the analogy involves inanimate objects of creation: the sun, moon and stars with their differing splendor, and the earthly bodies (possibly the great mountains, canyons and seas) with their splendor. In it all, God can take similar physical material and organize it differently to accomplish his purpose.
15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

Amp – So it is with the resurrection of the dead. [The body] that is sown is perishable and decays, but [the body] that is resurrected is imperishable (immune to decay, immortal).
Dake’s – all resurrected bodies will be immortal, but they will possess different degrees of glory
NIV – In applying these analogies, the apostle Paul says that in the case of the resurrection of the dead, God will take a perishable, dishonorable, weak (and sinful) body-“a natural body” characterized by sin-and in the resurrection make it an imperishable, glorious, powerful body. “Spiritual body” does not mean a nonmaterial body but, from the analogies, a physical one similar to the present natural body organizationally, but radically different in that it will be imperishable, glorious and powerful, fit to live eternally with God. There is continuity, but there is also change.
15:43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Amp – It is sown a natural (physical) body; it is raised a supernatural(a spiritual) body. [As surely as] there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
Dake’s – Gr. pneumatikos, by this it is meat the body will become of immortal substance. It has no reference to becoming immaterial, intangible, and without flesh and bones, for our resurrected bodies will still be flesh and bones, thought not flesh and blood. Spirit bodies are as real as can be, but of a higher substance than natural bodies.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam (Christ) was made a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Amp – Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose of counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep in death, but we shall all be changed (transformed).
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
Dake’s – All will not die physically, but some will be changed to the likeness of those who do die. The living will be changed from mortality to immortality as quickly as the dead will be raised to immortality. The time needed for this is but a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Gr. enatomo, in an atom of time
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.