Hi All,
I wanted to open this particular bible discussion up about a question I’ve had for some time, taken from Acts 24:15. I am sure you are all very familiar with this verse, as it has been cited oftentimes at the kingdom hall. It states:
“15 and I have hope toward God, which hope these [men] themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.†(Acts 24:15)
At the kingdom hall, I’ve have heard the WTBTS and the Jehovah’s Witnesses say this resurrection would be an earthly one, that will occur during the one-thousand year reign of Christ. I take it most of you feel the same way. My question on this is,
How can we prove it will take a thousand years to empty the graves, based on what the bible actually says on the topic? In other words, does the bible actually teach this? (I’ve provided below relevant bible texts that I believe, actually speak on this subject.)
Okay fudge sweetie, I'll take a crack at the bat.:D BTW....so sorry for the loss of your father:( Hope you'll find comfort from this discussion.:giverose:
Laying all the complicated WT teachings aside, I've come to appreciate that the first resurrection will include many more besides the 144,000 who are initially raised to heaven. There are those like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who are said to be living to our Father. I also have come to believe that "first" is not speaking of timing as if it was a singular event. But rather it is the "first" in a qualitative sense. In other words: first = the righteous
"As regards the resurrection of the dead, did YOU not read what was spoken to YOU by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living." -- Matthew 22:31-32
"But that the dead are raised up even Moses disclosed, in the account about the thornbush, when he calls Jehovah ‘the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob.’ He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they are all living to him.â€" -- Luke 20:37-38
So, when speaking about the dead standing before the Great White Throne, it would never in my mind include the faithful men and women of old who are living to God. It says that it is "the dead" (not living to God) standing there for judgment.
As for timing of the Great White Throne judgment, it might likely be after the first resurrection and after our Father has put into place His means of bringing mankind to righteousness -- namely, the New Jerusalem with its trees of life and the leaves for the healing of the nations.
If we try to put all of Revelation in chronological order (like we linear thinkers love to do) we can get mighty confused as to the timing of events. Sometimes things are stated from one view and then another passage gives us the same event from a different perspective. Think of it as building a three-dimensional puzzle -- it goes up and down as well as sideways.
Example: the creation account. In Genesis chapter one we get an all over picture of the order of creation, including the first human pair. Chapter two zooms in on a particular aspect of the creation of man. For some "linear thinkers" this is talking about two "different" creations.
Many of the events in Revelation are taking place simultaneously. Some things happening on earth and others in heaven. It means leaving "linear" thinking and going for "global" or "packet" thought.
The Great White Throne scenario is an over view of something that is taking place from the time that the human political machine is crushed and the kingdom rule by our lord Jesus begins on earth all the way to the point where it "fills the whole earth" and accomplishes the bringing to life those "dead" who do good deeds and gain entry to the New Jerusalem to partake of the trees of life. Here's how Daniel puts it:
"You kept on looking until a stone was cut out not by hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and of molded clay and crushed them. At that time the iron, the molded clay, the copper, the silver and the gold were, all together, crushed and became like the chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away so that no trace at all was found of them. And as for the stone that struck the image, it became a large mountain and filled the whole earth." -- Daniel 2:34-35
"“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite."" -- Daniel 2:44
I think this scripture you've quoted here fits very well in this picture of human recovery.
“And Jehovah of armies will certainly make for all the peoples, in this mountain, a banquet of well-oiled dishes, a banquet of [wine kept on] the dregs, of well-oiled dishes filled with marrow, of [wine kept on] the dregs, filtered. 7 And in this mountain he will certainly swallow up the face of the envelopment that is enveloping over all the peoples, and the woven work that is interwoven upon all the nations. 8 He will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces. And the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Jehovah himself has spoken [it].†(Isaiah 25:6-8)
More could be said regarding these things but this post would become overlong. Perhaps more later.
love,:siskiss:
Rez