The Doctrine of Christ

LESSON TWENTY-NINE The General Resurrection

1. The resurrection of the dead is a subject of prophecy and’ promise. Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:12, 13; Matthew 22:31, 32; John 5:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22. TDOC 76.5

2. Both the righteous and the wicked will be raised. Acts 24:15; John 5:28, 29. TDOC 76.6

3. The righteous will be raised at the coming of the Lord! 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:23; John 11:23, 24. TDOC 76.7

4. The wicked will be raised one thousand years, later. Revelation 20:5. TDOC 76.8

5. The resurrection body will be different from the one we now have. 1 Corinthians 15:35-44; Philippians 3:20, 21. TDOC 77.1

6. Those who have part in the first resurrection will not be subject to the power of death. Revelation 20:6; Luke 20:35, 36. TDOC 77.2

7. The resurrection of the dead depends upon Christ and his resurrection. John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:17, 18. TDOC 77.3

NOTES: The consequences of Christ’s resurrection

“The fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians is classic on the subject: The resurrection of Christ necessary to and carrying with it the resurrection and full glorification of believers.” TDOC 77.4

The antitype of the wave sheaf

“All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the Source of life. Only he who is one with God could say, I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again. In his divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death. Christ arose from the dead as the first fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and his resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord. For more than a thousand years this symbolic ceremony had been performed. From the harvest fields the first heads of ripened grain, were gathered; and when the people went up to Jerusalem to the Passover, the sheaf of first fruits was waved as a thank offering before the Lord. Not until this was presented could the sickle be put to the grain, and it be gathered into sheaves. The sheaf dedicated to God represented the harvest. So Christ the first fruits represented the great spiritual harvest to be gathered for the kingdom of God. His resurrection is the type and pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” The Desire of Ages, 785, 786. TDOC 77.5