Paul said, “Some men will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” (I Cor. 15:35).
He answered the question with an illustration from the study of plants (Botany), “That which thou sowest is not quickened [made alive], except it die.”
When we sow a seed, it dies before it becomes a plant.
If the seed doesn’t die, it won’t become a plant.
If it doesn’t disintegrate, a plant won’t come out of it, the roots won’t come out of it, the leaves won’t come out it, etc.
Next, Paul said, “And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed its own body.”
Paul made three points:
- When we sow a seed, we bury a bare seed in the ground. It is a seed.
- God gives that seed a new body. We cannot give that seed a new body. That seed can’t give itself a new body. But God gives that seed a new body.
- Every seed has its own body. A wheat seed receives one kind of body. A bean seed receives another kind of body. A corn seed receives another kind of body, etc. Different seeds receive a different kind of body.
So how are the dead raised?
They are raised by God and the process is like what happens to a seed.
The seed dies and it becomes a living plant.
A little apple seed dies, and it becomes a big apple tree.
The apple seed has one kind of body before it dies and another kind of body after it’s brought back to life.
Something inside that dead seed comes forth and makes a living plant.
Something inside you comes forth, and God gives you a new body.
Paul continued with a second illustration from the study of animals (Zoology), “All flesh is not the same; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds” (I Cor. 15:39).
There are different kinds of flesh; humans are different from animals, beef is different from pork, fish is different from chicken, etc.
There are even kinds of flesh we don’t know anything about.
God will make our resurrection body out of a different kind of flesh, a flesh unlike anything we know about right now.
Paul continued with a third illustration from a study of the heavenly bodies (the field of Astronomy), “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 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” (I Cor. 15:40-41).
There are different kinds of heavenly bodies: asteroids, comets, moons, planets, stars, etc.
God created all of these, but they are all different, and they have different degrees of splendor and beauty.
Some stars are large, some stars are small, some heavenly bodies give off light, some heavenly bodies reflect light, etc.
There are different kinds of bodies, a human’s body is different from an animal’s body, a cow’s body is different from a pig’s body, a fish’s body is different from a chicken’s body.
Cows don’t lay eggs, and fish don’t have feathers.
Our resurrection body will be different from our present body in at least five ways:
- We will be raised in incorruption (without a sin nature).
- We will be raised with bodies that will never die.
- We will be raised in glory (with a glorious body that will be superior to anything we know about).
- We will be raised in power (with a powerful body that will never become weak or frail).
- We will be raised with a spiritual body (with a body that’s different from this physical body).
We won’t be a ghost, or a vapor.
We’ll have a spiritual body.
Here are some articles that seem to indicate that we are getting close to the Rapture.
One, On Sat. Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas (a terrorist group funded and armed by Iran) launched a surprise air, ground, and sea attack on Israel.
It was estimated that Hamas fired more than 2,000 rockets into Israel and there was fighting in more than 20 places.
Things changed by the minute, but there were reports of major property damage, about 100 Israelis killed, about 1,000 Israelis injured, and the capture of many Israeli soldiers and hostages.
The Israeli cabinet met, Israel called up 300,000 reservists, and Prime Min. Netanyahu said, “We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war.”
He added, “The enemy will pay a heavy price, the type that the enemy has not known.”
(Update: On Sun. Oct. 8, 2023, about 3,500 rockets fired into Israel, over 600 Israelis killed, 2,040 injured, about 100 women, children, elderly Jews—and the bodies of dead soldiers—paraded through the streets of Gaza. Israeli soldiers went from town to town and house to house in southern Israel to take out Hamas. Netanyahu warned the people of Gaza to leave because Israel will reduce Gaza to rubble.)
(Update: On Oct. 8, 2023, Israel announced that it would cut off the electricity and water and ban the shipment of food and fuel to Gaza—home of 2 million people—starting on Oct. 9, 2023, in preparation for an invasion of Gaza that would reduce the area to rubble.)
(Update: On Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells from Lebanon into Israel. Israel fired back, but there was no report of casualties or damage.)
(Update: On Mon. Oct. 9, 2023—One survivor said Israeli women were raped next to the dead bodies of their friends and then killed. At noon CDT, the Israeli death toll reached 1,200 including 9 Americans. Hamas threatened to kill their hostages and show it online if Israel bombs Palestinian homes. Israel warned Hamas against killing hostages and said Israel will retaliate. Israel claimed their planes struck 150 targets in Gaza. In the north, Israeli soldiers killed several terrorists trying to enter Israel from Lebanon. Six Israeli soldiers were wounded.)
(Update: On Tue. Oct. 10, 2023, the number of hostages increased to about 150, the number of Americans killed increased to 11, and the numbers may increase. It was reported that Hamas killed—some were beheaded—at least 40 babies and children in one town. Shortly before noon CST, it was reported that the ground assault on Gaza would start in a matter of hours. It was reported that shells were fired from Syria and Lebanon into Israel, and the Israeli Defense Forces retaliated.)
(Update: Wed. Oct. 11, 2023, Before morning, Israeli jets struck more than 200 targets in Gaza city that rockets had been fired from. Israel’s Defense Min. said Israel is attacking from the air, but Israel will soon attack on the ground. The UN says 180,000 Gazans have been made homeless. Israel said the city of Gaza will be a tent city before this is over.)
On Oct. 11, 2023, some of my thoughts about these events are:
>The terminal generation should see wars and rumors of wars (possibilities include Psa. 83, destruction of Damascus in Isa. 17; destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities in Jer. 49:34-39; Gog and Magog in Ezek. 38-39), and I believe we are the terminal generation.
>I believe our generation is in the feet of iron plus clay on the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which means we are the terminal generation (Dan. 2).
>I believe there are people alive today that will not pass away before all prophecy is fulfilled (all the seals, bowls, and trumpets, which involves world government, the Mark of the Beast, the Battle of Armageddon, etc.).
>When asked about His Second Coming, Jesus told His disciples to watch the Fig Tree (Israel; Matt. 24:32-34).
>Isaiah said Israel would come back into being in one day before the birth pains (before the Tribulation Period; Isa. 66:7-9).
>The angel Gabriel told Daniel Israel would have to go through the Tribulation Period before all prophecy is fulfilled (Dan. 9:24).
>Israel cannot be destroyed, but the pressure on Israel will not end until the Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah at the Second Coming (all Israel will be saved at the end of the Tribulation Period).
>God loves Israel, and this war is partly God’s appeal for the Jews to accept Jesus and be saved before they die or the Tribulation Period begins.
>God loves the Muslims, and this war is partly for the Muslims to know that Jehovah is God (not Allah) and be saved before they die or the Tribulation Period begins.
>This war is a warning to the world about the extreme barbarism and evil of Islamic terrorism. World leaders need to face it and deal with it.
>Making peace with people that act like animals and maybe demon possessed is impossible.
>The hundreds of Israeli men, women, children, and babies that were killed were not killed in a war or on a battlefield. They were killed in their homes, on the streets, at a party, etc., by Islamic terrorists that sneaked into Israel.
>On Oct. 9, 2023, Israel’s political parties started negotiating to form a unity government, so this war could be the end of the political division of Israel.
>This war has caused multitudes of Jews to pray and look to God for help.
>I am not a military man, but it seems to me that Israel needs to eliminate Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza before Israel must deal with Iran. Israel needs to eliminate the southern threat before it must deal with the northern threat.
>Shots fired from Lebanon and Syria into Israel are a reminder that Israel will destroy Lebanon and Damascus at the end of the age.
>The support of Russia and Iran for Hamas is a reminder that the two will be allies in the Battle of Gog and Magog.
>Russia will not voluntarily attack Israel, but God will put a hook in Gog’s jaw and drag Russia onto the mountains of Israel.
>Russia’s defeat on the mountains of Israel will just be partial (Russia will still have most of her navy, some of her air force, and her nuclear missiles).
>If Israel follows through with her threat to reduce Gaza to rubble, Iran will increase her efforts to build nuclear weapons, and Israel will be forced to move against Iran (Jer. 49:34-39).
>The escalating danger and destruction will increase the call for peace in the Middle East, and this could speed up a fake covenant of peace and the Tribulation Period.
>This war could strengthen Israel’s control of the Temple Mount and open the door for a rebuilt Temple.
>Not all agree, but I believe the Battle of Gog and Magog is a pre-Trib event, and if it is, the defeat of Russia, Iran, etc., will increase the call for a world government, and the defeat of Iran will remove a lot of the opposition to a rebuilt Temple.
>Israel has red heifers, and if they are still qualified early next year, religious Jews can build the Temple as soon as they get government permission.
>I believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation Period begins.
(FYI: On Sept. 11, 2023, Pres. Biden released $6 billion in frozen oil revenue to Iran in exchange for the release of five prisoners, knowing that Iran was threatening to destroy Israel. When Biden did that, Trump called him a fool and predicted the money would be used to finance more terrorism in the Middle East. For whatever it is worth, a Hamas spokesman admitted that Iran helped coordinate the attack, so there is no question about Iranian involvement.)
(FYI: In 2021, Pres. Biden left $80 billion worth of weapons in Afghanistan when he surrendered to the Taliban and pulled America’s troops out. On Oct. 7, 2023, it was reported that the Taliban had asked Iran for permission to cross Iranian territory to assist Hamas in its conflict with Israel. Video on cellphones of deceased Israelis indicates that some Hamas terrorists may have been armed with U.S.-made weapons.)
FYI: A pastor friend reminded me that God has a reason for everything He does, and he gave me the following Scripture for when Israel entered the Promised Land:
“When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them” (Deut. 7:1-11).
Two, concerning the globalist desire to reduce the population of the earth: on Oct. 6, 2023, LifeSiteNews reported that a study of data from 17 nations on four continents representing 9% of the world’s population and 10% of the people on earth that received a Covid-19 vaccination found that:
- Covid-19 vaccines can be deadly.
- Covid-19 vaccines did not save lives, and they appear to be lethal toxic agents.
- If the Covid-19 vaccines prevented the spread of Covid-19, the death rate should have decreased, not increased.
- There can be little doubt that the increase in death from all causes is due to the Covid-19 vaccine.
- It is generally believed that the death rate from other kinds of vaccinations is about one in a million, but the death rate from Covid-19 vaccinations is about one in 800 injections.
- Covid-19 vaccinations have killed approximately 17 million people as of Sept. 2, 2023.
Three, concerning a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and tracking all buying and selling in the U.S.: on Oct. 5, 2023, it was reported that a bill to forbid the use of CBDCs and track people in the U.S. has cleared the House Financial Services Committee.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer warned that “the Biden Administration is not only itching to create a CBDC, but they are willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style central bank digital currency.”
We should hope that the bill passes when it is voted on by the full House.
Four, concerning America’s economic problems: on Oct. 5, 2023 it was reported that the U.S. House of Representatives cut off funding for the WHO, the WEF, the UN Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the World Bank-administered climate change funds, the UN Population Fund, and 33 Special Envoys and Special Representatives including the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the Special Envoy for Racial Equity and Justice, the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, the Special Envoy for International Labor Affairs, the Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs and others.
I know I shouldn’t gloat, but funding was cut off for Pres. Biden’s Climate Czar John Kerry.
The bill reduced Pres. Biden’s spending requests by about 25%, but it still has to be passed by the U.S. Senate.
Five, concerning the book of Daniel: God said, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Dan. 12:4).
God told Daniel knowledge will increase at the time of the end.
I have heard people say we are living in the “Information Age.”
I have heard others say we are living in the “Computer Age” or the “Digital Age.”
I now read that the “Computer Age” is about to be replaced by the age of “Quantum Computing.”
In an article on harbingersdaily.com, on Oct. 5, 2023, Rev. David Bowen wrote:
>Packed with infinitesimally small microprocessors, it (quantum computers) can easily process over 5 billion calculations per second — 3 million times faster than classic computing. The chief analyst at Hyperion Research estimates that tasks that currently take 25 hours will soon be completed in two minutes with quantum computing.
>Not only will this technology have the ability to control every aspect of life, business, finance, medicine, government, etc., but it will also be able to do this with such precision and speed that every person on earth could be placed into a one-world system. This technology will virtually force the world into a one-world financial system, a one-world government, and eventually a one-world religion. This super technology will cause the world’s systems to merge into one unified and computerized way of life. Choices will be eliminated. Freedom will be severely limited. Control will be delivered into the hands of the one who oversees this worldwide interconnecting network.
Six, concerning world government: the World Health Organization (WHO) currently has two documents in process that they want to get approved at the World Health Assembly Meeting in May 2024.
One document concerns amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHRs).
- They want WHO recommendations legally binding all over the world.
- They want the WHO Director Gen. to be empowered to regulate anything that could potentially endanger public health.
- They want the WHO to be empowered to require medical exams, treatments, quarantines, and more.
- They want the WHO to create a global system (digital passport) to track tests, vaccinations, recovery, travel, etc.
The other document is the International Pandemic Treaty (Accords; also called the WHO CA+).
- The WHO wants a “One Health” system that includes plants, animals, ecosystems, and the impact of climate change.
- They want the WHO to be empowered to censor misinformation and disinformation (anything that contradicts their narrative).
- They want the WHO to be empowered to form new committees to impose new requirements on the world at their discretion in the future.
The WHO group that has been working on these documents for several weeks is supposed to:
- Stop changing them by Jan. 2024.
- Present them to every nation in Jan. 2024.
- Allow every nation to have four months to consider them before they are voted on at the WHO Assembly Meeting in May 2024.
It was recently reported that the WHO group that has been working on these documents is trying to get around the four-month requirement so the nations will have to vote on them with little or no time to consider what they are voting on.
Seven, concerning an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters at the end of the age: on Oct. 7, 2023, a 6.3 earthquake in Afghanistan killed 2,053 people, injured 1,240, and damaged or destroyed 1,320 houses.
These numbers are expected to keep rising.
(Update: On Oct. 10, 2023, at least 2,400 killed and 1,900 houses destroyed. There may not be a connection, but it is interesting that this happened 3 days after the Taliban asked for permission to send troops through Iran to help Hamas fight Israel.)
FYI: God does not send anyone to Hell (all of us are born with a sin nature and destined to go to Hell because we sin), but God has provided a way (Jesus) for everyone to go to Heaven (and He is the only way to get there; John 14:6).
Finally, are you Rapture Ready?
If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.