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The Great Gulf Between the First and Second Resurrections

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The Great Gulf Between The First a​nd Second Resurrections

Hi A____,

Thank you for your question about this insidious doctrine that has been afflicting us for so many years.

All of these words are very accurate:

We are all the old man before we begin dying to him and Christ begins​ to take the ascendency in our lives. This is the doctrine of Christ. In time we will become a lake with His fiery words in our mouths, and as such we will be saviors upon Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau [the rest of mankind in the second death “when the thousand years are expired”​] (Oba 1:21)​. There is no “lake of fire” until after the thousand years are expired.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 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.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 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.
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 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.
Rev 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.
Rev 20:14  And [“when the thousand years are expired”] death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The verses below are the words of John the Baptist,​ who symbolizes our old man as he is dying and is being replaced by Christ. This begins while we are all still in Babylon and not yet completely aware of the magnitude of our calling. John knows he is not Christ, but John has no idea that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom any more that Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland or Creflo Dollar know that God’s blessings​ upon His chosen are primarily spiritual and not primarily physical blessings. So John symbolizes our old man, who now sees and knows that he must decrease while Christ in us must increase:

Joh 3:28  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.
Joh 3:31  He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
Joh 3:32  And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
Joh 3:33  He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

So y​es, indeed, “God is true, and every man is a liar” (Rom 3:4), and that especially includes anything concocted by any man who brings the second death into the realm of the first resurrection. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man makes clear there is a great gulf which separates those two resurrections, and there is no way Lazarus, who was the first to die to his old man, can be hurt by a second death, which is symbolized by those who are in the second resurrection. In other words, there is no way the second death camp, “the rich man”, can bridge that gulf to enter into the blessings of those who “come forth unto the resurrection of life”:

Luk 16:19  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luk 16:20  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Luk 16:27  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
Luk 16:28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luk 16:29  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luk 16:30  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

“Moses and the prophets” is Bible-​speak for “the scriptures”, both Old and New Testaments. It will very likely take the lake of fire to burn that false doctrine that the elect must also partake of the second death out of those who given themselves over to it.

There are but two resurrections, and the first one is for those who are​ given to overcome the wicked one​ while in bodies of mortal flesh. These blessed few endure the same fiery words of God that burns up all the wood, hay and stubble of the old man in “every man”, including those who come forth to the resurrection of damnation (Judgment).

Notice how slick the tongue is of the serpent in mixing truth with error:

“Not that all that is in the elect is hurt of the lake of fire which is the second death” is just slipped right in there as if the lake of fire is already here​ purifying those who are hurt of the second death. It is presented as if the second death is itself the first death of the elect who die first in this age:

2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Those who are first “delivered unto death” are “we which live… in our mortal flesh”. There is no “mortal flesh” to be found in the second death,​ which is the lake of fire.

These are Christ’s own words concerning the distinctions between the two resurrections:

Joh 5:21  For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Joh 5:22  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Joh 5:23  That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Joh 5:25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life “Not come into condemnation… the blessed and holy… first resurrection”]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [“white throne judgment/second death/lake of fire/ condemned with the world”].

I pray we are given to remain faithful to these words and never fail to “rightly divide the word of Truth”.

Your fellow servant, Mike

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