FreeGrace2 said:
Another point to be made here.
The phrase "those who belong to Him" certainly IS "more than 2".
But how does that phrase MAKE SENSE of the "but EACH [of more than two] in his OWN ORDER / RANK" ?
It's the ONLY way to make sense of your "more than 2" idea. In the verse, there are only 2 categories of resurrection.
1. firstfruits, which is Jesus Christ
2. those who belong to Him - every believer from Adam on.
However, in that second category, there are untold numbers of believers.
Are you really trying to suggest that the second category will be split up into "more than 2" events of resurrection?
If you do, then just remember all the verses i've shown that clearly indicate there is just ONE resurrection of the saved.
"those who ARE His" is ONE [set] of the "ORDER / RANK"... (not the individual persons involved in this "those").
So? You pointed out by parentheses that the word "each" means "more than 2".
But "EACH" speaks to: "OF MORE THAN TWO" ("but EACH [OF MORE THAN TWO] in his OWN ORDER / RANK"... which means there is AN ORDER [/RANK]" to it...
What should be obvious is that in 1 Cora 15:23, given ONLY 2 categories of resurrection; that being Jesus' and the saved, it is clear that the "rank" was clearly indicated by "firstfruits", being Jesus as the FIRST. Then, EVERYONE else.
Why do you insist that in the group of "those who belong to Him" there will be a "ranking" of resurrections"? There's NO evidemce of that.
[
again: the 144,000 are "firstfruit" of the
"WHEAT" harvest... harvested by means of a "tribulum"... connecting with the
SECOND of
TWO mentions of
"firstfruit" in Lev23 (recall James 1:18 "
a KIND of firstfruit"
), that is,
in v.17... where it says, "
TWO loaves" and "
baken WITH LEAVEN"
<--THOSE PHRASES are
NOT *US* / "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY"; The
FIRST of the
TWO mentions of "firstfruit" in Lev23 speaks to
an EARLIER harvest, one in which it is harvested by means of "TOSSING IT UP
INTO THE AIR" and "BLOWING away the chaff"]
Trying to force the word "firstfruit" from 1 Cor 15:23 into the "firstfruit" of Rev 14 is ridiculous.
1 Cor 15:23 tells us plainly that after the resurrection of Jesus, being the FIRST one, "then, when He comes, those who belong to Him" will be resurrected. If you can't see the obvious truth here that ALL believers from all time will be resurrected "when He comes".
That will be a single event. Not multiple events.