Sunrise Service

The number of Americans who say that they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ has dropped 10 points since 2003 to 70 percent according to the most recent

Harris poll. Only 26 percent of Americans think they'll have bodies in heaven.

And thanks to the growth of Eastern religions in the United States, the concept of reincarnation, the idea that you'll be born again and again and again, not born again spiritually but born again physically, living one life and then coming back to live another life, that idea is gaining adherence.

In fact, 30 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation.

What I found more interesting though is that 21 percent of those who describe themselves as Christians believe in reincarnation.

21 percent of those who say they're Christians believe in that. What happens when we're to die once and then to judgment, as Hebrews 9 would say?

What is the truth? What does the Bible say about death, burial, resurrection?

We don't have to see what it says about reincarnation. We've already said it. We die once and then to judgment.

I want to invite you to open your Bibles to Daniel, the book of Daniel in the

Old Testament, chapter 12, and you say, Daniel, yes,

Daniel. We have an Old Testament too. Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Hosea, it's too early in the morning for me.

Okay, Daniel 12, Hosea, there,

I'm leaving that out. Daniel chapter 12, at that time shall arise

Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never, such as, let me do this again, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.

But at that time your people shall be delivered. Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

And those who are wise shall shine bright or shall shine like the brightness of the sky above.

And those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

This morning we're going to have a look at those two resurrections that are in Daniel. And I want you to look at that,

I mean, even consider the fact that it's in the Old Testament that we are told there are two resurrections, two possible ends to human life.

So that you will recognize what the work of Christ actually accomplished.

Again, let's look at the text in Daniel chapter 1. First few words, it says, at that time.

Interesting concept. Well, at what time? When was this? When is it?

When shall it be? MacArthur notes that the time, this looks at a future time, the time of the ascendancy of the

Antichrist. One who, in so many ways, is the one that the

Jews are looking for now. I remember when we were in Israel in 2000 and we were with a seminary group and they invited a rabbi to come speak to us.

And this rabbi came in and we said, you know, you don't believe Jesus is the Messiah.

We asked him and we said, who are you then expecting? And when he went on to describe a man who would bring peace to Israel, who would establish a greater dominion for Israel and establish world peace and would, in fact, rebuild the temple.

And I said, you're not, I was just sitting there, we didn't get to say this to him, but I just thought, you're not waiting for the

Messiah, you're waiting for the Antichrist. But this is a time of great tribulation, it is the great tribulation.

He said there that it is going to be a time of trouble, such as never there has been for a nation till that time.

It points to a future where Israel is going to be pressed as no other nation has ever been or ever will be.

That's why we call it the great tribulation. That's the situation.

That's what's going on and that's what at that time is. Let's look at the salvation that's promised here also in verse one.

Look at who gets delivered or the Hebrew word would even be slips away or is saved.

Who are they? Those whose name shall be found written in the book, written in the book, in the book of Revelation.

It's talked about as the Lamb's book of life. And note that there are two potential end results in verse two, two destinies after resurrection, after being brought to life, after sleeping in the dust.

It's a metaphor for physical death. In this context, in Daniel 12, it applies specifically to the

Jews. That's why we would even see Michael. He's called the

Prince here. He's an archangel. He is a protector of the nation of Israel.

But it's the same throughout scripture that there are two resurrections, two resurrections for all men, for all women, a resurrection.

The text here says to everlasting life and a resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt.

Now, if I just gave you the option and I said, which would you prefer? Everlasting life or shame and everlasting contempt?

That wouldn't be the most difficult quiz I ever gave. Both conditions, everlasting life, shame and everlasting contempt, contain obviously that same word everlasting, which is the

Hebrew word Olam. And it means everlasting. It means forever.

And verse three tells us who will receive everlasting life. Those who are wise.

Those who turn many to righteousness. When we think about that, what would that mean to turn many to righteousness?

We might think of great evangelists, great prophets, great men of the faith.

What about wisdom? Those who always choose rightly. You might think of Solomon as a wise man.

That's what he asked for. That's what he received. Surely, in this context,

Daniel 12, Daniel must have in mind, the Lord must have in mind, kind of the best of the best, the all -stars of the

Hebrew nation, the best Jews who ever lived. Where do we see that in the

New Testament? We would see that in Hebrews 11. I would invite you to turn to Hebrews 11 for a moment.

Great chapter in the Bible detailing the faith that sustained so many of the saints of the

Old Testament, so many of the believers of the Old Testament. And Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please

God. And then it goes on, you might expect to hear just a list of perfect or near perfect people, those who are wise, those who lead many to righteousness.

But what do we get in Hebrews 11? We get great men of the faith and women of the faith like this,

Noah. God saves his family. He faithfully serves for 120 years.

The ark lands, he gets off, and what does he do? He gets drunk.

That's sinful. Abraham, father of Israel, was a liar, committed adultery.

Jacob, also known as the deceiver. I don't even have to tell you what his sin is. It's kind of like his nickname.

Sarah, Abraham's wife, who was complicit in his adultery. In fact, it was her idea.

She was the one who said, I'm too old. Moses, the great excuse maker,

I can't really do that. Lord, I don't speak well. I'm not the right guy. Pick somebody else. How about when he struck the rock when

God told him to only speak to it? Kept him out of the promised land. Hebrews 11 also gives us

Rahab the harlot, Gideon the judge, whose faith was so weak that he actually needed a fleece.

He needed a sign from God. Barak, also a judge, whose obedience to God was conditional.

He said, look, I'm only going to do what the Lord wants if Deborah goes with me. Samson, who never obeyed once, as far as I could tell in his entire life, until he was nearly dead.

We could go on and on in Hebrews 11. Not even the greatest heroes and heroines of the faith were perfect.

None of them kept the law constantly. Not one. And yet God's standard is absolute perfection.

But the best of the best fall short. Who could possibly deserve or merit life olam, eternal life?

Life in the presence of God himself. Picking up where we left off in 1

Corinthians 15, verse 20.

And the reason that we're here this morning. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.

The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep again. A metaphor for death.

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own order. Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God, the father. After destroying every rule and every authority and power.

Verse 25, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

Adam, our forefather, introduced death to the human race.

When he and Eve fell from the garden, all of mankind fell with them.

All of us were born, as it were, with the disease of Adam, with his genetic code, with the curse of original sin.

Verse 22 says, well, in Adam, all die. We all die physically. Spiritually, we also die.

But we come into this world dead. D -O -A, dead on arrival, muerto. We are unable to do anything for ourselves.

And because of that, no one, no matter how faithful, no matter how well -intentioned, could ever obey the law of God perfectly.

However, but Jesus, being fully God, did obey perfectly.

His obedience began before the foundation of the world, when he agreed to come to this world, take on a human nature, live a sinless life, and die on behalf of all those who would ever believe.

But it doesn't end there. Look at verse 21, or in chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15.

By a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. Jesus was not only

God, he was a man. Fully God, fully man, came to earth, took on a human body, lived a perfect life.

And because of him, we can have eternal life.

Look again, still two endings, verse 23. Still two resurrections, but each in his own order.

Christ, the firstfruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ, and then later, those who do not belong to Christ.

Only those who belong to him, those who have repented, those who have believed, those who have turned to serve the living

God, will receive eternal life. What the Hebrews would call, Chaim Olam, eternal life.

Notice verse 25, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

Jesus will return during that millennium, after the tribulation, after this time of testing of Israel.

And then Jesus is going to reign for 1 ,000 years, and then forever in heaven.

Every last rebel, every last person who would raise a fist at God, as it were, will be vanquished, will be sent to hell forever, for rejecting his offer of a pardon for sins.

If you're here this morning and you do not believe in Christ, you are not neutral to him, you are not neutral toward God, you are his enemy.

Psalm 5 would tell us that, that he hates the wicked, that he hates those who do sin as the course and pattern of their life.

Romans 5 would declare that those who do not repent are in fact his enemies.

There is absolutely no neutrality with God, you are with him or you are against him. It is in light of that, that we're here today to look at the greatest single event we're here to celebrate.

The greatest event in the history of humanity, the resurrection of the

Lord Jesus Christ. That so many would believe themselves to be

Christians and yet not grasp this truth, that some would even believe that he wasn't raised bodily, or that they would think that they're not going to be raised bodily, or that they would think that they would have another chance, another life, is heartbreaking.

Let me ask you this plainly. Do you believe that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the

Father? Do you believe he is eternally God, the second person of the Trinity, who came to earth, took on an additional nature, that of a man, lived the life you could never live, died the death, listen, that you deserved, and that he died in your place, and that he was raised on the third day, so that you might have eternal life in his presence.

Died a death that you deserved, was raised on the third day, that you might have eternal life, not for his own sake, but for your sake.

If you say you do, if you say you believe those things, how has it changed your life?

How are you different? How do you look at today differently? How do you look at every day differently?

Knowing that you have a risen Savior, who intervened, who interposed himself for you, that you might not face the wrath of God, how do you look at life differently?

And if you don't look at life differently, is it possible that you're deceived? Now if you're here this morning, and you do not know

Christ, may I say that today isn't a day of Easter eggs, and bunnies, and joy, and fun.

Today ought to be a day of terror. Every single day you stand, as it were, on a ledge of a cliff that is crumbling.

One slip, one fall, one misstep, one directive from the will of God, will send you plunging eternally into what

Daniel called, shame and everlasting contempt. And that's not just shame and everlasting contempt from a human standpoint, that is the eternal shame and eternal contempt of God poured out upon you forever.

I would urge anyone in that condition to believe on the

Lord Jesus Christ today. Why will you die in your sins?

Repent, change your mind. I would beg you, I would plead with you, don't leave here today without becoming convicted in your mind of these truths, of changing your mind about your own ability to stand before a holy and righteous

God. There are two resurrections.

One, to eternal life with a holy, just, and yet loving

God. And one, to shame and everlasting contempt, facing only

His wrath, indignation, and justice forever. Let's pray.

Father, this morning we do celebrate this most joyous and hopeful of occasions.

And yet for any among us who do not know you, this is not a joyful day. This is yet another reminder of a debt they cannot pay, but they owe.

Father, I would pray for any who are here this morning that do not know you, that you would so convict them, that you would place such a burden on their hearts, that they would cry out to you,

Father, open their hearts. Let them see Christ for who He is. Let them flee to the cross.

Let them invest themselves wholly in the finished work of Jesus Christ, in His perfect life,