Studies in 1 Corinthians-12 1 Cor 15 — William MacDonald

Do you all have your outline of 1 Corinthians 15? It's not complete, but there's more to come. The rest of 15 and chapter 16, and we hope to perhaps finish it next week, Lord willing. Turn in your Bibles, please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the great resurrection chapter.

1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you receive, and in which you stand, by which also you are saved. You hold fast that word which I preach to you, unless you believe in vain.

For I deliver to you first of all that which I also receive, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

After that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.".

In this letter, 1 Corinthians, Paul is answering certain problems that had arisen in the church in Corinth. That's what the epistle is from beginning to end. It's taking up questions that the Corinthian Christians had, and problems that were in the church, and Paul is answering them.

That's an interesting thing, that God allowed every possible problem and question to come up in the early days of the church, so they were all answered here in the New Testament. There's nothing new, friends.

There's no new heresy. There's no new difficulty. No new problem. The Bible is sufficient for any problem that can possibly arise in the church. Isn't that wonderful? It really is. It's adequate for all questions of faith and of morals.

Well, when you come to chapter 15, what was the problem? Well, the problem was this, that there were some people that had crept into the church, false teachers, who denied the possibility of resurrection.

They said, not just the resurrection of Christ, resurrection period. They denied the possibility that when that body went into the grave, it would ever be raised again. That's what they denied, and of course, if they denied that, they denied the resurrection of Christ, because the gospel is just founded on the great truth that Christ rose from the dead the third day according to the scriptures.

So, this chapter is devoted to a discussion of that problem, not just the resurrection of Christ, resurrection in general. Now, let me say this, that the word resurrection in the New Testament always refers to the raising of the body.

It's not talking about some sort of a spiritual resurrection. It's not talking about some sort of a figurative resurrection. Well, the word resurrection is used, it's referring to the raising of the body, just as when the Lord Jesus came forth from that tomb on that Easter morning, was his body, wasn't his spirit being?

He said, a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have. And it's pretty wonderful when you start to think of all the people who have died in faith since the beginning of time, and their dust went into the, is in the graves, you know, or even buried at sea.

And that's a wonderful thing to think that God is going to reconstitute all that dust. The very thing. People say, don't tell me it's going to be the same. Of course it is. Of course it is. Sin affected man's body.

Christ's redemption has to undo all that sin has done. And so, that's what we believe. We believe that that same body that goes into the grave and decomposes and returns to dust, it's going to be raised again.

Believers glorified, it's going to be raised in a better condition. It's going to be the same body, the same identity. I mean, a believer will be recognized as that same believer throughout all eternity.

We're not going to be nameless blobs of protoplasm drifting through the universe. We're going to be people, men and women, believers in heaven, recognizable as such. Do you believe that? Do you believe we're going to recognize one another?

Well, Paul did. Paul said concerning the Thessalonians, what is our joy and crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? In other words, when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ, Paul says, what's going to really give me a joy?

To see these Thessalonian Christians whom he had led to the Lord. Will he recognize? Of course he'll recognize. And John the Apostle certainly believed that he'd recognize the saints in heaven. He says in 1 John 2, 28, and now you children, you little children, you abide in him so that when he appears, we the apostles may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

So he certainly expected to recognize them. And he said, I hope you'll go on well so that when we all stand there together, we won't blush with shame that you'll have fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith.

Well, I think it's important to recognize that that resurrection refers to the raising of the physical body. And it's not a figurative raising that's in view. And that there were some there in the assembly in Corinth who doubted the possibility they said, how are the dead raised?

And with what body do they come? And they said it in kind of a sarcastic way, you know, how are the dead raised? And with what kind of a body do they come? Well, Paul's going to tell us. He's going to tell us how they're raised and the kind of a body that they'll have.

But if these false teachers were right, of course, it means that Christ didn't rise from the dead. And it means the believers won't rise from the dead. And Paul is going to show that the resurrection is an essential part of actually the resurrection of Christ, an essential part of the gospel.

Why? Why is it so important? Why did the apostles and disciples in the book of Acts preach more about the resurrection than they did about the death Christ himself? He said, you check the book of Acts and you'll find that it isn't so much the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross that dealt with there, although that's important, the resurrection.

Why? Well, because if Christ didn't rise from the dead, his death would have been no different from any other person. Would it? Would have been no different from any other person. But the very fact that God raised him from the dead proved that God was perfectly satisfied.

He perfectly accepted the work of the Lord Jesus, his substitutionary work on the cross of Calvary. And Christ's resurrection guarantees the resurrection of every believer. That's wonderful. Christ's resurrection, Christ, the first group after would say that our Christ did it.

And if the Lord should call me to die and go to heaven by the way of death, I'm just as sure of it as I'm standing here that this body will be raised from the dead, reunited with the spirit and soul and glorified body with Christ for all eternity.

Okay. With that background, let's look at the passage. Moreover, brethren, I declared to you the gospel. What does gospel mean? It means good news. I'll say, I want to remind you, dear Corinthians, of the good news you heard and which you believe.

Don't let anybody make you waiver. Now, the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also you received and in which you stand. Well, there's only one gospel. I mean, the world has a lot of so-called gospels, but there's only one gospel.

And Paul is going to give the best definition of the gospel. I think that's found in the scriptures in this passage. Mine which also you are saved if you hold fast that word which I preach to you. In other words, if you believe the gospel, you're saved.

It says, unless you have believed in vain. You know, that little expression has bothered some people. Unless you have believed in vain. They say, well, I believe in Christ, but did I believe in vain? They think, well, maybe my faith was defective.

Well, that isn't what it means at all. Maybe they say, maybe I didn't believe in the right way. And, you know, people can out think themselves sometimes. They can really create their own problems when it comes to this whole matter of belief.

Let me put it to you squarely. If the Lord Jesus Christ is your only hope of heaven, you haven't believed in vain. If the Lord Jesus is your, you're standing before God, and you're depending on him and him alone, you believed in the right way.

If you're still holding on to some personal merit, you haven't believed in the right way. But if you can say, on Christ the solid rock I stand, all of the ground is sinking sand, you believed in the right way.

But that isn't even what it means here, unless you believed in vain. It means, unless the gospel I preach to you isn't true. That's what it means. It has nothing to do with a person's own faith. It's the content of their faith.

Now he's going to define the gospel. I deliver to you, first of all, that which I also receive. Paul received this message by divine inspiration. He explains that in Galatians chapter one, two. Goes over it very much in detail there.

God revealed this message. What is it? First of all, Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. What is that? He's the substitutionary death of Christ. I should have died for my sins. Christ died for my sins, according to the scriptures.

When it says the scriptures here, it means the Old Testament scriptures, doesn't it? Because the New Testament wasn't in existence. It was coming into existence at this time, but it wasn't in existence yet as a complete New Testament.

Does the Old Testament say that Christ died for our sins? Well, it certainly does. If you turn to Isaiah chapter 53, you'll read, "...surely he hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows, that we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, with his stripes we are healed.". That says Christ died for our sins, is what it says.

That word for is there all the time in those verses. He was wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. In other words, the punishment that brought our peace was laid upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.

So, yes, the Old Testament scriptures do teach very clearly that Christ died for our sins. Isaiah, peering down through the corridors of time, by inspiration, saw the Messiah, saw Christ, and saw his substitutionary death, and that he was buried.

It was a real death. It wasn't a spiritual death. It wasn't a figurative death. It's a real death, and he was buried. His tomb, his body was laid in that Judean tomb outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem.

But what else? He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Once again, the scriptures are the Old Testament scriptures. Did the Old Testament say that Jesus would rise from the dead? Yes.

The psalmist said, Thou wilt not leave my soul and she all, neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. That's really wonderful, because it even says that before that body would ever return to dust, he would be raised.

Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. Marvelous, isn't it? When you stop to think of the accuracy of the word of God. So there you have a marvelous statement of the gospel, and that's what God calls on men and women to believe.

I'm a sinner. I should have died for my sins, but the Lord Jesus died for me. And he was buried, and he rose again, and that was God's seal that his work was perfect. And that God accepted that work, that any sinner who comes to the Lord now and accepts him as Lord and Savior, God saves him.

God gives him eternal life. Then, as you'll see by your outline, you have not only the fact that the resurrection is an essential part of the gospel, verses 1 through 4, but witnesses. It's one of the most well-attested facts of history, the resurrection of Christ.

It wasn't something that took place in a corner. People saw the risen Christ. And Peter is mentioned here. Cephas is another name for Peter, of course. He was seen by Cephas. That's kind of gracious, because Peter is the one who, at the trial of Jesus, denied him three times with oaths and curses, right?

Isn't it gracious of the Lord to mention Peter even first here? Do you think he said, forget it, Peter, you blew it? He doesn't say that. He's the God of restoration, the God of recovery. He's the God of all grace.

Peter was restored, and he saw the Lord Jesus in resurrection, and he's listed here as a witness of it. Then, by the twelve. Well, you remember he appeared to them in the upper room. The twelve here doesn't necessarily mean that all twelve were there.

The twelve here is a designation for the disciples, for the apostles, because Thomas was absent and others at various times. He was seen, and this is very, very strong, he was seen over 500 brethren at once.

Well, that's pretty good, isn't it? Scripture says, in the mouths of two or three witnesses shall everything be established, and here you have 500. Well, that's pretty incontrovertible, pretty strong evidence.

You see 500 people see the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and most of them were still alive at the time that Paul wrote this to the Christians. He wasn't appealing to people who had been dead for a century.

They were alive, he says, of whom the greater part remained of his presence. Some had fallen asleep naturally, but 500 people, it would be reasonable that some would have died in the meantime, but most of them were alive at that time and could testify to fact.

This is generally thought to be an appearance of the Lord Jesus up in Galilee, not down in Jerusalem, but up in Galilee. And then he was seen by James. We're not quite clear as to what James this is, but it generally assumed to be James, the brother of the Lord, generally.

A lot of people have the name James, a lot of people in the Bible have the name James, so you don't want to be too dogmatic when you say it. Can't prove it. Then by all the apostles. Well, there were more apostles than just the 12, you know.

Anyone who had seen the Lord in resurrection and who had been sent by him was an apostle, and so you find in the book of Acts there were other people who had the name of apostle in addition to the 12.

So here you have a widening circle all the time of people who had seen the Lord. And then he says, last of all, was seen by me also as by one born out of due time. Paul speaks of himself here as kind of like an abortion.

He's deprecating himself. It's a put down of himself here. And he's saying, just think of it, I had been a persecutor of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was an enemy of Christ, and I went around trying to destroy his followers, and yet he appeared to me what wonderful grace.

That's what Paul was saying. After that, he was seen by James. Then last of all, he was seen by me also as by one born out of two. I am the least of the apostles. Why? Because he persecuted the church.

He says, I'm not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. And so he indulges for a moment in a display of the grace of God that would appear to somebody like him. But he says, never mind.

By the grace of God, I am what I am. And once I had seen him, I realized he was risen from the dead and I had trusted him as my savior. I went forth and I preached him with all my might. He did too, didn't he?

He did. And that's what he says here, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all yet. Not I, but the grace of God, which was with me.

And so I say here in the outline, Paul, a former enemy, now a preacher of the resurrection. And you know, that's a very strong argument for the rest. I don't need any argument for the resurrection myself.

I mean, if the Bible says it, I believe it. But a lot of people need to be persuaded. And the very fact that Paul was an enemy of Christ and then he became a preacher of the resurrection and suffered for it.

Very strong argument. He was willing to lay his life down on the line for the resurrection. I'm sure you've heard the story of two men years ago in England who decided that they were going to disprove the Bible once and for all.

And one's name was Lord Littleton and the other's name was Gilbert West. They were two prominent men in England. They were just fed up with all this Christianity and they decided that they would just disprove it once for all.

So they got together and they planned their strategy. And Lord Littleton said, well, I will disprove the resurrection of Christ. And Gilbert West said, well, I will handle the conversion of Paul, the conversion of Saul of Carthage.

And so they went to work and they collected all their research, their resource material, and they started studying and started studying and found things didn't go too well. And finally, when they got together, Lord Littleton had to make a very humble confession.

He had not been able to disprove the resurrection of Christ. In fact, he had become a believer in the Lord Jesus. And Gilbert West said, well, that's a strange thing. That's just what happened to me. He said, I studied the conversion of Saul of Carthage, a man who had been an enemy of the gospel.

And then he went forth to preach the gospel and he laid down his life for the gospel. He said, I became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they both wrote books. Two books that refused to be written.

They wanted to write books on the other side and they ended up writing books in favor of Christianity instead of opposing it. So maybe if you're here and you've been a Christian quite a while, you just take these things for granted.

Just remember that some men have gone through tremendous struggles over these subjects and some of the most ardent foes of Christianity have ended up being friends. If you have some people who are fighting Christianity for all they're worth, that's better.

It's better than if they just say yes to everything you say. The harder they fight, the harder they fall. I'd rather deal with people who are vigorously anti than with these dear people that say, yes, that's what I've always believed.

You know very well there's no faith there. Now, Paul is going to deal in verses 12 through 19 with the results of the teaching that the body is not raised from the dead. And once again, it isn't just the resurrection of Christ that's in view, although that's involved, but it's the truth about the dead being raised.

The possibility of the dead being raised. He says, now if Christ is preached that he's been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? You see, false teachers have come in and that's exactly what they were saying.

There's no such a thing as resurrection of the dead. I'm not sure that they denied the possibility of life after death. Maybe they believed that there was life after death, but not with a glorified body, not with a tangible, literal body.

That's what they were denying. He said, how do some among you say there's no resurrection of the dead? So, he quotes the denial there in verse 12. Then he goes on to give the consequences if there is no resurrection.

First, if Christ isn't. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not. You see, there was a frontal attack on the resurrection of our wonderful Savior. Well, if Christ isn't risen, then Paul says our preaching is vain.

It's empty. It's devoid of content. We're just getting up there and we're talking and making a noise, but there's nothing to it. We're preaching a gospel that's fallacious. And your faith is also vain.

You're resting your faith on a will-o'-the-wisp, on a shadow, on a bubble. It has no content to it, what you believe, if Christ isn't risen from the dead. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God.

In other words, the we there is the apostles, referring to the apostles. And he goes, here we are, we're going out preaching the resurrection of Christ, and we're saying this is what God teaches and what God says, and we're just false witnesses.

We've testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. All you have to do to prove the resurrection of the dead is to prove one case. And Jairus' daughter was raised from the dead, and Lazarus was raised from the dead.

That's true, they were. They were raised from the dead, but there was something different about their resurrection and the Lord. The Lord Jesus was the first one in human history to be raised from the dead to die no more.

And he was the first one in human history to be raised from the dead in a glorified body. Lazarus and the son of the widow of Nain and Jairus, they all died again. Who needs it? If I die, don't pray that I'll be raised from the dead, you know, for this kind of a life.

No, no. I will be raised from the dead in a glorified body. Why people emphasize resurrection from the dead to die again, I don't know. Because if that were a great thing to be desired, there's something better than that.

If the dead do not rise, verse 16, Christ is not risen. You talk about a lesson in logic. That's what Paul is saying here. You make the flat statement it's impossible for the dead to be raised. Well, that does it away with the resurrection of Christ.

If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. It accomplishes nothing, and you are still in your sins. What a terrible situation to be in here. Here these Corinthians had received the gospel. They had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Believed that he had died, and he was buried, and he rose again from the dead. And now these false teachers come along and say, there's no resurrection of the dead. Of course, it does away with the gospel.

You cannot have the gospel and leave out the resurrection. It's impossible. It's just so vital a part of it. It's like having water without oxygen in it. You can't have water without oxygen in it, or without hydrogen in it.

That's what it's made of. Two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen. Don't try to separate them. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. Here the Corinthians are told to think back on some of their number who had died with faith in Christ, believing the gospel of redeeming grace.

And now these people come along and say, there is no resurrection of the dead possibly. Forget it. You're dead in Christ. Have perished. Terrible, terrible thought. And then finally he says, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, where of all men most...

Christianity just had to do with this life alone. And that was the end of it. It's a pretty pitiable situation. In fact, elsewhere he says, and he'll come to it in this chapter, that if there's no resurrection, if there is no resurrection, the best philosophy of life would be eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die.

This is the only heaven you're ever going to have. And you know, that's kind of a sad thought. When I think of unsaved people around me today and say, this is the only heaven they're ever going to have if they die rejecting the Lord Jesus.

It's sad, isn't it? And that's all contained in this verse 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, for of all men most of these cities. People say, well, even if there was no life after death, I'd still rather be a Christian.

Well, that's not good. That's not good reasoning. We live separated lives. We live lives separated from sin, unrighteousness, and uncleanness. And if this life is all, then go and live it up. This life isn't all.

That's what makes the difference. The fact of Christ's resurrection, your outline, verses 20 through 28. First of all, the resurrection of Christ is the pledge of resurrection for believers, for believers.

Now Christ is risen from the dead. He's stating that this is what happened. I've already shown you the Old Testament scriptures taught it, proved by the witnesses. Christ is risen from the dead. He has become the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep.

What's that all about? Well, in the Old Testament, at the time of harvest, or when the grain was becoming ripe, the farmer would go out and he'd gather a handful of the ripening grain. Let's say wheat.

He'd gather a handful of that ripening wheat, and that was known as first fruit. It was a pledge of what was to come of the complete harvest. And he would present that to God, that offering of the first fruit.

Well, Christ is the first fruit. His resurrection is the pledge of resurrection to all who believe in him. And that's why Christians have a different attitude toward death than unbelievers do. Unbelievers, and rightly so, have a fear of death and of meeting God.

But when you trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you say, well, even if death comes to my body, separation of the spirit and the soul from the body, I still go to be with the Lord. My body goes to the grave and God's going to raise it some day and glorify it.

No more warts, pimples, wrinkles, no more age, no more sin, suffering, pain. And wonderful, isn't it? Think about it. First fruit for those who are following, just as sure as Christ rose from the dead, just as sure those who died with faith in Christ will be raised from the dead.

For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. Well, the first man, of course, here refers to Adam. And through Adam's sin, death came upon the human race. He introduced death by his sin.

But by man, and notice that second man is capitalized, at least it is in my Bible, and should be, although it's not in the original language of the New Testament, that second man refers to the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, and by him came the resurrection of the dead.

Death through Adam and life through Christ. For as in Adam all die, and so in Christ shall all be made alive. Now, a lot of people take that verse and they use it to teach universal salvation. But it doesn't teach that.

The key to the understanding of that verse is found in these expressions, in Adam and in Christ. In Adam, we're all born in Adam and death comes to all as a result of that. But we're not all born in Christ.

That expression in Christ refers to those who have trusted him, to those who have accepted him as Lord and Savior. The moment I became a Christian, God saw me in Christ and accepted me on that basis. He didn't accept me because I was Bill McDonald.

He accepted me because he saw me in Christ. And that was my standing before him. In Christ shall all be made alive. Who will be made alive? Those who are in Christ. But not all men. You know, universal salvation is ridiculous in a way.

There are some people who don't want to go to heaven. They'll tell you that. People say, I want to go to hell where my friends are. They say that. Just imagine a person in heaven who didn't want to be there.

It would no longer be heaven. It wouldn't be heaven. It wouldn't be heaven for him and it wouldn't be heaven for the rest of us who are there. He'd be spoiling it all. No, the only people who'll be in heaven are those who want to be there and who have chosen to be there, who've been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

But think of the alternative to hell. I think one of the worst things I can think about hell is the fact there's no love there. There's no fellowship there. See, I want to be in hell where my friends are.

You won't have any fellowship with your friends in hell. What will it be? Weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. The smoke of their torment will send us up forever and ever.

Really almost too much to think about, isn't it? Then the apostle is going to give the order in the resurrection. The resurrection is going to take place in ranks. I was going to say in stages, and that's true, too.

But it's almost better to use the word ranks here. And he's going to give the order. Okay, the resurrection began with Christ. Christ the first. We already went over that. We said that the Lord Jesus was the first one to rise from the dead to die no more, and he was the first one to rise from the dead in a glorified body.

First one in human history. That never happened before. And so that began the great story of resurrection. Actually, the Bible teaches those previous resurrections more as resuscitations rather than resurrections in the truest sense of the word, in the best sense of the word.

All right, that's first. Resurrection begins. Then it says, afterwards, they that are Christ's that is coming. They that are Christ's that is coming. It tells you who will be raised and glorified by. Now, this actually includes two different stages.

First of all, the rapture, when the Lord Jesus comes for his saints. There'll be a resurrection at that time, and you're going to read about that here in the latter part of this chapter. You read about it in First Thessalonians chapter four.

The dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. But then at the end of the tribulation period, there's going to be a resurrection because people are going to die through the tribulation period because of their loyalty to the Lord Jesus.

They're going to die as martyrs because they take their stand in the beast. They refuse to take the mark of the beast upon themselves, and they'll be put to death, but they'll be raised at the end of the tribulation period.

Now, that's all included. They that are Christ's that is coming. It's a rapture, comes to reign. When he comes to reign, they will be raised. Then comes the end. The end of what? The end of resurrection.

Subject is resurrection. What's the end of resurrection? Well, that takes place at the end of the millennial reign of Christ, and you read about it in Revelation chapter 20. In fact, I think it'd be a very good thing to turn over and read it.

This is the end of resurrection you read about in Revelation 20 and verse 11. This is a resurrection of the wicked dead of all the ages from Cain down to the end of time. The resurrection of the wicked dead.

No believers at this time. All believers will be in heaven by now. Verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them.

But I saw the dead small and great. This is the unbelieving dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the book.

These people all said, well, we're going to get to heaven by our work. Well, they're going to be judged by their work. That's going to be their condemnation, because their works were evil. The sea gave up the dead which were in it.

A lot of people have been buried at sea. A lot of tragedies at sea. The Titanic, Lusitania, and so many more than you could mention. Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. I think death refers here to the body, and Hades to the spirit and soul.

What it's saying is that the spirits and souls of those who died outside of Christ will be reunited with their bodies, and they'll stand before the Lord in judgment. Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his work.

Then death and Hades, the body, the spirit, and soul, were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Unspeakably solemn, the doom, this is the final doom of all Christ rejecters, but more than Christ rejecters.

It says in Revelation that the unbelieving and the fearful. This includes people whom their hearts were touched. They knew the gospel was right. They felt the Holy Spirit tugging at their heart, but they were fearful.

They were fearful of what their friends would say. They were fearful of their relatives. They were fearful of what it would be to leave the church of their parents, and they just procrastinated and said, some other day on thee I'll call, and here they are.

Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Whenever a person trusts the Lord Jesus as his savior, God writes his name in the book of life. That guarantees his eternal salvation.

Back to first Corinthians chapter 15 verse 24, then comes the end. When? When he delivers the kingdom to God the father. In other words, the Lord Jesus has been reigning on the earth for thousands years as son of man, and at the end of that time he says, okay, father, I've been down here on earth as your mediator, and I ruled over the earth, and I delivered the kingdom up to you.

When? When he puts an end to all rule and authority and power. In other words, all the kingdoms of this world, all the democracies of the world, all the dictatorships of the world, they're all ended now.

It's the end of the millennium, and anybody holding any kind of rule or authority, they're all over, and he delivers it all up to God the father. He must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.

You know, that's a good verse for those who believe in universal salvation, to think about all enemies under his feet. That's a strange name for heaven, isn't it? That's what they have to believe. They believe in universal salvation, all enemies under his feet.