All Shall Be Made Alive

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For since by man came death,
by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Because of the sin of Adam, all had to die. But thanks be to God, because of Christ, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), all will be resurrected from the dead! All and not one less! Whether during the Rapture or after the Millennial Reign of Christ. All shall be made alive!

A possible scenario according to Revelation 20:1-15 is this:

Below are the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:12-28:

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise.

For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him Who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

The dead will surely live again. The dry bones will come together. In the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14), the prophet Ezekiel wrote:

The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.

And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD." ' "

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." ' " So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.' "

The LORD has spoken it, and He will perform it! The dry bones represents Israel. They became alive after more than 2500 years. In 587 BC, Israel fell under the rule of the Babylonians. Since then, the people of Israel had been under foreign government until 1948 AD.

After the exile by the Romans, the Jewish people migrated to Europe and North Africa. Scattered outside of the Land of Israel, in the Diaspora, they established rich cultural and economic lives. They also contributed greatly to the societies where they lived. Yet in foreign lands, they continued their national identities. They longed and prayed to return to Israel throughout centuries.

In the first half of the 20th century, there were major waves of immigration of Jews back to Israel from Arab countries and from Europe. During the British rule in Palestine, the Jewish people were subject to great violence and massacres directed by Arab civilians or forces of the neighboring Arab states. During World War II, the Nazi regime in Germany massacred about 6 million Jews, creating the great tragedy of The Holocaust.

In 1948, under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion, the Jewish Community in Israel reestablished sovereignty over their ancient homeland. Declaration of independence of the modern State of Israel was announced on May 14, 1948, the day when the last British forces left Israel.

The promises of the LORD are faithful and true. Whatever He promised, He will deliver. Everything He said in His Word will come to pass! No matter whether it would take 1000 years or 2000 years or 3000 years or more! When He said that the dry bones will live again, they will live again. When He said that all the dead will be resurrected, all the dead will become alive!

If the Israelites have hope in becoming alive again, all the peoples of the earth have hope too! This is the promise:

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

This message is available in a powerpoint presentation:
Can These Bones Live? (2.78 MB)


Please also read:
Abraham's Bosom
Amazing Grace Till The End

Source:
http://www.science.co.il/Israel-history.asp

Written on:
3 January 2005