The first of the grain harvest (Leviticus 23:10-11) was to be taken to the priest and he would wave the sheaf before the Lord. The firstfruits were the evidence of a bountiful harvest. Waving the sheaf before the Lord was an acknowledgement of what God had done and an expression of gratitude.
When Jesus, on the Cross, gave up His Spirit, at once the curtain of the sanctuary of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The earth shook (Matthew 27:50-53) and the rocks split. The tombs were opened and many bodies of saints who had died were raised to life. After His Resurrection they went into Jerusalem and were seen by many people. Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20,23) the firstfruit of all believers who die. Those who rose after His Resurrection are the Wave Sheaf. Can we even imagine what happened in heaven when Jesus ascended and took these with Him to present them to the Father as the Wave Sheaf - - the acknowledgement of what God has done through the Atonement. This Wave Sheaf is our guarantee of God’s bountiful harvest/resurrection of believers.
There are 3 stages in the First Resurrection: 1 – Jesus the first-fruit and then the Wave Sheaf. 2 – (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) the Rapture. 3 – (Revelation 20:5-6) the Tribulation and O.T. saints. The Second Resurrection is of all those who will come before the Great White Throne and is (Revelation 20:14) more accurately called the Second Death.
I heard a preacher on TV say that when Christians die we will never have another conscious thought or awareness of anything until we receive our glorified bodies. He said King David died thousands of years ago and his first thought after that will be when he is raised from his grave. This is the FALSE teaching of soul sleep and would mean that body, soul and spirit are buried in the grave. It would also mean (in total contradiction to God’s Word) that we don’t receive eternal life at salvation but not until our resurrection. We should be so grateful for the (John 3:36) eternal holy Scriptures because by knowing truth we can discern error. We know that only the body is temporarily buried and immediately (2 Corinthians 5:8) we are with the Lord forever. Why would the death of God’s saints (Psalms 116:15) be precious to Him if it leaves us in an unconscious void for many years? When we die we are (Genesis 25:8) “gathered to our people” who are already with the Lord.
Do I have any Scriptural proof that “soul sleep” is a lie?
Much indeed!
We know that SLEEP in the Bible refers only to the temporary physical death of our bodies because as born-again believers (John 11-25) we can NEVER die. Jesus said (John 8:56) Abram rejoiced to see My day and saw it and was glad.
When Moses died (Deutaronomy 34:5-6) God buried him but he appeared on the Mountain of Transfiguration.
The martyred saints were asking God (Revelation 6:9-11) when their murderers would be judged.
Even the unsaved dead are conscious. The rich man in torment (Luke 16:24) begged for a drop of water on his tongue which he didn’t have because it was in the grave with the rest of his body.
All of these plus our loved ones now in heaven are fully conscious. I don’t mean this to be funny but to emphasize the certainty of the glorious reality of our future. I was thinking -- after the Rapture when Jesus reaps the harvest of His church, the “left behinds” could probably get a good price on a cemetery plot because there will so many empty graves.
That is looking ahead with joy and longing to heaven. But what about here and now on earth? These thoughts are based on some things Dr. Stanley said concerning the first chapter of Colossians. When we receive Jesus as Saviour, cleansed by His Blood and sealed by the Holy Spirit – God qualifies us (12) for an inheritance in Christ. Because Jesus died our sin debt is paid in full. Our inheritance reveals what God has done for us in the past and what He has prepared for us in the future in heaven. But also we have part of our inheritance here and now - - freedom from sin’s dominion, liberty in Christ, the Holy Spirit to enable the outliving of the Life of the indwelling Christ, God’s never-failing loving Presence. How are we using our inheritance which was certified to us at immeasurable cost? What God will do when (2 Corinthians 5:10) we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven will depend on what we have done on earth. We can never lose our salvation which was fully purchased by the Blood of Jesus. The loss spoken of (1 Corinthians 3:15) is the loss of part of our inheritance and that loss will be an eternal loss. Is my every choice leading me to REWARD or LOSS?
A very familiar verse (Colossians 1:15) but have we probed and understood its depths to the point where our lives are transformed? We know that God is Spirit so we can’t see Him but Jesus is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He is the visible representation of the invisible God. That is why Jesus could say (John 14:9) he that has seen Me has seen the Father. The Holy Spirit empowered the MAN Jesus to display the very character of God and live the very Life of God. Of all creation He was the first One to rise to a totally new Life – a life never known or experienced by humans before. How does that affect us? Because He is the victorious mighty Conqueror, it is possible for us to live His very Life as He lived the Father’s Live. When we received Jesus we received all of Him. We can’t have more of Jesus but we need to surrender fully so that He will have all of us. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to so fill and control us that He reproduces the Life of Jesus in and through us. He always points to Jesus and tells us how to glorify Him. What does it mean that we were created in God’s image? Certainly it has nothing to do with Omniscience, Omnipotence or Omnipresence. It is having a thinking mind, emotions and a free will. Adam was not created in holiness but in innocence. Innocence has to be tested and tried (Job 23:10) in order to become holiness. Do we really, truly, deep-down – inside know Who Jesus is? Do we tremble at His Word? Are we in awe that we have a personal relationship with the same One Who wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32:25) and made him a leader with a limp? All this is part of our glorious inheritance. Are we living according to our riches?
