Christ is the Word of God made flesh. We are the flesh being made the Word. We are being made the Word of God by the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in us. Day by day the Word of God tests us, purging away little by little the fleshly nature and replacing it with the Divine Nature. The sharp sword proceeding from the mouth of Jesus is the Word of God in judgment.

In that day, no one will stand who cannot bear up under the judging force of the Word of God. It is Christ and His army who execute the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. We see, then, that grace must result in a transformed moral nature.

A legal state of forgiveness, while it is the all-important first step in the program of redemption in Christ, is not sufficient to enable the Christian to live, fight, and work with boldness alongside of Christ during the Day of the Lord.

The earth belongs to Christ—Head and Body. But the earth cannot be taken without a fight. The battle is kingdom against kingdom—the Kingdom of God against the nations of the earth that are governed by Satan and his kingdom.

When the Lord Jesus appears with His army, the nations of the earth, being driven by Satan, actually will attempt to resist with force His coming (see Revelation 19:19 above). The heads of state will unite in the struggle to prevent the Lord Jesus from ruling over His earth. They shall be totally destroyed. The outcome of the war is described in the last verses of the Revelation, Chapter 19.

The first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

It appears that the above is the resurrection about which Paul was so concerned (Philippians 3:8-14), a resurrection that is not to be taken for granted on the basis of assent to Christian doctrine.

The first resurrection is for the blessed and holy priesthood. It is the resurrection to the fullness of eternal life, to ruling with the Lord over the nations of the saved during the thousand-year Kingdom Age. The second resurrection, that which will take place at the end of the thousand years, will include all persons born on the earth, with the exception of the blessed and holy priesthood.

It is generally understood that only the wicked will be raised at the second resurrection. This is not true. The wording of the Scripture indicates that the majority of those raised in the second resurrection will be brought into eternal life in the new world of righteousness (Revelation 20:12-15).

The first resurrection is for the Lord's victorious saints. The second resurrection is for everyone else.

To be continued.