Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, that the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)

We attain eternal life only as we are judged worthy of life.

It is as we are tested and proven to be faithful in the testing that we are issued the power of eternal life.

Those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the Beast or the image of the beast, who had refused to receive the Beast's mark on their foreheads or in their hands, will live and reign with Christ. This is the first resurrection.

The concept of the first resurrection is not limited to first in the sense of order; it is first also in the sense of the quality of the resurrection.

It is not only that the bodies of the conquerors are awakened before the bodies of other people, the important aspect is that they will live and reign with Christ. This is the essence of the first resurrection.

We have just finished reviewing many of the rewards that are designated for "him who overcomes." Would you agree with us that if we were to group these rewards they could be summed up as, living and reigning with Christ ?

The victorious saint is attaining the first resurrection because he is learning to live and to rule with Christ.

What, then, is true of the believer who is not overcoming the world but rather is being overcome by the world, by Satan, and by his own bodily appetites and self-will?

Will the defeated, lukewarm believer in Christ be raised from the dead when the last trumpet sounds? This question has been asked several times as the overcoming message has been preached and taught. We have sought the Lord concerning this question.

In the prior edition of this booklet, Judgment and Rewards, we stated our belief that the nonovercoming believer would be raised when the Lord comes but would not enter life and reign with Christ at that time.

We went again to the Lord Jesus and asked for a word from the Scriptures. What seemed to be given to me was the parable of the ten virgins. The simplicity and clarity of the answer convinced me that only those who are prepared will go to meet the Lord when He comes. The remainder of the Christian believers will be raised at the end of the thousand-year period and will be rewarded according to their works, being either saved or lost according to their conduct.

There is no question that the ten virgins, all having lamps (the testimony of Jesus) and oil (the Holy Spirit) represent Christians. They all were "virgins." Yet, five were taken and five remained. The Lord's meaning seems to be clear.

There is another important concept, one that is of interest to the victorious saint. It is that if we are living and reigning with Christ now, in this life, then it is true also that we are passing through Divine judgment now (I Peter 4:5,17).

To be continued.