It is important to note that the above verse is speaking of evil people who have entered the assemblies of the saints.

And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; (II Peter 2:13)

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who are righteous and who have turned others to righteousness will be radiant—shining as the sun in the Glory of Christ.

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)

Here is a description of the ruling personalities. They have been clothed with a material form that reflects what they are in spiritual being. They will "shine as the brightness of the firmament." Think of it! They will be as stars in God's Heaven. We could not, in the highest reaches of our imagination conceive of the glory, the authority, the power, the honor, the fullness of the Presence of God and Christ that will be revealed in the resurrected bodies of those who have followed the Lord Jesus with a perfect heart.

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4)

The Lord's firstfruits have overcome the world and have received in their spiritual personalities the rewards to the overcomer. Now, in the Day of Christ, their resurrected bodies will receive the material counterparts of those rewards. They are God's kings and priests and will reign with Him to the ages of ages.

But what about the bodies of the wicked? What happens to them when their bodies are raised from the sleep of the grave?

The bodies of the wicked will reflect the corruption and death that are in their inner nature. The ugliness and horror in their hearts will be revealed in their material forms.

We have mentioned previously our conviction that the bodies of the wicked will be raised and that the wicked will be punished in their bodies. The following passages of the Scriptures indicate this, as we understand them:

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell [Gehenna]. (Matthew 5:29)

How can our body be cast into the fiery Gehenna?

There will come a merging of the spiritual and material realms. Such a dual state is evident in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis where we have a "tree" of life, a "tree" of the knowledge of good and evil, a talking serpent, and so forth. There was light for three days before the sun, moon, and stars were created.

The normal state of the creation is spiritual-material. In the present hour spiritual life is absent from the creation because the creation is under a curse. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection exhibited a spiritual-material state of being in that He was able to eat the broiled fish and the honeycomb.

To be continued.