Let's now look at the 'gleanings' and determine who had a part in this resurrection.
The descriptions of the second half Tribulation Martyrs
The next stage of resurrection, (at the end of the tribulation), pertains to the GLEANINGS (of Physical Israel). Those that make up the 'gleanings' part of the first resurrection are (for the most part) 'Physical' Israel'. But before we get to this physical group, there are a few other things to mention that occur at this endpoint, but still have a connection to the mid-point events.
I want to remind you of three words that were mentioned in the course of this series when we discussed the harvest terminology and the mid-point resurrections. Read the following two scriptures again to get the context,
Brethren
Revelation 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Lev.19:9-10 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger [foreigner]: I am the Lord your God.
It is here, in the gleanings harvest, that we can identify the 'brethren' of the servants and fellowservants who came out of the first half of the tribulation. The brethren are the martyrs of the second half of the tribulation. Unlike the servants and fellowservants, who are Jewish (or proselyted) due to being saved under the Kingdom gospel of the 144000, a gospel only suited for Jews, the brethren are saved by the everlasting gospel (Rev.14:6), preached by angels. These people could come from all nations, Jews and Gentiles; anyone who acknowledges God, that gives him glory and resists the mark of the beast.
With this being said, lets look at the two harvest terms highlighted above. How do these fit into the whole process we are analyzing? The following is my simple analogy. I see this pattern based on logic. I do not have confirming scriptures to fully confirm the matter.
The Poor
I see these as the second half tribulation martyrs of Jewish origin. They are Jews with no reward. Remember that they came in under the eternal gospel. With this in mind, they were saved WITHOUT having faith in their Messiah. They never acknowledged Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They never called on His name to be saved. They never repented and were baptized in water and Spirit for the preparation of priesthood. In this regard, what heritage do they have in the Kingdom? They are like the servant who received 1 talent and hid it in the ground, never investing it and gaining value from it for their master. So, they are saved into the Kingdom, but are poor in inheritance.
The Stranger [Foreigner]
These are the second half tribulation martyrs of Gentile origin. They are saved by trusting the Word of God preached by the angels. They will be strangers, or foreigners, entering the Kingdom ruled by a King they do not know, enjoying the peace and government in a land under laws they are uninformed about, under customs, traditions and practices that they are unfamiliar to.
I hope you can see how I came to these conclusions. Again, I could have it wrong, but for me, the patterns I'm seeing makes sense. However, in the light of the scripture below, we have to take into account that the poor and foreigner are just types and might not literally apply in description to these two martyr groups. As we can see, this group of second half tribulation martyrs themselves lived and reigned with Christ throughout the Millennium.
Rev.20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded (Jew and Gentile) for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
By the end of the second half of the tribulation, we can expect a resurrection of all these martyrs to join the servants and fellowservants in heaven. This is the sum of ALL the martyrs who were killed for their faith during the appointed times. They are a special group of people who will have a special role to play, or privileged positions to fill in the great plan of Gods restoration.
The resurrection of Old Testament and Kingdom Believers
Old Testament saints, as the name describes, are all the saved from the Old Testament, Genesis to Malachi; people like, Adam, Noah, Job, Abraham, ..., David, all the Prophets, ..., John the Baptist, and all those who died throughout the Kingdom ministry of Jesus, up until Pentecost. All these people believed in a coming Redeemer or Messiah who would crush the head of Satan, Gen.3:15. (Also see Job 19:25-26; Dan.12:1-2, 11-13; Isa.26:19-21)
Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
This resurrection will be into physical bodies as prophesied by Ezekiel, (Read Ezek.37) and they will enter into the Millennial Kingdom in flesh and blood and occupy the promised land, being preeminent above the Gentile nations.
It is worth mentioning at this time that there will also be a judgement of the Gentile nations, called the sheep and goats judgement. At this event, Jesus will separate the Gentiles into two groups; on His right, those who supported Israel during the tribulation, and on His left, those who did not support them. The Gentile on His right will enter into the Millennial Kingdom in flesh and blood whereas those on His left will be found guilty and will depart from the Lord into eternal punishment. Read about this judgement in Matthew 25:31-46.

Comments
Post a Comment