WHERE will the resurrection of judgement begin?

The Millennial blessings will begin with Israel.

Restitution blessings will begin in Israel, after the stress of the great time of trouble, in which the chosen people will have their share–“the time of Jacob’s trouble.”

God’s blessings of every kind begin with the Jew. He gave the Jew the first opportunity under the Abrahamic Covenant. And when it comes to the blessings of the New Covenant, the opportunity will come to the Jew first. Their law-givers will be restored as at the first, and their judges as at the beginning.

“I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” (Isa 1:26)

The Lord will assume the guidance, control, blessing, uplifting and restitution of all the willing and obedient–TO THE JEW FIRST, and also to the Gentile.—(Rom 11:25-31; 1:16)

The blessing will begin with Israel; but every member of the human race will eventually have an opportunity of coming to perfection. Q488:3

It will begin with Israel, according to the Scriptures, and as the Israelite’s come to a realization of the new dispensation, and as the ancient worthies will come back to them–Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., and all the prophets–when they shall appear amongst men *as perfect samples of mankind , and as the princes of the Lord in all the earth to represent the glorious Messiah amongst men, the Jews will be the first to recognize the matter and respond, and then the blessings of restitution, life, and strength will gradually come to them.

*Remember the faithful of the past are to receive “a better resurrection” (Heb 11:35) better in that their resurrection to human perfection will be instantaneous whereas the rest of mankind’s will be a gradual process as they come more and more in line with the new order.

“The Ancient Worthies will appear in Israel first and establish that country under the New Covenant arrangement, and when they have been established the other nations will see their blessings and prosperity under God’s supervision, and will see that they have the Ancient Worthies, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc., and they will say, “Let us go up to the mountain of the kingdom of the Lord.” See how He is teaching the Jews, “He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths, for the law shall go forth from Mount Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” and “the desire of all nations shall come.”

They will begin to see that this is what they have always desired, God’s government, peace, prosperity, to enjoy life, etc. They will see that the only way for them to get God’s blessing will be by coming in under the New Covenant arrangements THROUGH Israel. If they do not, God will not recognize them, and as the prophet says, There shall come no rain upon them.

Is that literal rain, or in the sense of blessing?

Perhaps both, the Lord is going to use all the powers and forces of nature to give lessons and instructions, and He will call for the corn to increase, and for the wilderness to blossom as the rose. The whole earth will be at the command of the Lord, and everyone that doeth righteousness shall he blessed, and he that does not shall be punished, and then the whole world will learn that righteousness pays. Some people now do not think it pays to be honest, but they will then, for they will be blessed, and any out of harmony with God will receive some kind of chastisement (“stripes”) that they may all be brought to God and be lifted up out of their death conditions.

When will Adamic death cease?

It will be going on in these fallen natures. God’s blessing will come as a result of the New Covenant, and only those who are under the New Covenant will get God’s blessing; it will begin with Israel, and then as the other nations see the blessings of Israel and realize that the blessings come because of their relationship with God, they, too, will want the blessings and will want to come under the New Covenant arrangements.

How soon after the time of trouble?

It will depend upon how soon those nations come to a knowledge of God, for there will be no way of getting life except through the Son–that is the rule now, and will be then–“He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son shall not see life.” Q204

“We must remember, further, that while it is to Israel only that it is said, “Ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains,”

Now although it is to Israel and to the Jew that the blessings first come we must remember that “He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly” (Rom 2:28, 29), and that as a name Israel signified “The people blessed of the Lord,” “The people of God,” “The Lord’s people” (2 Chron. 7:14). And while, as we have seen, the first or spiritual blessing of the Kingdom shall come to spiritual Israel, and the second or earthly blessing shall begin with Israel according to the flesh, yet it will not stop there; for whosoever will may become an Israelite: by exercising the faith and obedience of Abraham, all mankind may become Israelites indeed-“the people of God.”

And hence the Prophet Isaiah declares that when Israel is called back to divine favor, at the establishment of the Kingdom, it will include “Every one that is called by my [Jehovah’s] name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” The name Israel will then apply to all who are God’s people (Isa. 34:7; Rom. 9:26, 33; 10:13).

As for HOW the resurrection of judgment shall commence we hope to elaborate more upon this as we continue with our study.

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