June 2007 - Volume 3, Issue 1

In this issue...
-- The Resurrection Body of Christ the Lord (Part 5)
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Welcome to third year of 'A Monthly Monograph'
-- Third Annual Day with WMI messages going online

The Resurrection Body of Christ the Lord (Part 5)
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

The greatest banquet in the history of the world will occur at the beginning of Christ's 1,000-year kingdom in the Holy Land. The menu was announced 2,700 years ago (Isaiah 25:6), and our Lord confirmed that the beverage would be the "fruit of the vine" (Matthew 26:29).

Not only the menu, but also the actual timing of the banquet seems to be indicated in relation to other prophetic events. Seventy-five days after the second coming of Christ to the earth, the final purging and cleansing of the earth will have been completed. It was in 536 B.C. that the pre-incarnate Christ told Daniel the prophet: "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days" (Daniel 12:12; cf., 10:1; 12:7).

The horrible abomination of desolation which the false prophet will supervise during the last three-and-a-half years (i.e., 1,260 days) of the great tribulation (Revelation 13:11-18) will be purged 30 days after the second coming (i.e., 1,290 days from the time the Temple will be desecrated, Daniel 12:11). Similarly, godly king Hezekiah took 30 days to cleanse the Temple from the abominations of his father Ahaz (2 Chronicles 30:2-4).

But even then, the great banquet will not be ready. During an additional 45 days (i.e., 1,335 days from the mid-point of the 70th week of Daniel), all remaining unbelievers will be removed from the earth. This will include Jews (Isaiah 4:3-4; Ezekiel 20:33-38; Malachi 3:1-6); Gentile leaders (Matthew 25:31-46); and every remaining man and woman (Matthew 24:40-41).

Then, and then only, can our Lord's promise be fulfilled: "But he that shall endure unto the end (i.e., of the 1,335 days), the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). (Similarly, only those who endured to the end of the flood were saved [Matthew 24:36-41; 2 Peter 2:5] ). For the Jews also, only at that point can it be said that "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26). Daniel himself looks forward to that day, for our Lord concluded His marvelous revelation to him with these words: "But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days" (Daniel 12:13).

Who will be the blessed ones participating in that stupendous celebration? First, the glorified church will participate, having just descended with Christ from heaven (Matthew 26:29; Luke 22:30; Revelation 19:14). Second, glorified Old Testament saints and Tribulation martyrs will do likewise (Daniel 12:1-3; Revelation 20:4-6). And finally, those few who survive the great tribulation and will re-populate the world will be there (cf. Zechariah 14:1-5, Matthew 24:21-22). Thus, untold millions of people will behold and clearly identify the One who died for them and rose again in a body that is perfect and permanent. "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). At last, as the prophet Joel predicted, Israel's God "will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten. . . And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied" (Joel 2:25-26).

Sadly, many theologians throughout church history have rejected the idea of an inaugural banquet in the kingdom because it appears to them to be "carnal," and thus beneath their spiritual dignity. Largely because of this, the whole concept of a 1,000-year kingdom on the earth has been rejected. Thus, the great church father Augustine (354-430 A.D.) stated that the idea of a 1,000-year reign with Christ on the earth "would not be objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual... For I myself, too, once held this opinion. But, as they assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only to shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can be believed only by the carnal" (quoted in Ronald E. Diprose, "Israel and the Church: The Origin and Effects of Replacement Theology" [STL Distribution: 1-800-289-2772], p. 161).

But our Lord's promises are not so easily evaporated! There are many of his people who still believe what He said. May we be counted among them!

To Be Continued...

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
As spring turns to summer, Dr. Whitcomb will stay busy traveling to preach and teach the Word of God. Please think of and pray for him as he goes about to continue the important work that God has given him.

On Tuesday, July 3, and Wednesday, July 4, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the national conference of the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International, which will be held in Bolivar, Penn. For more information, call Amy Stiffler at 724-238-3677 or Ethan Kallberg at 802-888-4452.

On Sunday, July 22, Dr. Whitcomb will preach at the Eagle Creek Grace Brethren Church of Indianapolis, Ind. For more information, call Pastor Paul Woodruff at 317-293-3372.

For additional details about these events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

(*Answers in Genesis-sponsored event. For more information on these conferences, visit www.answersingenesis.org/events.)

Welcome to third year of 'A Monthly Monograph'
With this issue of "A Monthly Monograph from Dr. Whitcomb," we begin our third year of publishing Biblical articles from one of the leading Bible scholars of our day - Dr. John Whitcomb - and all of the latest news about Whitcomb Ministries, Inc.

Some exciting things have happened during the previous two years of publication. We now have more than 1,200 subscribers to the English version of the Monograph. In addition, thanks to gracious involvement of Dante Rosso, director of the Spanish Translations Ministry in Beverly, Mass., the Monograph has also been available in a Spanish edition for more than a year. A direct result of Rosso's work is that missionaries in Spanish-speaking countries are disseminating these articles throughout the world!

Beginning with Dr. Whitcomb's Christmas article in December of 2006, the Biblical articles written by Dr. Whitcomb for the Monograph have also been featured on the fundamentalist website SharperIron.org, where they are posted along with discussion that is offered by readers.

These are incredible things that God has done through this ministry. We are grateful to partner together with you who receive this Monograph. Please tell your friends to join us - at no cost - by signing up to receive the Monograph in either English or Spanish on our website.

Perhaps you are one of the many people who are new to reading the Monthly Monograph. If so, you can catch up by reading the archived editions at www.whitcombministries.org. There you will find every issue in English, and the Spanish versions dating back to April of 2006.

Third Annual Day with WMI messages going online
All messages from the Third Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries, held in November of 2006 with Dr. Whitcomb and Carl Kerby, will soon be available online for you to listen to freely at www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

We trust that these messages will be a blessing to you, and serve as a reminder to save the date for the Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries, on Saturday, November 10. Much more detail about this event can be found on our web pages, and will be included in next month's Monograph.