May 2007 - Volume 2, Issue 12

In this issue...
-- The Resurrection Body of Christ the Lord (Part 4)
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Plan to join us for the Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries

The Resurrection Body of Christ the Lord (Part 4)
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

As we have seen, it was during meal times with His apostles, after His resurrection, that our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated most convincingly that He was the same person as the One who died on the Cross.

But the greatest recognition and appreciation meal with our Lord is still in the future. On that occasion, at the beginning of the millennial kingdom on the earth, He will partake again of the juice of grapes. He announced to His apostles, "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29).

Pointedly, He assured them: "That ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom" (Luke 22:30). But who else will be invited? Unbelievers will be excluded - by their own choice. Nevertheless, there will an enormous number of participants, including, "Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets... they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God" (Luke 13:28-29).

Soon after He had said this, our Lord "went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread" (Luke 14:1). After telling His host how guests should be invited on an impartial basis, "when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" (Luke 14:15).

That was the providential opportunity for the Lord Jesus to give His parable of the great supper. Sadly, in this amazing parable, our Lord described those who declined the gracious invitation with unbelievable excuses. He then concluded, "The master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind... For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper" (Luke 14:21, 24).

It was not that the invitation was unclear; or that the menu was questionable. The defining issue was a lack of desire to bond personally with "the master of the house."

Isaiah gives us even more information about that great kingdom banquet and its ultimate purpose: "In this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined" (Isaiah 25:6).

But note the purpose and outcome of this stupendous banquet: "He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations... And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isaiah 25:7-9).

Yes, at the dawn of the kingdom age, on the occasion of the great banquet, "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9), so that "they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 31:34).

He will not be a mere theophany. No one will question that their Savior truly rose from the dead with a glorified body, as the God-man forever. It will be like that never-to-be-forgotten meal with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, when the Lord Jesus "took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him" (Luke 24:30, 31).

To Be Continued...

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
Another new month means more traveling and speaking for Dr. Whitcomb. We hope that you will go to hear him if possible. Regardless, we invite you to follow Whitcomb Ministries on our web pages for all the latest information about our work and the many resources that we make available to help you in your walk with God.

On Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Westview Baptist Church/Community Bible Church of Summerville in North Charleston, S.C. For more information, call Pastor Al Edgington at 317-414-0171.

From Monday, May 14, to Friday, May 18, Dr. Whitcomb will teach at the Word of Life Bible Institute - Canadian Extension, in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. For more information, call Dr. Doug Reider at 519-376-3516, or visit www.wol.org.

On Saturday, May 26, Dr. Whitcomb will participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Hebron, Ky. For more information, visit www.answersingenesis.org.

On Sunday, May 27, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Kenton Baptist Church of Kenton, Ky. For more information, call Pastor Steve Watkins at 859-356-9425, or visit www.kentonbaptist.org.

On Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, Dr. Whitcomb will preach at the Faith Community Bible Church of El Cajon, Cal. For more information, call Nancy Elmore at 619-461-2245, or visit www.faithsd.org.

From Monday, June 11, to Friday, June 15, Dr. Whitcomb will teach at the Capital Bible Seminary of Lanham, Md. For more information, call Dr. George Harton at 301-522-1400, or visit www.bible.edu.

On Friday, June 15, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Ambassador Student Center in Baltimore, Md. For more information, call Bob Lawton at 301-805-2245.

Beginning Wednesday, July 4, Dr. Whitcomb will participate in the annual meeting of the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International, which will be held in Bolivar, Penn. For more information, call Pastor Gordy Harmon at 724-238-3677.

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.)

Plan to join us for the Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries
The Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

The theme for this conference will be, "The Bible: The Christian's Essential Foundation." Plans for the day have changed slightly, however Dr. John Whitcomb will still be present to speak on the subject of apologetics.

This is sure to be a great event for the entire family. Please make plans to join us and bring a large group from your church or school to be part of this special conference.

We hope to see you on Nov. 10. Please watch this space, and our web pages, for much more information as it becomes available.