For the last six weeks we’ve been taking a close look at Biblical prophecy and how current events appear to be fulfilling some of the prophecies given in the Old Testament over 2,000 years ago. We started out with the rapture of the church, the snatching away of believers before the judgments of God are released upon the earth. And the last two weeks we have been looking at the prophecy of the destruction of Damascus. Today, we are going to tie those two thoughts together. It’s kind of like we have come full-circle and are right back to where we started.
I say this, because last week I told you that Isaiah 17:5-6 had two interpretations. These two verses refer to the survival and protection of the Jewish people during the time of Damascus’ downfall. We saw that while the Jews will suffer during this time, a remnant will survive. But these verses also have a special reference to the rapture of the church.
However, before I can explain this clearly to you, I must lay some groundwork. I don’t know how much you know or have learned about the resurrections as taught in Scripture, and in order to understand what Isaiah is saying you must first understand the resurrections. And yes, I did say resurrections, plural – as in more than one.
I. More Than One Resurrection
Some people believe, or have been taught, that at the end of time there will be one resurrection of people from the dead. They think that we will all be resurrected to stand before God and be judged for the things we did in this life and then receive either our punishment or reward. But this is not what the Bible teaches.
Let’s listen to the words of Christ in John 5:28-29 (KJV), “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. [29] And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
And Acts 24:15 (KJV), “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”
Scripture actually teaches that there are two resurrections - the resurrection of the righteous or just and the resurrection of the wicked or unjust.
I have included a handout that explains the different resurrections in a little more detail.
A. The Resurrection of the Unjust or the Second Resurrection
Let’s briefly look at the resurrection of the unjust first. When we did our study of the final judgments we spoke about some of the different resurrections. The resurrection of the unjust, also known as the second resurrection, occurs at the end of the millennial reign of Christ. Those who have rejected Christ’s offer of salvation will rise at the Great White Throne judgment. This is the last of the judgments, and those who appear here have no excuse. If their name is not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life then they are condemned to eternity in the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. [13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown in to the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. [15] If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
But keep in mind that this is the resurrection and judgment of the unjust. Those who accept Christ’s offer of salvation are not judged here. Instead, we are part of what is called the first resurrection or the resurrection of the just.
B. The Resurrection of the Just or the First Resurrection
This is the resurrection that I want to focus on this morning, because believe it or not, this is what the passage in Isaiah 17:5-6 is talking about.
The resurrection of the just or the first resurrection includes all who have lived righteous lives for God, including Old Testament saints, the church, and Tribulation saints. This resurrection is often a little confusing, because it actually happens in three “waves”, or at three different times.
1. The First Wave
The first wave occurred when Christ was raised from the dead and brought the Old Testament saints with him.
Matthew 27:52-53, “The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. [53] They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people.”
Here’s a part of the Easter story that you don’t hear taught very often even though Matthew makes it pretty plain. When Christ arose from the dead, he set free those saints, or holy people who had died before His atoning work on the cross. (Why this had to be done is a whole other teaching in an of itself.) This is what is known as the first “wave” of the first resurrection.
2. The Second Wave
The Second Wave of this first resurrection is the rapture of the church. We spoke about this in great detail at the beginning of this series of teachings on prophecy. The rapture of the church is a future event in which Christ will call his true children out of the world to be with Him forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
This is the second wave of the first resurrection.
3. The Third Wave
The third wave will occur at the end of the Great Tribulation, before the one thousand-year reign of Christ. Those being resurrected at this time are often referred to as the Tribulation saints. These are the people who did not accept Jesus before the Rapture of the Church, but after it. These are those who have heard the gospel and the warnings of Christ’s coming, but delayed in making their decision to accept Him until after the church has been taken away. Because of their procrastination, they will have to endure the seven-year tribulation that follows, and many of them will be killed because of their beliefs.
Revelation 20:4-5, “... And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life [were resurrected] and reigned with Christ a thousand years. [5] (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
II. Resurrections Compared to Harvest
I can almost hear you saying, “Okay, fine, but what does this have to do with the fall of Damascus and the rapture of the church? I don’t see the connection, here.”
The connection comes when you realize that in scripture the three waves of the resurrection of the just are often referred to in terms of the harvest. Let me explain. In Biblical times, the harvest represented your income, your future well-being, your ability to survive the coming winter. It was a time of gathering together the fruits of your labor and taking them home to store up for the cooler months ahead. When the harvest was complete, it was a sign that your work for the year was done. It was time to rest. This is a perfect picture of the resurrections.
The resurrections occur when our work on earth is complete. When everything that God wants accomplished has been finished, He is going to gather us together and take us home to rest.
But since there are three waves of the first resurrection, as we’ve just seen, often, Biblical writers used three different harvest-time terms to let the reader know which event or wave, they were talking about. Look again at your handout as I briefly explain these terms to you.
A. First Fruits
We said that the first wave of the resurrection of the just was Christ and the Old Testament saints. They are referred to as the firstfruits. Interestingly, Jesus is not only referred to as the firstfruits of the resurrection, but He actually arose on the very day that the Jews were celebrating their Feast of First Fruits.
B. The Harvest
The second wave of the resurrection, which is the rapture of the church, is referred to as the harvest or the ingathering. The church was born on Pentecost, the Jewish festival that is associated with the ingathering of the Wheat Harvest.
C. The Gleanings
And the third wave of the resurrection of the just, which is the bringing to life of the Tribulation saints at the end of the tribulation period, is compared to the gleanings.
Leviticus 23:22 tells us a little bit more about the gleanings: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien.”
You see, in Old Testament times, “grain crops were reaped with sickles, after which the cut stalks were laid in bunches that were carried to the threshing floor. Some laws governed these simple harvest operations. The corners of the fields were not to be reaped, and the scatterings of the cut grain were not to be picked up.” These were the gleanings and were left for the use of the poor.
The Tribulation saints are compared to the gleanings, because they are the remnant of the original harvest that was left behind at the rapture because they had not accepted Christ’s saving work on the cross at that time.
1 Corinthians 15:20-24 gives us the best picture of this three-wave resurrection and the order in which it occurs.
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (died). [21] For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. [22] For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. [23] But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits (Jesus and OT saints); then, when he comes, those who belong to him (harvest, rapture). [24] Then, the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom (gleanings, Tribulation saints) to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.”
III. The Destruction of Damascus and the Rapture of the Church
So, with this knowledge in mind, let’s return to Isaiah 17 and read verses 4-6.
“In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away. [5] It will be as when a reaper gathers the standing grain and harvests the grain with his arm – as when a man gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. [6] Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the LORD, the God of Israel.
Did you catch the phrasing and word pictures? Do you see a reference to the resurrections? Look closely.
A. Explanation of Word Pictures
The reaper in this passage is Jesus Christ. The grain that he is harvesting – the church. This passage of scripture is not only talking about a man gathering grain, and the Jewish people that will survive the battle with Syria. It’s also talking about the rapture of the church.
In verse 5 everything is being harvested whether or not the heads are mature. It’s a picture of the church at the rapture. Everyone is going home at the same time, regardless of his or her spiritual maturity or stature. If you belong to Christ, you’re going home.
Notice also the mention of the gleanings remaining in verse 6. After the grain harvest (the church being removed) there is still left the gleanings and the olive threshing. What did we say the gleanings represented? – The Tribulation saints. So, we have mentioned here the rapture of the church, or the second wave of the resurrection of the just, being followed by the third wave of the resurrection.
Last week we also mentioned that the olive tree is the symbol for the spiritual state of Israel. So after the rapture of the church, we see that Israel is still here as well to face the time of Jacob’s trouble, which is exactly what is taught elsewhere is scripture.
B. Timing of Events
But what does all this have to do with Damascus? Why do we find a reference to the rapture of the church stuck in the middle of a prophecy detailing the destruction of Damascus, Syria?
Now, I don’t want to be accused of being a date setter, because the Bible teaches that no one knows the time of the rapture not even the Lord Jesus himself. But after studying this passage and reading other minister’s interpretations of this passage, I believe we can see an overall timeline of some very close future events.
If Isaiah 17 is written in chronological order then, it appears that the fall of Damascus, which occurs in verse 1, will occur first. And then the rapture of the church will take place (verse 5) and finally the tribulation saints and Israel are left upon the earth to face the upcoming tribulation (verse 6).
Is this truly what Isaiah is saying here? Is the 17th chapter of Isaiah written chronologically? Maybe and then again maybe not, but it sure looks like it is to me. If I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. No one’s salvation hinges on whether or not they believe this passage says the fall of Damascus must happen before the church can be raptured. But it does make an interesting argument for that interpretation.
And the fulfillment of seeing Damascus being destroyed would be a powerful witnessing tool for the Church to use before God starts gathering the members of His Church home to glory.
Conclusion
This is the last of the teachings in our prophecy series. I hope you’ve enjoyed them and learned a little bit more about the exciting times we live in. If I’ve failed to answer some questions you may have please feel free to ask me. I’ll do my best to answer you, or find the answer.
I also pray that you have taken the time to examine your own lives in the view of these approaching events and determined whether or not you are ready to meet your Savior. For I truly believe that we are presently on the road to Damascus and the harvest is ripening fast. I hope that you will be one of those who are gathered in the reaper’s arms and taken home, and not part of the gleanings that are left behind.
