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Part 3 Isaiah speaks of a godly remnant.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: . . . . (Revelation 20:4).

The third chapter of Philippians, the second and third chapter of Revelation, and Paul’s references to running a race, to competing with diligence in order to gain the crown of life, suggest that the first resurrection from the dead, including the gaining of a glorified body, will be the reward of the conquering saint. It will not be given on the basis of a mere profession of doctrinal belief.

Let us consider for a moment the fact that in the New Testament, the fullness of salvation is viewed as occurring at the end of our pilgrimage rather than at the beginning. He who endures to the end shall be saved. Notice carefully the following:

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [destruction]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39)

We "believe to the saving of the soul." We are saved if we persevere in our faith throughout our lifetime. To view salvation as occurring at the end of our life rather than at the beginning enables us to gain a clearer picture of the Christian life. The concept of today that once we make a profession of the Lord Jesus we are "saved," meaning that whatever we do after that cannot prevent our entrance into the fullness of glory and authority, has produced Christian churches that are far from God and His redemption.

If we would perceive salvation as a state of acceptance to God that indeed begins at a definite point of putting our faith in the Lord Jesus, and then must be pursued throughout out lifetime with all diligence, we would avoid the deadly complacency that has destroyed the spiritual life of the churches in the wealthy nations.

We shall be saved if we endure to the end. Our redemption is in the future. If we would attain to the future redemption, every moment of our life on earth must be spent in the pursuit of eternal life.

In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul is not speaking primarily of being saved from the wrath of God. Well then, what is Paul speaking of?

When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, believing that His blood has washed away our sins, we become candidates for Paradise. We will be saved rather than lost in the great and terrible Day of the Lord if we continue throughout our lifetime placing our hope and trust in the Lord.

But attaining to the first resurrection from the dead, the transformation of our body into the likeness of His glorious body; ascending the thrones of eternal life that govern the material creation; require a complete grasping of the power of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and a complete participation in the sufferings of the cross.

Many are called into the Kingdom of God but few are chosen to be members of the Bride of the Lamb. Among the members of the Kingdom of God there are some who bear Christ thirtyfold, some who bear Christ sixtyfold, some who bear Christ a hundredfold. Then there are believers who are saved as by fire, receiving no reward. Their works, their inheritance, and much of their personality is burned away in order that their spirit may be saved.

We enter the gates of salvation by receiving our Lord, Christ. Then, through His grace, we press forward into the Kingdom of God. The extent to which we gain the Kingdom will determine our inheritance, our status, our opportunities for fellowship with God and for service, throughout the ages to come.

Much of our inheritance will be reflected in the body of life that "swallows up" our mortal body. There is a reward for serving the Lord!

We shall reap what we sow. Those who serve the Lord carelessly will be rewarded carelessly. Those who serve the Lord with their whole heart will be rewarded with the Lord’s whole heart. Those who give little to the Lord will receive little from the Lord. Those who give all that they are to the Lord will receive all that the Lord is.

The first resurrection from among the dead, the "out-resurrection," is the resurrection of God’s priests and kings. It is a high honor in the Kingdom of God to participate in the first resurrection. Those who attain to the first resurrection will be given unimaginable authority and power, just as the Spirit of God has presented to us in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.

We can gain some concept of the degree of spiritual maturity that the first resurrection represents by the fact that the Apostle Paul, five or six years before his martyrdom, was still seeking to arrive at the level of closeness with God’s King—the Lord Jesus Christ—that would qualify him for participation in the first resurrection from the dead.

We are qualified to escape the wrath of God by believing in Christ and being baptized in water into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We attain to the first resurrection from among the dead by forsaking all other pursuits in order to be changed into the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

For several years the writer has wrestled with the problem of who will be raised from the dead and ascend to meet the Lord in the air when He appears.

The language of I Thessalonians 4:13-18 leaves the impression that all believers will be drawn to the Lord at this time. We must keep in mind, however, that Paul’s definition of a believer and what it means to "sleep in Jesus," and the current definition and understanding, may be far apart.

There are types and statements that imply only a firstfruits of the believers will be found worthy of participation in the first resurrection. We finally have come to favour this point of view—that only a firstfruits of the Lord’s people (and by the expression "the Lord’s people" we mean spiritual Israel, the family of God, the entire Church, the whole Bride of the Lamb) will be part of the first resurrection from among the dead.

If it is true that it is a firstfruits of God’s people who will be raised in the first resurrection, then the remainder of the Church will be raised in the general resurrection from the dead—that which will take place when the first heaven and earth pass away.

If the majority of the Lord’s people are to be raised in the general resurrection from the dead, then the resurrection at the coming of the Lord will be a special out-resurrection of a holy army of "mighty men" whose purpose will be to work with the Lord in governing the nations of the saved, and perhaps to assist the younger members of the Bride in their growth to maturity.

There is the story of Gideon’s army—300 men taken from the entire camp of Israel. The account of the trumpets, and the breaking of the clay pots so that the light shone, is probably the strongest Old Testament type of the coming of the Lord.

There is the separation of the Ark from the remainder of the Tabernacle of the Congregation and its final return as part of the Temple of Solomon. The removal and return of the Ark suggest a temporary separation from the whole Church of a fighting remnant, a "Zion" company, a firstfruits to the Lord.

The anointing of David as king over Judah before he was anointed king over all Israel speaks of a temporary rule of the Lord over a "Judah company."

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Part 3 Isaiah speaks of a godly remnant.