By Joel Hayes 

I once read an E.W. Bullinger book called 10 Sermons on the Second Advent, which he had preached in the 1800’s at Oxford. I wanted to know what a Bullinger sermon sounded like. And (surprise, surprise!), a Bullinger sermon was pure exegesis from beginning to end.

I then fell in love with Bullinger’s fifth sermon in that series called, “The Calling and Hope of The Church of God.” He made a point about the Rapture that I loved so much I actually preached Bullinger’s Sermon at FBC.

Note God’s words to Ezekiel:

“Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off” (Ezek. 12:27).

What is God doing today?

Premillennialism is based upon a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:1–6 in the New Testament, which describes Jesus' coming reign on earth in a period of a thousand years. But, there at least 2 way of looking at the Millennial kingdom to come.

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward (of the physical body) man perish, yet the inward (soul) man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 KJV).

The order of the three coming resurrections, according to the Holy Scriptures, are as follows:

1. The Secret Resurrection is of the members of “the Body of Christ,” which we call the Rapture.

This glorious resurrection will take place in the course of the Rapture of the Church (below). It will include those who are “in Christ” from the time of the Apostle Paul to the sound of “the trump” (cf. 1Cor. 15:51-53).

“For this we say unto you By The Word of The Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep [dead in their graves].

Part 4 – The Rapture of “The Body of Christ”

Here I will address four Biblical bodily resurrections.

The very first bodily resurrection from the dead is that of the Lord Jesus Himself.

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except (unless) a corn (grain) of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.