No amount of correct doctrine will bring an individual to resurrection life at the return of the Lord. Only those who have lived by the body and blood of the Lord will be able to be raised from the dead and caught up to the Lord in that Day. Where the slain Lamb is, there will those be who live by His Life.

Notice carefully that every individual will be made alive in his own order. Christ was the first to be raised from the dead physically. Those who belong to Christ will be made alive physically at His coming.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (I Corinthians 15:22,23)

Paul does not regard us as being truly alive at the point of receiving Christ. Rather, we shall be made alive at the coming of the Lord. It is the future redemption of the body that is the promised salvation. The New Testament declares that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of the redemption of our body.

Which is the earnest [pledge] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)

The "purchased possession" is our body.

Those who belong to the Lord Jesus will be brought back to life at His coming. We have said that only those who have overcome sin will be given to eat of the tree of life. This is a fact of the Scripture and cannot be changed in any manner.

The Scripture teaches that only the blessed and holy royal priesthood will be raised at the Lord's coming. This decree also cannot be changed in any manner.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

The rest of the dead will not come back to life, to physical life on the earth, until the thousand years has been completed.

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:5)

We conclude that the standard of what it means to be a Christian, to belong to the Lord, is much higher than ordinarily is assumed and taught.

The term Christian means "disciple." A disciple is someone who has denied himself, taken up his cross, and is following the Lord Jesus every day. Only these are Christians. Many others may possibly be saved, but only the disciples are members of the royal priesthood.

If we are incorrect, if we have raised the standard too high, then many careless believers will have a pleasant surprise when the Lord returns. But if we are correct, if the words of the New Testament will stand as written, then a multitude of "believers" in our country are facing agony when the Lord returns—and their preachers and teachers with them.

To be continued.