."..and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world." Revelation 1:5 GNB.

When the Apostle John said that He (Jesus) was the first to be raised from death, what was he talking about? Of course its an established fact that Jesus wasn't the first to be raised from death; no, because, the Scripture is full of accounts of people who were raised from the dead.

So, what was John saying?

Now, when you study the various accounts on folks being "raised from the dead", you would fine one reoccurring decimal; and that is, sin caused the people to die. They were predominantly sick folks, both young and old.

They died physical deaths. What do i mean by, "they died physical deaths", an inquisitive fellow might ask.

Let me explain..

First of all, I want you to understand that; a human being is a "3 - part" creature.

i). We are made in the image and after the likeness of God. And we understand from scripture that God is a Spirit. Therefore, it goes without an form of unnecessary and futile debate that, human beings are spirits too.

ii). We have bodies. I prefer to call it "earthly biological suits". I know you like the ring to that name. You see, God is an Eternal Being. By this, I mean that God never sleeps, He never eats, nor dies. He lives in Heaven. Heaven is not earth. There are no days of the week, neither are there Christmas nor Easter.

However, humans on the other hand are earth bound spirits. What this means is that we were made to live on earth, and not outer space. In earth, time is operable. We breath air, drink water, sleep, wake and die when we grow too old.

So, as spirits that were created to be earth bound, we were also given bodies to use here. Its like an astronaut sent out to the moon. He needs a special suit in other to live outside the earths atmosphere.

iii). We have minds. Your brain "houses" your mind. Your mind, also being referred to as your Gray matter, controls the expression of your will-power, emotions, memories, creative capacity et al. I call it, "a biological super processor". Its like the artificial intelligence fitted to the space suit of an astronaut that reads and sends his vitals to control tower at Houston.

Now that we know that human beings are "a 3-part" being; how does it relate to the physical death mentioned earlier.

I did state that the reoccurring decimal for most of those raised to life from the dead was "sickness". They all died premature deaths. They weren't old folks who had lived out their lives well on earth; no, they weren't. They were cut short! Cut short by what or whom?

In the book of John 10:10, they Bible let's us know who. It says that the Enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy. And we know that you don't have to be a prophet to know whom Jesus Christ referred to as the " Enemy"! The devil is that enemy.

He is the originator of all sickness and diseases. Both discovered and undiscovered ones. So, when all those lovely folks died premature deaths in both the Old and New Testaments times, it was all the enemy's handiworks. He "cut" their lives short. They died physical deaths. Deaths caused by an entrance of series of sins into theirs spirits, which metamorphosed into physical illnesses that led to their deaths.


However, Jesus on the other hand, could not be held down by the enemy's handiworks. By causing you to sin against God is the way the enemy puts his hold on you. Its the way he tries to snuff out the life out of people.

He could not find any place in Him when he came to tempt Jesus after His wilderness experience. Jesus passed all his silly tests; He defiled physical death. This was only a part of what was really to come.

Now because the Scripture had to be fulfilled, Jesus willing gave His life to death - spiritual death. This is the highest form of deaths. No man living or dead, has ever wilfully present a sin-free spirit, soul and body to be sacrificed for the greater good. In all the Religions of the world, not one!

After Jesus Christ was sacrificed and buried, He yet again, defiled spiritual death by the Anointing and Power of the Holy Spirit. He rose from spiritual death on the third day to become "Born Again" by the Power of the Spirit. He became the Son of the Living God.

So, when the angels called Him the "faithful witness", it simply meant He was the undeniable proof that; He was the First to be raised from Spiritual death by God Himself!

Death couldn't, and will forever not hold Him down. Because of this: He is the Ruler of the rulers of the world. This latter part talks about spiritual rulers (fallen angels) we read about in the book of Ephesians chapter 6.

If you are IN Christ, you have been made "death free"; death can't hold you down. This should be your mindse!

Revelation 1:7 GNT reads,
"look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see Him, including those who pierced him. All people on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be."

Now, when the angel said, "including those who pierced him", he wasn't only limiting those words to the Roman soldiers who brutalised and eventually pierced, and killed the Lord Jesus Christ; no!

You see, those who carried out that act on the Master, were folks who didn't believe He was what He claimed to be: the Son of God, the Messiah. They didn't accept Him, neither His message of salvation. The message from that angel is also for all those who are yet to be born again (John 3:3).

When the rapture eventually comes, everyone living will definitely witness it. All those who haven't abandoned the faith will be elevated to the clouds (sky), where they will meet with Jesus, before entering heaven.

But, all those who are not in Christ, or have abandoned the faith will mourn. These are the ones referred to as "all people will mourn.."
by that angel.

Yes, no man knows when He will come. But, all men living will witness that day.

Where do you stand?

God bless you!