The Out-Resurrection
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Acts 28

By Arthur J Licursi

We are called by Paul to “approve” or to take note of “the things that differ” (i.e., Greek, Phili. 1:10). These ‘differences’ are what we are to note and ‘rightly divide’ in Bible Study because the Bible presents dual programs of God called ‘dispensations’ of ‘administration of God.’ Herein we will discuss a major difference to be seen in the resurrections of two sorts of Christian believers, at their appointed times.

We all know supposedly saved Christians who still don’t have a clue to God’s eternal plan and who choose to live in the way they of self-love and self-interest, ignoring Paul’s teaching and admonitions. They don’t read their Bible let alone study. They aren’t serious believers. So, only the Lord knows if they are in fact genuinely saved and have Christ’s “Spirit of life” indwelling their “spirit of man” (1Cor 6:17). Yet, if they are saved while yet living self-serving fleshly lives then they are still referred to by Paul as “saints” who God has sanctified and set-apart unto Himself, most often without their even knowing it.

This then explains why Paul, in his post-Acts prison epistles begins in Ephesians 1:1 addressing all genuine believers, referring to the two classes of believers as “The Saints” and “The Faithful.” He refers to them first as “the saints” in Ephesians 1:1a, then adding another class of Christian that he refers to, after the coma, as “the faithful” in Ephesians 1:1b as seen here.

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1 (KJV)

Notice the conjunctive words “and to” that follow the 2nd comma. This tells us “the faithful” are of a different category of “saints.” These two groups of Christians have two different eternal destinies.

  • First, “THE SAINTS” of Eph. 1:1 are all those who are regenerated of Christ’s resurrected “spirit of life” but still might be ignorant of the truth of Paul’s post-Acts gospel and ministry with its heavenward plan for the “enlightened” of Eph. 1-3. Therefore these “saints” are believers who unless they progress are not yet qualified to “appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4) in “the heavenly places.” If a saint remains at this level of understanding will miss heaven’s “appearing,” rather to be “caught up” at the so-called rapture to “meet the Lord in the air [atmosphere]” (1Thes. 4:17) at Christ’s 2nd coming to save Israel’s believing remnant. Israel and her Gentile proselytes will then forever dwell on “the earth” where Israel is called to then “reign” as “priests of God and of Christ” serving the Lord forever the sphere of “the earth.”

10 and hast made us [Israel] unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:10 (KJV)
6 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 (KJV)

  • Then there are “THE FAITHFUL” who also were only “saints” but have grown in the revelation knowledge of Paul’s Mystery gospel for “you Gentiles.” Paul’s 2nd ministry is seen in his post-Acts epistles. Being among the “enlightened” of Eph. 1-3, “the faithful” will be silently and secretly resurrected, without the trump of God or angels to “appear with Him in [heaven’s] glory.” (Col. 3:4). This will occur some years before the “saints” and Israel’s believers are “caught up to meet the Lord in the air” at or just before the Lord’s 2nd coming to earth. He will come to save Israel as He “purges out the rebels” (Eze. 20:38).

These “faithful” ones will not be alive on earth or in their graves to resurrect to “meet the Lord in the air” at the Lord’s 2nd coming. By that time they will have already appeared with Christ in glory [“in the heavenly places,” Eph. 1:3)]” where they Will Co-Reign With Christ In Some level of The Government of The “New Heaven” (2Tim. 2:12). They will replace of Lucifer’s fallen angelic host who will have been ‘cast down to the earth’ (cf. Rev. 12) Mid-tribulation, at the beginning of the “Great Tribulation.”

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall Appear, then shall Ye Also Appear With Him In [Heaven’s] Glory. Colossians 3:4 (KJV)

12 If we suffer [endure], We [The Faithful] Shall Also Reign With Him: if we deny him, he also will deny us [from reigning]: 2 Timothy 2:12 (KJV)  

These are the two (2) classes of Gentile believers today. The word “saints” of Eph. 1:1 refers to all believers who thereby are all ‘sanctified’ were ‘set apart unto God’ by God’s reckoning at their receiving His salvation “by grace through faith” in Christ death, burial, and resurrection.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of [religious] works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

The sad fact is that the vast majority of grace-saved Gentile believers today, including all races, both Jew and Gentiles (cf. Gal 3:28), are among those who Paul often refers to as “saints.” Paul also refers to a minority of grace-saved believing “saints” as a 2nd group that he calls “the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph.1:1b). Again, notice the conjunction words “and to” that follow the 2nd comma in Eph. 1:1. This tells us there are two different classes of ‘saints.’

(To learn more see also “The Saints, and the Faithful” for further explanation; http://www.artlicursi.com/articles/%E2%80%9C-saints%E2%80%9D-and-%E2%80%9C-faithful%E2%80%9D )

The majority of “saints” today most likely consider themselves to be saved in accord with Jesus’ John 3:16 message that He spoke to and concerning Israel (Matt. 15:24), wherein He says “whosoever believeth” will gain His “everlasting life.” These “saints” likely have not yet not learned of Paul’s latter (Post-Acts) epistles to any great revelatory degree sufficient to believe Paul’s 2nd message.

In accord with their lack of noting the significance of Acts 28:28 and subsequent Paul’s 2nd ministry to “you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1), they most often desire to serve Him eternally in Israel’s restored kingdom of [from] Heaven ON THE EARTH. As stated, most of these saved Gentiles individuals often would point to and claim John 3:16 as their salvation doctrine even though it was spoken by Jesus to Nicodemus concerning the Nation Israel (cf. Matt. 15:24).

The Biblical fact is that Jesus’ “everlasting life” message of John 3:16 was preached by Jesus offering the “everlasting life” to and for “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (cf. Matt. 15:24. 10:5-6). His hearers were promised the kingdom of heaven and the city of “New Jerusalem” to come onto the new earth. There were Gentiles proselytes among Israel (cf. Rom. 2:10) at Pentecost hearing Peters message preached to “Ye men of Israel.” These believing Gentiles were to be blessed through Israel to live in the restored Davidic kingdom on the new earth. Recall how that Paul was sent to preach to “the Jew first and also to the Gentile” as he faithfully did during the 35-year Acts period.

By comparison with “the saints” of Ephesians 1a, are those who have grown in revelation knowledge of “the mystery [secret)]” (cf. Eph. 3:1-5) to become “the faithful” of Ephesians 1:1b. These are the ones who would know and claim the new truth of “the mystery [secret]” as explained in Paul’s prison epistles written Post-Acts. Their identity is established as members of “the body of Christ” looking to their ‘eternal destiny’ “In The Heavenly Places” (Phili. 3:20-21). At Christ’s manifestation (appearing) in glory “the Body” will be manifested (appear) there together with “the Head” in heaven’s glory. When does this occur? This will occur when “the Body of Christ” is filled to the full with its last saved faithful member (cf. Rom. 11:25). These members of “His body” will one day silently and secretly ascend to ‘appear’ with Christ” (cf. Col. 3:4) in highest “heaven above all heavens” quite some time (perhaps 21 years) before the so-called rapture event of 1Thes 4:15-18 and Acts 15:53-55.

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in [heaven’s] glory. Colossians 3:4 (KJV)

Then some years after, God will ‘resurrect’ all believers who are on earth at the time of “His 2nd coming,” both the dead and the living, both the believing Jews and Gentiles who are NOT Among The Faithful, to “to meet the Lord in the air” (1Thes. 4:14-17, 1Cor 15:51-55) when Christ comes to save Israel at the end of the Tribulation period.

Again, there is a difference among ‘saint believers.’ Only some of the ‘saint believers.’ are additionally referred to as “the faithful,” as noted by Paul here below in Ephesians 1:1b.

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1 (KJV)

The Special Resurrection:

Paul here below writes to the saved Post-Acts Philippian “faithful” believers concerning something that they “might attain” in their resurrection. The verse below points out the distinction among believers in their two different resurrections – emphasizing a resurrection that some will attain to [arrive at], while some Will Not attain to this ‘out-resurrection.’

 11 If by any means I might attain unto [arrive at] the resurrection [Grk. exanastasis, the out-resurrection] of the dead. Philippians 3:11 (KJV)

In Philippians 3:10-14, the “resurrection [lit., out-resurrection]” of verse eleven, when read in context, appears to be in connection with gaining “the prize of the upward call [or high call] of God in Christ Jesus” as seen here in verse fourteen (v14).

14 I Press Toward The Mark For The Prize Of The High [Grk., Ano, The Above, Upward, Top, heavenward] Calling Of God In Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 (KJV)

A ‘prize’ necessitates victory in the conflict between Christians and the Satanic world-rulers of the darkness of this age (Ephesians 6:12 ff). The reception of this prize requires victory in the conflict that is our when we by faith are “seated” In Christ “far above all principalities and powers” (Eph. 6:12, 1:21).

  • We should note that the resurrection referred to in Philippians 3:11, a post-Acts epistle, begins with the word “If.” This means it does not refer to all Christians.
  • By contrast, in his Acts period writings of 1Corinthians 15:51-57 and 1Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul contextually refers to all “the dead in Christ” (1Thes 4:17) and all those “alive” in Christ (1Thes 4:17) being resurrected and “changed.” Grace dictates that both the overcoming ‘elect of Israel’ and those believers who have been overcome will be resurrected to life from the dead at the time referred to in these verses.

So, a distinction becomes clear when we note the two Greek words for “resurrection.”

  • The more common Greek word appearing throughout the New Testament is ‘anastasis.’  This is a compound word comprised of ana, which means “up,” and stasis, which means “to rise,” or “to stand.”  So anastasis means “to rise up” or “to stand up.”  When used relative to those who have died, the exact meaning of the word would be, “a resumption of life, allowing one to rise up or stand up from the place of death.
  • Uniquely to Paul’s Post-Acts prison epistles, the Greek word appearing in Philippians 3:11 is mistranslated as “resurrection” in most English Bible versions of Scripture, yet is a different Greek word, ‘exanastasis.’  This Greek word is made up of these three parts ‘ex-ana-stasis.’  The latter two parts of the word (ana-stasis), as has been shown, mean “to rise up,” or “to stand up.”  But the preposition ‘ex’ (from the Greek ‘ek’) prefixed to anastasis adds a new dimension.  The first part, ‘ex’ (the form that “ek” takes when prefixed to words beginning with a vowel) means “out of,” making exanastasis to mean “to stand up out of [i.e., ‘out-resurrection’].” 

The ‘resurrection (anastasis)’ among all Gentile believers and the believing Jews, whether Old Testament saints will be a separation from the unbelievers. All believers dead or alive will be resurrected. This includes the Old Testament faithful, the Tribulation martyrs who will be resurrected also … at His 2nd Coming to earth (Rev. 20:6). The “chaff” unbelievers “he will burn up.”

17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat [believers] into his garner [barn]; but the chaff [unbelievers] he will burn with fire unquenchable. Luke 3:17
12 [Christ] Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor [on earth], and gather his wheat into the garner [the barn]; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:12 (KJV)

The ‘out-resurrection (Gk. exanastasis)’ of “the faithful” who received Paul’s 2nd set of epistles that reveal “the Mystery,” presents a resurrection prior to and different from the resurrection (Rapture) that will come at the 2nd coming of Christ. This ‘out-resurrection (Gk. exanastasis)’ is the “standing up” of a particular group “out of” and “out from” among the dead and the living believers comes first. These are the resurrected who will “appear with Him in [heavens] glory” (Col. 3:4, Phili. 3:20-21).

Later, at the time of the ‘resurrection (anastasis)” of 1Thessalonians 4:15-18 and 1Corinthians 15:53-55), the Messianic remnant of Israel and the Gentile Christians will obviously be separated from the non-Christians by Christ “at His coming” at the end of the Tribulation period. At His 2nd coming the resurrected believers will be put safely into the “garner [barn]” while He “will burn up” and “purge out” the unbelieving rebels. These resurrected believers will enter the Millennial kingdom on earth.

Only the out-resurrected “faithful” believers of Paul’s post-Acts 28 ministry to form “the body of Christ” will go ‘heavenward’ to “appear with Him in glory,” before the Tribulation period. So, at the time of the “out-resurrection” (exanastasis) certain Gentile Christians will be separated from other Gentile Christians. The ‘called out’ will be removed from ‘the called.’ 

Understanding exanastasis in the light of its context in Philippians 3:11 clearly reveals that a rapture or resurrection or rising from the dead to life is not what is in view here at all. The subject at hand in Philippians 3 concerns “overcoming” of some to “win the prize to the heavenward calling.” This is NOT associated with the issues of “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Rather, Paul writes of another judgement that applies to the out-resurrected faithful as seen here in Paul’s final post-Acts epistle;

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick [living] and the dead At His Appearing and his kingdom; 2 Timothy 4:1 (KJV)
8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8 (KJV)

Christ will make judge all the ‘out-resurrected faithful’ to determine their reward and place of service the kingdom of the heaven, “far above all heavens,” reigning in the government of heaven.

10 He [Jesus] that descended is the same also that ascended up FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS, that he might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:10 (KJV) 

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who Hath Blessed Us With All Spiritual Blessings In HEAVENLY PLACES [Epouranios] In Christ: Ephesians 1:3 (KJV)
6 And Hath [Positionally] Raised Us Up Together, and Made Us Sit Together In Heavenly Places In Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:6 (KJV)

13 Looking for that blessed hope [confident expectation], and the Glorious APPEARING of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Titus 2:13 (KJV)

4 When Christ, Who Is Our Life, Shall APPEAR, Then Shall Ye Also APPEAR With Him in glory. Colossians 3:4 (KJV)

10 To The Intent That Now Unto The [Angelic] Principalities And Powers In Heavenly Places Might Be Known By The Church The Manifold Wisdom Of God, Ephesians 3:10 (KJV)

The word exanastasis has to do with some Christians (the “faithful” overcomers) being elevated to a status of “standing up out of” or above the status that is occupied by the remaining Christians who are not overcomers.

Certain Christians, “the faithful,” will be shown to have overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil by the power of faith in the cross-work of Christ — these are three great enemies confronting every Christian.  And the remaining Christians will be shown to have been overcome, lacking faith in the message of Paul’s Post-Acts prison epistles. Overcoming Christians will then be elevated to a heavenly standing, above Christians who are overcome by the world the flesh and the Devil. In this manner, the overcomers will be set apart for the distinct purpose of Occupying The Heavenly Positions of Rank And Authority With Christ In The Government Of The “Heavenly Places.”  They will realize the “Prize Of The High Calling Of God In Christ Jesus” that Paul writes of in Philippians 3:14. 

14 I [Paul] press toward the mark for the prize of the HIGH calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 (KJV)

The distinction in outcome between the exanastasis overcomers and those who are not overcomers is clear. The overcomers are those who will enjoy the exanastasis [out-resurrection], going up out of the realm of this earthly sphere. Those who have not heard and have no faith in Paul’s Post Acts 2nd ministry, but were saved in accord with Jesus’ John 3:16 message for “whosoever” will resurrect (anastasis) at the so-called rapture to meet the Lord “the air” to ultimately dwell in Christ’s Millennial kingdom on earth - not to the “far above” heaven.

This distinction is also suggested metaphorically, in the experience of Joshua and Caleb. Recall the occasion when only 2 of the 12 (about 17%) of the spies who Moses sent to spy out the promised land exhibited “faith” in God’s words… these two were Joshua and Caleb. They had faith to essentially say ‘we can overcome’ … they were granted the blessing of entering into the earthly promised land. The faithfulness of Joshua and Caleb teaches us that we are to stand in faith even while others may not. Those who do will obtain the blessings of God’s highest calling to the far above “heaven above all heavens.”

6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: 7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. Numbers 14:6-9 (KJV)

Back to today, when only “the faithful” of “His body” who know there calling and hope will obtain ‘the prize of the high calling’ (Phili. 3:14) of the ‘out-resurrection.’ These are the ones who will realize living “in the heavenly places in Christ” as opposed to those who will not. And this heavenly life will be in connection with a new order of sons, those who comprise “the body” of the firstborn son that God will bring forth at that time