REVELATION

. Part 2 in the Series entitled “Three”

02/06/11

The First Begotten of the Dead

The headline of the May 23, 2008 article by Sam Sloan, who based his story on a report from
West Virginia News Net 5, simply read…
Woman Wakes 17 hours after pronounced dead — Rigor Mortis Set-in
(Now, if that doesn’t grab your attention, I don’t know what will!)
According to the story, “A West Virginia woman was being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic
after walking the line between life and death. Doctors are calling Val Thomas a medical miracle.
They said they can’t explain how she is alive.
They said Thomas suffered two (another source says three) heart attacks and had no brain
waves for more than 17 hours. At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, her heart stopped and she had no
pulse. A respiratory machine kept her breathing and rigor mortis had set in, doctors said.
“Her skin had already started to harden and her fingers curled. Death had set in,” said son Jim
Thomas. They rushed her to a West Virginia hospital. Doctors put Thomas on a special
machine which induces hypothermia. The treatment involves lowering the body temperature for
up to 24 hours before warming a patient up.
After that procedure, her heart stopped again. “She had no neurological function,” said Dr.
Kevin Eggleston. Her family said goodbye and doctors removed all the tubes. Then the staff
nurse took the lead off and she said, ‘Mrs. Thomas, I’m so sorry.’ You know, how you just talk to
yourself when you’re doing something.
And then, Mom coughed. And she answered; ‘that’s okay, honey,’ and the nurses just went
crazy. And then she said, ‘Where-where’s my son?’”
Hospital staff quickly called Val’s family.
“She said, ‘she’s breathing on her own. She’s got a pulse. She’s got a blood pressure and she’s
responding to every command that we ask her to do. She’s moving her extremities,’ and she
said, ‘I think you need to get back up here,’” said Daniel Pence, Val's nephew.
“I was overwhelmed when we got the call and said that she was alive again. I didn’t know
whether to cry or to laugh and I think I did some of both,” Sheila said.
“I had no idea what took place, you know, when I first woke up,” Val said. "My family started
telling me little-by-little what took place. And I do remember seeing a glow or a light at the foot of
my bed.”
Hospital staff immediately ran tests on Val.
“They were amazed and they told me pretty much everything that my family had already told
me. They did tell me that my heart was like a brand new heart. It was nothing – they did not see
anything wrong. Nothing. And I was talking to them and they were amazed I was talking as well
as I did,” Val said.

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“I was at a different hospital and nurses paged me and I had to rush back over to see it for
myself, because it was certainly an amazing feat and a miracle,” Dr. Eggleston said.

“They couldn’t believe that my heart was in the condition it was when I went to Cleveland Clinic
after what had happened. They didn’t find anything wrong either,” Val said. “He said, ‘medicine
could not have done this,’ or ‘doctors could not have done this.’ And I said, ‘yes, it was a miracle
from God.’”
“There are things that physicians and nurses, we can’t always explain; and I think this was one
of those cases,” Dr. Eggleston said.
Val Thomas and her family strongly believe that the Lord granted them their miracle and they
want everyone to know. “I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don’t
know what it is but I’m sure he’ll tell me,” she said.
Remarkable, huh? But even more remarkable is the story of Isaiah Reed, a former drug dealer
and pimp, who in 1996 was shot and stabbed in a drug deal gone bad.
According to the story available on Isaiahreed.com and CBN network, Isaiah was shot twice in
the head with a .38 caliber pistol. The first shot shattered his jaw, cracked his skull, and entered
his brain through his ear canal. The second shot hit him in the face. The bullet traveled down the
back of his throat and lodged against a vertebrae in the top of his spine. Then, after being shot
twice, his assailants stabbed him 16 times in the back and through him out of the car into an
alleyway where he was found two hours later. He was transported to a Denver area hospital,
where, according to the reports, he was pronounced DOA. Bearing a huge scar down his
abdomen, Mr. Reed tells how the doctors actually began a standard autopsy procedure and
began to notify the next-of-kin. According to Mr. Reed, when they reached his mother and told
her that her son was dead, she refused to accept it and asked to pray aloud over the phone for
her son. The doctor, perhaps hoping to get some closure, allowed it and she began to pray, and
a few moments later, Isaiah Reed, who had no heartbeat and no other discernable signs of life,
drew a deep breath and was alive.
I know what some of you are thinking… “This can’t be true!” It hardly seems possible that
someone clinically dead from multiple heart attacks could wake up 17 hours later and show no
signs of heart trouble. And it seems downright impossible that a man shot twice in the head (still
carrying both bullets, I might add) and stabbed 16 times could actually wake up on an autopsy
table and be alive today to tell the story.
But that’s exactly the claims that these people are making. And we must conclude that there
are two distinct possibilities. The first possibility is that Mrs. Thomas and Mr. Reed are
remarkable examples of people who have been resuscitated from extreme near-death
experiences. The second possibility, and one with far greater ramifications, is that both Mr.
Reed and Mrs. Thomas were actually and verifiably dead, and had both experienced a bona fide
resurrection from death.
Now, that’s quite an amazing thing to consider, isn’t it? In fact, if I polled this congregation, my
guess is that most of us would more readily believe the first option – that neither Mrs. Thomas or
Mr. Reed were actually, clinically dead and only experienced extreme cases of resuscitation.
And maybe that’s true. But what if they were actually dead? And what if they did actually
experience a real resurrection? Is that even possible?
Well, if we look to the Bible for the answers we could easily see how that possibility exists.
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The Bible contains several stories of real-life resurrections from death from both the Old
and New Testaments.
In 1Kings 17:17-22 there is the story of the death of the son of the widow from Zarepath…
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell
sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto
Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to
remembrance, and to slay my son?
And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up
into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and
said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by
slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD,
and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD
heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.”
What a powerful testimony to the power of Elijah’s prayer and Elijah’s God! But there’s more…
In 2Kings 4:30-37 we read the story of the prophet Elisha and how he raised the son of the
Shunammite woman from the dead.
And again, in 2 Kings 13:20-21 there is the fantastic story of the man who was raised from the
dead simply from contact with the bones of the dead prophet Elisha. Listen to this story:

“And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the
coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied
a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let
down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.”

Man, that is something!

And then we reach the New Testament were we see Jesus and His power over death. And we
can’t possibly forget the story of Lazarus, whom Christ raised from the dead after being in the
grave for four days. (John 11:38-44)
But Lazarus wasn’t the only one Christ raised from the dead during His minsitry. There was also
the son of the widow of Nain, whom Christ raised from the dead during his own funeral
procession. (Luke 7:11-17) And the 12-year-old daughter of the ruler, Jairus. (Mat. 8:28-43)
And, even more remarkable, is the brief account of a resurrection that took place in conjunction
with the death of Christ. Matthew writes in chapter 27:50-53…
“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of
the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks
rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came
out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
And if we read even further, into the book of Acts and the history of the first-century church, we
see there two examples of resurrections.

• In Acts 9:36-42, the Apostle Peter is responsible for raising to life a beloved woman
named Dorcas.

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 • In Acts 20:7-12, Paul is responsible for raising to life a young man named Eutychus, who
had fallen from a third-story window after snoozing during Paul’s sermon!
Now, we can have our doubts about Mrs. Thomas and Mr. Reed, but these stories from the
Bible ARE, without a doubt, true. And because they are true, we have good reason to consider
the possibility that God can and still does raise people from the dead.
After all, He’s God and He has all power in heaven and earth. And we all know that death has
no hold on Him, for the greatest story of resurrection in the Bible is the story of Jesus Christ
rising from the grave after three days in the stone-cold tomb.
And it is His resurrection that brings us to the point of our text today, so would you stand with
me today as we read from Revelation 1:1-7?
Revelation 1:1-7
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things
which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that
he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which
is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the
prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his
own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him:
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Now, last week we began to explore the power of this passage as we found that this text reveals
three fantastic truths about each of three things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.

• First, we learn in verse 5 three things about Who Jesus Is

• Second, we learn in verses 5 & 6 three things about What Jesus has done

• Finally, we see in verse 7 three characteristics of His return, or What Jesus Will Do
I made a statement last week that bears repeating today: The single most important thing we
all must decide in our lives is what we believe about Jesus of Nazareth.
I know that there are a lot of important decisions we must make, like whom we’ll date and marry;
where we’ll attend college and what sort of career we’ll pursue; who our friends will be; whether
we’ll have children, and so on. But these decisions pale in importance with the decision we
must make about Jesus of Nazareth.
So, who is Jesus?

• Some say he’s a mythical figure – a figment of imagination – that he never truly existed.
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 • Others say he was real, but no more than a good man, a great moral teacher.
• Some see him as a political revolutionary, a martyr for a cause that went nowhere
• Others see him as one of many Christ-like figures to come and go through history
• Still others say he was a great prophet, but not the final or the greatest
And then there is “Us”.
We who are “Christians” believe that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Jewish Messiah. We
also believe that Christ was a great moral teacher, a miracle worker, and a prophet.
But He’s so much more than these. We also believe that Jesus of Nazereth not only was, but
even now IS the very Son of the Living God and the One and only Savior of the world whose
death on the cross paid the price for sin.
And we go farther as we boldly declare that Jesus is actually God and that the power He
demonstrated during His ministry validates that claim. He healed turned water to wine, healed
the sick, made the lame to walk, gave sight to the blind, fed thousands with a few loaves and
fishes, stilled massive storms, and even raised dead people back to life.
Yes, we believe this, and even more, for we believe that Jesus not only raised other people from
the dead, but that He also raised Himself from the grave, and that’s something that no one else
has ever done! Not even the prophets of old!
But there’s more. And we’ll see that as we look again at our text, in verse 5. Look again…
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the
prince of the kings of the earth.”
Now, last week we learned that Jesus Christ is called by John, The Faithful Witness. He is and
always will be “Trustworthy”. We can examine His life, His ministry, and his death on the cross
and find nothing to fault.
He never told a lie. He always kept His word. He never made a promise he did not keep. Jesus
is trustworthy. This is the first of three aspects of His character.
The second we see this week is that Jesus is described by the prophet as the “First begotten
of the dead,”
Now, listen, I told you last week that these three descriptions of Christ that John gives provide a
complete testimony to the identity of Jesus. The first had to do with his life, ministry, and death
on the cross.
This has to do with His resurrection. (And that’s a no-brainer, right?) He’s the “first begotten
of the dead”. But even as we read the words, we need to ask, “Do we really understand the
implications of what John is saying?
What does he mean, “First begotten of the dead”?

Well, first, let’s clear the air of misconceptions by dealing with what it does NOT mean.
First, It does NOT mean that Jesus is the first person to experience a resurrection.
That ought to be obvious, since we just talked about several other cases of resurrections in the
Bible. Just consider the case of Lazarus – four days gone and buried. His was no resuscitation.
He was truly dead and Jesus raised him to life.

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John’s not saying that Jesus is the first person to be raised from the dead. And you need to get
this, because this isn’t the only place the term “first-begotten” is used of Christ, and you might
get messed up if you don’t understand it.
Now, our English translation reads “first-begotten”. But the original Greek is one word,
PROTOTOKOS, derived from two words, PROTOS and TIKTO, meaning “first born”. Jesus is
the “first-born of the dead”.
But what does that mean? We can find the answer if we look to the words of the Apostle in
Colossians 1:12-20. (Would you turn there with me, please?)
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of
the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the
forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all
things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Twice in that passage, Paul uses the term “firstborn” or PROTOKOS. He calls Christ the
“firstborn of every creature” and the “firstborn from the dead”.
Now before you get really confused and start thinking, as some have taught, that this teaches
Jesus is a created being, you need to understand culture and context.
When someone in the Bible is the firstborn, the emphasis is not on birth order or even on birth at
all. No, the emphasis is on rank, or position.
For example, we all remember the great contention between the twins, Esau and Jacob. From
the womb they were at it with each other. In Genesis 25:23 it says. “And the LORD said unto
her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy
bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve
the younger.
And when they were born, the struggle began. Esau came first, but there was Jacob, clinging to
his brother’s heel. And as they grew, the prophecy came true. First, when Esau came from the
field one day famished, and smelled some stew his brother had fixed. And when he asked for
some, Jacob bargained… “What will you give me?” And Esau, being famished and calloused to
his spiritual heritage, agreed to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew.

And there is the rest of the story later when Isaac was old and nearly blind, and he called for his
son, Esau, to come so he can give him his final charge and bless him with the blessings of the
firstborn.
But, Jacob tricked his father, and he stole the blessing from his brother.
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Now, in those days, the birthright and the blessing were of tremendous importance. The
birthright assured that the firstborn received 2/3 of the inheritance and the best of the patriarch’s
deathbed blessings were reserved for that same firstborn. And in those days, the blessing
carried actual power.

So, Jacob usurped his brother and took the rights and blessings of the firstborn. He became the
significant one. He became the heir apparent. He became the father of the family that God
would use to bring His Law and His covenant and His very Son into the world.

So, you see, the issue was not and is not “birth order” so much as position and privilege. When
Jesus is called “first-born” of creation it is not to say that he was the first “spirit-son” and a
“created” being, as the Mormons contend. Nor does it teach that Jesus is “...a created individual,
the second greatest Personage of the universe.” As the Watchtower and Tract Society of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach.
No, the truth being taught is not parentage, but privilege and position, and thus the truth Paul
wants us to grasp in Colossians is that Jesus is the supreme Lord over all creation. He is “first”
in rank, authority, and privilege, over all everything!
Furthermore, Paul calls Him the “firstborn from the dead” – the same thing John saysin
Revelation 1:5. And the point is not that Jesus is the first person to rise from the dead, but
rather that His resurrection is wholly superior and different from all others before it, and sets the
pattern for all others to follow.
And now we’re getting somewhere!

Now, you might be thinking, “Why are you getting so excited, preacher?” “What’s your point?”

This is the point… 10 years from now, or maybe 20 or 30 or 40, both Mrs. Thomas and Mr.
Reed will share a common experience. They will die. Only this time, there will be no resurrection
or resuscitation. They will die and they will be buried and their bodies will go to a grave where
they will be corrupted by time and decay.

They will die. Just like…

• The son of the widow of Zarepath
• The son of the Shunamite woman
• The man who fell onto Elisha’s bones
• The son of the widow of Nain
• That precious 12-year-old daughter of Jairus
• And even Lazarus
Yes, the all experienced remarkable resurrections, but they came to life in those same old
bodies and they all died again, later, a death from which there was no recovery.
And it is this truth that made their resurrections less wonderful, less special, and less glorious
than our Lord Jesus Christ’s.
You see, when Jesus raised from the dead, He did not rise in that same mortal body. He did not
rise in a corruptible body. He did not rise, only to have to die again later from old age, disease,
or a gunshot wound.

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Jesus rose from the dead in a glorious, incorruptible body – a body that cannot get sick, cannot
suffer injury, and cannot age. A body with no handicaps and no limitations. And a body that can
never die!
He’s the “first-begotten of the dead”, and that’s a powerful truth we need to hold onto.
But you may be wondering why? What does this truth mean for me? Why should I walk out of
here today with a smile on my face and a song in my heart for having learned this? Why does it
matter to me?
And He promised us the same body someday!

Listen to what Paul wrote in…

1Corinthians 15:20-26 – “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of
them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
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. Then cometh the end, when
he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down
all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Peter 1:3-5 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1Thessalonians 4:14-18 – “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 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 them which are
asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I don’t know what hardships you may be experiencing today. I don’t know what fears you harbor.
And I cannot possibly understand the terrors that strike your heart because I don’t walk in your
shoes, but I can point to this promise bound up in the very identity of our Jesus.
He is the “first-begotten of the dead” and that means that just as he arose from the dead, we too
will rise, and we will do it in perfection and glory. And in that day every trial and every trouble,
and every fear will give way to a joy unspeakable and full of glory.
And that’s a promise that can carry you through, even the toughest of times and the darkest
hour. So, friends, let’s rest in Him who conquered death and promised us by his own
resurrection that we too will one day rise victorious!