33 All Will be Resurrected

I Corinthians 15: 20 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.

Now that the fact of a resurrection of the Lord Jesus has occurred the text turns to restate this fact and affirm that Jesus was first to be resurrected. Paul uses an OT term of firstfruits from Exodus 23: 16, 19 to give us the sense that more resurrections will follow. The OT term refers to the seven festivals of Israel. They were an agrarian culture and therefore had festivals to celebrate the different events of the year. The first three festivals also represent Jesus’ first coming in Bible typology. They occur in the spring. They are: Passover, Unleavened bread and First Fruits. Fifty days following First Fruits is Pentecost. The three main fall festivals are: Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles. The second three represent Christ’s second coming.