Look at the example of the power of resurrection portrayed in Revelation chapter 11. There are many ideas of just who the two witnesses are in that chapter, and most likely nobody knows for sure. It is possible that it is an allegory about the resurrection of Jesus or perhaps even us as overcomers while we are still on earth. Many believe in a literal supernatural manifestation of two Old Testament saints who will walk the streets of Jerusalem. Whatever your belief, as far as I am concerned, keep it. But I want to use this passage of Scripture to demonstrate a powerful aspect of resurrection. That is, death plus resurrection equals an eternal quality in the object resurrected, but it also brings authority. Follow this principle with these Scriptures.

Death. "When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them" (Revelation 11:7). Resurrection "Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them" (Revelation 11:11,12). Authority. "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'" (Revelation 11:15).

It is so easy to lose sight of the relevance of the resurrection of Jesus to our life as we live it today in this world. Often people think of the resurrection as something that happened to Jesus. It did, and that one event gives us solid hope for the future. One day we will also receive a resurrected body. However we who have been born from above who have made Jesus our Lord have already received a resurrected spirit. You are already a New Creation. You were born into a new race of people. Jesus was the first born of the New Creation, and you and I are in there somewhere. Therefore I want to examine how God may want us to not only become more aware of the resurrection in our daily lives, but also how He may utilize the resurrection principle in our daily lives.

Resurrection is a principle that can baffle us.

Resurrection is something that humans have a difficult time comprehending. I am constantly asking God to show me more. Any way we look at it will miss the mark because it is so abundantly beyond anything that we know about. Just feast on the Word as written in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

"But someone will say, 'How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?'" 1 Corinthians (15:35).

"Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain-perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body" (1 Corinthians 15:36-38).

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:42-50).

"So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?'" (1 Corinthians 15:54,55).

Resurrection is the supernatural conversion of a dead earthly thing into a new kind of eternal living thing. That thing can be a person, or a circumstance. In God's economy it can be almost anything. It works like a seed planted, which appears to die, and then the life comes forth.

The New Creation is based upon resurrection.

The first time God created everything He spoke His Words and things just came into being.

After the fall of mankind through Adam and Eve, God set out on a New Creation or Second Creation effort. However this time He would not be speaking something from nothing, rather He would be recreating something that had already been alive and had died due to the sin and destruction in the world. Also, God would have His people cooperate with Him in the New Creation process. The first creation was God speaking something from nothing. The second creation is God speaking life to the dead and anointing us to speak in His name to the dead things in our realm of influence.

If you have ever viewed a dead person, try to imagine speaking life to that person. Then try to imagine not only speaking like Jesus did to a dead Lazurus as recorded in John chapter 11, but imagine if you can, speaking a re-birth to that dead person. A re-birth infers that what was dead is birthed into something that it never was, something brand new that never existed before. That is actually the definition of "new creation." "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Think of this: The Word used to be God's Word, but now it is God's resurrected Word! There is a difference!

Resurrected things have a unique nature that is difficult for us to grasp.

Christian author and scientist Hugh Ross makes the following statement in his book, Beyond the Cosmos that I think applies to the miracle of the resurrection.

"The apostle John records that death, mourning, crying, and pain will no longer be part of the new creation. Apparently, we will consume without incurring any cost, [a] further indication of decay's absence. If decay is not in effect there, neither is the second law of thermodynamics. That law states the existence of processes bringing increasing disorder or decay, necessary to the operation of the cosmos we know but obviously having no part in the new one. And yet, the texts on the new creation indicate that God, the angels, and we humans will all possess the capacity to perform what could technically be defined as 'work.' The possibility of work without the second law of thermodynamics in effect means that a dimensionality or trans-dimensionality totally different from ours must exist there."

The power of the resurrection is implied in the above statement by this author. What this says to me is that everything here on earth that is in some sort of process has a by-product of some sort of chaos or decay. It also says that in the new creation this no longer is true. Therefore, the power of the resurrection has taken all the "junk" and turned it into "jewels." This new resurrected "thing," whether it is a human being or a circumstance in your life, will have a quality that is eternal and even difficult to define.

(Ross, Hugh. Beyond the Cosmos- pp220- (Navpress - Colorado Springs, CO, 1999)

The Kingdom of God works on resurrection.

"And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables" (Mark 4:11). Notice in this verse Jesus was referring to the parable of the sower sowing the seed, which is the Word of God. Seeds always die before they bring forth fruit. The foundation of the Kingdom of God is based upon resurrection from the dead. The Kingdom's foundation as described in the Book of Revelation is made up of jewels. Jewels depict resurrection because they come from the death of "junk." Jewels are created from ordinary material this is buried deep in the earth, subjected to great heat over a long period of time, and then mined with great effort. Acts 14:22 says, "Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'"

The Old Testament saints are looking to the Church to apply the resurrection to the work they had started.

Hebrews chapters 11-12 gives some insight into this subject. Hebrews 11:1-12 and 17-38 tells about the Old Testament saints who fought the good fight of faith, yet did not receive the full promise.

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises" (Hebrews 11:13a). They were looking forward to the ultimate, the Kingdom of God. What they did not understand at that time is that the Kingdom of God is based upon resurrection, and that had not happened yet. Remember, Abraham in a figurative sense received Isaac back from the dead; that being a foreshadow of the resurrection.

Then Hebrews chapter 11 goes on to tell of the suffering of so many of the Old Testament saints like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, and more.

"And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us" (Hebrews 11:39,40).

In some way we contribute to their unfinished Kingdom work.

We do that by applying the power of resurrection to our "junk" and by overcoming by the power of the blood of Jesus, loving not our lives to the death, and by the word of our testimony. I believe that you and I somehow complete the Kingdom work of the Old Testament saints as we go through our overcoming. We have the privilege of living on this side of Jesus' resurrection, and we can apply that power for Kingdom building.

"and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:9-11).

We can experience portions of the resurrected power and His Kingdom now on earth!

We were instructed to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." The Apostle Paul grasped this truth. Paul expressed this time and time again. I would just like to use two Scripture passages to demonstrate how he felt. When the messenger of Satan afflicted him, it probably had to do with his list in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. That list included, being flogged with 39 nine lashings five times, shipwrecked and spending the night in the sea, being robbed, facing perils by the heathen, perils in the city, in the wildernesses, in the sea and among false brethren, being hungry, cold and naked, and then having the cares of the new churches that had many problems and attacks. In addition, history records that these false brethren were legalistic Jews who always attacked Paul's message of grace.

His response to all this was, "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). Notice he said, "I take pleasure." He did not say he just endured them, but rather they were profitable for him. Why did he think this way? Let us take a peek into his mind and some of the things he had learned as shown in Phillipians chapter 3.

First Paul listed his strengths, the things that he had accomplished in life and even the things and privileges he was born into.

"4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Then he stated that these assets and strengths were of really no value when compared to something else. Notice he did not state that they were of no value, but that they had no value when compared to a greater thing.

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss [dung] for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection [the power out flowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers], and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death"

"11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead [that lifts me out from among the dead even while in the body]"

(Philippians 3:4-11 brackets indicate Amplified version).

I will paraphrase what Paul said.

"Look, I know I have been born into privilege even religious privilege, that I have been educated with and by the best. I have performed perfectly in my vocations, I was a real performer, and few people could keep up with me. However, I have noticed something interesting. The fruit that I see in my life and in my ministry is fruit that came from my afflictions. That fruit far surpassed anything all my natural strengths could and did accomplish. I was amazed! His resurrection of my afflictions has produced more fruit that all of my performance! Therefore I long for His resurrection power to work in my life, and I count all other things as "dung. I would rather have Him turn my Junk into Jewels any day!"

Many Christians, mostly modernists, would rather stick to the doctrine of "affliction is something bad." I don't think the Word of God teaches that. I believe that overcoming affliction glorifies God. Don't run from your opportunity to manifest the resurrection!

The story of the man who was sick of the palsy in Mark chapter 2 is a good example. His friends were attempting to take him to Jesus for a healing. They had to tear a hole in the roof and lower him down on his bed in order to get him close to Jesus. "When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you'" (Mark 2:5). Imagine their disappointment. They were looking for a healing, and all Jesus would do is forgive his sins! But wait.

"But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" --He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.' Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We never saw anything like this!'" (Mark 2:10-12).

Did God convert the affliction into something that glorified Him? I don't think God sits around passing out afflictions. I believe He can, and I would not limit Him. However this life has enough to go around. Satan causes afflictions, curses do, and our own sin does. But if we overcome, we have produces jewels!

God does not want polished junk; He is looking for jewels!

Sometimes I am tempted to feel condemned when I compare myself to others. I can always find someone who is more gifted than I am in whatever I am confronted with. Let me tell you right now, it is pure insanity to compare yourself to anyone else! It will cripple you! Instead, embrace your limitations, your infirmities as raw material for the resurrection, for some kind of jewel. Grab hold of Paul's mindset. He would rather have had one jewel for the Kingdom of God, then ten thousand pieces of things from his natural life. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3). Polished junk won't stand before God. It may taste good, look good, but it is still junk. It must go through death and resurrection before it counts for anything eternal!

Nothing is beyond the power of resurrection.

Life after resurrection always looks impossible. That is why sometimes it is difficult to stand on God's Word and appropriate His promises. I cannot remember one time when it was easy to appropriate a promise from God, and turning junk into jewels has always seemed like an impossible task. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). We can cooperate with God in applying the power of resurrection to any circumstance via the overcoming process.

Next time you are facing a circumstance that looks like it is "dead," remember that Jesus is the resurrection. In John chapter 11 Mary and Martha were upset with Jesus because their brother Lazurus died and because Jesus waited four days before He came to help. By that time it looked like it was too late.

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'" (John 11:25,26). Jesus is never too late to raise your dead circumstances.

"Jesus said to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?'" (John 11:40).