The Order of Resurrection and the Kingdom

At the presence of the savior, he spoke regarding the decision and the necessity, since not all died like Enoch and Elijah; some will be found even living at the presence. Regarding Adam, he says 'in Adam' instead of 'through Adam', just as in Christ he says 'through Christ'. In Adam we die, clearly according to the body, and in Christ we shall be made alive, clearly according to the body; for if souls lived before Christ, and after Christ these alone live again, what is the excess of the economy?

Regarding the rank, he says righteous and unrighteous; he does not say the ones of Christ privately—he does not say the faithful here—but all, because all are of Christ. At his presence there will be the resurrection of all, when also the end occurs, the being baptized by both death and the devil; for this is the end of the world. Regarding the kingdom, he says not his own, but that which the evil one seized, having cast down Adam and those from him. But this he hands over to the Father; he will not be a stranger to it, for the Son co-reigns with the Father.

To rule is not an indication of a deadline but of an appointment, as if someone says: I must live uprightly until I achieve righteousness. He does not say that having achieved it I shall no longer live in righteousness, but that righteousness must be achieved through upright zeal. In the prophets also, 'until' is not necessarily a deadline but a limit, as in the Old Testament where he says: I am, I am until you grow old. He does not say that old age is the limit of his being, but that even if you grow old, I am—not a relative of yours but always being. Thus also now the 'until' signifies the end. What he says is this: his kingdom will not be interrupted in the middle, nor will the believers be taken away until what he set forth is achieved, and having achieved it, he will reign continuously.

If the bodies, he says, remain dead and do not rise, why are we baptized for these dead as if rising and being judged, receiving forgiveness of sins so as not to be judged? As much as I fought with beasts upon a man, God saved me. The Greeks argue that a seed divided no longer grows. Therefore also a man, having his foot cut off or his body entirely amputated, is no longer raised. They are ignorant that it was not nature producing nature that was set forth, but the power of the one who made it; that is, who gave the seed its growing nature and its generative power? Is it not God? Who is the one making the seed die first, and then rise? Is it not God?