Jehovah God follows a certain order with regard to the resurrection of the dead. This is called to our attention by the apostle Paul ... As he goes along, he says: "Just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive. But each one in his own RANK: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS, afterward those who belong to the Christ during his presence [Greek: parousia]." (1 Cor. 15:22, 23) God alone was responsible for Jesus' resurrection.
Jesus Christ was resurrected on ... the day when the Jewish high priest OFFERED UP THE FIRSTFRUITS of the barley harvest. This fits in accurately with Jesus' being the "FIRSTFRUITS" in the resurrection of the human dead. (1 Cor. 15:20)
This put Jesus Christ in the first "RANK." ...
SINCE Jesus Christ RANKS first, Paul called him "the FIRSTBORN from the dead, that he might become the one who is FIRST IN ALL THINGS."—Col. 1:18. ...
Jehovah God will observe ORDER and “RANK” with regard to the resurrection of those who are dying “in Adam”. (The Watchtower, June 15, 1979, pages 22-23)