3. 34-35
What Is Meant by Resurrection?
The concept of resurrection as spoken of in the Scriptures comes in two forms: in words which mean:
1) “to resurrect,” i.e., the Greek words anastasis and egeiro with anastasis meaning literally “to make to stand up” and egeiro as meaning “to awaken or raise up.” When in combination with the phrase “from the dead,” these words are translated as resurrect/resurrection/resurrected so that a literally physically decaying and brain-dead person is brought back to life. (Please see Luke 20:35; Acts 24:21; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 21, 42).
2) to come back to life in such phrases as “the dead will live.” This may refer to living persons who come to life spiritually or to a literal coming to life in a tangible ‘natural’ mortal body as with Lazarus and others in the Bible record or with a tangible immortal body. We will examine all of these aspects of resurrection shortly.
Although there is no consciousness for any person who dies, yet the one thing that survives them is their complete identity including their being personally and completely remembered in every detail by God in His limitless memory. This is why Job prefaces his rhetorical question to God of: “If a man dies can he live again?” with “that you would set a time limit for me and remember me!” (Job 14:13-14). All of this is true for every person who has ever lived and died. Indeed, a good picture of how the resurrection will happen is given in Ezekiel 37:1-14 concerning the lifeless dry bones that are connected together and then given sinews and covered in flesh and finally with breath entering into them. Although this passage in Ezekiel 37 is allegorical of the reinstatement of the nation of Israel, it is based on the reality of literal resurrection as shown when God completes this picture saying: “I will open your graves and cause you to come out of your graves…and you will come to life” (verses 12, 14 NASB).
There are no passages or texts in the Scriptures which speak of a resurrection to heaven or to intangible spirit life. Even Jesus, as, “the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18), was resurrected on earth and not to heaven. Of course, after 40 days he did ascend to God’s right hand in heaven, so that he could function as High Priest. However, as we have seen he never promised his followers a resurrection to heaven. As with many other literal terms Jesus also used the concept in a metaphorical way before speaking of the literal resurrection.
Rather than any thought of an intangible spirit body, Jesus used the fact of a literal physical resurrection as a metaphor for people who are alive and who need to be revived spiritually when he said:
“a time is coming—and is now—when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, will live” (John 5:25).
Following on from the statement that any person who believes “has passed from death to life” (John 5:24 NAB), Jesus went on to show that some once spiritually dead but literally living persons who have had a change of heart, will live in the age to come because they hear Jesus’ voice. So spiritual resurrections were occurring throughout Jesus’ life on earth and continue to occur.
The Promise of a Literal Physical Resurrection
The Hebrew Scriptures first introduce the concept of physical resurrection when Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God (Gen. 22:1-3 and Heb. 11:17-19). As already noted, Job asked, “If someone dies, will they live again? The answer is:
All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. 15 You will call and I will answer you” (Job 14:14-15 NIV).
Later Isaiah, and Daniel spoke of the physical resurrection in the following texts:
“But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy—your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead” (Isa. 26:19 NIV).
“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2 NIV).
Notice that Isaiah and Daniel use the term “sleep” as a metaphor for the condition of the dead from which they will one day “wake up.” Indeed, the Psalmist David uses the same term when he asks that he, “may not fall asleep in death.” (Ps. 13:3). Later, Paul wrote that, “...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless ... those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:17-18 NASB).
Both the first and second resurrections are literal and physical. We note that when there are two of something shown to be ‘first’ and ‘second’ they are of the same character e.g., “the first man was of the earth and made of dust, the second man is of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47 Mounce) and so showing that Jesus was a man just like Adam i.e., both are of the same nature. So, too, with the second death as real death just as is the first death; they, too, are of the same nature. In this regard Dean Alford who wrote:
As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment of it will extort what is known as the spiritual interpretation now in fashion. If, in a passage where two resurrections are mentioned, where certain psuchai ezesan [souls came to life] at the first, and the rest of the nekroi ezesan [dead came to life] only at the end of a specified period after the first, …If in such a passage the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritual rising with Christ, while the second means literal rising from the grave; then there is an end of all significance in language, and Scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to anything. If the first resurrection is spiritual, then so is the second, which I suppose none will be hardy enough to maintain: but if the second is literal, then so is the first…
So, if one resurrection is literal then so is the other. Furthermore, Revelation 20:4, 5 speaks of those who will have experienced the first resurrection already and are shown in verse 1 as sitting on thrones because: “…they came to life, and reigned with the Christ for a thousand years (the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4c-5 NIV). Indeed, if the phrase “came to life” for those in this first resurrection means that they were literally physically resurrected then the same is true for those classified as “the rest of the dead.”
So, for both “the righteous and the unrighteous” the phrases “came to life” or “come to life” clearly refer to literal tangible resurrection of the whole person. In Matthew 9:18 the same phrase is used by the synagogue ruler with reference to his daughter’s resurrection when he said to Jesus: “Come and lay your hand upon her, and she will come to life.” This phrase is also used in Romans 14:9 which states that, “the Messiah died and came back to life.” These are all clear references to resurrection.
Christians are those “…who seek glory, honor and immortality” (Rom. 2:7 NAB) and are, “…longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation” (2 Cor. 5:2). This means that God is the provider of the spiritual body which Christians will receive at the beginning of the Millennium.
In his detailed description of the first resurrection Paul informs us that our body, “is raised incorruptible. 43 It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one … For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality” (1 Cor. 15:42-44, 53 NAB). This is our own body that is transformed to be an incorruptible, immortal, but tangible human body in just the same way as for Jesus (Luke 24:36-43) because Jesus: “will transform our humble body to be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
Unfortunately, the REB, the NRSV, and Barclay’s NT render the Greek phrase soma psychikos in 1 Corinthians 15:44 as “physical body.” However, soma psychikos means “the natural body” or “soulical body” even though it certain will be physical. So, most other translations render the word psychikos as “natural” so that the real contrast is between a natural body and a supernatural body according to Paul’s descriptions of it, and not between what is tangible and what is intangible. In fact, N.T. Wright contrasts the two bodies with the terms “the spirit-animated body” and the “nature-animated one” which is “the embodiment of ordinary nature.” So, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, is contrasting the mortal, natural body that is weak and perishable with the immortal, spiritual body that is powerful and imperishable i.e., supernatural. So, this passage is not about tangibility or physicality. The Bible’s use of the word spiritual is not always associated with things that are intangible as is shown in 1 Corinthians 2:15 where Paul says: “The spiritual person, however, can judge everything.” Yet the spiritual person is obviously a tangible physical person, but guided by holy spirit, and so indicating that the spiritual body is also physical and tangible, but directed, ruled and dominated by holy spirit. Also note Paul’s comment that Christians on earth: “…are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom. 8:9 NAB). This shows that being “not in flesh,” in this present life, doesn’t mean that one is not a tangible person.
WHAT ABOUT 1 CORINTHIANS 15:50?
Here Paul tells us that: “…flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50 NAB). So, does this mean that inheritors of the kingdom cannot be physical? No! This is because here Paul uses the phrase “flesh and blood” metaphorically so that it represents the natural mortal body given as the parallel to “corruption.” So, this is not actually a reference to the body’s physicality as if to contrast it with the spiritual body, but refers to the absence of natural limitations and sinful inclinations. So, the NJB expresses the fact that: “…mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable” i.e., the Kingdom. So, the flesh and blood body of weak mortal human nature is perishable and therefore decays. What is required to inherit the Kingdom is a body that is not perishable/corruptible. So, verse 53 describes how: “…that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.”
This highlights the “change” from a decaying mortal body to the same body as having become imperishable (verses 52, 53), so that it is immortal, powerful, and glorious. There is no indication here of an exchange so as to become a spirit in the pagan Greek sense of intangibility. Furthermore, the promise of immortality spoken of by Paul means exactly the same as the “everlasting life” which Jesus offered his earliest disciples and those future from his time.
There are no translation issues in Revelation 20:4-5 and all pre-millennial commentators view this as a reference to a future literal 1,000 years between Jesus’ return and the judgment scene at the Great white throne. So, it concerns two phases of the resurrection—one phase for “the just/the righteous” at the beginning of the 1,000 years and a second phase for “the unjust/the unrighteous” after the 1,000 years are completed. This is evident from the biblical statements by Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and in the Book of Revelation. So, we start with Daniel.
ALL OF THE DEAD WILL BE RESURRECTED
Indeed, although the concept of resurrection was spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures at a time earlier than the time of Daniel, he was the first to record important details of the resurrection events. He prophesied that: “many [multitudes] of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, [1] these to everlasting life, [2] but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2 NASB). In terms of the translation of this passage the understanding given by Jewish commentators Saadia Haggaon (10th century) and Aben Ezra (12th century) on this passage was advocated by Bible translator S.P. Tregelles. This resulted in his rendering of verse 2 as:
“And many from among the sleepers of the dust of the earth shall awake; these shall be unto everlasting life; but those, the rest of the sleepers, those who do not awake at this time, shall be unto shame and everlasting contempt.”
Here the main focus is on the first phase of the resurrection but still noting the second. Nevertheless, this passage shows that there will be two classifications of people who will be resurrected. However, the use of the word “many” does not limit this number. This is because in Hebrew the word for “many” is a Semitic idiomatic way of speaking as meaning “numerous” or “multitudes” in the sense of how large the number is, but is not indicating a limit to the number. Indeed, theologian Jeremias says, “The expression is ‘not exclusive’ (“many but not all”) but in Semitic manner of speech, inclusive (“the totality, consisting of many”).” This is illustrated from the Bible whereby several Scriptures show that Jesus’ sacrifice was for the whole world (John 1:29; 3:16; 6:51) even though the word “many” is used in Matthew 26:28. In fact, the universality of the complete resurrection is further indicated by the phrase “the rest of the sleepers” sleeping in the ground i.e., all the remaining dead.
After speaking of the raising to spiritual life of the spiritually dead in his time Jesus confirms Daniel’s statement that there will be two phases of the literal resurrection and showing that everyone will have been resurrected in either one of those two phases when he said:
“Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement” (John 5:28, 29 ESV).
There is no contextual reason to imagine that the word “all” is not in the absolute sense. It means all who are in their graves, indicating all who have ever lived and died. Here, as in many of his parables, Jesus separates all people into only two groups; ““those who have done good” and “those who have done evil.” There is no third group who have been left out of the resurrection. People will be resurrected in either the first or the second phase of the resurrection. Later the Apostle Paul spoke of these two phases of resurrection saying:
“I have a hope in God, which these men themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the unrighteous” (Acts 24:15 CSB).
Again, this shows the all-encompassing nature of the resurrection by noting that there is no third class who are excluded from the resurrection. All people are either “righteous (just)” or “unrighteous (unjust).” So, Paul is restating what Daniel and Jesus have already said. This pattern is confirmed in the Book of Revelation, but with the additional important factor that the interval between the two phases of the resurrection will be 1,000 years.
Paul speaks of this judgment showing that, “[God] has set a Day when He will judge the inhabited world, and do it justly, by means of a man whom He has designated” (Acts 17:31 CJB). Also, note Romans 3:6b. So, because the entire world is to be judged, this shows that everyone of both “the righteous” and “the unrighteous” dead will have to be resurrected. Indeed, in the vision of Rev. 20:4, 5 the Apostle John saw:
“the souls [lives] of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.”
The phrase “the rest of the dead” as separated from those of “the first resurrection” clearly refers to everyone else who has ever lived and died and is the same as Daniel’s “the rest of the sleepers.” Furthermore, in Revelation 20:12 John says: “I saw the dead—the great and the small” i.e., everyone who had been dead but are now standing before the throne. Then in verse 13 John informs us that, “the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them”—all of these statements again emphasising the all-encompassing universalism of the resurrection.
After speaking of the completion of the 1,000 years of the transition toward the final world conditions under God’s Kingdom, the terminating of the final rebellion, and the destruction of Satan, “the rest of the dead” (verse 5) must stand before the judgement seat. So, John saw:
“a great white throne and the one who was seated on it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds. 14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:11-15 LEB).
So, this judgment after the 1,000 years transitional period is completed concerns, “those who have done evil” (John 5:29) which is reiterated by Paul as being, “the unrighteous (the unjust) (Acts 24:15)” who are, “the rest of the dead” (Rev. 20:5) i.e., all those not resurrected at the time of the first resurrection at Christ’s return, and therefore, a resurrection of even the most unrighteous/unjust people who have ever lived and had done evil along with those who have never known the true gospel and so have not lived lives in harmony with God’s desire for human living.
NOTE: The Scriptures never teach that there will be universal salvation – commonly called Universalism (Please see my book, How God Works in Human Affairs).
What Is Meant by Resurrection?
The concept of resurrection as spoken of in the Scriptures comes in two forms: in words which mean:
1) “to resurrect,” i.e., the Greek words anastasis and egeiro with anastasis meaning literally “to make to stand up” and egeiro as meaning “to awaken or raise up.” When in combination with the phrase “from the dead,” these words are translated as resurrect/resurrection/resurrected so that a literally physically decaying and brain-dead person is brought back to life. (Please see Luke 20:35; Acts 24:21; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 21, 42).
2) to come back to life in such phrases as “the dead will live.” This may refer to living persons who come to life spiritually or to a literal coming to life in a tangible ‘natural’ mortal body as with Lazarus and others in the Bible record or with a tangible immortal body. We will examine all of these aspects of resurrection shortly.
The Dead Are in God’s Memory
Although there is no consciousness for any person who dies, yet the one thing that survives them is their complete identity including their being personally and completely remembered in every detail by God in His limitless memory. This is why Job prefaces his rhetorical question to God of: “If a man dies can he live again?” with “that you would set a time limit for me and remember me!” (Job 14:13-14). All of this is true for every person who has ever lived and died. Indeed, a good picture of how the resurrection will happen is given in Ezekiel 37:1-14 concerning the lifeless dry bones that are connected together and then given sinews and covered in flesh and finally with breath entering into them. Although this passage in Ezekiel 37 is allegorical of the reinstatement of the nation of Israel, it is based on the reality of literal resurrection as shown when God completes this picture saying: “I will open your graves and cause you to come out of your graves…and you will come to life” (verses 12, 14 NASB).
There Is Never Any Resurrection to Heaven
There are no passages or texts in the Scriptures which speak of a resurrection to heaven or to intangible spirit life. Even Jesus, as, “the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18), was resurrected on earth and not to heaven. Of course, after 40 days he did ascend to God’s right hand in heaven, so that he could function as High Priest. However, as we have seen he never promised his followers a resurrection to heaven. As with many other literal terms Jesus also used the concept in a metaphorical way before speaking of the literal resurrection.
The Contrasting Spiritual Resurrection
of Living Persons
of Living Persons
Rather than any thought of an intangible spirit body, Jesus used the fact of a literal physical resurrection as a metaphor for people who are alive and who need to be revived spiritually when he said:
“a time is coming—and is now—when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, will live” (John 5:25).
Following on from the statement that any person who believes “has passed from death to life” (John 5:24 NAB), Jesus went on to show that some once spiritually dead but literally living persons who have had a change of heart, will live in the age to come because they hear Jesus’ voice. So spiritual resurrections were occurring throughout Jesus’ life on earth and continue to occur.
The Promise of a Literal Physical Resurrection
The Hebrew Scriptures first introduce the concept of physical resurrection when Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God (Gen. 22:1-3 and Heb. 11:17-19). As already noted, Job asked, “If someone dies, will they live again? The answer is:
All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. 15 You will call and I will answer you” (Job 14:14-15 NIV).
Later Isaiah, and Daniel spoke of the physical resurrection in the following texts:
“But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy—your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead” (Isa. 26:19 NIV).
“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2 NIV).
Notice that Isaiah and Daniel use the term “sleep” as a metaphor for the condition of the dead from which they will one day “wake up.” Indeed, the Psalmist David uses the same term when he asks that he, “may not fall asleep in death.” (Ps. 13:3). Later, Paul wrote that, “...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless ... those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:17-18 NASB).
Literal Resurrection Is Always Physical - Tangible
Both the first and second resurrections are literal and physical. We note that when there are two of something shown to be ‘first’ and ‘second’ they are of the same character e.g., “the first man was of the earth and made of dust, the second man is of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47 Mounce) and so showing that Jesus was a man just like Adam i.e., both are of the same nature. So, too, with the second death as real death just as is the first death; they, too, are of the same nature. In this regard Dean Alford who wrote:
As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment of it will extort what is known as the spiritual interpretation now in fashion. If, in a passage where two resurrections are mentioned, where certain psuchai ezesan [souls came to life] at the first, and the rest of the nekroi ezesan [dead came to life] only at the end of a specified period after the first, …If in such a passage the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritual rising with Christ, while the second means literal rising from the grave; then there is an end of all significance in language, and Scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to anything. If the first resurrection is spiritual, then so is the second, which I suppose none will be hardy enough to maintain: but if the second is literal, then so is the first…
So, if one resurrection is literal then so is the other. Furthermore, Revelation 20:4, 5 speaks of those who will have experienced the first resurrection already and are shown in verse 1 as sitting on thrones because: “…they came to life, and reigned with the Christ for a thousand years (the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4c-5 NIV). Indeed, if the phrase “came to life” for those in this first resurrection means that they were literally physically resurrected then the same is true for those classified as “the rest of the dead.”
So, for both “the righteous and the unrighteous” the phrases “came to life” or “come to life” clearly refer to literal tangible resurrection of the whole person. In Matthew 9:18 the same phrase is used by the synagogue ruler with reference to his daughter’s resurrection when he said to Jesus: “Come and lay your hand upon her, and she will come to life.” This phrase is also used in Romans 14:9 which states that, “the Messiah died and came back to life.” These are all clear references to resurrection.
The Future Resurrection Body for
All True Christians
All True Christians
Christians are those “…who seek glory, honor and immortality” (Rom. 2:7 NAB) and are, “…longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation” (2 Cor. 5:2). This means that God is the provider of the spiritual body which Christians will receive at the beginning of the Millennium.
In his detailed description of the first resurrection Paul informs us that our body, “is raised incorruptible. 43 It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one … For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality” (1 Cor. 15:42-44, 53 NAB). This is our own body that is transformed to be an incorruptible, immortal, but tangible human body in just the same way as for Jesus (Luke 24:36-43) because Jesus: “will transform our humble body to be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
Unfortunately, the REB, the NRSV, and Barclay’s NT render the Greek phrase soma psychikos in 1 Corinthians 15:44 as “physical body.” However, soma psychikos means “the natural body” or “soulical body” even though it certain will be physical. So, most other translations render the word psychikos as “natural” so that the real contrast is between a natural body and a supernatural body according to Paul’s descriptions of it, and not between what is tangible and what is intangible. In fact, N.T. Wright contrasts the two bodies with the terms “the spirit-animated body” and the “nature-animated one” which is “the embodiment of ordinary nature.” So, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, is contrasting the mortal, natural body that is weak and perishable with the immortal, spiritual body that is powerful and imperishable i.e., supernatural. So, this passage is not about tangibility or physicality. The Bible’s use of the word spiritual is not always associated with things that are intangible as is shown in 1 Corinthians 2:15 where Paul says: “The spiritual person, however, can judge everything.” Yet the spiritual person is obviously a tangible physical person, but guided by holy spirit, and so indicating that the spiritual body is also physical and tangible, but directed, ruled and dominated by holy spirit. Also note Paul’s comment that Christians on earth: “…are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom. 8:9 NAB). This shows that being “not in flesh,” in this present life, doesn’t mean that one is not a tangible person.
WHAT ABOUT 1 CORINTHIANS 15:50?
Here Paul tells us that: “…flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50 NAB). So, does this mean that inheritors of the kingdom cannot be physical? No! This is because here Paul uses the phrase “flesh and blood” metaphorically so that it represents the natural mortal body given as the parallel to “corruption.” So, this is not actually a reference to the body’s physicality as if to contrast it with the spiritual body, but refers to the absence of natural limitations and sinful inclinations. So, the NJB expresses the fact that: “…mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable” i.e., the Kingdom. So, the flesh and blood body of weak mortal human nature is perishable and therefore decays. What is required to inherit the Kingdom is a body that is not perishable/corruptible. So, verse 53 describes how: “…that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.”
This highlights the “change” from a decaying mortal body to the same body as having become imperishable (verses 52, 53), so that it is immortal, powerful, and glorious. There is no indication here of an exchange so as to become a spirit in the pagan Greek sense of intangibility. Furthermore, the promise of immortality spoken of by Paul means exactly the same as the “everlasting life” which Jesus offered his earliest disciples and those future from his time.
§
All of the Dead Are Resurrected
in One of Two Phases
Two Phases of Resurrection Demonstrated by
Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and in the Revelation
All of the Dead Are Resurrected
in One of Two Phases
Two Phases of Resurrection Demonstrated by
Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and in the Revelation
There are no translation issues in Revelation 20:4-5 and all pre-millennial commentators view this as a reference to a future literal 1,000 years between Jesus’ return and the judgment scene at the Great white throne. So, it concerns two phases of the resurrection—one phase for “the just/the righteous” at the beginning of the 1,000 years and a second phase for “the unjust/the unrighteous” after the 1,000 years are completed. This is evident from the biblical statements by Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and in the Book of Revelation. So, we start with Daniel.
ALL OF THE DEAD WILL BE RESURRECTED
Indeed, although the concept of resurrection was spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures at a time earlier than the time of Daniel, he was the first to record important details of the resurrection events. He prophesied that: “many [multitudes] of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, [1] these to everlasting life, [2] but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2 NASB). In terms of the translation of this passage the understanding given by Jewish commentators Saadia Haggaon (10th century) and Aben Ezra (12th century) on this passage was advocated by Bible translator S.P. Tregelles. This resulted in his rendering of verse 2 as:
“And many from among the sleepers of the dust of the earth shall awake; these shall be unto everlasting life; but those, the rest of the sleepers, those who do not awake at this time, shall be unto shame and everlasting contempt.”
Here the main focus is on the first phase of the resurrection but still noting the second. Nevertheless, this passage shows that there will be two classifications of people who will be resurrected. However, the use of the word “many” does not limit this number. This is because in Hebrew the word for “many” is a Semitic idiomatic way of speaking as meaning “numerous” or “multitudes” in the sense of how large the number is, but is not indicating a limit to the number. Indeed, theologian Jeremias says, “The expression is ‘not exclusive’ (“many but not all”) but in Semitic manner of speech, inclusive (“the totality, consisting of many”).” This is illustrated from the Bible whereby several Scriptures show that Jesus’ sacrifice was for the whole world (John 1:29; 3:16; 6:51) even though the word “many” is used in Matthew 26:28. In fact, the universality of the complete resurrection is further indicated by the phrase “the rest of the sleepers” sleeping in the ground i.e., all the remaining dead.
After speaking of the raising to spiritual life of the spiritually dead in his time Jesus confirms Daniel’s statement that there will be two phases of the literal resurrection and showing that everyone will have been resurrected in either one of those two phases when he said:
“Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement” (John 5:28, 29 ESV).
There is no contextual reason to imagine that the word “all” is not in the absolute sense. It means all who are in their graves, indicating all who have ever lived and died. Here, as in many of his parables, Jesus separates all people into only two groups; ““those who have done good” and “those who have done evil.” There is no third group who have been left out of the resurrection. People will be resurrected in either the first or the second phase of the resurrection. Later the Apostle Paul spoke of these two phases of resurrection saying:
“I have a hope in God, which these men themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the unrighteous” (Acts 24:15 CSB).
Again, this shows the all-encompassing nature of the resurrection by noting that there is no third class who are excluded from the resurrection. All people are either “righteous (just)” or “unrighteous (unjust).” So, Paul is restating what Daniel and Jesus have already said. This pattern is confirmed in the Book of Revelation, but with the additional important factor that the interval between the two phases of the resurrection will be 1,000 years.
God’s Judgment of Everyone Through Jesus
Paul speaks of this judgment showing that, “[God] has set a Day when He will judge the inhabited world, and do it justly, by means of a man whom He has designated” (Acts 17:31 CJB). Also, note Romans 3:6b. So, because the entire world is to be judged, this shows that everyone of both “the righteous” and “the unrighteous” dead will have to be resurrected. Indeed, in the vision of Rev. 20:4, 5 the Apostle John saw:
“the souls [lives] of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.”
The phrase “the rest of the dead” as separated from those of “the first resurrection” clearly refers to everyone else who has ever lived and died and is the same as Daniel’s “the rest of the sleepers.” Furthermore, in Revelation 20:12 John says: “I saw the dead—the great and the small” i.e., everyone who had been dead but are now standing before the throne. Then in verse 13 John informs us that, “the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them”—all of these statements again emphasising the all-encompassing universalism of the resurrection.
The Judgment of “The Rest of the Dead”
After speaking of the completion of the 1,000 years of the transition toward the final world conditions under God’s Kingdom, the terminating of the final rebellion, and the destruction of Satan, “the rest of the dead” (verse 5) must stand before the judgement seat. So, John saw:
“a great white throne and the one who was seated on it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds. 14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:11-15 LEB).
So, this judgment after the 1,000 years transitional period is completed concerns, “those who have done evil” (John 5:29) which is reiterated by Paul as being, “the unrighteous (the unjust) (Acts 24:15)” who are, “the rest of the dead” (Rev. 20:5) i.e., all those not resurrected at the time of the first resurrection at Christ’s return, and therefore, a resurrection of even the most unrighteous/unjust people who have ever lived and had done evil along with those who have never known the true gospel and so have not lived lives in harmony with God’s desire for human living.
NOTE: The Scriptures never teach that there will be universal salvation – commonly called Universalism (Please see my book, How God Works in Human Affairs).
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