Two Resurrections Revealed

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth-- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

(John 5:24-29)

An earlier passage of Scripture referenced the first resurrection. For there to be a first resurrection, there must necessarily be a second resurrection. In the above passage of Scripture, our Lord Jesus speaks of these two resurrections, calling the first the resurrection of life and the second the resurrection of condemnation. In the previous section, we noted that all children in heaven will be among “the rest of the dead” who will live again after our Lord’s millennial reign on earth. Although they will partake in the second resurrection, theirs will clearly be a resurrection of life, not a resurrection of condemnation.

This brings us to the resurrection of condemnation. Jesus stated that those who have done evil will be raised on that day. So, who does heaven classify as having done evil? Jesus answered this question in the preceding verses of Scripture, stating that all who believe in Him will not come into judgment but will have passed from death into life. Thus, it is evident that all unbelievers will partake in the resurrection of condemnation.

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

(Revelation 20:13)

The above passage of Scripture refers to the resurrection of unbelievers, noting that all in Hades will be raised on that day. Currently, all unbelievers who have died are suffering torment in Hades (Luke 16:23). When this passage mentions the dead in the sea, it does not refer to the physical oceans of the earth but rather to the sea of nations on the earth, as Scripture often compares the nations to a sea (Daniel 7:2). Thus, the dead in the sea are all unbelievers (who are spiritually dead) still living on the earth at that time. This passage highlights another truth: just as there will be believers alive on the earth when the first resurrection occurs (1 Thessalonians 4:15), so too will there be unbelievers alive on the earth when the second resurrection takes place.

"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the Lord, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the Lord. "And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

(Isaiah 66:22-24)

In the previous section we discussed the difference between the resurrected bodies of the saints and the children of God. So the question is asked, what will the resurrected bodies of unbelievers be like? In answer to that question, the above passage from Isaiah describes the fate of unbelievers in God’s new heavens and new earth, following the resurrection of condemnation and the Great White Throne judgment. The Lord highlights three characteristics of the resurrected bodies of those cast into the Lake of Fire. First, He describes their bodies as corpses, resembling those in a morgue. Second, their bodies are covered with maggots that consume their flesh, yet are never consumed. Finally, their bodies are engulfed in unquenchable flames. No wonder Scripture declares them an abhorrence to all who see them.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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