Answer
The Bible is clear that resurrection is a reality and that this life is not all that there is. While death is the end of physical life, it is not the end of human existence. Many believe in one general resurrection at the end of the age, but the Bible teaches that there will be not one resurrection but a series of resurrections, some to eternal life in heaven and some to eternal damnation (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28–29).
The first great resurrection was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is documented in each of the four Gospels (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20), cited several times in Acts (Acts 1:22; 2:31; 4:2, 33; 26:23), and mentioned repeatedly in the letters to the churches (Romans 1:4; Philippians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:3). Much is made of the importance of Christ’s resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12–34, which records that over five hundred people saw Him at one of His post-resurrection appearances. Christ’s resurrection is the “first fruits” or guarantee to every Christian that he will also be resurrected. Christ’s resurrection is also the basis of the Christian’s certainty that all people who have died will one day be raised to face fair and even-handed judgment by Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30–31). The resurrection to eternal life is described as “the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5–6); the resurrection to judgment and torment will be followed by “the second death” (Revelation 20:6, 13–15).
The first great resurrection of the church will occur at the time of the rapture. All those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ during the church age and have died before Jesus returns will be resurrected at the rapture. The church age began on the day of Pentecost and will end when Christ returns to take believers back to heaven with Him (John 14:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). The apostle Paul explained that not all Christians will die, but all will be changed, i.e., given resurrection-type bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50–58), some without having to die. Christians who are alive and those who have already died will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and be with Him always.
Another great resurrection will occur when Christ returns to earth (His second coming) at the end of the tribulation period. After the rapture, which closes the church age, the tribulation is the next event in God’s chronology. This will be a time of terrible judgment upon the world, described in detail in Revelation chapters 6—18. Though all church age believers will be gone, millions of people left behind on earth will come to their senses during this time and will trust in Jesus as their Savior. Tragically, most of them will pay for their faith in Jesus by losing their lives (Revelation 6:9–11; 7:9–17; 13:7, 15–17; 17:6; 19:1–2). These believers in Jesus who die during the tribulation will be resurrected at Christ’s return to reign with Him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4, 6). Old Testament believers such as Job, Noah, Abraham, David, and even John the Baptist (who was assassinated before the church began) will be resurrected at this time also. Several passages in the Old Testament mention this event (Job 19:25–27; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:1–2; Hosea 13:14). Ezekiel 37:1–14 describes the regathering of the nation of Israel using the symbolism of dead corpses coming back to life. But, given the language used, a physical resurrection of dead Israelites cannot be excluded from the passage. Again, all believers in God (in the Old Testament era) and all believers in Jesus (in the New Testament era) participate in the first resurrection, a resurrection to life (Revelation 20:4, 6).
There may be another resurrection of the just at the end of the millennium; it is implied in Scripture, never explicitly taught. It is possible that some believers will die a physical death during the millennium. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said, “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed” (Isaiah 65:20). On the other hand, it is also possible that death in the millennium will only come to the disobedient. In either case, some kind of transformation will be required to fit believers’ bodies in the millennium for a pristine existence.
One day, after the final judgment, God will destroy the entire universe, including the earth, with fire (2 Peter 3:7–12). This will be necessary to purge God’s creation of its endemic evil and decay brought upon it by man’s sin. In its place God will create new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1–4). But what will happen to those believers who survived the tribulation and entered the millennium in their natural bodies? And what will happen to those who were born during the millennium, trusted in Jesus, and continued to live in their natural bodies? Paul taught that flesh and blood, which is mortal and subject to decay, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. That eternal kingdom is inhabitable only by those with resurrected, glorified bodies that are immune to decay (1 Corinthians 15:35–49). Presumably, these believers will be given resurrection bodies without having to die. Precisely when this happens is not explained, but, logically, it must happen somewhere in the transition from the old earth to the new earth.
There is a final resurrection, apparently of all the unbelieving dead of all ages. Jesus Christ will raise them from the dead (John 5:25–29) after the millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:5). This is the resurrection described by Daniel as an awakening from “the dust of the earth . . . to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). It is described by Jesus as a resurrection of judgment (John 5:28–29).
The apostle John saw a “great white throne” set up to judge the wicked (Revelation 20:11). Heaven and earth fled away from the One sitting on it, seeking a place to hide from His wrath. All the (godless) dead will stand before the throne. They, too, will possess resurrection-type bodies that can feel pain but will never cease to exist (Mark 9:43–48). They will be judged, and their punishment will be commensurate with their works. But there is another book opened—the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 21:27). Those whose names are not written in the book of life are cast into the “lake of fire,” which amounts to “the second death” (Revelation 20:11–15). No indication is given that any names of those who appear at this judgment are found in the book of life. Rather, the book of life contains the names of the blessed—those who received forgiveness and partook of the first resurrection, the resurrection to life (Revelation 20:6).
