The Purpose of Resurrection

The Scriptures as a whole find their focus upon Jesus. The hope of all mankind from the beginning to the end rests upon Him and His work and ministry. Thus, it is self evident that the concept of resurrection in both the Old Testament and the new should be defined and understood in terms of Jesus’ resurrection. Whatever one says about resurrection, where one is raised from the dead to immortality, Jesus’ resurrection is the only real pattern we have. All other patterns, while helpful, are limited, because those raised from the dead later died as mortals.

The first and most important pattern is that Jesus was raised bodily from the tomb. The disciples came to the tomb to look for Him, but He had risen. His resurrection was NOT the same thing as His ascension, or going to heaven. It was a physical, literal event, “as He said” (Matt. 28:6). In other words, when Jesus talked of the resurrection prior to that time, He meant to convey the literal meaning of the term, not a “spiritual” event in the sense that some take it.

The only real question is “with what body do they come?” (1 Cor. 15:35? Is the resurrected body physical or spiritual? The answer is: BOTH. He had a heavenly Father and an earthly mother, and the resurrected body was the culmination of that relationship. He could enter the spiritual dimension (“heaven”) or the physical, earthly dimension at will. His Father had given Him all authority in BOTH realms, even as He said in Matt. 28:18 (NASB),

As a result, He could take a physical form where the disciples could touch Him and see the wounds of His crucifixion (John 20:27). He could also eat food with the disciples (John 21:13; Luke 24:43). Then He could vanish (Luke 24:31) just as suddenly by taking spirit form. The question of whether Jesus was merely a spirit or if He had physical characteristics is faced and answered squarely in Luke 24:36-43.

³⁶ And while they [disciples] were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst. ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. ³⁸ And He said to them, Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me, and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. ⁴⁰ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹ And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, Have you anything here to eat? ⁴² And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; ⁴³ and He took it and ate it before them.

Jesus went out of His way to prove to them that He was not a spirit and that he had “flesh and bones.” He showed the disciples His physical scars, which no spirit would have. Then He asked for something to eat. A spirit cannot eat physical food.

Most commentators point out the fact that Jesus said nothing about having blood. He only spoke of “flesh and bones.” While this is certainly true, the greater truth that He was raised with a physical body is often overlooked. And yet this is Luke’s prime focus in the passage above, because it was the main truth that Jesus was revealing to the disciples at that moment.

This is not to say that Jesus was limited by His flesh to the physical world. The marvel of the moment was that Jesus, though physical, could move just as freely in the spiritual dimension as well. He was not confined to the spirit world, nor was He limited to the physical world. He had free access to both, because, as we have already pointed out, He had all authority in both heaven and earth, the spiritual and the physical realms.

²⁴ God is Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

The Father, in other words, has generally limited Himself to the realm of the spiritual world. Man is likewise generally limited to the physical world. But Jesus is the Mediator, the Bridge between heaven and earth. More than that, He is our resurrection Pattern, our Example, by which we can know our destiny as well. What He is, we are becoming, for He is our Forerunner.

Jesus is limited by neither the spiritual world nor the physical world. He has all authority in BOTH realms. And so, even though we do not know very much about the nature of the resurrected body, the Bible makes these essentials very clear, because the nature of His resurrected body has become the pattern for our own resurrected body.

The dual authority in both heaven and earth that will be enjoyed when men are resurrected is prophesied in Ezekiel 44 as well. In this chapter we see that after the first resurrection (of the overcomers), there will be two classes of “priests” on the earth: the “idolatrous priests” who minister in the “outer court,” and the “sons of Zadok” who will have the authority to minister to God in the inner court as well as to man in the outer court (the flesh).

We are told in Ezekiel 44:10-14 that the “idolatrous priests” would be limited to the “outer court” in ministering to men.

¹⁰ And the Levites that are gone away far from Me, when Israel went astray, which went astray from Me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge of the house and ministering to the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. ¹² Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up Mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. ¹³ And they shall NOT come near unto Me to do the office of a priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things in the most holy place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. ¹⁴ But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

While Ezekiel seemed to speak of the time of an earthly temple being built, complete with sacrifices, we must understand this in a New Testament sense. God does not plan to revert back to an Old Testament sacrificial system with Levitical priests in a physical temple. Jesus has already made the full and final sacrifice for sin. (Heb. 7:27).

In this “temple,” Ezekiel tells us, the idolatrous Levites will be allowed to minister to the house and to the people in the “outer court.” One might think that idol worshippers would be unbelievers, and that God would not allow them access to this temple at all. However, the fact that God allows them to minister to the people in the outer court of His temple shows that these are believers with heart idolatry. Their priorities are wrong. Perhaps their love of money has caused them to set aside the divine law against fraudulently extracting money from their congregations. Perhaps they love the Church more than they love God and are willing to sacrifice their relationship with God in order to maintain their membership or position in the Church.

There are many ways for a believer to harbor heart idols. They are Christians, but they are not of God’s elect, the Melchizedek Order. The Bible here makes a clear distinction between these two groups.

These idolatrous Levites are allowed to minister to men in the fleshly body—the outer court. In one sense, we are the temple of God. The temple had an outer court (body), a holy place (soul), and a holy of holies (spirit). Ezekiel is telling us that these carnal, leavened Christians will be allowed to do the work of God in that day, but they will be limited to the fleshly body. They will not inherit the first resurrection, nor will they be endowed with the fullness of God’s Spirit at that time. Later, we will show that they will have to await the second, general resurrection at the end of the thousand years (Rev. 20). Only then will they be raised or changed into a glorified, spiritual body of the type that Jesus had at His resurrection.

Ezekiel goes on to tell us of the other priests, the “sons of Zadok” (Melchi-zedek Order) who will be allowed to minister to God in the inner sanctuary (spiritual realm; heaven) as well as to the people in the other court (earthly realm in a physical body). Ezekiel 44 continues,

¹⁵ But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to my table to minister to Me and keep My charge. ¹⁷ And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. ¹⁸ Linen turbans shall be on their heads, and linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer court, into the outer court of the people, they shall PUT OFF their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on OTHER GARMENTS [woolen] that they may not transmit holiness [perfection and immortality] to the people with their [linen] garments.

Ezekiel is telling us that these “sons of Zadok” have authority to move in the inner sanctuary of God (which represents the spiritual realm) as well as the outer court (the earthly realm). In other words, they will move with the same calling and anointing that Jesus had after His resurrection. They will have authority in both the spiritual and the physical worlds.

Thus, when they minister to God in the spiritual realm, they put on their linen “garments;” but when they come into the physical world, they put on their “woolens” (fleshly bodies). In essence, when Jesus suddenly appeared to His disciples in that closed room, He had simply “put on His woolen garments.” Wool comes from animals; linen comes from plants. In His woolen garments, He showed the disciples His hands and feet, and He ate fish and honey in their presence. When He finished ministering to His disciples in the “outer court,” dressed in His “woolens,” He simply changed into His linen garments (spiritual body), stepped into the sanctuary of heaven, and disappeared before their eyes.

At the first resurrection, the overcomers who are raised from the dead will be the Melchizedek Order under Jesus, the High Priest of that Order (Rev. 20:6; Heb. 7:17). They will minister to both God and men in both realms, heaven and earth. In contrast, however, will be those “idolatrous priests” whose heart idolatry disqualified them from the first resurrection. After they have repented, God will allow them to minister to the people on earth, but they will have to do so with the limitations of the flesh during the next thousand years.

As we will see more clearly in our next chapter, those Christians who do not qualify for the first resurrection will attain the second a thousand years later. Meanwhile, during that thousand years, God will use them in a more limited way to begin the work of teaching all nations the Word of God (Is. 2:2, 3).

Some believe that the first resurrection is merely the life that a Christian receives when he is justified by faith. To support this view, they cite Scriptures exhorting us to “die daily” and be raised in newness of life. This view attempts to deny the bodily resurrection of the dead in favor of a more spiritualized view. This was the view of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection altogether (Matt. 22:23; Acts 4:1, 2).

A variation of this view teaches that the first resurrection is spiritual, but the second is physical. This variation does not actually deny the resurrection of the dead, but these do not understand that there are two bodily resurrections that are yet future. I believe that when the full picture is known, as revealed in the rest of this booklet, it will be apparent that neither of the spiritualized views above are accurate. On the individual, personal level we are indeed to “die daily” and be raised with Christ daily. But this is only a type and shadow of resurrection. Our justification by faith is not resurrection itself.

The spiritualizing of resurrection has its roots in the Greek world view; the idea of the bodily resurrection has its roots in the Hebrew world view. I believe that if we go back to the beginning and study the foundations of these views, we can come to the truth of the matter.

Before the earth was created, God ruled a perfect universe by His sovereign power. Because God is a Spirit (John 4:24), there was probably a time when the physical universe did not exist, at least not in its present form as we know it. God was all in all on the spiritual plane, filling all things and manifesting Himself on the spiritual plane. Then He did something new. He decided to create a physical universe, particularly the earth, in order to manifest that power on a physical level. We know it as the “Creation.” He did not create it out of nothing; He created it out of Himself. The universe became His physical expression or manifestation. It was quite literally, “heaven on earth.”

Physical matter was not meant to be something in opposition to spirit. It was meant to manifest spirit on an additional level to what already was in heaven. It was to be governed by the same spiritual laws that governed the spiritual realm, except that the laws were to be applied and adapted according to the limitations of the physical plane. Likewise, in creating man as a moral creature, those same spiritual laws were adapted to man’s plane of existence. All of God’s laws are spiritual (Rom. 7:14), but may be adapted to other dimensions as God sees fit.

Thus, man was created a physical being, but he was ordained to manifest a spiritual reality. Man is really a manifestation of spirit on a physical plane. In other words, matter is spiritual. This is proven by Jesus’ resurrected body, which was physical, yet spiritual. Spiritual flesh is not a contradiction. It is flesh as it was originally intended. Such is the purpose of all created matter and is what shall be when God fills all in all (Eph. 1:23). We too shall manifest the spiritual in our resurrected or changed body when we are “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19).

Matter was not created evil. God created all things and then pronounced it “very good” (Gen. 1:31). This is how God views creation, which establishes the foundation for the plan of God for the earth. Any view that deviates from this foundation, teaching that matter is inherently evil, is teaching from a Greek perspective, not from a Biblical, Hebraic perspective. Unfortunately, once the early Church was scattered by persecution into the Greek-speaking culture and philosophy, it did not take long for the Church to forget the Hebraic view of creation. This affected many Church doctrines and is with us yet today.

The Greek philosophers taught that spirit was good, and matter was evil. They taught that the body was a prison for the “spiritual soul,” and that the only means of escaping the evil of this physical existence was for the flesh to die, so that the spiritual soul might be free. This disparaging view of matter caused some to teach that Christ, the Word (Logos) did NOT really come in the flesh, for how could a good God ever come into contact with evil matter and remain untainted by it?

Consequently, John addressed this view in the first part of his gospel and again in his letters. He says very specifically, “and the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14) and that any man who denied that Jesus Christ was come in the flesh was “not of God” (John 4:3), but of that “antichrist” spirit.

In other words, this view of matter and spirit is a prime issue that lies at the heart of the difference between the Greek and Hebrew religions. One’s view of creation at the beginning will ultimately affect one’s view of the end, the purpose of creation and the goal of history in the plan of God. The earth has a distinct purpose for existence. Though sin has invaded the creation, sin is not an eternally intrinsic part of matter. It is a temporary condition, which the work of Jesus counteracts. The goal of history is to eradicated all sin and death (1 Cor. 15:26) and replace it with God, until finally God is “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28).

The earth is NOT destined to be destroyed or burned up entirely by fire, as some have taught. It is destined to be filled with the glory of God, who manifested Himself by FIRE, as Israel saw in the wilderness (Deut. 4:12). The earth is destined to be purified and cleansed by this same fire of the divine presence. Why? Because God has always had a purpose for creation, and He will not be turned from His purpose until He succeeds. God is NOT a failure, nor has any part of His plan failed.

The purpose of God has always been to manifest Himself in the physical creation, so that He receives glory not only in the spiritual dimension (the heavens) but also in matter. The goal is for God’s Kingdom to come to earth, and for God’s will to be done “in earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). The crescendo of this goal is for God to manifest Himself in man, who was created of the dust of the ground, whose name (Adam) means “earthly.”

Man is a microcosm of the earth itself, a little earth. It is God’s purpose to manifest Himself in man specifically, and in the earth in general. This is why he seeks to pour out His Spirit upon “all flesh” (Joel 2:28). It is the beginning of this manifestation of God in the earth in matter. The ultimate purpose for the resurrection of the dead is to prepare a body that is fit for the fullness of God’s Spirit to indwell.

If we proceed from the viewpoint that all things were created “very good,” and that sin and death have invaded creation, then we have laid a proper foundation of truth and can begin to understand the overall plan of God. The plan is to restore all things, not to destroy all things. The plan is for all things to be placed under the rulership of Jesus Christ, not to retreat and leave most of creation to the devil. The plan is to resurrect the dead into a perfected, restored body (after the pattern of Jesus’ resurrected body), not to leave the physical existence and remain in a purely spiritual body in heaven.

The Greeks taught that the earth was a springboard to heaven; the Hebrews taught that heaven was a springboard to the earth. In other words, the goal is not to escape matter and go to heaven in spirit form; it is rather that God created matter in order to manifest Himself on this level in the physical plane. Heaven is thus coming to earth in what is called the kingdom of heaven, “and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10).

But let us return to our topic, dealing with those who spiritualize or redefine resurrection to mean either becoming a Christian or going to heaven when we die. While there is certainly a spiritual application of the concept of resurrection, we must not redefine it. By faith in Christ, we do inherit Life, but this is not resurrection itself; it is only a spiritual application of the principle of resurrection in our lives today. Paul spoke of baptism in terms of a symbolic death-to-life experience (Rom. 6:4), but this did not stop Paul from also speaking of a future physical resurrection after the manner of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Cor. 15; 2 Tim. 2:18). This should be self evident, so we will not spend any more time on it.

We do not want to engage in debate here of the state of the dead, whether the dead are in heaven, in the ground, or in limbo. We have discussed this issue more fully in our book, The Judgments of the Divine Law. Insofar as the doctrine of the resurrection is concerned, it makes no difference where they are or whether they are conscious or otherwise, so long as we understand that they have not yet reached the state for which they were originally created.

For instance, if they are asleep in the earth as some believe, they must be raised into that new type of spiritual flesh to receive their reward. If, on the other hand, they go to heaven when they die and are “with the Lord” in a spiritual state, as others believe, they still must return to earth in a body of spiritual flesh, for their inheritance is to receive authority in both heaven and in earth.

Either way, we must be careful not to undermine the doctrine of the resurrection by saying that dead believers have now attained their final blessed state. Such a concept makes resurrection a regression, rather than a blessing. It must be clear in our minds that in order for any man to receive the fully blessed state promised from the beginning, one must have the ability to manifest the full presence of God in a glorified, but physical body as well as in a spiritual body.

This need for resurrection is made evident by Hebrews 11:13, 39 and 40, where we are reminded of those who had lived and died in faith in ages past. We read of them:

¹³ All these died in faith, without receiving the promises ... ³⁹And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

The important thing to recognize here is that whether they went to heaven or not at their death, they were not perfected. The real promise, which entails the entire purpose for creation, is that man would display the glory of God by means of spiritual flesh as we have already seen. This cannot be done in a purely spiritual existence in heaven. It requires the same kind of body that Jesus had after His resurrection.

Many teach, of course, that these Old Testament saints remained dead until Jesus took them to heaven with Him, at which time they did receive the promise of perfection. It is outside our scope to discuss whether they went to heaven with Jesus, but if so, we must yet insist that they did NOT receive the promise. There is still more that they must yet attain. In fact, they must wait for us. They CANNOT inherit the promise apart from us. Rev. 22:12 says,

¹² Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according as what he has done.

¹⁰ Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.

No matter what the state of the dead, and no matter if the Old Testament saints were taken to heaven or not when Jesus ascended one thing is clear: they without us cannot be perfected. This perfection must await the day when the full corporate body has had a chance to be born and attain to this resurrection. God is doing a corporate work here, and men are not going to be perfected piecemeal, one at a time, at the moment of death.

On the other hand, we ourselves are not going to receive the promise ahead of those who have lived and died in the past. Paul says in 1 Thess. 4:15,

¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.

In other words, we will not be perfected without them being present. This is the purpose of resurrection. It is to raise the dead to stand along side the living, so that all may receive the promise at the same time.

This is well illustrated in the story of Israel in the wilderness under Moses. Caleb and Joshua wanted to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, but because the others lacked faith, all were held back for 40 years. Even Caleb and Joshua could not receive the promise by themselves. They had to wait for the generation that was to receive the promise. Then they crossed the Jordan together.

In the same way, the Church has been in a “wilderness” for 40 Jubilees since Pentecost. Because this is a greater fulfillment, involving a longer period of time, the Calebs and Joshuas of this age have had to die. Yet the promise is that they will be alive to cross over “Jordan” into the promise. That is why the overcomers must be raised from the dead first. It is because they have the same promise as that given to Caleb and Joshua. They must be raised from the dead in order to receive that promise at the same time as the end-time overcomers.

A more extreme spiritualized view today denies ANY physical resurrection at all, with the possible exception of Jesus’ resurrection. These believe that men simply go to heaven at death, where they receive the full promise of Scripture, attaining the greatest state of bliss that they will ever achieve. This view completely destroys any need for resurrection, and the purpose of mankind, they say, is to shed this material body in favor of the purely spiritual existence. To return to a physical body would be a regression.

A similar view was apparently held by the Sadducees in Jesus’ day. Matt. 22:23 says,

²³ On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Him and questioned Him . . .

This verse is repeated in Mark 12:18 and Luke 12:27. The Sadducees were NOT atheists who believed death ended one’s existence forever. They were a religious party that taught the Greek view of the immortality of the soul and believed that the dead went immediately to heaven. In their eyes, this eliminated any need for resurrection.

Paul found it necessary to deal with this issue in 1 Corinthians 15, where he devoted an entire chapter to this very question. Paul had been a Pharisee before his conversion, and so it is likely he had debated this very question with the Sadducees in his early years. Somehow this Sadducee doctrine had been introduced to the Corinthian church, and Paul felt that this teaching threatened the very foundations of Christianity. First he reminds the people that Jesus had been physically raised from the dead, with eyewitnesses to prove it. Then he says in verse 12,

¹² Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching vain, your faith also is vain… ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Paul makes it clear that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pattern for our own resurrection as well. The only reason we shall be raised from the dead is because Christ was raised as the Pattern Son.

Paul’s argument shows the inherent contradiction of this Sadducee doctrine. If there is no such thing as resurrection, but that man simply goes to heaven when he dies, then Jesus was not raised. But if Jesus was not raised, then we are yet in our sins, because he “was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). So the only way we attain the promise of God is if Jesus was raised from the dead. But if He was, it is the pattern of our own resurrection as well. That is the path of Paul’s logic.

Most Christians today do not hold the Sadducee position which denies the resurrection of the dead. Yet there are teachers today, claiming to be Christians, who do deny this. Like the Sadducees, they do not comprehend the importance of “the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23). Paul calls it “the adoption” and the great “hope” of the Christian (Rom. 8:24)). Without this “hope,” death is the end, and we are of all men most to be pitied.

Of course, as we have said already, most Christians do not hold to such an extreme position. Yet the seeds of that view were laid when men spiritualized the first resurrection. This was accomplished by redefining resurrection in terms of justification by faith. Once spiritualized, it was an easy transition into a total denial of the bodily resurrection of the dead.

The Scriptures do tell us that through faith we move from death into life. However, the actual word “resurrection” (Gr. anastasis) is never used to describe the process by which one becomes a Christian. Every passage clearly speaks of resurrection in a literal sense, where those who have died rise to stand upon the earth.

Job described his belief quite explicitly. He says though the worms will eventually destroy his body, “yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26). Daniel, too, describes the resurrection clearly in terms of physically awaking from the sleep of death in the ground. Daniel 12:2 says (Rotherham’s The Emphasized Bible):

² And many of the sleepers in the dusty ground shall awake--these shall be to age-abiding life, but those to reproach and age-abiding abhorrence.

Jesus essentially quoted Daniel in John 5:28, 29. In so doing, He confirms Daniel’s view. He says,

²⁸ Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, ²⁹ and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Since spirits do not awake from the ground, nor are spirits resurrected from tombs, we cannot spiritualize this resurrection without distorting the obvious meaning of the Word.

The Apostle Paul denounced certain teachers in his day who were teaching that the resurrection had already taken place. 2 Tim. 2:17, 18 says,

¹⁷ And their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ men who have gone astray from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some.

What were these men teaching? How did it differ from the teachings of Paul? The first question we must answer is: To which resurrection is Paul referring?

If Hymenaeus and Philetus had taught that Jesus’ resurrection was already past, Paul would have agreed with them. This is self-evident. So the problem was NOT that Hymenaeus and Philetus were preaching that Jesus already had been raised from the dead. It must be a different problem.

It was also quite well known that the general resurrection of the dead had not already occurred. After all, when that takes place, all the dead, great and small, will stand before God. Since Hymenaeus and Philetus themselves had not yet stood before God, it is unlikely that they would have taught this. If they had done so, they would have looked quite foolish, and Paul probably would not have bothered mentioning it, since almost no one would have believed their doctrine.

Lastly, it is very unlikely that they held to the doctrine of the Sadducees. They apparently did not deny the basic concept of resurrection, saying that men simply went to heaven when they died. From Paul’s description, these two teachers did believe in resurrection, but they taught that a resurrection of believers had already taken place.

The only plausible explanation here is that these two teachers were telling people that the first resurrection had already taken place. If so, then it is almost certain they taught that the limited resurrection mentioned in Matthew 27:50-54 was the first resurrection, and that this had occurred around the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. This passage states:

⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, ⁵² And the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, Truly this was the Son of God!

Matthew is the only one who records this event. There are few details given. And so we are left with many unanswered questions. First, the way it is written, it is hard to say if this occurred at the time of the crucifixion or at the time of the resurrection. Matthew seems to identify the event with Jesus’ death when the veil was rent in two; and yet, he seems to say they arose “after His resurrection.”

Further, Matthew 28:2 tells us that an earthquake occurred at his resurrection. Matthew is the only gospel writer to tell us that an earthquake occurred at His death, and is associated with the tearing of the temple veil.

It is hard to picture dead people being raised at the moment of Jesus’ death. That would seem out of place. One would think they would be raised at his resurrection, if anything.

Another unanswered question is whether these people were raised incorruptible, or if they were simply raised to mortal life in the same manner as Lazarus was raised. Lazarus later died, and his tomb is in southern France today, where he served as a missionary for many years.

It is all quite confusing, but we must not stray too far from our original question. We are discussing the doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus, wondering if perhaps this is the passage they used in teaching that the resurrection is already past. We cannot say for sure, of course, but I see no other possibility.

If this were the case, Paul was contradicting their teaching, telling us that Matthew 27:50-54 did NOT record the first resurrection. In other words, the first resurrection of Rev. 20:4-6 was yet future and had not yet occurred when Paul mentioned Hymenaeus and Philetus.

There are some teachers today who say that the first resurrection occurred in 70 AD at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jehovah’s Witnesses say the resurrection occurred in 1914 A.D. when it looked like the earth was about to go into “the tribulation” of World War I. When World War I ended with no visible sign of Christ’s return, they spiritualized its fulfillment, rather than join the ranks of the mistaken prophets of the past.

The problem is, no one can point to any resurrected saint and say, “See, that man died a hundred years ago and is now alive, immortal, and incorruptible. Let’s elect him as our president so that he can rule and reign on the earth as the Scriptures say!”

If the resurrection is already past, then where are they? Why are they not ruling? Why have they not “bound Satan” (Rev. 20:2)? Why are they not administering true justice and righteousness in the earth by the Law of God? Why do evil men yet flourish?

Once again, the only explanation we get is that they were “raised spiritually” in such a manner that no one perceived it. We are asked to see it with “the eye of faith,” because it all happened in secret, and these saints are all in heaven and have little or no influence in the government on earth.

All these views redefine resurrection in terms of the dead going to heaven in some spiritual state, rather than in the likeness of Jesus’ resurrected body. Whenever men say that the resurrection occurred in the past, yet they cannot point to resurrected saints to support their view, they have redefined resurrection and adopted the pagan Greek view of resurrection. They are saying that when the dead are raised, they go into a spiritual state that is apart from matter. All these views destroy the doctrine of the resurrection.

So if any man comes teaching that the resurrection is already past, whether they say it occurred in Matt. 27, or in 70 AD, or in 1914 AD, it is simply an extension of the doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus. Be careful not to be among those whose faith is overthrown.

With this background on resurrection itself and its purpose in creation, we now move on to show the clear distinctions between the first resurrection and the general resurrection.

John is the only writer of Scripture to use the term “first resurrection.” It is found in Rev. 20:4-6.

⁴. . . And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

The fact that there is a “first” resurrection mandates that there be a second to follow at a later time. John makes the point that the first resurrection occurs a thousand years prior to the general resurrection, which he talks about later in the chapter.

In verse 5 he tells us specifically that “the rest of the dead” would remain dead for a thousand years after the first resurrection. He does not define “the rest of the dead,” but he does make it clear that those who are raised in this first resurrection are believers in Christ. He calls them “blessed and holy,” and he calls them “priests of God and of Christ,” called to reign during the thousand years.

Therefore, we can say with certainty that no unbelievers are raised in this first resurrection. John is silent, however, on another intriguing question: Are ALL Christians raised in the first resurrection, or just a portion of them? For the answer to this question, we will look at other passages shortly.

Meanwhile, let us make the point that John is here talking about “resurrection.” By the Hebraic view, this refers to a bodily resurrection from the dead, NOT one’s justification by faith, or going to heaven, or some other spiritual experience. Remember that John himself was a Hebrew, and his writings pointedly denounce the Greek world view that had crept into the Church through what is called “Gnosticism.” Thus, when John talks about the resurrections, one should not adopt a view contrary to what John believed and taught in his other writings.

In Rev. 20 John continues his thought, telling us of a second resurrection that includes ALL the dead who were not raised in the first resurrection.

¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat upon it ... 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 from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds… ¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was NOT found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is clearly a picture of the great judgment, at which time all sinners will be judged who were not raised in the first resurrection. There are also TWO BOOKS present: the “books” and “the book of life.” All are judged by that which is written in “the books.”

It is a common misconception that these books are the records of every deed done by humanity. Some teach that God keeps a record book on each person in the world. However, this really misses the point. These are the books of the Law, by which all sin is judged. John tells us that “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4), and Paul adds, “where there is no law, neither is there violation” (Rom. 4:15). In other words, the Law of God is what defines sin and righteousness. It is the divine standard by which the works of men are measured. Without a law, there is no crime committed. Thus, the Law is what God uses to judge humanity for sin, or as Paul puts it, “the law brings about wrath” (Rom. 4:15).

So the logical conclusion is that the “books” out of which God judges men are the books of the Law, to which men are held accountable as the divine standard of right and wrong, sin and righteousness. God needs no record book on each person, because in each court case, witnesses will be called to testify (Matt. 12:41, 42). But he does need the books of the Law in order to judge righteously, for “where there is no law, neither is there violation” (Rom. 4:15).

But “the book of life” is also present at this great judgment. If only unbelievers were here to stand before God for judgment, then why would the book of life be there? Furthermore, John’s wording makes it plain that some Christians will indeed stand before God at this judgment. He tells us that only those NOT found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. The clear implication is that many ARE found written therein.

Is it possible, then, that the general resurrection will include both Christians and nonchristians? We cannot be positively sure from Revelation 20 alone, but the passage does clearly imply this. For clear proof we must go to some other passages.

Both Jesus and Paul talked about the general, or second resurrection of the dead. There are two very clear statements about this. The first records the words of Jesus in John 5:28, 29.

²⁸ Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming in which ALL who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, ²⁹ and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Here is a resurrection in which both the good and the evildoers shall be raised to life. Both are said to be raised at the same time, for He says, “an hour is coming.” While the word “hour” does not necessarily refer to a sixty-minute period of time, it does indicate that both the good and the evildoers are raised in the same resurrection.

The primary difference between the two classes is that the good will be raised to “life,” while the others will be raised to “judgment.”

Actually, Jesus probably was loosely quoting Daniel 12:2 which we quoted earlier. The similarity of their statements can hardly be missed.

Whatever we say about these passages, one thing is clear: neither Daniel nor Jesus were referring to the FIRST resurrection, which John said was to include only believers. They could only have been referring to the general resurrection of ALL the dead, small and great, who stand before God. It is thus clear that at the great white throne the believers are found written in the book of life, while the unbelievers, or evildoers, are judged out of the law books.

A double witness of this is found in Paul’s defense before Felix, who was the Procurator of Judea at the time. Acts 24:14, 15 says,

¹⁴ But this I admit to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law, and that is written in the Prophets; ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

Thus, Paul clearly speaks of a single resurrection in which both “the righteous and the wicked” are raised. This cannot be the first resurrection, wherein only those “blessed and holy” shall be raised. Paul must be referring to the general resurrection of ALL the dead, small and great, including both righteous and wicked people—all who did not inherit the first resurrection.

Paul makes it very clear (as does Jesus) that in this general resurrection there will be found both Christians and nonchristians. The Christians will be found written in “the book of life;” the rest will be judged and “cast into the lake of fire.”

And so it is clear that there will be Christians raised in BOTH the first and the second resurrections. Those raised in the first will reign with Christ for a thousand years; the others will miss this, yet will receive life (immortality) at that later time.

Hence, the Scriptures make a distinction between the Overcomers and the Church in general.

Once we understand the distinction between these two resurrections, we have the means to determine which resurrection is being discussed in other passages of Scripture. These passages also add details to our core of knowledge regarding these resurrections. One such passage is found in Luke 12:35-50, where Jesus speaks of the “faithful and wise steward” who will be made “ruler over His household.”

If this wise steward is to be made “ruler,” then we know he is of the first resurrection, for these rule and reign with Christ a thousand years, as we have seen. The wise steward is one who has learned to be a good servant, one who abides by the laws of the household and does the will of his Master.

Having learned to be obedient, he is now qualified to rule. He has learned that ruling does not mean having servants, but being a servant and having the authority to serve others. This is made plain in Mark 10:42-45,

⁴² And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles [ethnos, “nations”] lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

This describes the faithful and wise servant who will be made ruler over God’s household.

Getting back to Luke 12, Jesus goes on to talk about another kind of servant who is NOT faithful and wise. He is one who mistreats his fellow servants. He is a petty tyrant, characteristic of a big head and a small heart. His is one who has not learned obedience and humility. He is said to be a “servant,” by which we see him as a Christian, but one who has not the heart of a servant. He represents the kind of Christian who will NOT be in the first resurrection. We read in Luke 12:45, 46 from Rotherham’s The Emphasized Bible,

⁴⁵ But if that servant should say in his heart, My lord delayeth to come! and should begin to be striking the youths and the maidens, to be eating also and drinking and making himself drunk, ⁴⁶ The lord of that servant will have come on a day when he is not expecting, and in an hour when he is not taking note, and will cut him asunder, and his part with the unfaithful will appoint.

When will this servant get this reward? He will get it “with the unfaithful,” that is, the unbelievers. This does not mean he will get the same reward as the unbelievers. It says he will get his reward, or “part,” at the same time as the believers. In other words, it describes the second resurrection perfectly.

Jesus goes on to tell us more precisely what will be done to those unwise and unjust stewards (NASB):

⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. ⁴⁹ I have come to cast FIRE upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!

It is commonly thought that this passage refers to the judgments upon unbelievers. Often people say it means that those who heard of Christ but did not accept Him will receive a “hotter fire in hell,” while those who died without ever hearing of Christ will burn with only a milder flame. However, this passage deals with God’s servants, not those outside His household. It is dealing with believers, not unbelievers.

The fire is symbolic of the judgment of the law in general. In Daniel 7:10 we see that this fire proceeds from the throne of God. A throne is a symbol of law, and when a king sits on a throne, it depicts him ruling according to law and judging by that law. This is the judgment of the law flowing from the throne of God, and it is the same “lake of fire” that John saw in Revelation 20:14 & 15.

So when Jesus said “I have come to send fire upon the earth,” He was talking about the judgment of the law upon the Christians who are raised in the second resurrection. The specific law applicable in this passage is found in Deut. 25:1-3.

¹ If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, ² then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. ³ He may beat him forty times but no more, lest he beat him with many more stripes than these, and your brother be degraded in your eyes.

The wicked servant of Jesus’ parable will some day stand before the Judge of the whole earth, where it will be determined what sort of judgment he shall receive for his treatment of his fellow man. The limit is “forty stripes.” Whether this will be administered literally or not is a side issue, not important to this study. But the divine law will indeed judge the disobedient Christian who has missed the first resurrection.

In general, Jesus calls this judgment a “fire,” because all judgment is by God’s “fiery law” (Deut. 33:2).

Paul was familiar with these teachings as well, for he wrote of this in 1 Cor. 3:11-15.

¹¹ For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, word, hay, straw, ¹³ Each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴ If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵ If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.

This passage does not deal with the judgment of unbelievers. It deals strictly with believers who have laid Jesus Christ as the Foundation of their “temples.” Once that foundation is laid, the man is a Christian. Paul then discusses the works of the Christian in terms of what he builds upon that Foundation. He makes it clear that Christians, at least some of them, will find their works judged by the fire of God. If his works are unacceptable, he will still be saved, yet will suffer loss, for the fiery law of God will burn up all the dross.

This passage is interesting, because it shows there will be Christians in the second resurrection. Further, these Christians will be judged by the same law, the “lake of fire” that will judge the unbelievers. The only difference is that they will be given Life after their works have been tested and revealed in the fire, while the unbelievers themselves will be brought into a longer and more severe judgment as prescribed in the law.

Jesus told another parable that sheds more light on qualifying for the first resurrection. It is found in Luke 14:12-14.

¹² And He went on to say to the one who had invited Him, When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. ¹³ But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ And you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Jesus is saying here that to attain the first resurrection, “the resurrection of the just,” one must know and practice the principle of grace and agape love. This is the highest form of love, for it is the love of God. There were three types of love in the Greek language, each of which applies to a specific stage of development in maturity.

1. Eros is physical attraction. It is the selfish kind of love that thinks only of personal gratification. It is the kind of love that babies and immature adults have. It is immature love that demands all things, cares nothing about mother’s feelings or condition, and has no patience. It is not necessarily evil, for traces of it are found in the first stage of development in any relationship with another person. Something about the other person is attractive to us, whether it is their spirituality, their looks, their personality, or their money. Nonetheless, it is essentially selfish by nature, for it serves to meet one’s personal needs or desires.

2. Phileo is brotherly love, or the kind of love found among siblings. It is a judicial love. It is most concerned with the idea of “fairness.” Most quarrels between brothers and sisters center around the issue of fairness as they compete for position and work and their rights. This stage causes parents to commit themselves to the asylum, and yet it is the stage in which children are learning to define justice and law. The high point of this kind of love is when children learn to take turns fairly, but is only a 50/50 relationship.

3. Agape is unconditional love. It is a mature love that relatively few achieve. It gives grace to the undeserving; it is selfless and giving; it does not crave “rights.” One’s rights are always subordinate to the needs of others. This is the love of God, and this depicts the spiritual maturity that characterizes those who will rule and reign with Christ.

And so, Jesus’ instruction focuses upon this very principle of selfless giving with no thought of receiving in return. Phileo love always needs a return on its investment, but agape love will be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous.

Essentially, those who qualify to rule with Christ in the age to come will be spiritually mature. This means their lives will reflect the same agape love that Christ manifested. It is not necessarily the “sloppy agape” that is promoted by many in the Church, nor is it the lawless love that condones promiscuity if done in “love.”

The love that God requires of His rulers is first of all loyal to Christ and the divine law that He gave to provide structure and boundaries to all relationships. Rulers must know the law in order to administer impartial justice and fairness to the brethren. Yet the ruler is one who would give up all his own personal rights in order to please God or to bear the sins and injustices of others as an intercessor (priest).

More importantly, he who would qualify for the first resurrection must have the grace to hold no grudges. He must forgive from his heart the sins (debts) of those who have transgressed against him. This is made plain in many of Jesus’ parables, most notably the one in Matt. 18:21-35. There we find that God will cancel the debts (sins) of those who appeal to Him for grace. He must learn the principle of the Jubilee, the cancellation of all “debt,” for this is the key to receiving one’s inheritance, the promise of God.

This site is maintained and updated by God's Kingdom Ministries. Copyright © 1998-2007 Stephen E. Jones. All rights reserved.

This site is maintained and updated by God's Kingdom Ministries.
Copyright © 1998-2007 Stephen E. Jones. All rights reserved.