I’ve noticed that fellow believers have many interpretations concerning the last days resurrection(s). Is there only one, maybe two, or could there be more? I thought I would share the results of a study on this topic that I‘ve been working on lately.
The common beliefs regarding this subject is that there is a resurrection of the righteous when Christ returns and a resurrection of the unrighteous at the GWTJ. So that leaves us with at least two. Sometimes resurrection and a time of judgment are considered to occur at the same time, but is this true? Let’s find out.
That there will be a resurrection, according to scripture, is undeniable. The facts surrounding these are what we’ll deal with. One of the most common verses used is Rev. 20:5 - “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” I think another way it could read would be, “this ends the first resurrection.”
The chronology of this verse seems to put it at the end of the 70[sup]th[/sup] week after Christ has returned for Armageddon as described in Rev. 19:11-19. One of the common beliefs is that on this “last day” we have the resurrection of the righteous and when “the thousand yrs. were finished” is the resurrection of the unrighteous per Rev. 20:13-15 - “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
I think that what constitutes the “first resurrection” is the cause of some confusion. Many see it as a one time event at the end of the 70[sup]th[/sup] week but I believe in order to understand exactly what the “first resurrection” entails we need to do a little study on “Firstfruits”.
1Co. 15:23-24 - “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
In the NT we have the resurrection of Lazarus and we have Martha making this statement, John 11:24 - “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
The word “day” here doesn’t imply a 24 hr. specific day only, but also a period of time. It can be used figuratively according to Strong’s G2250, “as an age, forever, judgment, while or years.”
At Christ’s resurrection we are also told in Matt. 27:52-53 - “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” Dan. 12:2 also tells us “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.“ Many take this verse and believe that both occur on the same day but the verse doesn’t explicitly say that. It is very possible that there could be a large gulf of time between those that awake to everlasting life and those that awake to shame and everlasting contempt, which would coincide with the above view of the GWTJ.
Based on my studies I believe it is possible that the resurrection of the OT saints occurred at Christ’s resurrection. I’m not adamant about this but consider the following.
Firstfruits was a holy day celebrated by Israel as the first of the spring harvests were brought to the temple. There were seven major crops normally harvested by Israel. The first crop was barley and in progressive order, wheat, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Firstfruits was celebrated three days after Passover. In NT symbolism, Christ was the Firstfruits of the resurrection era and He was actually crucified at Passover and resurrected on the day of Firstfruits just as typified by this feast. All the feasts typified Christ in one way or another.
The bible doesn’t tell us what happened to those who came out of the graves but it is my opinion they ascended with Christ. There were no reports of an ancient zombie apocalypse so I think it is safe to assume they had glorified bodies and probably appeared as Christ did in His physical form. I don’t think it plausible that they would live and die a second time as Lazarus did because there was a specific point to be proven concerning the identity of Christ as the Son of God with him and His power over death with Lazarus.
In researching this I came across an interesting verse. This is the Lord speaking through Isaiah…Is. 26:19-21 - “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
I believe vs. 19 is speaking of the time of Christ’s resurrection. Vs. 20 relates to Rev. 12:14 and vs. 21 relates to both the sheep and goat judgment of Matt. 25 and the grape harvest of Rev. 14 which I’ll explain more on later.
Peter tells us that while Christ was in the grave: 1 Peter 3:19-20 - “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” and 1 Peter 4:6 - “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
Now do you think Christ just preached the gospel than left them there? I don’t. As Christ was the “Firstfruits” of the resurrection, so also were those who came out of the graves, imo, symbolic of the resurrection of all OT saints at that time and those who were in “prison” from the days of Noah, who listened and heeded what Christ revealed to them. The “firstfruits” are the beginning of the harvest, not the end.
We are shown another judgment in Rev. 14:15-20 - “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”
I know many won’t agree with this but I think this is a parallel account of the sheep and goat judgment of Matt. 25. I see vs. 16 as the gathering of the sheep. Vs. 19 as the gathering of the goats and the judgment of vs. 20 the same as Matt. 25:46 although a bit more colorful.
There is one group of sinners that won’t be at the GWTJ, imo, and that is those of Rev. 14:9-11 - “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Their judgment is immediately after the 70[sup]th[/sup] week, probably by those on the thrones in Rev. 20:4, who I believe to be the raptured/resurrected church. I believe that John is just saying that he recognizes the martyr’s among all those that are on the thrones.
The first resurrection began with Christ and includes the rapture/resurrection of the dead in Christ, imo, at the 7[sup]th[/sup] seal, finishing up with what Rev. 20 :5 is showing as the “last fruits” of the first resurrection.
I think it interesting that the first thing Christ does after the 7[sup]th[/sup] seal rapture is to set aside the “firstfruits” of the millennial age. We have this verse speaking of the 144,000...Rev. 14:4 - “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
The common beliefs regarding this subject is that there is a resurrection of the righteous when Christ returns and a resurrection of the unrighteous at the GWTJ. So that leaves us with at least two. Sometimes resurrection and a time of judgment are considered to occur at the same time, but is this true? Let’s find out.
That there will be a resurrection, according to scripture, is undeniable. The facts surrounding these are what we’ll deal with. One of the most common verses used is Rev. 20:5 - “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” I think another way it could read would be, “this ends the first resurrection.”
The chronology of this verse seems to put it at the end of the 70[sup]th[/sup] week after Christ has returned for Armageddon as described in Rev. 19:11-19. One of the common beliefs is that on this “last day” we have the resurrection of the righteous and when “the thousand yrs. were finished” is the resurrection of the unrighteous per Rev. 20:13-15 - “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
I think that what constitutes the “first resurrection” is the cause of some confusion. Many see it as a one time event at the end of the 70[sup]th[/sup] week but I believe in order to understand exactly what the “first resurrection” entails we need to do a little study on “Firstfruits”.
1Co. 15:23-24 - “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
In the NT we have the resurrection of Lazarus and we have Martha making this statement, John 11:24 - “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
The word “day” here doesn’t imply a 24 hr. specific day only, but also a period of time. It can be used figuratively according to Strong’s G2250, “as an age, forever, judgment, while or years.”
At Christ’s resurrection we are also told in Matt. 27:52-53 - “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” Dan. 12:2 also tells us “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.“ Many take this verse and believe that both occur on the same day but the verse doesn’t explicitly say that. It is very possible that there could be a large gulf of time between those that awake to everlasting life and those that awake to shame and everlasting contempt, which would coincide with the above view of the GWTJ.
Based on my studies I believe it is possible that the resurrection of the OT saints occurred at Christ’s resurrection. I’m not adamant about this but consider the following.
Firstfruits was a holy day celebrated by Israel as the first of the spring harvests were brought to the temple. There were seven major crops normally harvested by Israel. The first crop was barley and in progressive order, wheat, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Firstfruits was celebrated three days after Passover. In NT symbolism, Christ was the Firstfruits of the resurrection era and He was actually crucified at Passover and resurrected on the day of Firstfruits just as typified by this feast. All the feasts typified Christ in one way or another.
The bible doesn’t tell us what happened to those who came out of the graves but it is my opinion they ascended with Christ. There were no reports of an ancient zombie apocalypse so I think it is safe to assume they had glorified bodies and probably appeared as Christ did in His physical form. I don’t think it plausible that they would live and die a second time as Lazarus did because there was a specific point to be proven concerning the identity of Christ as the Son of God with him and His power over death with Lazarus.
In researching this I came across an interesting verse. This is the Lord speaking through Isaiah…Is. 26:19-21 - “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
I believe vs. 19 is speaking of the time of Christ’s resurrection. Vs. 20 relates to Rev. 12:14 and vs. 21 relates to both the sheep and goat judgment of Matt. 25 and the grape harvest of Rev. 14 which I’ll explain more on later.
Peter tells us that while Christ was in the grave: 1 Peter 3:19-20 - “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” and 1 Peter 4:6 - “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
Now do you think Christ just preached the gospel than left them there? I don’t. As Christ was the “Firstfruits” of the resurrection, so also were those who came out of the graves, imo, symbolic of the resurrection of all OT saints at that time and those who were in “prison” from the days of Noah, who listened and heeded what Christ revealed to them. The “firstfruits” are the beginning of the harvest, not the end.
We are shown another judgment in Rev. 14:15-20 - “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”
I know many won’t agree with this but I think this is a parallel account of the sheep and goat judgment of Matt. 25. I see vs. 16 as the gathering of the sheep. Vs. 19 as the gathering of the goats and the judgment of vs. 20 the same as Matt. 25:46 although a bit more colorful.
There is one group of sinners that won’t be at the GWTJ, imo, and that is those of Rev. 14:9-11 - “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Their judgment is immediately after the 70[sup]th[/sup] week, probably by those on the thrones in Rev. 20:4, who I believe to be the raptured/resurrected church. I believe that John is just saying that he recognizes the martyr’s among all those that are on the thrones.
The first resurrection began with Christ and includes the rapture/resurrection of the dead in Christ, imo, at the 7[sup]th[/sup] seal, finishing up with what Rev. 20 :5 is showing as the “last fruits” of the first resurrection.
I think it interesting that the first thing Christ does after the 7[sup]th[/sup] seal rapture is to set aside the “firstfruits” of the millennial age. We have this verse speaking of the 144,000...Rev. 14:4 - “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
