Greetings! We’re back in our study of end time events. In the first post of our study on the Resurrection of the Dead, we talked about the importance of knowing about and understanding the prophet Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy. We learned this prophecy is about when God will fulfill His plan for the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. We learned there were 70 weeks of years, or 490 years, when God’s plan for the Jewish people and Jerusalem would be fulfilled. The 70 weeks were divided up into three segments of time: 7 weeks, 62 weeks, and 1 week. During each of these segments of time, certain events were to take place. The first two segments of time have already been fulfilled: the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks. There is only one segment of time that has yet to be fulfilled: Daniel’s 70^th week! The events in the book of Revelation take place over a period of 7 years. The vision that the apostle John experienced on the aisle of Patmos, called the Revelation, is the fulfillment of the last segment of time in Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy! Stay tuned.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

First in a Five-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

The book of Hebrews was written to a group of believers that were made up of mostly Jewish converts. The author of Hebrews (believed to be the apostle Paul) rebuked them for their spiritual immaturity and lack of spiritual growth. He called them out for being “dull of hearing,” saying they should have been teachers in the faith by now, but they were so lacking in their spiritual growth that they needed to be taught themselves. In fact, they were so immature in their faith that they needed to be fed with the milk of God’s Word like a newborn babe when they should have been eating the meat of God’s Word like an adult (Heb. 5:11–12). He told them, “Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (Amp.).” Then he listed the basic, elementary doctrines of the faith:

Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God, with teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment (Heb. 6:1–2 Amp.).

According to the book of Hebrews, the resurrection of the dead is a foundational doctrine to our faith. Yet, in all my decades of being a Christian, I have never once heard a teaching about this important foundational doctrine. So I began a study of this topic and found that it is, indeed, a very important doctrine of our faith. For that reason, I think there needs to be some time given to a thorough dissertation of this doctrine. And that’s the subject of this book: The Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Dead.

I believe the best place to start our study of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is by looking at the book of Daniel. The last six chapters of Daniel are prophetic and prophesy what happens to the Jewish people in the end times. In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel is in prayer to the Lord, confessing his sin and the sin of the people of Israel. He was presenting a supplication to the Lord on behalf of the Jewish people. While he was praying, the angel Gabriel appeared with a message from God. In answer to Daniel’s prayer, Gabriel relayed to Daniel what would happen to his people, the Jews, in the end times. In chapter 12, Gabriel was finishing up his message to Daniel, warning him about a terrible time of distress, “such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then” (Dan. 12:1 NIV). As a result, there would be a lot of death. In verse two, Gabriel talked about the dead.

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2 NKJV)

This verse deals with the subject of this book, the resurrection of the dead! There is a lot of information packed into this verse, so we’re going to look at it phrase by phrase. It starts out saying, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth.” This is a unique way of saying, “those who have died.” The phrase “those who sleep in the dust of the earth” stems from the scripture in Genesis that says God made man from the dust of the earth, and when he dies, he will return to dust (Gen. 3:19). A modern rift of this phrase would be to say someone’s taking a “dirt nap.”

The Dead Will Be Resurrected

Now let’s look at the next two words in the phrase: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” They shall awake! It’s talking about the dead waking up! If we look at another instance when this same phraseology was used, it will help us understand what “shall awake” specifically means. Jesus used it when He spoke about His good friend, Lazarus. Jesus informed His disciples He wanted to go to Judea because, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up” (John 11:11 NIV). The disciples didn’t understand, so Jesus explained in plain words that Lazarus had died and He was going to “awake him out of sleep.” Meaning, He was going to resurrect Lazarus from the dead. And that’s exactly what happened. At Jesus’ command, Lazarus was resurrected from the dead (John 11:43). From this example, we can conclude that Daniel 12:2 is a reference to the resurrection of the dead.

The Jewish People Believed in the Resurrection

The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead did not originate with Christians. It started with the Jewish people, as this scripture in the book of Daniel indicates. The Jewish people believed in the resurrection of the dead. Well… maybe not all of them. Certain of them did and certain of them didn’t. When the apostle Paul was in a life- and-death situation, he used this division to his advantage. He had been arrested by the Jews for what they called “teaching against the law” (Acts 21:28). For this crime, they wanted to have Paul put to death, so they brought him before the high priest, Ananias. When Paul noticed that his accusers were both Sadducees and Pharisees, he saw a way to get the focus off of himself. These two groups disagreed on the subject of the resurrection of the dead: the Pharisees believed in it but the Sadducees did not. Paul boldly announced that as a Pharisee, he believed in the hope and resurrection of the dead: “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” (Acts 23:6 NJKV). With that one comment, the Sadducees and Pharisees began to argue about the resurrection, which took the attention off of Paul… just like he knew it would.

The Resurrection Takes Place “at the Last Day”

I’d like to go back to when Jesus and the disciples went to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. I want to focus on something Lazarus’ sister, Martha, said. By the time Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21 NIV). Jesus said to her, “Thy brother shall rise again.” Mary said in response, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. 24.) Martha’s statement indicates she believed two things. First, it indicates that Martha, too, believed in the resurrection of the dead. And, second, Martha’s statement tells us “when” the Jewish people believed the resurrection of the dead would take place. Notice Mary’s last four words: “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha was expecting her brother Lazarus to rise from the dead “at the last day.”

When does “at the last day” occur? By looking at other verses where the phrase “at the last day” is used, we’ll be able to ascertain what Martha meant by it. For instance, Acts 2:17 tells us that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Second Timothy 3:1 tells us perilous times shall come in the last days. Second Peter 3:3 tells us there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts. These are all verses Christians use when talking about the end times, a.k.a the “last days.” Old Testament prophets also used the term “latter days.” It’s the period of time right before the Second Coming of Jesus, when He comes back to fulfill His calling as King of Kings.

So from all of this, we can conclude that Daniel 12:2 is talking about a resurrection of the dead in the last days. Mary believed her brother, Lazarus, would be part of it. That’s what she meant when she said to Jesus, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Two Resurrections

Let’s go back and look at the last part of Daniel 12:2: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” The angel talking to Daniel said there will be two groups of people resurrected. One group will be resurrected to “everlasting life.” The other group will be resurrected to “everlasting contempt.”

We see these two resurrection groups acknowledged in the New Testament. The apostle Paul defended himself to Ananias the high priest by saying, “I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust (Acts 25:14–15 NKJV). Like the prophet Daniel, Paul said the resurrected dead will be divided into two groups: the just and the unjust.

We see the same thing in John chapter five when Jesus said, “…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 5:28–29 NKJV). Those buried in graves will hear His voice and “come forth,” meaning they will be resurrected from the dead. Then just like Daniel, the Lord Jesus divided the dead into two groups: the good and the evil. Those who have done good will receive a resurrection of life. Those who have done evil will receive a resurrection of condemnation.

The Two Resurrections Do Not Occur Simultaneously

The book of Revelation reveals another interesting fact about the resurrection of these two groups of dead people—they do not occur at the same time! Revelation chapter 20 tells us there will be a thousand years between the resurrections of these two groups. The first group to be resurrected is the righteous dead. At the beginning of the chapter, the apostle John tells us how Satan will be bound with chains and then thrown into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. Then he talked about the righteous dead and the non-believing dead and what would happen to them.

4 …And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had refused to worship the beast or his image, and had not accepted his mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead [the non-believers] did not come to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) and holy is the person who takes part in the first resurrection; over these the second death [which is eternal separation from God, the lake of fire] has no power or authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and they will reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4–6 Amp.).

First, we are told about the believers who lost their lives during the great tribulation. It says they will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Verse five tells us “This is the first resurrection.” (This first resurrection is not limited to just those who died during the great tribulation; this resurrection is made up of all the righteous dead.) But the rest of the dead, the unjust, won’t be resurrected until after a thousand years. Verse six tells us that those who are part of the first resurrection are blessed and holy because the second death will have no power over them.

After one thousand years, the unjust dead are resurrected: “The rest of the dead [the non-believers] did not come to life again until the thousand years were completed” (v. 5). Revelation 20:13 describes the resurrection of the unjust: “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.” Verse 15 tells us their fate: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” That is the second death.

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