RESURRECTIONS

     This will be a study of resurrections and judgments as I see them described in the Bible. Please understand that there is much debate among Christian scholars about this topic.

It seems that the souls of everyone who ever lived will be resurrected, John 5:28-29, Acts 24:14-15.

• The good will be resurrected to live and have life eternally.
• The evil will be resurrected to be condemned and lose life, Matt 16:24-28.

It is souls that are resurrected, not spirits, Rev 20:4-6. Spirits do not die and therefore do not need to be resurrected, Eccl 12:7.

     There will be only one resurrection of evil souls, but multiple resurrections of good souls. The discussion of the various resurrections and judgments is spread across the Bible and it is difficult to precisely determine how many there will be and exactly when they will occur. The resurrections always seem to be closely followed by judgments.

     Jesus was the first to be resurrected from the dead and receive a glorified body, 1 Cor 15:20-23. This passage also tells us that the next to be resurrected and receive glorified bodies will be believers in Jesus and this will happen when Jesus returns at the rapture. This resurrection will include “all” believers who have ever lived up to the time of the rapture, 1 Cor 15 22.

     Jesus used imagery extensively in his parables and teachings. One of the images he often used was that of the harvest. It was also a common image in the Old Testament, including the Book of Ruth. In Bible times the harvest took place in three phases, the first fruits, the general harvest and the gleanings. The first fruits were for a thanksgiving sacrifice to God, the general harvest for their own use and the gleanings were left in the fields for the poor and needy to collect.

     Several times Jesus speaks of his coming for us to take us to heaven as a harvest, John 4:34-38, Matt 13:24-30, 37-43. It seems that there is a correspondence between the Bible time harvest phases and the resurrections of believers described in the Bible as follows:

• First fruits => Resurrection of Jesus (I Cor 15:20-23)
• General harvest => Rapture (1 Cor 15:20-23, 1 Thess 4:14-17), a general harvest of all believers
• Gleanings => Mid-tribulation resurrection and rapture of those who became believers and were killed or died in the first half of the tribulation period. Also a resurrection after the Second Coming for those saved and killed during the second half of the Tribulation (Matt 24:30-31, 25:31-34, Rev 20:4-6), and at the end of the Millennium for those who died during the Millennium.

There will be only one resurrection or gathering of unbelievers for judgment and that will be at the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:5, 11-15).

     There is much debate among Christian scholars about when the Old Testament Saints will be resurrected and judged. It is clear to me from Daniel 12:1-2 that it will be near the time of the Tribulation. I believe that Isa 26:16-21 is describing the rapture and telling the believing Jews that they will be taken to heaven for protection during the Tribulation. I believe that they will be part of the rapture along with Christians, all those who believe in and follow Jesus.

     In the section on salvation, we did a study we called “A Comparison of Salvation in the Old and New Testaments,” and concluded that salvation was really obtained in the same way in both covenants. Jesus and the faith that we must have in him are and have always been the same. Rom 10:12-13 tells us that “There is no difference between Jew and gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Go back to the extensive study mentioned above if you want more proof.

     In conclusion I see two distinct resurrections of believers, a general resurrection of all believers who ever lived, whether Jew of gentile, at the rapture, and a period of gleaning for those saved after the rapture. This gleaning would begin with the mid-tribulation resurrection and rapture and end at the conclusion of the Millennium.

JUDGMENTS

I believe that there are two questions that will be important to everyone when he meets the Master. This includes believers, unbelievers, those who have heard, and those who haven’t heard. The two questions are “Where will I spend eternity?” and “Will I be judged for my sins?” The answers distinguish what will happen to everyone. We’ll answer these questions as we study God’s judgments. We are told that God’s judgment is a certainty (Eccl 12:13-14, Rom 2:16, 14:10-12, Heb 9:27)

WHERE WILL I SPEND ETERNITY?

     The answer to this question depends upon what we believe and who we know, not what we know.

• If we believe in Jesus we spend eternity in heaven with him. A couple of scriptures that confirm this include: John 10:22-28; 11:25-26; 12:23-26; 14:6; Acts 4:12.
• If we don’t know Jesus and believe in him we are condemned to an eternity in outer darkness or the lake of fire. Those who don’t have LIFE, whose names are not written in the book of life, those condemned or rejected, are thrown into the “lake of fire.” To confirm this read John 5:25-29; 8:1-59, 12:47-50, Rev 20:11-15, 2 Thess 1:5-10, Gal 1:6-9, 5:2-6, Lk 19:9-10.

WILL I BE JUDGED FOR MY SINS?

The answer to this depends upon our relationship with Jesus, as we shall see below.

• If we are saved our sins will be forgiven and forgotten and they will not be judged (Matt 26:28, Heb 8:12) because Jesus was judged for us on the cross. However, our works will be judged for rewards (1 Cor 3:8-17, 2 Cor 5:10). This judgment of our works will be based upon the way in which we used our God given gifts, and will be based upon the quantity of our works (Matt 25:14-30, Luke 19:11-27), the quality of our works (1 Cor 3: 8-15) and the motivation for our works (1 Cor 4:5, Rom 2:6-7).
• If we hear about Jesus and reject him, there is judgment for sin (Jn 12:47-50, Heb 10:26-31, Rom 2:12; 11:13-15, 2 Cor 3:6, Gal 5:2-4, Heb 9:11-15, 6:1)). The sins of those living under the law are judged by the law (Rom 2:12). They must reject it and accept Jesus to be saved (Rom 11:5-6).
• If we have never heard of Jesus, there is no judgment for sin (Rom 3:25). However, we are still lost (Rom 2:12). There will be degrees of reward in heaven and punishment in hell (Lk 12:35-48, 20:45-47, Rom 2:5-11, Matt 10:11-15, 11:20-24, 16:24-28, 19:28-30, 1 Cor 3:5-15, 2 Cor 5:10, 9:6, Heb 10:26-31, Rev 22:12). This is one reason why several scriptures tell us that it is better to have never heard about Jesus than to have heard about him and rejected him.

WHEN WILL THE JUDGMENTS TAKE PLACE?

It seems that the judgments will take place right after the resurrections discussed above, as follows:

Believers judgments

The Judgment Seat of Christ just after the Rapture for all believers, both gentile and Jew (2 Cor 5:10, Rev 19:6-8, Rev 22:12). Jesus says in Rev 22:12 that he will have his rewards with him when he returns for his bride. That seems to imply that the judgment for rewards will occur at the time of the Rapture.

The Sheep-goat Judgment representing the gleanings at the Second Coming of Jesus. This will include those who became believers during the Tribulation, the period between the Rapture and the Second Coming. There may also be a separate judgment for those who are a part of the mid-tribulation resurrection and rapture.

The additional gleanings representing those living believers who die during the Millennium. I am not aware of scriptures that tell us when these people will be resurrected and judged. I presume it will be at the end of the Millennium, but it could happen to individual believers as they die. Again, I presume the number will be small because Isa 66 leads us to believe that people will live to be hundreds of years old during the Millennium.

Unbelievers judgment

There is only one judgment for unbelievers or unrighteous and it takes place after the Millennium. It is described in Rev 20:11-15. It is for everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. The judgment is again based upon the deeds of those being judged.

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ​

We do know for certain that God does not have to give man all of the reasons for what he chooses to do. God’s wisdom, knowledge and judgment are beyond our comprehension (Rom 11:33-36, Isa 40:13). The Bible tells us that God’s judgments will be fair (Jn 5:30; Rom 2:5, 3:26, Heb 2:2; 1 Pet 1:17, 2:23), and we will get much more than we deserve. However, we are told that “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” Heb 10:31.