The Three Resurrections: When Will The Dead Become Alive?

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The three resurrections: when will the dead become alive? Tradition and religion tell us that when somebody dies he either lives with God in heaven or he goes to hell. But that’s not what the Word of God says. What the Word of God says is that the dead are dead now. They are not living. However they will become alive with the resurrection of the dead. Our purpose in this article is to examine the matter and the timing of the resurrection of the dead, as these detailed in the Scriptures. There are three future resurrections spoken about in the Bible, one in Paul’s epistles and the other two in Revelation. Let’s look at them, starting from the first one.

1. The first resurrection The first resurrection relates to the Christians. Starting from I Thessalonians we read concerning it: I Thessalonians 4:13-18 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive 1

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and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” We will also find references to this resurrection in I Corinthians 15. I will just give one small part here. I Corinthians 15:51-52 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” As I Thessalonians, tell us the Lord will come and then 2 things will happen: “The dead in Christ will rise first”. See that this is only about the dead in Christ i.e. everybody that has died and who was a genuine Christian1. There is no mentioning of any judgement here that could send these people to “hell”. The reason is simple: though as II Corinthians 5.10 says: “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for 1

By genuine Christian I don’t mean people that just profess that are Christians but people that have believed in their hearts, in the most inner being, that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, and out of this belief they confess Him as their Lord. Wherever in this magazine we mention the word “Christian” this should be understood as including only the genuine Christians.

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his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad”, this is not a judgement that will decide between eternal life and death. At the current age and because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, eternal life is a gift given to anyone that genuinely believes (believes in his heart, in his most inner being) that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and confesses Him as Lord. Romans 10:9-10 together with many other Scriptures makes this more than clear: Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” That’s why there is no judgement to life or death here, and there is no such judgement to take place when we will appear before the judgement seat of Christ. As also the Lord made clear in John 5:23-24: “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life”. When somebody becomes a Christian, he is passing at the same time from death to life. There will be no more judgement that 3

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will decide between eternal life and eternal torturing for him, though he will stand – as every Christian – before the judgement seat of Christ “so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad”. But as we said this is not a judgment to decide salvation but a judgment to decide “recompensation” of those that are already saved. Back to the first resurrection: the dead Christians, “the dead in Christ”, will rise first. Then after this all those Christians that will be alive at that time will be changed in the twinkling of an eye and will be transformed, getting a body like Jesus’ resurrected body i.e. a spiritual body. As I Corinthians 15:42-53 tells us: I Corinthians 15:42-53 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life– giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 4

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Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed–– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” The above is the first – cardinally and timely – resurrection. Together with this resurrection also all Christians that will be living at that time will be transformed and will be caught up together with the raised ones in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. As the I Thessalonians says: “and SO we shall always be with the Lord”. When a Christian dies we so frequently hear people saying “he went to be with Lord”. Now if he went to be with the Lord when he died I wonder why Paul didn’t comfort with such words the believers and instead he choose to comfort them with the truth of the resurrection? If dead Christians go immediately to be with the Lord after they die and now supposingly see us with the Lord from somewhere in heaven, I wonder why the word of God tells us: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them [together with the dead Christians that will have in the meantime be raised from the dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and SO we SHALL always be with the Lord.” 5

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How will we always be with the Lord and when will this happen? When the Lord will come the dead in Christ will be raised and those Christians that are alive will be transformed. Both (Christians raised from the dead and Christians that will be alive at that time) will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. See that the dead did not come with the Lord. They will meet the Lord when they will be raised from the dead which in turn means that they are NOT with the Lord now. See also that the Word of God tells us: “And so we shall always be with the Lord.” See this “and so”, which means “in this way”, “by these means” we will always be with the Lord. What are these means? They are the resurrection for the dead Christians and the transformation of the body for those that will be living at that time. Finally see also the “shall” there which defines the time in the future. None of the dead in Christ is now with the Lord, but all SHALL be with the Lord. When? When “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first”, the Word of God says.

2. The second and third resurrections The above is the first resurrection and as we saw it relates to Christians. But what happens with all other dead i.e. with those that have died before the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord as well as 6

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with the non-Christians that died in the present age of grace. Also what about those that will die after the coming of the Lord described in I Thessalonians and during the coming tribulation? This is where Revelation gives the answer. And as it tells us there are two additional resurrections that will happen: the first is given in Revelation 20:4. Who is included in this resurrection? Here is the answer: “those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” These martyrs should not be confused with the “dead in Christ” of I Thessalonians. The “dead in Christ” includes all Christians of the present age of grace. Obviously the martyrs spoken here martyred, after the resurrection mentioned in I Thessalonians. These are martyrs of the times and tribulation of the Revelation times: “those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand”. The beast, his image and his mark are things still future. Nobody will force you today to receive any mark on your forehead or on your hand and nobody will murder you because you didn’t worship “the image of the beast”. But there will be a time that this will happen. As Revelation 13:15-18 tells us: 7

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Revelation 13:11, 15-18 “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon…. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” There will be a time where standing for your faith will be equal to death. But this is not the end! The martyrs that will be killed in this period will be raised again and will live and reign with Christ for 1000 years. This is the first resurrection of the book of Revelation and the second resurrection in total. As John tells us: “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed” Who is this rest? Those that were dead but not in Christ (non-Christians and people that died before the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ), as well as those of the Revelation times that were not included in this martyrs of 20:4-6. Example? Those that died having the mark of the beast. What will happen with them? They will be resurrected too. This is the third and the last resurrection and the 2nd resurrection mentioned in the book of Revelation. We find the related record again in Revelation 20: 8

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Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 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. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Many, confusing the resurrections, think that the dead in Christ i.e. the dead Christians of the present age of grace are part of this resurrection here. But this is a serious error. We saw previously what the Word of God says about the dead in Christ. We didn’t see there Paul speaking about a great white throne and about judgment “according to their deeds”, as Revelation tells us here. In contrast it speaks about resurrection of the dead Christians, transformation of the bodies of the living Christians and immediate meeting of both with the Lord in the air. Furthermore what we read in Revelation 20 about these dead is the following: “and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds”. Whoever genuinely believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his resurrection will be saved. As Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us: “For by 9

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grace you have been saved through faith …. not of works.” The dead Christians are in the first resurrection, not here! Here are all those that are not in the first resurrection (the resurrection of the genuine Christians) or in the second resurrection (the resurrection of the Revelation martyrs). Here are the people that lived in the Old Testament times (Jews and Gentiles) and here are also the New Testament unbelievers. Here are the persecutors of Christians and the Pharisees. Here are those that received the mark of the beast. All these will stand before the great white throne to be judged according to their works. None of those in the first or second resurrection will be thrown to the lake of fire. But for those here things are different. As Revelation 20:14-15 tells us: “This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” and here are some further references about this terrible place and those who will be there: Revelation 20:10 “And the devil … was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

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Revelation 21:8 “the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." This is the third and the last resurrection. After it, there will be no dead any longer. Every dead will have been raised to either live with the Lord eternally or to be thrown into the lake of fire.

Conclusion Tradition tells us the following: “when somebody dies, if he is Christian (and also has enough good deeds according to some denominations) he goes immediately to heaven where he (or “his soul”) lives in great peace together with God and Christ. On the other hand if he is not a Christian (or if his deeds are not enough, according to some denominations) then he is going, immediately to hell”. However, it is more than obvious from the Scripture that such a view, though it is very popular is blatantly unbiblical. For the Bible things are very clear: when somebody dies he goes neither to heaven nor to hell. He is in the grave, in Hades, “sleeping”. He does not live. This can only be changed – and will be changed – by one thing: RESURRECTION! And there are 3 of them: i)

the resurrection of the dead in Christ. It includes all the dead that were genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and 11

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lived in the age of grace that commenced when He paid the price for our redemption. This age carries on today too. ii)

The resurrection of the martyrs of Revelation that were beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and the Word of God and because they didn’t worship the beast and his image and they denied to receive his mark.

iii)

Finally: the resurrection of all the rest i.e. of the unbelievers of the age of grace, the people that lived in the times of the Old testament (Jews and Gentiles) as well as those that lived in the Revelation times but were not among those included in category ii) (i.e. they received the mark of the beast, worshiped the beast etc.). No dead is living with God now and none is in the lake of fire

now. The reason is simple: none of these three resurrection has happened. BUT THEY WILL HAPPEN! As sure as the sun raises in the sky today they WILL HAPPEN. None of those in the first or second categories will be thrown into the lake of fire. But from the third category, those whose works are not enough and they have not made it to the book of life will end up there.

A note for the present and future reader I would normally finish the article here but I need to say something more. I need to say that the above is not something only for the future and for somebody else. Now that I’m writing this 12

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article Christ has not yet come to receive His people. The age of grace is still present. And in this age because He paid the needed price, it is available to be saved through grace, by faith and not by works. I will again repeat Romans 10:9-10: Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Those that are Christians

- and I always mean genuine

Christians – will be in resurrection number 1. Whoever believes or will believe in his heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and confesses Him as Lord will be there. But this will not be available forever: if He has come back and you are still reading this article this is only because you didn’t, for whatever reason, believe the above. The options for you now are different. The book of Revelation is written mainly for you. Today that I’m writing this article, in the country I live they do not kill people for their faith though in some other parts of the world they do. But this is very small relative to what is coming. If you read this article and you live in the times of Revelation there is only one option for you: to be a MARTYR. Do not take the mark of the Beast and do not accept to worship the beast. Deliver your soul to the Lord Jesus Christ and the first death will have no dominion against you. You will be resurrected, you will reign with Christ for 1000 years and you will 13

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live forever. This is the only true option you have and the only option you should follow. Tassos Kioulachoglou

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