'The Resurrection of the Dead
Back to The Release of the Material Creation
There are four classes of persons who will be raised from the dead. Hopefully our analysis will be of some aid in understanding what is to be the most important event of our lives:
The overcomers, the victorious saints.
Those who are of Israel, of the royal priesthood, of the elect, but who are immature in spiritual development.
The members of the nations of saved peoples of the earth.
The lost.
Our first point of understanding is, every person who has been born of woman will be raised from the dead. His or her body will be raised from the dead. One would imagine this to be an impossibility given the various kind of death people die, but we must consider the greatness of God. God is well able to re-create the molecular structure of every person who has ever been born. So great is our God!
By being "raised from the dead" we mean the physical body, whether of an infant or of an aged person, whether having passed away in bed or disintegrated by an atomic blast, will be restructured and will come and stand before the Lord Jesus—the Judge of all men and angels.
By being raised from the dead we do not mean the spirit is raised from somewhere. According to our understanding, the spirit is separated from the body at the time of physical death. The body returns to dust, as the Lord said. The spirit goes to the area of the spirit realm where it belongs according to the judgment of Christ.
The soul and spirit of the rich man were in Hell, not in the grave with his dead body.
The spirits to whom Jesus preached before His resurrection were in "prison," not rotting in the ground or in the seas and oceans with their dead bodies (I Peter 3:19).
It is possible that in some instances the spirit of the person is chained to the location of his dead body. It is not unlikely that the punishment of some spirits is in the form of being chained to the material locations and consequences of their deeds. Whether or not this is the case, the Scripture is clear that every physical body will be restructured and will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:28,29).
The term resurrection, as we have stated previously, applies primarily to the body of man. The spirit and soul are not resurrected from the dead, except in the sense that they are made alive when they come in contact with the Lord Jesus and then can ascend into the Presence of God in Heaven.
We do not know of all the places where the Spirit and Soul of Christ went after His death on the cross. But we do know of the place and time of His resurrection, of the coming forth of His flesh-and-bone body from the cave of Joseph of Arimathea.
We believe the spirit of the born-again saint is in the heavenlies with Jesus, and when he dies his soul goes to Paradise in Heaven, according to his spiritual development. But this is not his resurrection.
He enjoyed a spiritual "resurrection," so to speak, when he first received Christ. But, according to the Apostle Paul, the Day of Resurrection is yet ahead of us. Therefore, the spiritual "resurrection" of the born-again believers throughout history is not what is meant by the scriptural resurrection of the dead.
The resurrection of the dead, in its primary sense, has to do with the body. Until that is clear to us it is impossible to understand the resurrection of the dead and the release of the material creation.
In the fifteenth chapter of the Book of First Corinthians the Apostle Paul discusses the resurrection from the dead of Christ, and also the resurrection of the bodies of the Christians. We do not find any flavor whatever in this chapter of the current Christian emphasis on a pre-tribulation ascension of the believer to escape Antichrist and the great tribulation. First Corinthians, Chapter 15 describes the resurrection of the body at the sounding of the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet of the Book of Revelation (Chapter 11).
The believers in the so-called "rapture" are not clear whether the "rapture" is of the spirit or of the body—or precisely what role the body plays, if any, in the rapture. This unscriptural doctrine has confused the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. Yet the resurrection to life of the body of the believer in Christ is the fundamental goal and hope of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
The resurrection of the body of the Lord Jesus was (and is) of the most extraordinary consequence. Paul claims that if the body of the Lord Jesus were not raised, "they also that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished" (I Corinthians 15:18). Why such a stress on the body of the Lord? And by "perished," Paul is implying a singular lack of faith in the benefit of having died in Christ apart from the prospect of being raised again in the body.
How different from our current viewpoint! We are stressing today that the important thing is to die and go to the spirit Paradise. But Paul ignores this unscriptural emphasis and points to the resurrection of the body in the Day of the Lord.
Why was it not sufficient that Christ gain the victory of having His Spirit and Soul raised from the depths of spiritual darkness? Why did it matter that His body did not experience decay (Acts 2:27,31)?
Why did the Apostle Paul treat the resurrection of the body as though it is this that is salvation and eternal life?
Why did the Apostle Paul speak of the redemption of our mortal bodies as being our adoption as God’s sons? (Romans 8:23).
The fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians reminds us of a fact we observed earlier, that when God condemned Adam and Eve to return to the dust of the ground He gave the impression this would be the end of them—as though their body were their entire personality. There was an ignoring of their spirit and soul (Genesis 3:19).
Speaking of the resurrection of the body :
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Corinthians 15:22)
Again:
Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell [Hades], neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31)
The soul of Christ went to Hades while His body remained in a state of incorruption in the cave of Joseph of Arimathea.
Also, it appears from the above that there is a connection between the soul and body of man. In order for us, after we die physically, to regain what we were as a human being, our body must be raised from the dead.
The kind of resurrection of the body experienced by the human being is important in the Kingdom of God. The resurrection of the body is not an afterthought but is central to salvation, to eternal life.
The current stress on the raising of the soul and spirit to Heaven, whether in a "rapture" or however else, is not scriptural. It is not of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
By the term resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead, is meant the restructuring and reviving of the physical body of the human being.
The Scriptures do not always use the term resurrection this precisely, sometimes adding to it the endowments of life and glory that are the inheritance of the overcomer. But we think we are correct when we state that the meaning of the term resurrection, as it is used in the Scriptures, is the restructuring and reviving of the physical body without reference to its destiny, whether glorious or disgraceful.
The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is found in the Old Testament:
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. (Daniel 12:2)
Notice the expression, "sleep in the dust of the earth."
This is speaking of the resurrection of the physical body. Neither our spirit nor our soul sleeps in the dust of the earth, as we understand the Scriptures.
But it is not unusual for the Scriptures to refer to physical death as "sleep"—the sleep of the mortal body in the grave.
There is an important concept in Daniel 12:2. It is that both the righteous and the wicked are raised from the grave.
The term resurrection is not restricted to the righteous. Resurrection signifies neither good nor evil consequences. It is what we are resurrected to that is of such tremendous importance.
All human beings will be raised from the dead, some to eternal joy and glory in the flesh, and others to eternal suffering (also in the flesh, as far as we can determine from the Scriptures).
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [tombs] shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)
The body of each human being will, at one time or another, hear the voice of Christ and come from the place where the body was buried, or slain in some fashion.
We notice also that there is a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment. Therefore it is not that we are resurrected that is of concern but the kind of resurrection we experience, whether to life because of righteous behavior or to judgment because of our evil deeds.
Some might claim that if we believe in the Lord Jesus we cannot be raised to face Divine judgment. If that were the case, if John 5:28,29 were speaking to those who do not believe in the Lord, then we would have to accept that those who do good outside of Jesus will be raised to eternal life. Most Christian teachers would not accept this.
The truth of God is, those who are righteous in behavior will be raised to eternal life and those who are wicked in behavior will be raised to judgment. The Word of God shall stand! However, if we have heard the Gospel, we cannot reject the Lord Jesus and enter life on the basis of good works. But if we accept the Lord, and then practice wickedness, we will face Divine judgment when we are raised from the dead.
If God raises the wicked, what force restores consciousness and function to their bodies? If being raised from the dead does not mean, in their case, the entrance of God’s Substance and Presence into their bodies, what power will animate them?
How can the physical body become immortal, stand before God and be judged, and then experience punishment, apart from the Life of the Holy Spirit—that eternal glory that is the portion of the righteous? What force animates the bodies of the wicked? What is the appearance of their bodies?
Precisely what kind of life lifts up the resurrected body of the righteous before it receives the Life of God?
It is our point of view that neither the righteous nor the wicked will be raised to flesh-and-blood (mortal) life but to spirit life.
It is not too difficult to conceive of spiritual energy animating the flesh and bones of man, a spirit (nonmortal) life that is not part of the Glory of Christ. The fallen angels and the demons have a life force that is not part of the righteous Life of Christ. The wicked spirits exhibit spiritual energies that are not holy. The power of Christ governs the stars in their courses, but that energy is not necessarily part of the holy Presence of God. Divine energy is revealed in earth’s lightning and thunder, but these may not be of the holy Substance and Nature of God.
Such being the case, we may assume, given the statement of the Scriptures that some will be resurrected to judgment, that God will restore to the wicked their spirit and soul and provide enough spiritual energy to restructure and give consciousness and function to the body.
We mentioned before the four kinds of persons that will be resurrected: the overcomers, the elect who are not of the spiritual maturity of the victorious saints, the members of the nations of the saved, and the wicked. All these will stand once more on the earth. Each of these groups will present to Christ a different quality of life.
The overcomers will bring personalities filled with eternal Life, glory, authority, power, the Presence of God and Christ.
The members of the elect who are not of the spiritual stature of the victorious saints will bring personalities that have varying qualities of life. Many of these will receive lashes because of their carelessness in the things of the Kingdom. Some will be cast into outer darkness. The elect will be judged strictly, and there may be those who are lost forever, as we understand the Scriptures. The man or woman, boy or girl, whom God has called, but who does not answer the call diligently, will face an angry Christ.
The concept that once we "accept" Christ we can never experience the judgment or wrath of God is deeply entrenched in Christian thinking. But the Scripture does not teach this. It is the greatest lie ever told. It has destroyed the moral vigor of the Christian churches.
The members of the nations of the saved will bring personalities that have just a touch of God’s Life.
The wicked will bring personalities varying in darkness and horror. There will be spiritual monsters and ghouls in this category, so depraved that it is nearly impossible to conceive of them as human beings.
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; (II Peter 2:12)
It is important to note that the above verse is speaking of evil people who have entered the assemblies of the saints.
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; (II Peter 2:13)
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who are righteous and who have turned others to righteousness will be radiant—shining as the sun in the Glory of Christ.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)
Here is a description of the ruling personalities. They have been clothed with a material form that reflects what they are in spiritual being. They will "shine as the brightness of the firmament." Think of it! They will be as stars in God’s Heaven. We could not, in the highest reaches of our imagination, conceive of the glory, the authority, the power, the honor, the fullness of the Presence of God and Christ that will be revealed in the resurrected bodies of those who have followed the Lord Jesus with a perfect heart.
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. (Revelation 14:4)
The Lord’s firstfruits have overcome the world and have received in their spiritual personalities the rewards to the overcomer. Now, in the Day of Christ, their resurrected bodies will receive the material counterparts of those rewards. They are God’s kings and priests and will reign with Him to the ages of ages.
But what about the bodies of the wicked? What happens to them when their bodies are raised from the sleep of the grave?
The bodies of the wicked will reflect the corruption and death that are in their inner nature. The ugliness and horror in their hearts will be revealed in their material forms.
We have mentioned previously our conviction that the bodies of the wicked will be raised and that the wicked will be punished in their bodies. The following passages of the Scriptures indicate this, as we understand them:
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell [Gehenna]. (Matthew 5:29)
How can our body be cast into the fiery Gehenna?
There will come a merging of the spiritual and material realms. Such a dual state is evident in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis where we have a "tree" of life, a "tree" of the knowledge of good and evil, a talking serpent, and so forth. There was light for three days before the sun, moon, and stars were created.
The normal state of the creation is spiritual-material. In the present hour spiritual life is absent from the creation because the creation is under a curse. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection exhibited a spiritual-material state of being in that He was able to eat the broiled fish and the honeycomb.
Notice also:
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses [dead bodies] of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. (Isaiah 66:24)
Here we behold a scene of the greatest terror. Those who have transgressed against the Lord are confined to an area of continual corruption and torment. Their bodies always are suffering decay and yet never are destroyed. Those who have been saved are permitted to come and witness the result of disobedience to the Father, and are repulsed by what they see.
It does not state that the saved will witness the torment of the spirits of the transgressors but the torment of their bodies.
Notice also the fate of the Beast and the False Prophet:
. . . These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with sulfur. (Revelation 19:20)
Since neither the Beast nor the False Prophet possess eternal life, the expression "were cast alive" must refer to their being cast into the Lake of Fire in their bodies. Here is another example of the merging of the material and spirit realms. Their bodies are material, while the Lake of Fire no doubt is at least partly spiritual in nature in that it is the eternal home of Satan and his angels, who have no material forms.
We think we have support in the Scriptures for our teaching that both the righteous and the wicked will experience in their material bodies the consequences of their behavior in the present world.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10)
"Must all be made manifest." "Receive the things done in his body." "Whether good or bad."