The Resurrection to Judgment

 

1. Is there to be a future resurrection to judgment of the unsaved dead? John 5:28-29...Do not marvel at this; for 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 damnation.

 (The word damnation in the King James Version in verse 29 is correctly rendered as “judgment” in most modern translations.)

Comment: Here is further proof that the unsaved dead are not being tormented in a “fiery hell.” They are now dead! But there is coming a time (“the hour is coming,” said Jesus) when they will be resurrected for judgment.

 

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Prov 9.6...prophetic

 

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15.20

 

Not dead but sleeps…Matt 9.24; Mark 5.39; Luke 8.52

 

And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6.39-40

 

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6.44

 

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6.54

 

2. Does the first sentence of Revelation 20:5...also prove there is to be a future resurrection to judgment? (Note that the first sentence in verse 5 is a parenthetical statement inserted within verses 4-6, which describe the first resurrection.)…But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand (MK) years were finished. This is the first resurrection…and verses 11-12...Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books…Ref: this is the second death.

 

Comment: Some of the dead—the “dead in Christ”—will be resurrected to eternal life in the first resurrection at Christ’s Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). But the “rest of the dead” will not live again for a thousand years, at which point they will be resurrected to mortal life. These are the unsaved dead who will rise in the second resurrection to be “judged.”

 

The Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20:11-12 is the period when the vast majority of mankind (the dead) will be resurrected and given their opportunity to learn about God’s plan of salvation. These billions are those who never heard or understood God’s truth. They will be judged by their response to the Word of God. At the end of this period of judgment, God will render a sentence—a verdict—for each individual.

 

3. Will there then follow a resurrection of all the incorrigible dead—all those who refuse to repent? Revelation 20:13-15...The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

Comment: After the Great White Throne Judgment period, the incorrigible dead of past ages, who have perished at sea, or on land (the Greek word for “hell” in verse 13 is hades), will be resurrected to physical life. They will then be formally judged by God and sentenced. But what will be their penalty? Is it eternal life in the torment of gehenna fire?

 

4. All who stubbornly refuse to repent will be cast into a lake of “fire and brimstone.” Revelation 21:8...But 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.” Men like Hitler will not escape this death!

 

Comment: We saw earlier that the fate of unrepentant sinners is gehenna fire. So gehenna and the lake of fire are the same. A very large fire would have the appearance of a fiery lake, hence its description.

 

5. The fire causes the death of the wicked. Notice Revelation 21:8 once again. Which death will it cause? Same verse. But 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.”

 

Comment: Mortals naturally die once, because we just “wear out” (Hebrews 9:27). But if anyone dies the second death, that individual will have been judged by God to be guilty of persistent disobedience and incorrigible rebellion. The second death will be for all eternity!

 

6. What are the “wages of sin”? Romans 6:23...Death!

Comment: Death is the opposite of life! The final wages the incorrigible will receive is the complete cessation of life!

 

7. What does Paul warn will be the judgment, or sentence, of those who, knowing God’s commands and having tasted of His way of life, sin willfully—who refuse to repent? Hebrews 10:26-27...For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries--they are “devoured” by it!

 

8. Psalm 37:20...But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away…this shows that the ultimate fate of the wicked will be destruction by fire. This fire be so hot that it will burn up—consume—the wicked…Malachi 4:1...“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, “Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.

 

Comment: The biblical “hell fire” will totally consume the disobedient! Never will they exist again.

The Bible plainly shows that those who have known God’s truth and willfully disobey and refuse to repent will reap the wages of sin—which is eternal death! This scripture means what it says. The attempts by many theologians to explain away death and to interpret it as mere “separation from God” cannot be reconciled with Scripture.

 

God Is Love

 

Why do so many people have a false concept of “hell”? Because we have been deceived by our “traditions of men” and do not understand God’s overall purpose for creating mankind…we have not carefully searched the scriptures and allowed the Bible to interpret itself.

 

God’s purpose for man is that he develop the holy, righteous character of God, which will make him fit to receive the precious gift of eternal life. God created man out of the dust of the ground, subject to death, so that if he failed to develop righteous character, he could—unlike Satan and the immortal angels who sinned and became demons—be released from his misery by death. Satan and angels are immortal--they do not die and will be tormented forever!

 

God has no desire to torment or to torture anyone. God is love (1 John 4:8). He created us mortal for our own good. He will condemn no one because of ignorance, and will see to it that every person ultimately learns the truth and has a real opportunity for salvation upon sincere repentance, no matter how terrible his or her sins have been. ▪

 

Next: Return to Dust