An important Bible fact in understanding the Last Day is that of the ‘General Resurrection’. The Bible teaches that on the Last Day, all people will be resurrected either to everlasting life or everlasting damnation. The widespread erroneous teaching of premillennialism negates this Bible teaching by teaching multiple resurrections of the dead and the living at different times. The below study demonstrates that the Bible teaches that a common (general) resurrection occurs on the Last Day. Click on the below link to view a You Tube video on this topic or, continue reading below.
The Last Trump – 1 Cor 15:51-54, 1 Thess 4:13-18, Rev 11:15-19
Concurrent Tribulation for the World and Rest for the Saved – 2 Thess 1:6-10
The Harvest of the Wheat and the Tares – Mat 13:24-30, 36-43
The Dragnet of the Good and Bad Fish – Mat 13:47-50
The Dividing of the Sheep and the Goats – Mat 25:31-46
The General Resurrection – John 5:25-30, Dan 12:1-3, John 6
An important plank in erroneous end-times theology is usually that of the timing of the resurrection. Many have wrongly believed that the resurrection of the saved and unsaved occur at different times. Most of evangelical Christianity believe that the resurrection of the saved and unsaved occur at different times of at least 1000 years. Additionally, they believe that there are other resurrections that occur resulting in several different resurrections.
It is important to us to be convinced that there is only one future resurrection. This will be a time where all people, whether physically alive or dead, whether saved or unsaved will be spiritually resurrected. Some have called this the general resurrection of the dead. I have chosen to call it the concurrent resurrection to underscore the simultaneous aspect the resurrection.
It must be stressed that the general resurrection of the dead should not be confused with the first resurrection (Rev 20:3-4) which only occurs for those who are saved. The first resurrection is when a person is born again (John 3:3, 1 Pet 1:23). They become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) to walk in newness of life (Ro 6:1-6). Prior to salvation all of mankind is spiritually dead (Eph 2:1-10, Col 2:13) due to their sinful condition. However, when one is saved, their spiritually dead soul (not the body) becomes alive. It is quickened by God never to die again (John 11:25-26). However, the body is not yet saved. The body is still subject to decay.
The significance of the general resurrection doctrine is that it helps highlights the fact that there is only one Last Day, the day of rewards for the saved, the day of punishment / judgment for the unsaved. Relating back to Mat 24:29-31 and many other Scriptures, we recall that the day of Christ comes right after the Great Tribulation. However, if we believe in multiple resurrections, we can easily be led off the right way concerning the end times. For example, if we believe that there is a resurrection of the saved prior to the Great Tribulation and there is a different resurrection after the Great Tribulation and yet another at the end of time, we can see how easily we could be confused about God’s simple plan of events: the church age, the Great Tribulation, and Judgment Day.
We find in the Bible, that God is quite clear concerning the fact that there is only future resurrection. Offered below are six Biblical proofs to support this truth:
Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Cor 15:51-54)
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Th 4:13-18)
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Rev 11:15-19)
At the last trumpet of God, all things will be fulfilled. In 1 Cor 15:51-54, we find that at the last trumpet, those who are physically dead will be raised to incorruption. In the context of 1 Cor 15, this is referring to the resurrection of believers at the last day. In 1 Thess 4:13-18, we see another reference to the catching up (or rapture) of the church. We find that both the physically living and the physically dead will be caught up together. Both groups will meet the Lord in the air and will always be with Him. It should be noticed in 1 Thess 4:16 that this occurs at sounding of the trumpet of God. We find in Rev 11:15-19, a description of the seventh trumpet. First, we notice in Rev 11:15 that the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, this is a time of final conquest over the unsaved populace. In 11:18, we find that it is a time of God’s wrath. But very notably, it is also a time of rewarding all true believers. These things happen at the seventh or last trumpet.
We should readily see great harmony between the three passages above. But, for the purposes of our study at hand, it is important to notice that the last trump is both a time of judgment on the unsaved and rewarding of the saved.
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, TH2 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Th 1:6-10)
As we saw above in the last trumpet, we find a concurrent event of judgment on the unsaved and rest for the saved. In the context of 2 Thessalonians, we find that the Thessalonians were under tribulation. The epistle of 2 Thess was sent to comfort the Thessalonians as well as correct some erroneous beliefs that the ‘parousia’ of Christ had already occurred (see previous chapter). Also, we find in Acts 17, that when Paul preached in Thessalonica, there was a great persecution that arose. It appears that Thessalonica was a very difficult place to live physically. However, in 2 Thess 1 :6-10, God promises them comfort. Their comfort was not to be in this world (John 16:33, 2 Tim 3:12), but it was to be in a future world where righteousness dwells.
It is in this context that we find the message of 2 Thess 1:6-10. Important for us is to note that the rest that the Thessalonians were to receive was concurrent with the trouble (or tribulation) that will be inflicted on the unsaved persecutors. These things happen concurrently when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed with His mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on the unsaved. This is a reference to Judgment Day. The rest believers will receive will be concurrent with Judgment Day. This rest is wonderful in that we will be able to glorify Christ.
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Mat 13:24-43)
Moving on to our next demonstration of the concurrent resurrection of the saved and unsaved, we find the parable of the Wheat and the Tares. The We see in this parable that the Tares (the unbelievers) are physically mixed among the believers. The field that they reside in is the world. We find that wherever we are in the world – work, home, social, religious gatherings, etc. – there is no assurance that we are in a homogeneous group of saved people. The enemy (Satan) is altogether interested in harming believers. A method the enemy uses is to mix believers with unbelievers.
But, important for our study is the timing of the separation between believers and unbelievers. The servants asked the householder (God) if they should weed out the tares from the wheat. The divine response was ‘no’ lest they root out some wheat as they are doing this. Instead they were to wait until the harvest time where there would be a separation. The portrait of the parable for us is that both the wheat and the tares grow together until a common time in the future, the harvest.
The method of the harvest is that the tares were to be gathered first to be bundled to be burned. The burning of the bundles is an obvious reference to Judgement Day. The wheat then is left and is gathered into the barn of the householder. Some have made a point out of the term ‘first’ relating to the gathering of the tares from the kingdom of God. They assert that this proves that there will be separate resurrections. However, this violates their own doctrine in that they believe that the resurrection of the saved comes first. No, the meaning o the first is explained to us in Mat 13:41 where we find that the unsaved are gathered out of the kingdom of God. We must remember that God made the earth for man to live on. The introduction of sin and the earth being cast into a fallen state resulted from the sin of man. Therefore, the firstly gathering out of the wicked underscores that they will be removed to be burned so that the saved will remain and shine forth. It is in no way intended that the ‘first’ gathering for burning refers to a time order, but rather to the process of Judgment Day. The important thing to remember in this passage is that the saved and unsaved reside together until the final day of harvest.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 13:47-50)
We find another parable in Mat 13 that underscores the concurrent nature of the resurrection. We find that in this parable that Judgment Day is like the separation of good from bad fishes on the final day. Here we find the good fish be gathered into vessels while the bad fish are cast away. This is how it is at the end of the world. The wicked will be cast into the furnace of fire, a symbol of hell.
The bottom line in this parable is that we find more evidence that there is a common event of dividing the saved from the unsaved.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Mat 25:31-46)
The parable of the sheep and the goats is one more passage that points to the fact that there will be a concurrent event of Judgment on the unsaved and rewarding of the saved. We see in the parable that when the Son of Man comes (parousia), He shall sit on His throne of glory (Rev 20:11-15). This is a picture of Christ sitting for judgment. The blessed of the father (the saved) have spiritually ministered the Gospel to those who need it (figured by the feeding of the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoners). These are to inherit the kingdom prepared for them. They are not judged.
On the other hand, at this time, those who did not minister the Gospel (proving their unregenerate state) will be judged and sent to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil. This passage once again illustrates a day of judgment of the unsaved and the giving of the reward of the inheritance to the saved (see also Mat 16:27).
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves 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. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (John 5:25-30)
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 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. 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. (Dan 12:1-3)
These final two passages reveal insights into the resurrection. First, in John 5:25-30, we find several interesting truths. In John 5:25, the phrase ‘the hour is coming and no is’ reveals that there are actually two different events when ‘they that hear will live’. As we discussed earlier, the first resurrection is at the point of salvation. This is the time that the spiritually dead will hear and live. However, there comes an hour where the physically dead will hear and will be raised into their spiritual bodies. This is clarified in John 5:28 where the Scripture says that there is a day in which those who are in graves (i.e. the physical dead) will once again hear. They will be given spiritual capability to hear the truth. At this time one of two things can happen to a person. Either, he who has been righteous and holy will be resurrected unto life (i.e. conscious life in a raised spiritual body) or he who has done evil will be resurrected unto the resurrection of damnation. This latter event is the second death (Rev 20).
It should be noticed in John 5:25-30, that this time of judgment is referred to an hour of judgment. Harmonizing with other Scriptures we have already reviewed, this refers to a point in time at the end of the age.
Although a little harder to understand, we find parallel language in Dan 12:1-3. We find symbolic language here that refers to the last day. We see that there will be a general resurrection. Some shall awake to everlasting righteousness and some will be resurrected to shame and everlasting contempt. This resurrection happens at a time of trouble that the world has never known. This is Judgement Day.
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There will be a last day (John 6:37, 40, 44) where all will be resurrected. Those who were saved, to eternal life. Those who were unsaved, to judgment (Rev 20:11-15). There are not multiple judgments as is commonly taught.