The First Resurrection is for those being saved by the new covenant started after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Believers in our day are scheduled for this great event at the second coming of the Messiah.
1 Corinthians 15:52-53, “[I]n 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (NKJV)
The Second Resurrection is for those who have been deceived by this world and have not really had a real chance at salvation. They will be raised from their graves again as human beings and given a chance to learn to follow the true God. Obviously, in a world no longer blinded by Satan, the vast majority will be saved. Ezekiel 37 describes the physical resurrection of the Israelites and their being given the Holy Spirit so they can be converted in the future.
Ezekiel 37:11-14, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them…I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves…14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live…’”
All people will get access to the Spirit of God and true conversion in the second resurrection.
The Third Resurrection is for those who are so defiant, or corrupted in some way, that God has decided they will not get another chance. They have either abused their chance at salvation or have committed the unpardonable sin. People like Judas or Hitler come to mind. People that have openly defied the true God.
Hebrews 10:26-27, “For if we do evil on purpose after we have had the knowledge of what is true, there is no more offering for sins, 27 But only a great fear of being judged, and of the fire of wrath which will be the destruction of the haters of God.” (BBE)
The First and Best Resurrection
The clear theme of the New Testament is the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of His true disciples. We are those true disciples if we follow Christ to the end. Our reward is to be taken into the very family of God!
Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (NKJV)
A small number of believers are being chosen by God to be among the first ones into His family. Those being called now in this the age of Satan are fortunate. We have been chosen for the best resurrection.
Revelation 20:5-6, “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
The believers, after being added to the God family, will help under Christ to bring good government to a lost world. The Devil will be locked up and the paradisiacal reign of the Lord will begin.
The Second Resurrection: All Mankind Will Have A Chance at Salvation
The second resurrection is for all those who never really had a chance at learning about God. People in our age do not know the full truth. Satan has deceived our entire world. Many still need a second chance to learn God’s truth.
Revelation 12:9, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
God, up until this point in mankind’s history, has allowed this deception. However, when Jesus returns to earth that will all change. Satan will be locked away with all his evils and deceptions.
Revelation 20:1-2, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;”
How wonderful –– a world where truth reigns supreme! All devilish forces of evil and deceit are gone. The knowledge of God on earth will be like water of the sea. All will get to know God’s truth. Note Isaiah 11:9. But this is not the current world. The vast majority of mankind has lived and died without adequate knowledge of God. Therefore it would be wrong and unfair for God to condemn them for not being among the called. For most people, even if some bit of key Bible knowledge reaches them, it is choked out by Satan’s society.
Matthew 13:19, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”
God has allowed Satan to deceive this world; therefore He must resurrect the deceived and give them a chance to learn all they need to know about the salvation provided by the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus came and used parables so that only the called ones fully understood His messages.
Matthew 13:11, “He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.’”
God has decided who He will call in this age. It is not based on our goodness, but the selection of God.
Romans 9:14-16, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’ 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
Since God did not call the vast majority of people He will, because He is fair and just and kind, give them a chance at salvation in the future. The Bible will be fully opened to all people. It will be wonderful!
Revelation 20:12, “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.”
Two documents that are opened to the world’s people –– the Book of Life and the other, the Bible. The Bible is the collection of “books.” Mankind will be taught to follow the Bible by kind, powerful teachers with no Devil to mislead them. They will grow in the love of God and eventually have their names written in the Book of Life.
What about those few in the GREAT WHITE THRONE judgment period who reject God? They are defiant sinners who do not appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus. They will remain flesh and blood and face the Lake of Fire which comes at the end of this period.
The Third and Final Resurrection
God will raise the evil in the third resurrection just to find out their final judgment. The spirit in man is not immortal. Our spirits are either going to be put into a new spiritual body or erased forever in the Lake of Fire. It should be a fairly quick death.
Revelation 20:14-15, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
They will not burn forever but will receive a quick end for a defiant, willful sinner who would otherwise make himself and others unhappy forever.
Malachi 4:1-3, “‘For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven … 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. 2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings… 3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes…’”
This fate is why Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day not to openly defy God.
Matthew 12:31-32, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Christ is telling the leaders that they do not have to believe in Him but they cannot openly oppose the obvious workings of God. Opposing God openly and defiantly could undermine any hope they have of getting another chance in the GREAT WHITE THRONE PERIOD. They would then be raised only to face the Lake of Fire in the third and Last Resurrection. Jesus loved them also and was warning them of the danger of their actions. Some probably did not listen!
