Some today are erroneously promoting what
they call a “single resurrection” view of the
future, which is just another way of saying
amillennialism. This contradicts Jesus’ words in
Revelation 20, ... it also contradicts the
whole New Testament, for these 8 reasons:
1. Generally, when the NT speaks of the
resurrection of Jesus or of Christians (the first
resurrection of Rev. 20:4-5), it uses a particular phrase:
“from the dead” (ek nekron) — literally “out from
among the dead.” This implies the resurrection of
some, the righteous, while others are left dead until the
second resurrection.
As George Peters says, “We have the simple phrase
anastasis nekron or resurrection of dead ones (Acts
17:32; Rom. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:12, 21; Heb. 6:2)…Then we
have a more particular resurrection as follows:
anastasis ek nekron or resurrection out of or from
among dead ones (1 Pet. 1:3; Luke 20:35; Acts 4:2).” [1]
- Luke 20:35: “those who are considered worthy to attain to that future age and the resurrection from the dead.”
- Acts 4:2: “proclaiming the resurrection from the dead through Jesus.”
2. Philippians 3:11: Paul’s goal is “to attain to the
out-resurrection [ex-anastasis] from among the
dead.” Note that one would not strive to “attain” to the
second resurrection when everyone is raised, whether
they like it or not!
3. Luke 14:14: “You will be rewarded at the
resurrection of the righteous.” That is the first
resurrection.
4. In John 5:28-29 there are two resurrections — a
“resurrection of life” and “a resurrection of judgment.”
5. In 1 Corinthians 6:14 “he will also raise us up,”
literally “out-raise or preeminently raise” [1].
6. 1 Corinthians 15:23: Christians are raised at
Jesus’ coming, not everyone.
7. Daniel 12:2 says, “Many of those who are
sleeping,” not all the dead. All the dead are not raised
at one time.
8. The phrase “the rest of the dead” (Rev. 20:5)
makes absolutely no sense if there is just one future
resurrection of all the dead, as some are claiming. If
you’ve eaten “all the pie” there is no “the rest of the
pie”!
To summarize: In the NT, “the predominant view
is that of a double resurrection (John 5:29: resurrection
of life/of judgment)…Jewish tradition is followed and
the resurrection to life is seen as a prior act in time at
the beginning of the millennium.” [2]
[1] George Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 299.
[2] “Resurrection,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 371.
The above was taken from
Focus On The Kingdom Vol. 26. No. 7
