We continue once again with our subject,

Death and Resurrection

We were reviewing what our Adventist friends had to say concerning the First Resurrection. Having already addressed the first part in regards to the erroneous idea of a bodily resurrection, we would now like to address the rest of this comment as well as what they have say about the second resurrection and second death as they are all related.

They state:

“When Jesus returns at the end of time, all who have died believing in Christ will have a bodily resurrection and go to Heaven with Him. This is the first resurrection.

This is the Good News! Believers have the hope of eternal life because they place their trust in the Lord Jesus.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, ESV).

The first resurrection happens when Christ returns. This resurrection is for those who were faithful to Christ and died. These resurrected people will join all the faithful Christians who are still living. Together they will go to Heaven.”

We may be misunderstanding the intent here in this last statement, but it appears they are suggesting that only the dead are resurrected, that those still living need no resurrection. We will expound upon this as we continue our review of what they have to say concerning,

The Second Resurrection

“The second resurrection happens after the thousand years have passed. This resurrection is for those who were unfaithful to Christ. These are the lost people who decided not to follow Christ during their life on earth.

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5, ESV).

Unfortunately, these people are not raised to eternal life, but instead will face the second death.

What is the Second Death?

Those who are raised in the second resurrection will face judgement. They will die a final death that lasts forever.

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14, ESV).

There is only one thing we can agree with here in these statements and that is in regards to Second Death symbolized by “the lake of fire” it is indeed eternal, and last forever, the rest of what is stated however leaves a lot to be desired.

The first problem we see here (and there are several) is a lack in comprehension as to what a resurrection implies, what it consists of. The following excerpt was taken from our blog post entitled, “Understanding the Resurrection”, which please see.  

“The word “resurrection” is from the Greek “anastasis” which means a full, complete rising up out of death conditions into perfection of life conditions, it signifies to raise up again, thus implying that a thing was once up and fell down, and is to be brought up again to the place where it originally was, if not higher.

While the word “anastasis” signifies rising again, it in no sense limits the process so as to make it either instantaneous or gradual, neither does “anastasis” change the nature of the being.

Mankind will be awakened in the same condition in which they died, “children of disobedience”, but they will be granted the opportunity of standing up once again, of resurrection, of full recovery from the fall into sin and imperfection. This is the meaning of the word “resurrection”– STANDING UP AGAIN.

This resurrection (referred to as the second resurrection by our Adventist friends) will be *a resurrection of judgment that is mankind will be put on trial for life. Not a judgment, or trial, for past sins; but another trial for life. Remember 2 Cor 5:19

“… God was in Christ reconciling THE WORLD to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…”

We were all tried and condemned once already (collectively) in or though Adam, and now a second chance for life comes to all through Christ Jesus-an individual chance.

“The fathers (Adam) have eaten a sour grape (sinned), and the children’s (all of Adam’s children) teeth are set on edge (The nature of the father having been polluted by sin, was transmitted to the children, who come under the death sentence for having the same nature or disposition as he).” Jer 31:29

“So then as through one trespass [the judgment came] unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness [the free gift came] unto all men to justification of life.” (Rom 5:18)

This Greek “krisis”, resurrection of trial will be a gradual resurrection; the awakening will be a preparatory work, not the full resurrection, but one, which will require the entire thousand years to complete, with each individual progressing at their own pace. Naturally those more depraved and fallen will take longer, but nevertheless they will have the same opportunity for a full recovery, standing up again.

Thus there are two different resurrections, the first resurrection, to life an immediate resurrection, and the other to a reawakening (a resuscitation, similar to what Lazarus experienced), and to a gradual resurrection, a gradual rising up out of sin and death conditions.

Even as the Apostle Paul had stated in Acts 24:15 there shall be a resurrection of BOTH the just and the unjust alike.

*For more on the various judgments to come please see our blog post entitled, “Understanding the Judgement”

In our next post we will continue with our examination of what our Adventist friends had to say here.