Resurrection Hope
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....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. John 5:25-29.
Here we find another topic that runs throughout John's telling of the story of Jesus. Resurrection is absolutely central to his understanding of the good news that we call the gospel. And that aspect of the good news begins with the resurrection of Jesus Himself, who rose from the grave and achieved victory over death.
But from our perspective an important part of that narrative is that Jesus did not gain victory over death for Himself, but for each of His followers. As He put it when explaining His future resurrection to His disciples shortly before His death, "Because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19). Or as the same writer put it in the book of Revelation when addressed by the already risen Christ: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:18). Those keys, of course, point to our own resurrections.
John 5:28 doesn't tell us when the resurrection will take place--only that it "is coming." Jesus is more explicit in John 6, in which we read, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" (verse 44, RSV). Again, "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (verse 54, RSV).
Thus from John's Gospel we realize that that blessed event will take place at the end of time. But to read John 5:29 alone one would end up with the idea that the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation take place at the same time. But John corrects that part when he explains in Revelation 20 that the two resurrections will be separated by 1,000 years (the millennium), with Christ's followers arising at the Second Advent and the wicked sleeping in their graves until after the millennium.
All will hear His voice; all will be resurrected; but what a difference in their destinies.
Lord, help me today to put my life in the perspective of eternity. I desire with all my heart to meet You face-to-face at Your second advent.
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....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. John 5:25-29.
Here we find another topic that runs throughout John's telling of the story of Jesus. Resurrection is absolutely central to his understanding of the good news that we call the gospel. And that aspect of the good news begins with the resurrection of Jesus Himself, who rose from the grave and achieved victory over death.
But from our perspective an important part of that narrative is that Jesus did not gain victory over death for Himself, but for each of His followers. As He put it when explaining His future resurrection to His disciples shortly before His death, "Because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19). Or as the same writer put it in the book of Revelation when addressed by the already risen Christ: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:18). Those keys, of course, point to our own resurrections.
John 5:28 doesn't tell us when the resurrection will take place--only that it "is coming." Jesus is more explicit in John 6, in which we read, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" (verse 44, RSV). Again, "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (verse 54, RSV).
Thus from John's Gospel we realize that that blessed event will take place at the end of time. But to read John 5:29 alone one would end up with the idea that the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation take place at the same time. But John corrects that part when he explains in Revelation 20 that the two resurrections will be separated by 1,000 years (the millennium), with Christ's followers arising at the Second Advent and the wicked sleeping in their graves until after the millennium.
All will hear His voice; all will be resurrected; but what a difference in their destinies.
Lord, help me today to put my life in the perspective of eternity. I desire with all my heart to meet You face-to-face at Your second advent.
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