In Defense of the Faith

The Resurrection of the Dead

At the second coming of Jesus the “first resurrection” will take place, and at this time all the righteous dead will be brought to life again. It is only the “blessed and holy,” those that “sleep in Jesus,” who will have a part in this resurrection. (See Revelation 20:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16.) These resurrected saints, together with the righteous who are still living on the earth, will then be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and will be escorted by Jesus and the holy angels to the mansions of glory. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:17; John 14:13.) DOF 260.2

But at this time all the rest of the dead, the wicked of earth, who have died in ages past, remain in their graves; and they are joined there by the wicked who were alive upon the earth at the appearing of Jesus and who are destroyed by the bright glory of His presence. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:8.) They have no part in the first resurrection, but will have to wait for the second. DOF 260.3

These two resurrections will be a thousand years apart, according to Revelation 20:13; and during this interval, which constitutes the millennium, Satan is bound here upon the earth by a great chain of circumstances. The righteous are all gone where they are forever beyond his power, and the wicked are all still in death. Of them it is written: DOF 260.4

“The slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:33. DOF 261.1

Satan will have this time in which to meditate upon the results of his rebellion against the law and government of God. He is shut up in this awful death house, this “bottomless pit,” from which he cannot escape. During this thousand years the righteous will join Christ and the angels in the work of judging the wicked dead and the fallen angels. So far, only those who had at some time in life accepted *the plan of salvation, have been judged. Now the life records of the others must be investigated and punishments determined upon. In this work the righteous will all have a part. DOF 261.2

“Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3. DOF 261.3

When this work of judgment is completed, at the end of the thousand years, Jesus will return once more to the earth. This time He will be accompanied by the saints, and will bring with Him the city of God, the New Jerusalem, in which are the mansions: which Jesus has gone to prepare. (See John 14:2, 3) “The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.” Zechariah 14:5. John beheld this scene in holy vision, and exclaimed: DOF 261.4

“I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.” “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple-of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.” Revelation 21:2, 10-12, 18, 22-24. DOF 262.1

It is at this time that the wicked dead will be raised to life again. Thus far they have suffered only the natural death which has been the common lot of both saints and sinners because of inherited mortality, and now the wicked must be brought to life that they may suffer the “second death,” which is the wages of their sin. John declares, “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:3. But now Jesus calls them to life. The revelator describes them as being “as the sand of the sea” for multitude. (Verse 8.) They have traveled the broad way, the popular route; and they awake to find themselves still with the crowd. Among them are the rich and the poor, the kings and the paupers, the bond and the free of earth who, during their lifetime, rejected God’s plan for saving the lost race. They are all there. DOF 262.2

As this mighty multitude of lost ones look up and behold the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from heaven to earth, they are seized with consternation, and “flee to the valley of the mountains” in an effort to hide from the face of Jesus and the redeemed host who accompany the city. (See Zechariah 14:4, 5, ll.). Self condemned, they feel that they cannot look upon the face of their Lord, whose mercy they have rejected. DOF 263.1

Satan, however, who is now loosed out of his prison (by the fact that the wicked are now living again and he can continue to practice his work of deception), rallies these forces, and begins to organize them for battle. Revelation 20:8 indicates that the great adversary deceives them into believing that what they have apparently lost by rejecting the gospel they can, under his leadership, now gain by force. Surely they have the advantage of superior numbers. Why should they not capture this city, and make it the capital of a great empire? DOF 263.2

Thus the matter is settled. They agree upon a course of action, and prepare for battle. They begin the march against the city. But let us permit John the revelator to describe the scene as it was shown to him in vision: DOF 263.3

“When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up oh the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city.” Revelation 20:7-9. DOF 263.4

Foretelling this scene, Jesus Himself declared: “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” Luke 13:28. This is when the wicked will plead for mercy, but will find that it is now too late. DOF 263.5

The day of grace ends with the Second Advent of Jesus. The door of mercy is then no longer ajar. The loving invitation of the Spirit, calling, “Whosoever will, let him come,” is then no longer heard. To their entreaties Jesus replies: DOF 264.1

“Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but you have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear when your fear comes as desolation, and your destruction comes as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish comes upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” Proverbs 1:24-31. DOF 264.2

It is at this time that every knee shall bow to Christ, and every tongue shall confess to God. (See Romans 14:11.) But for the wicked, this confession is to no avail. It serves only as an acknowledgment of the justice of their punishment. It proves that in rejecting them as citizens of His kingdom, the judge of all the earth has done right. They are condemned upon the strength of their own testimony. DOF 264.3

It was this time of which Paul wrote when he declared. “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10. They do not gather here to be judged, but to hear the sentence that has already been prepared, and to suffer its execution. This will be the final meeting of the families of earth. Never again will the righteous and the wicked look upon one another’s faces. God will make an utter end of sin and sinners, so that His universe may be clean. DOF 264.4