For believers, the resurrection from the dead is perhaps the greatest promise the Bible offers. The idea of eternal life in a state of perpetual bliss goes well beyond amazing for those who read the Scriptures literally.

Most of what we know about the resurrection comes from the New Testament. But from reading about it there we can tell it isn’t exclusively a New Testament idea.  As an example, the Sadducees knew about a resurrection, even though they didn’t believe in one (Matt. 22:23).

That’s because first clear mention of a resurrection appears in the Old Testament book of Job.

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27).

Job knew he was a sinner who would die.  But he also knew that God would send a redeemer to pay the price for his sins, enabling him to live again, not as some undefined spiritual entity, but as a physical being, a new version of himself.  And with his own eyes he would see his redeemer standing on Earth.

Isaiah also spoke of a bodily resurrection in which he would participate.

“Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will give birth to the dead”(Isaiah 26:19).

Daniel was the first to reveal that there would actually be two types of resurrections, one for believers and one for everyone else.

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.  Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:1-2)

From our understanding of Matt. 24:21 we know the angel was telling Daniel this would happen after the great tribulation, but he did not tell him the two resurrections would be separated by 1,000 years. We learn that from Revelation 20:4-5. Daniel also disclosed that the resurrection of unbelievers would be a far different experience from the one believers will enjoy.

In John 5:28 Jesus confirmed this, saying:

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”

These verses gave birth to the notion of a first and second resurrection, which has been misunderstood by many. There are more than two resurrection events, but there are only two types of resurrections, one type for believers (commonly called the first resurrection) and the other type for unbelievers (commonly called the second resurrection).

People who haven’t been taught this correctly sometimes have trouble understanding that the first resurrection began with Jesus and the holy people who came out of their tombs at the same time (Matt. 27:52-53), continues with the resurrection/rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:16-17), and concludes at the time of the Second Coming when Old Testament believers (Daniel 12:2) and Tribulation martyrs will be raised up (Rev. 20:4).  The second resurrection, the one for unbelievers, will take place at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:5).

Of course, the Bible’s early references to a resurrection only tell us it was known to the Jewish people. To the Gentiles this was a brand new idea that needed further explanation.  Because of that, most of the detail we have about the resurrection comes from Paul who devoted a chapter to answering questions about it.  So let’s go there and review what he had to say about it.

1 Corinthians 15

Paul began by reminding his readers how important the Lord’s resurrection is to believers.  In fact it’s so important that our salvation depends on believing in it.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

And in Romans 10:9 he said if we confess with our mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead we will be saved.  This verse made it official.  Belief in the Lord’s resurrection is a requirement for salvation.

In 1 Cor. 15:17 he said if Christ is not raised then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins.  That’s because when He went to the cross, Jesus took all our sins upon himself and paid for them there. His resurrection is our proof that all our sins are forgiven because if any of them remained on Him, He could not have been raised to sit at the right hand of the Father.  He would still be in the grave and we would still be accountable for our unpaid sins.

Having established the necessity of believing in the Lord’s resurrection, Paul turned to ours. He said since we’re all descended from Adam we’ve all inherited a sin nature that makes us subject to death. But just as death comes to us through Adam, so also the resurrection of the dead comes to us through Christ (1 Cor. 15:20-22).  Therefore His resurrection is not only proof that our sins have been forgiven, it’s also proof that we who believe will be resurrected to eternal life.

A few verses later. Paul posed a hypothetical question about the kind of body resurrected believers will have. Answering his own question, Paul likened the death and resurrection of a believer to the planting and growth of a seed. The seed we put into the ground does not bear any likeness to the plant that will grow from it.  God gives it a body as He has determined and to each kind of seed he gives its own body (1 Cor. 15:35-38).  An apple seed becomes an apple tree.  A kernel of wheat becomes a stalk of wheat. Each specie has its own kind of body.

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42-44).

These verses tell us that like the seed and the plant from which it grows are different, so the earthly body and the resurrection body are different. Notice Paul didn’t say, “If there is a physical body there is also a spiritual body” because that would imply that the resurrection body is not tangible, but is an intangible spirit.

Paul was speaking about believers here. In saying there is a natural body he was referring to a body designed for Earth.  Therefore, a spiritual body is a body designed for Heaven.

But in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus said all the parties in the afterlife could see each other even though a wide chasm separated them. Lazarus, a believer, was comforted there.  But the rich man, an unbeliever, felt agony, experienced thirst, and asked if Lazarus  could dip a finger in water and cool his tongue.

This meant both had to have a tangible body, but their natural bodies had been buried in the ground.  They must have received these bodies after they died. Whether they were their resurrection bodies or whether they were “transitional” in nature remains a mystery, but the passage does show that the dead receive some kind of physical body to replace the earthly one they’ve discarded, whether they die as believers or not.

When Jesus came out of the tomb he had a physical body, but with supernatural abilities. Mary could cling to Him (John 20:17), the disciples could see Him and watch Him eat (Luke 24:36-43). Yet He had suddenly appeared to them within the walls of a locked room (John 20:19).  When He ascended to heaven they watched Him go up into the clouds.  Later when John saw Him at the Throne of God, He looked to John just like He did after His resurrection (Rev. 5:6).  His resurrection body was tangible and physical, yet it had supernatural abilities and was suitable for heaven.

“Speaking of our resurrection bodies, John said, “ Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

No one in their natural state can inherit the kingdom of God, we all have to be transformed.  Just as we’ve all born the likeness of Adam, we will all bear the likeness of Christ (1 Cor. 15:49-50).  So, if you want an idea of what your resurrection body will be like, read what the Bible says about His.

For Church Age believers who have died, this transformation will take place at the resurrection of the Church. But suddenly, without any kind of introduction or explanation, Paul revealed there will also be a transformation of living believers, and it will take place at the same time as the resurrection.

“Listen,” he said, “I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead  will be raised imperishable and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

By saying “I tell you a mystery” Paul indicated he was revealing a secret to them, something that had never been clearly taught before.  In connection with the resurrection of Church Age believers who have died, living believers will be instantaneously transformed from mortal to immortal without passing through death, and together with our resurrected brothers and sisters in the Lord we will rise to meet Him in the air for our journey to His Father’s house.

This combination of resurrection and rapture will take the Church off the earth forever, ending the Age of Grace and clearing the way for the remaining seven years of the Age of Law to be concluded.  These seven years will see the final fulfillment of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27), followed by  the  return of the Lord to Earth and the final event in the first resurrection, the resurrection of Old Testament believers (Daniel 12:1-2) and Tribulation martyrs (Rev. 20:4).

1,000 years later, the unbelieving dead from all time will be raised to face their final judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).

What About Them?

Some have asked about people who die during the Millennium.  This will include those who survive the end times judgments and go into the Millennium in their natural bodies, as well as their descendants who will be born during that final 1,000 years. Matt. 25:34 tells us all of the former will be believers, and its safe to assume some of the latter will be as well.

With the exception of one obscure phrase, the Bible does not mention the destiny of these people.  That exception is Rev. 20:15 which says, “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” John said this in the context of the resurrection at the end of the Millennium.

If only unbelievers will be brought to judgment at this time, then their names will obviously not appear in the book of life. As we’ve seen, all Church age believers will be resurrected/raptured before Daniel’s 70th Week begins. Old Testament believers, whose names are written in the book of life, will be resurrected at the second coming, along with tribulation martyrs (Daniel 12:1, Rev. 20:4).

That seems to cover every believer from the Creation to the Second Coming.  If that’s the case and there aren’t any unbelievers in the book of life, why did John feel it was necessary to mention the book at all? Perhaps it’s a hint that believers who die during the Millennium will also be part of the second resurrection.  Only time will tell.

What we know for certain is that the Bible says everyone who has lived will live again, and there are only two types of resurrection, one for believers and one for unbelievers.  The only variable in all this is the type of resurrection we will participate in.  Jesus said we will either rise to live, or rise to be condemned, and it will all come down to what we believe about Him.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).

I am frequently asked if the rapture is such an important event for the Church, why didn’t Jesus say anything about it? Our Q & A format doesn’t lend itself to a comprehensive answer to such a complex  question, so here’s the whole story. It begins 500 years before the cross with God’s answer to a prayer  from Daniel reminding Him that Israel’s 70 year Babylonian captivity was just about over and He promised He would restore the nation when it ended (Jeremiah 29:10-11).

The Interrupted Prayer
Before Daniel could finish praying, God had already sent the angel Gabriel with His response.

Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and your Holy City to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most Holy (place) (Daniel 9:24).

God decreed that six things would be accomplished for Daniel’s people (Israel) and Daniel’s Holy City (Jerusalem) during a specified period of 490 years (seventy weeks of years) that would begin with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25) which had lain in ruins since the Babylonian conquest nearly 70 years earlier.

We should be aware that in Hebrew these six things read a little differently than they do in most English translations.  Literally, God had determined to;
1.  restrict or restrain the transgression (also translated rebellion)
2.  seal up their sins (as if putting them away in a sealed container)
3.  make atonement (restitution) for their iniquity
4. bring them into a state of everlasting righteousness
5. seal up (same word as #2) vision and prophecy
6. anoint (consecrate) the most Holy place (sanctuary)

In plain language, God would put an end to their rebellion against Him, put away their sins and pay the penalties they had accrued, bring the people into a state of perpetual righteousness, fulfill all the remaining prophecies, and anoint the Temple.

This was to be accomplished through their Messiah (Jesus) because no one else could do it.  Had they accepted Him as their savior their rebellion against God would have ended. Their sins would have all been forgiven, and the full penalty paid for them. They would have entered into a state of eternal righteousness, all their prophecies would have been fulfilled and the rebuilt temple would have been consecrated. (It should be noted here that although it appears to have been accepted by Him, God never dwelt in the 2nd Temple, nor was the ark of the covenant and its mercy seat ever present therein.)

And It Came To Pass
483 years of the time God had set aside for them had passed.  Jesus and His disciples were walking up the Mt. of Olives toward Bethany where they were staying at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  It was just a couple of days before the crucifixion. The sun was getting low in the late afternoon sky, casting a soft amber light on the white Temple and its surrounding buildings that caused them to look like they were made of gold. It was such a beautiful sight the disciples called it to the Lord’s attention.

In reply, Jesus said, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”(Matt. 24:2).

It was the second time they had heard Jesus say this. The first time was a couple of days earlier on what we now call Palm Sunday when He had told the people that because they didn’t recognize the time of His coming, the city would be destroyed (Luke 19:41-44).

God was holding the nation accountable for their failure to understand the message Gabriel had given to Daniel.   Daniel 9:25 revealed that the Messiah would present Himself to them as their King 483 years into that 490 year period. Sure enough, here He was standing in their midst right on time, having fulfilled Daniel 9:25 and several other prophecies of His coming two days earlier on that first Palm Sunday.

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus had told the disciples that after they got there He would be handed over to to the Gentiles and put to death, but on the third day He would be raised to life (Matt. 20:17-19).  His execution was also part of  Daniel’s prophecy, where the phrase “cut off” in Daniel 9:26 means “to kill, eliminate, or destroy.”

Only He Could Do It
Make no mistake about it.  Jesus had to die so the 6 promises from Daniel 9:24 could come true.  No one else in Heaven or on Earth could accomplish this.  Do you realize what that means?  It wasn’t killing the Messiah that put the Jews at odds with God.  After all, dying for them is why He came.   No.  It was that in killing Him, they refused to let His death pay for their sins so He could save them.  This had the effect of making His death meaningless to them. That’s what severed the relationship.

Because of that, we now get the first hint that all would not go well. Following the crucifixion the people of a coming ruler would destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, the same Temple that God decreed would be consecrated.  The Israelites would be scattered abroad and peace would elude the world (Daniel 9:26).

We all know that Jesus was crucified and 38 years later the Romans put the torch to the city and the Temple destroying both. Surviving Jews were forced to flee for their lives and in the ensuing 2000 years I don’t believe a single generation has escaped involvement in a war of some kind.

Jesus had fed the multitudes, walked on water, healed the sick and raised the dead and still they asked for a miraculous sign that He was their Messiah. Finally in frustration He responded, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:38-40).

They would get their sign, but only after they had executed Him. Later, just a few days before His execution, He warned them again of the consequences for rejecting Him. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matt. 21:43). He was speaking of the coming Church.

After the resurrection, having performed the miraculous sign He promised them, Jesus waited 40 days for them to acknowledge it. But upon being informed of the empty tomb the Jewish leaders bribed the soldiers to keep them quiet and refused to recognize the Lord’s fulfillment of the sign of Jonah (Matt. 28:11-15). During the following 40 days, they never sought Him out although he remained among them and made 14 appearances to over 500 people during that time.  That 40 days was the time of Israel’s testing, their chance review all the proof and admit that He is who He claimed to be, Israel’s Messiah.

He Never Said A Word About It
There’s no indication from the Biblical record that Jesus ever spoke to the disciples about the fact that the coming Church Age would interrupt Daniel’s prophecy seven years short of its fulfillment and delay its completion by about 2,000 years. In fact from Acts 1:6-8 we learn that 40 days after the resurrection they expected Him to restore the Kingdom to Israel

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:6-8)

Jesus told the disciples it wasn’t for them to know the timing of the kingdom’s restoration and immediately changed the subject to the coming Holy Spirit.  I think the Lord was saying the offer of the kingdom was still on the table for Israel, but His focus was about to change. Obviously God knew they had rejected the kingdom at that time, but He was leaving the door open for them to accept it at some point in the future.

This is borne out by a prophecy He spoke through Hosea 750 years earlier.

“Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me” (Hosea 5:15). Please note the word “until” because it conveys the notion of “not now” rather than “not ever.” The door is still open today.

Therefore, on that late afternoon on the Mt. Of Olives all the disciples could have known for sure was that 483 years of the 490 year prophecy of Daniel had passed, there were only 7 years left and Jesus had just told them that the Temple, all of its related buildings, and indeed all of Jerusalem were going to be destroyed. It must have been quite a shock to hear this.

Twenty Years Later
After Pentecost the Church consisted mostly of Jewish believers and was centered in Jerusalem. While it grew and attracted followers from around the area, it was still perceived as an outgrowth of Judaism. Even though the Lord had departed, Israel was being given more time to come around while the Church grew in its midst.

It wasn’t until James explained things some 20 years later that the Church’s leaders understood how Israel was being set aside while the Lord took out of the Gentiles a people for Himself (Acts 15:13-18). A word study on this passage will reveal a faint hint of the rapture.  The Greek word translated “take” or “taking” conveys the idea of carrying away, removing, or taking to one’s self.  The people the Lord will take out of the Gentiles is the Church, carrying us away to his Father’s house, like He promised (John 14:2-3).

Following the removal of the Church, His focus will shift back to Israel. The temple will be rebuilt, the remaining week of Daniel’s prophecy will be fulfilled (Daniel 9:27) and the remnant of men will have their final opportunity to seek the Lord before His return with power and great glory.

As long as God was holding the door open for Israel, the full scope of His plan for the Church could not be revealed. Blessings like salvation by grace through faith alone, eternal security, and especially the rapture, never have and never will be offered to Israel.

Even under their version of the New Covenant, things will be different from the way it is for us. A temple, daily sacrifices for sin, and mandatory observance of Holy Days will still be the order of the day, although in a somewhat different form from Old Testament requirements.

But having waited long enough for Israel, God determined to implement His plan for the Church and now Israel would wait for Him. Individual Jewish believers would receive all the blessings intended for the Church but the nation called Israel would ease to exist in a covenant relationship with God until He had taken out of the Gentiles a people for Himself. This is why Paul said Israel has been blinded in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25).

Now I Can Tell You
The way was now officially clear for the Gospel of Grace to be preached to the Gentiles in its entirety. Paul had previously received the Gospel of Grace directly from the Lord  (Galatians 1:11-12).  He had already begun preaching it and planting churches but had yet to speak of the rapture.

Paul was present at the Council of Jerusalem when he learned that Israel was being set aside while the Lord built His Church. Shortly thereafter he became the first person on Earth to present a clear teaching on the doctrine of the rapture of the Church, repeating what the Lord had told him, and saying He was revealing a secret in doing so.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thes. 4:15-17).

It was the secret Jesus couldn’t reveal.