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The Resurrections and Judgements |
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Before Christ came to the earth there were some examples of the dead being raised.
During his life he called dead people back to life. When the Lord Jesus himself rose from the dead the graves were opened and many dead saints came back to life and appeared to many people in Jerusalem (Matt 27: 52, 53) God's final program of resurrection begins with the Rapture. This occurs before the Great Tribulation. The Old Testament saints will be resurrected before the Lord rules for the thousand years. This also applies to the saints who have been killed during the Tribulation. There will be a final resurrection of the wicked. The Scripture indicates that there are five separate judgments. The first judgment is mentioned in John 5: 24 people who hear Christ's word and believe in the One who sent him will not be involved in this judgment; it has to do with unbelief. Every Christian will be judged according to the things that he has done, this judgment will not prevent people from enjoying eternal life. The Jews will be judged by God and some will be prevented from entering the Land in the restored Kingdom (Ezk 20: 34-38; Dan 12: 1). The living Gentile nations will also be judged in Jehoshapat's Valley (Joel 3: 2; Matt 25: 31-46). The last judgment is the Great White Throne judgment that takes place after the last rebellion when heaven and earth have fled away (Rev 20: 11-15). The result of the last judgment is that any person whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. |
