The Resurrection of the Dead

When Jesus comes on the clouds and gathers Christians–both dead and alive–from the earth, they will all be caught up to Jesus meeting him in the clouds.  During this catching up process, a mystery will unfold: these Christians will be transformed and endowed with new, resurrected bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 describes this resurrection:

1 Corinthians 15: 51-53: ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵²in 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. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

The resurrection of the dead occurs when Jesus comes back and gathers his elect from the earth.  This is the trumpet blast that Matthew 24: 31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 describe. This trumpet call signals to the angels to harvest Christians from the earth. As soon as this trumpet call is heard on the earth, the rapture takes place.  This is the last trumpet that Christians will hear before they receive their resurrected bodies.

Some end-time views link the “last trumpet” in 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15; however, the Pre-Wrath end time view considers this trumpet separate from the trumpet blown at the seventh trumpet judgment. The phrase “last trumpet” is not necessarily a reference to the seventh trumpet. Pre-wrath views the word ‘last’ in a different sense. It is the last trumpet that the Church hears before they are caught up to Jesus. 1 Corinthians is a letter written to the church, and this trumpet is the last one from the church’s perspective.

If the “last trumpet” did refer to the seventh trumpet, this would suggest that no other heavenly trumpets would sound following the seventh trumpet judgment. Indeed, the seventh trumpet judgment is the final recording of a trumpet blast in the physical pages of the Bible, but the Bible describes events in which the sounding of trumpets even after the seventh trumpet judgment will occur. The Bible records the occurrence of trumpet blasts all throughout the Day of the Lord, including at the Battle of Armageddon. Jewish people come to worship Jesus in Jerusalem following the sounding of a trumpet after the Battle of Armageddon. There are also trumpets that will sound during the thousand-year reign of Christ including: at every festival and New Moon feast, especially during the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, and during times of worship and remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice made for mankind.

A table that shows that the seventh trumpet is not the “last trumpet” to sound on the earth

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (NKJV) gives more insight into what happens at this trumpet blast that occurs following the opening of the sixth seal:

1 Corinthians 15: 42-44 (NKJV): ⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ⁴³It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…

Whereas our current bodies are perishable, dishonorable, weak, and natural, our new bodies will be imperishable (eternal), full of glory, full of power, and spiritual.  Jesus was the firstborn among many brothers to receive this new body.  The Christians raptured on the day of his second coming will be changed just as Jesus was changed at his resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 49: ²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him….⁴⁹And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man [Adam], so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man [Jesus].

We can look at Jesus’ new body after his resurrection to determine what these bodies will be like.  After Jesus resurrected from the dead we see that his resurrected body was able to:

• exist in the spiritual realm and the physical realm (Mark 16: 19)
• be physically touched (John 20:27)
• eat (John 21:12-13)
• walk into a locked room (John 20:26)
• appear at the location in which he desired to be (John 21:1)
• levitate (Mark 16:19)

John records a promise for the saints who have been gathered from the earth and have taken part in the first resurrection. God promises that these resurrected saints will never fall away from their faith and that they will get the privilege of governing the earth with Jesus during his thousand-year reign. Who is included in the first resurrection? The first resurrection includes all Christians who take part in the rapture, that is, all Christians dead and alive at the time of Jesus’ coming.  Let’s read Revelation 20:4-6 which records this promise:

Revelation 20:4-6: ⁴I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. 

The great multitude (Revelation 7:9-17) is the same group of Christians, both dead and alive, that are harvested from the earth, raptured out of the Great Tribulation. Although Revelation 20:4-6 specifies the martyrs who had been beheaded during the Great Tribulation, the martyrs will be resurrected at the same time as Christians who had died generations before. Jesus promises that whoever overcomes and does his will to the end will rule and reign with him during the Millennial kingdom (Revelation 2:26-27). The promise is not limited to beheaded martyrs.

The first resurrection is the the resurrection of every Christian dead and alive at the time of Jesus’ coming on the clouds. The “rest of the dead” (Revelation 20:5) which include followers of the man of lawlessness, survivors in the nations who populate the earth during the millennial kingdom, and anyone else who dies following the rapture, will be raised to life after the time of the millennial kingdom is complete. Some of the dead will be raised to eternal life, and some will be raised to an everlasting death in the lake of fire.

Excerpt from the book: The Saints Go Up and The Wrath Comes Down: A Pre-Wrath Perspective on the End Times by Aaron Eggman.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. (Underlining and added brackets are emphasis added by the author)

Those scriptures noted as (NKJV) are taken from: New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (Underlining and added brackets are emphasis added by the author)