Nephesh is used to describe all kinds of animals, from oxen to dogs, and to describe many aspects of living things. It is used four times in the Hebrew to refer to animals BEFORE it is ever used to refer to man. The Hebrew word Nephesh is translated into a variety of words in the NKJV Bible such as: "Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living CREATURE (nephesh) according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind'; and it was so." (Genesis 1:24) "But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living THING (nephesh) which is in the water, they are an abomination to you." (Leviticus 11:10) "But you shall not eat flesh with its LIFE (nephesh), that is, its blood." (Genesis 9:4) "Whoever kills an ANIMAL (nephesh) shall make it good, ANIMAL (nephesh) for ANIMAL (nephesh)." (Leviticus 24:18) "His BREATH (nephesh) kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth." (Job 41:21) "Then they took away their livestock — fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys — also one hundred thousand of their MEN (nephesh);" (1Chronicles 5:21)
Thus, the IDENTICAL word in Hebrew which is translated as SOUL in Genesis 2:7 and elsewhere (KJV) and in Genesis 19:20, 27:4, 27:19, 34:3, 34:8, etc.(KJV and NKJV translations) is used in many, many different ways to connote human or animal life. Nephesh refers to life which is sustained by food, air and water; life which can cease, can perish, die, and be destroyed. The Bible NEVER attaches the word for "immortal" to Nephesh. The Bible states that "souls," meaning living human beings, can DIE: "Behold, all souls (living persons) are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall DIE." (Ezekiel 18:4). There it is . . . souls can DIE. The Bible does not teach that man has a spiritual essence or existence that, upon death, leaves him and lives forever! Man doesn't HAVE a soul, immortal or otherwise --- he IS a soul! What is it like to be DEAD?So, what happens the first second after we die if we do NOT have a conscious eternal soul that immediately continues our existence? What is it like being DEAD? God says: For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: AS ONE DIES, SO DIES THE OTHER. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. " (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20). God's Word says men die in the same fashion as cows, horses, dogs, or sheep. Their condition in death is the same. They both owe their lives to the oxygen in the air. When they die, they both decay, and return to the soil from which they come. Are the dead conscious in some way? "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know NOTHING, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them (their memory, their consciousness) is forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5). David knew this. He knew that man returns to the dust, to the elements of the soil from which he came. He wrote: "What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?" (Psalm 30:9). Thus, your Bible shows that when humans die, they are no longer conscious. They have no thoughts, no memory, no awareness. The Bible describes death as the deepest kind of dreamless sleep, where man is completely unaware of the passage of time. He has no pain, no worry, no memory. Notice: "While I live I will praise the Lord. I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs (he dies), he returns to his earth. In that very day his plans PERISH." (Psalm 146:2-4). It is not the clever catch-phrase of some theologian to refer to death as "sleep." God's word, however, refers to the dead in Christ as those who "sleep in Jesus." (1Thessalonians 4:14). Notice some other examples: "For he who eats and drinks (the Christian Passover) in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself . . . For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many SLEEP." (1Corinthians 11:29-30). "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all SLEEP (be dead for a period of time), but we (true Christians still alive when Jesus returns) shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will (first) be raised incorruptible, and (then) we (true Christians still alive) shall be changed." (1Corinthians 15:51-52). The dead know not anything, your Bible says. They have no memory. They are characterized as being in the most profound sleep, with no conscious thought, no awareness. At the instant of the resurrection, they will once again be thinking, remembering, conscious beings. To them, it will have been as if, from the moment of death to the moment of the resurrection, only a fraction of a second, the twinkling of an eye, had passed! Millions of them will say: "What happened just then?" Millions will not even know they were dead! The resurrection of Jesus makes ours POSSIBLE! The bedrock belief of the Christian faith is the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead! But there's more. Jesus' resurrection makes possible the eventual raising from the dead of EVERY human being who has ever lived on planet earth! The disciples were, at first, unwilling witnesses of Jesus' resurrection. They did not at first believe Jesus had truly been resurrected, that He was alive again! Only after many miraculous occurrences — materializing among them in a closed room, appearing to them along a lonely roadway, appearing to them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, forcing Thomas to put his hand into the nail and spear wounds — did they finally come to know that "He is risen." The fact of Christ's resurrection was the pivotal centerpiece of the testimony of the disciples. And why not? It was the most astounding, mind-boggling, stupendous event of their lives! Peter said: "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ . . . This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear . . . "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:29-33, 36) Because they knew, they preached, powerfully, of the resurrection. Yet, even after the preaching and testimony of those who saw Jesus alive after he was in the tomb, some still didn't believe in a resurrection from the dead. The apostle Paul made in plain to the Corinthian church that if Jesus was not resurrected from the dead then their faith was WORTHLESS and those who died in the faith would STAY dead. But, if Jesus did rise from the dead (which he did!), then we too will be resurrected: ". . . how do some among you say that there is NO RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty . . . And if Christ is not risen, YOUR FAITH IS FUTILE; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the FIRSTFRUITS (the first resurrected) of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man (Adam) came death, by Man (Jesus) also came (made possible) THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD." (1Corinthians 15:12-14, 17-21)
God says He will eventually raise all of the dead, no matter into which category, spiritually, they may have belonged when they were alive: "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment . . . " (Hebrews 9:27). Every human being who has ever died, or is yet to die, will be RESURRECTED at some point in time. God's plan is to resurrect all humans, but in a particular sequence He has determined. Believe it or not, your Bible teaches there will be at least THREE separate and distinct resurrections! Christ said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live . . . Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation (judgment). " (John 5:25, 28-29). Here, Jesus speaks of two categories of people; those who have done good, and those who have done evil. Two different resurrections for two different purposes. One, a resurrection "of life," and the other, a resurrection "of judgment" which we will discuss later. Notice the clear statements of Paul concerning the FIRST resurrection: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order (there is a sequence of events, a chronological order of events concerning the resurrections): Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming." (1Corinthians 15:22-23). Many details are given concerning this first great resurrection of the "dead in Christ." Jesus said: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars (meteorites?) will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31). Notice a corroborating scripture: "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (dead), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus (the dead in Christ). "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1Thessalonians 4:13-17). He is coming "with clouds," and the dead in Christ are to meet Him "in the air." The living saints nor the "dead in Christ" are NOT taken to heaven at His coming. Jesus will resurrect his saints as he comes back to the earth to rule! Notice: "Behold, the day of the Lord is coming . . . For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem . . . Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations (see Revelation 19:11-21), as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east . . . And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be — 'The Lord is one,' and His name one." (Zechariah 14:1-4, 9) Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth to rule it with a rod of iron (Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 11:4-16; Revelation 2:26, 3:21; Micah 4). When His startled disciples watched Him depart this earth, as He was literally being taken up into the air, and disappearing into the clouds overhead, the very first message to ever come down to this earth after Jesus went to heaven was: "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, WILL SO COME IN LIKE MANNER as you saw Him go into heaven.' " (Acts 1:10-11) He is coming with clouds, into the lower atmosphere of this earth, and will continue His descent until He stands upon the Mount of Olives. Not only are the "dead in Christ" resurrected at the moment of Christ's return, but the living saints are miraculously changed. Notice how Paul, in the famous "resurrection chapter" of the Bible, puts it: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all SLEEP (be dead), but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (at the exact moment of Jesus' return) For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will (first) be raised incorruptible, and (then) we shall be changed." (1Corinthians 15:51-52).
So at the very moment Jesus Christ arrives on this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, the "dead in Christ" are resurrected, caught up into the clouds, and are transported by Christ's angels to meet the returning Christ in the air. Then, those living saints in whom the Spirit of God dwells will be changed from mortal to immortal; from flesh to spirit; from human to divine, and will likewise be caught up into the air, to meet the descending Christ over the Mount of Olives. His feet will stand in that very day on the Mount of Olives, a short walk from Jerusalem! With Him will be all the great men and women of the Bible, from Seth to Noah; from Moses to Elijah; from John the Baptist to Paul. Also with Him will be millions of people you and I have never known — people who lived their Christian lives in the valleys of Europe during the Middle Ages; people who were persecuted, perhaps put to death, for their faith in Christ. God's Word tells us that those in the first resurrection are to be "co-heirs with Christ," that we are to be "like Him: for we shall see Him as He is" (Romans 8:17; 1John 3:2). "But we have this treasure (God's Holy Spirit, which enables a person to be a true Christian) in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed . . . "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man (the new creature in Christ being created in those converted) is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . . ." (2Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-17)
The new "inward man" which is renewed each day is to be born of God, given a spirit body, to become a member of God's own family! Millions of deceived, professing Christians absolutely refuse to believe the plain, easily understood statements of God's Word about the future state of the dead in Christ — the state of being of those who are changed from flesh to spirit in the resurrection. Yet, your Bible insists that the resurrected saints will be co-heirs with Christ, that they shall be like Him for they will see Him as He is! Your Bible plainly shows that God Almighty is reproducing after His own kind! Creation was not completed in Eden, it was only begun. The final, superb masterpiece of God's creation is the re-creation of His own kind, through begettal with His Spirit, growth to become like Him, and final birth into the spiritual family of God in the resurrection! Such is the Bible description of the first great resurrection. Now, we know who is resurrected when Christ returns. We know the living saints will instantly changed, and that they will not precede the dead in Christ, but that all will be caught up at the same time, the time of the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, and the Second Coming of Christ. But what of the second resurrection of which Christ spoke? What of those who have NEVER had an opportunity for salvation, who have never heard the gospel, never had a chance to either believe it, or reject it? After all, the vast bulk of the world's population falls into this category. WHY is there a SECOND resurrection from the dead?"But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished . . ." (Revelation 20:5).
The billions of human beings who will be resurrected in the second resurrection — those who are the "rest of the dead" who do not come up until after one thousand years of Jesus' rule on the earth (the Millennium) — are those who never had a REAL CHANCE for salvation. What constitutes a CHANCE? From many, many scriptures, it is obvious that only those who make a determined, conscious decision to reject God's way of life, His wondrous love, His gracious forgiveness — those who rebel against His laws, and who willfully spurn His salvation will be destroyed in Gehenna fire. Jesus showed that the Pharisees and the majority of the population of His time could not understand because God had not opened their minds and hearts! Read it! "And the disciples came and said to Him, 'WHY DO YOU SPEAK TO THEM IN PARABLES?' "He answered and said to them, 'Because it has been GIVEN TO YOU to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them IT HAS NOT BEEN GIVEN . . . Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: "Hearing you will hear and SHALL NOT UNDERSTAND, and seeing you will see and NOT PERCEIVE. For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, and that I should heal them."
"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear . . .' " (Matthew 13:10-16).
God has deliberately called some few from time to time, but He has not called the masses! The churches do not understand this. Millions assume some ongoing war exists between Christ and Satan, with Christ trying desperately to "save the world" while Satan struggles desperately to keep it "lost." This is a lie of the devil, and portrays the devil as equally strong, or stronger, than Christ. Your Bible reveals that the vast majority are blinded; that they are deceived. But a deceived person does not know that he or she is deceived. A deceived person can be completely sincere. He or she can be honest, loyal, faithful, believing, loving, caring, and sharing! A deceived person can be the nicest person you ever met! When God resurrects the dead, it will be as though they had been dead for only a split second of time! So far as they were concerned, they were alive one moment: something happened, perhaps a wreck, or a fall, or a crash, or a bullet! They felt virtually nothing! Then, in a split second of time they are alive again! Their memory is intact. Their character is intact. The kind of person they were is exactly the kind of person they still are! So you see, your loved ones and mine, who really never consciously rejected God and His salvation will have a wonderful opportunity to repent, and to be saved, in the Great White Throne Judgment! Don't you believe that a person of good character will have a running head start towards receiving God's truth above those who had poor character? Of course! What is the JUDGMENT of the Second Resurrection?"Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live . . . Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation (Greek: κρίσις or krisis, Strong's Concordance #G2920). " (John 5:25, 28-29).
The word in John 5:29 translated as "condemnation" is krisis and means "a decision for or against; a tribunal, justice, accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment." His statement could easily have included both the "second resurrection" to judgment and the third resurrection to destruction, of which you will shortly read, but primarily indicated the second resurrection, which will be the GREATEST resurrection of the dead in all history, a resurrection for the purpose of JUDGMENT. Notice the Biblical picture: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great (the masses, peasants and farmers, together with the rich, kings and emperors), standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were JUDGED according to their works, by the things which were written in the books." (Revelation 20:11-12). First, note that judgment is not the same as sentencing! In a trial, there is the trial phase, or the "judgment" phase, and then, if a person is found guilty, a "sentencing." Many people confuse the two. Millions have assumed all their lives that in the "judgment" day, it is as if God, on a great throne, has gathered before Him countless millions of people. As each fearful, apprehensive person approaches His throne, angels are thumbing through "books," which supposedly contain a terrible record of every dirty, rotten, shameful thing the trembling person has done. A written record is there, proving what a terrible sinner or, in some cases, a good Christian, this person has been. Often as not, as this favored myth goes, God slams a gavel down on His desk, and a huge hole opens up beneath the feet of the unfortunate wretch who has just had all his dirty linen exposed before God and Christ, millions of angels, and the millions of people waiting their turn. With a terrible shriek, the convicted sinner plunges down to hell! Then, perhaps the next person is told: "You get to go to heaven!" But all this is PURE MYTH — a story fabricated out of the vivid imaginations of people who, though they may have been sincere, were deceived by the devil! The judgment of which the Bible speaks takes place over a lifetime, not in a few seconds. The word judgment is used many times in God's Word to connote "fairness" and "equity," as well as "discernment" between right and wrong. Notice some examples: "So you, by the help of your God, return. Observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually." (Hosea 12:6). The term is used both positively, as in discernment and fairness, and negatively, when men pervert judgment. Amos wrote: "Seek the Lord and live, lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, with no one to quench it in Bethel — You who turn justice to wormwood (a bitter thing), and lay righteousness to rest in the earth! "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. "Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good. Establish justice in the gate (among the elders; the officials, the courts). It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph." (Amos 5:6-7, 12, 14-15)
Is the second resurrection a RETURN to living in the flesh?Though not conclusive, Isaiah 65 seems to show that God will grant a one hundred year life span to human beings during the Great White Throne Judgment period, following the Millennium: "No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed." (Isaiah 65:20). This reveals a very important and essential truth. Many scriptures show that during the Millennium the human family will continue to marry and bear children. Many scriptures portray the happy, glorious Kingdom of God, in which families and children are present (see Isaiah 11:4-9; Ezekiel 37:24-26; Zechariah 8:5). However, during this one-hundred-year period, those who are resurrected as infants, and all the little children born during the last months of the Millennium who have not yet matured, will be the last generation of the human family. From the moment of the beginning of the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-12), no more babies are conceived or born. Notice the last part of the verse again: " . . . For the child shall die ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed." (Isaiah 65:20). Obviously, these are two different categories. The child who dies at age one hundred is not classified as a "sinner," so the logical assumption is that the little infant who began to live at the beginning of this one-hundred-year period of judgment, and who arrives at his one hundredth birthday, simply dies of old age. Then what happens? One of two possibilities, both completely substantiated in scripture; both already set as precedents by God Himself. One, he is either allowed to die the first physical death (for it is "appointed to men once to die") and then is instantly resurrected from the dead; or, two, he is changed from flesh to spirit, from human to divine, in an instant, in the "twinkling of an eye" (1Corinthians 15:50-52) at the moment of the completion of the one-hundred-year judgment period. How will people be JUDGED during the one hundred year period?God will judge those who are resurrected back to a physical human life just like He NOW judges those who are true Christians - by His words in the Bible. It is the "books" of divine writ, the holy Scriptures, which judge now and will judge later. God is not going to judge differently, following the Millennium, than He does now. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and in the future (Hebrews 13:8). These countless millions of unsaved, ignorant, oftentimes savage people, who were in the most primitive, darkened state of Satan-inspired idolatry, are going to learn about God; they are going to learn in the same way you are learning, by hearing about, reading, studying, and being taught from the Word of God! Notice: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy." (Isaiah 65:17-18). Clearly, this scripture tells us that memories of the old world, the sin-sick, crime-ridden, disease-infested, war-torn world in which you and I live today, "shall not be remembered, nor come to mind." If this is literal, and not merely metaphor, it indicates God will obliterate bad memories. Though the following scriptures refer to a period of time called the "Great White Throne Judgment," they give us a pattern God will use concerning the life span of humans in the Millennium — the amount of time available for people to learn, and to practice, God's way of life. God has decreed that after one hundred years, if a person is still unrepentant, still unyielding to God's laws, still stiff-necked and hardhearted, and living in sin, he will be "accursed," which means condemned. This truly IS a "sentencing"! He is judged from God's Word during a one-hundred-year lifetime. If he or she is still refusing to obey God, to repent and be saved at the end of this time, a sentence is handed down. The sentence is death - a death that lasts for all eternity (Romans 6:23). Notice it: "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch." (Malachi 4:1). Jesus said, in explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares to His disciples: "He answered and said to them: 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares (weeds) are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be AT THE END OF THIS AGE. "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and WILL CAST THEM INTO THE FURNACE OF FIRE. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!'" (Matthew 13:38-43). What have we learned SO FAR?So far, we have seen there are two great categories of human beings who will be involved in the first and second resurrections. The first resurrection (Revelation 20:6) is at the moment of Christ's arrival into the clouds above this earth, the moment of Christ's angels catching up living Christians and the resurrected saints (Matthew 24:31; 1Thessalonians 4:16-17). This is the resurrection to life, the resurrection of Christ's saints, including the apostles, Abraham and the patriarchs, and all the converted Christians who have lived and died. For one thousand years, Christ will reign as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS on earth, with millions of other members of the God Family reigning with Him (Revelation 2:26, 3:21, 10:5, 20:4; Isaiah 2, 11; Micah 4). The second resurrection is the greatest of all. It occurs after the one thousand years are finished, and is the resurrection to judgment (Revelation 20:5), when God will allow each individual to live for one hundred years (Isaiah 65:20). But there is a third category of humans. Christ Himself, and the Scriptures, speak of another category of people — those who have had an opportunity for salvation, and have CONSCIOUSLY rejected it. They are called the "incorrigibly wicked." They are the ones who WILL NOT repent! God's plan is to take care of, once and for all, those who are unrepentant and REFUSE to obey Him by having a THIRD resurrection. What is the THIRD and FINAL resurrection from the dead?Now, let's look into the third and final resurrection. Notice that after we read of the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-12), we read of another great event: "Then Death and Hades (meaning the grave) were cast into the lake of fire. THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:14-15). God will ultimately resurrect all those throughout history who are willingly and WILLFULLY rebellious and who under no circumstances will obey God. Only God himself, who knows the minds and hearts of all men, will be able to determine those who have deliberately, consciously rejected His truth, love and salvation. Jude says of these people: "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries." (Jude 4, 8). Each human being who refuses his or her "window of opportunity" for salvation will utterly perish by being COMPLETLY destroyed by fire: "'For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch. "But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; And you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. "You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ASHES UNDER THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET on the day that I do this,' says the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 4:1-3). Now, notice how Peter concluded his statements about the wicked utterly perishing: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH but that all should come to repentance. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, BEING ON FIRE, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?" (2Peter 3:9-12). What happens AFTER the third and final resurrection?The apostle Peter stated: "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH in which righteousness dwells." (2Peter 3:13). What of those "new heavens and new earth"? God says: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, 'BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.' " (Revelation 21:4-5). Now, every being on earth is divine. Now, all are finally members of God's great, expanded family! What then? Our known universe contains countless galaxies. Galaxies can contain hundreds of billions of stars! Each star, of which our own sun is but an orange dwarf as an example, could hold in its gravitational field any number of planets. Why do you suppose God has created all those galaxies, all those suns, all those billions upon billions of planets? Today, they are lifeless, empty, vain, waste, and chaotic. So was our planet earth, until the One called Elohim said "Let there be light!" Do you suppose He could ever do it again? | 