RESURRECTION, GENERAL

The Bible clearly teaches that at the time of Christ's return, all the dead will be raised from their interment. (a) In the Patriarchal age, Job seems to allude to the hope of the resurrection (Job. 19:25-26). Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead (Heb. 11:19). (b) Moses, speaking on behalf of God, declared: "I kill, and I make alive" (Dt. 32:39). Daniel prophesied that the dead of the earth would awake, some to life everlasting, some to eternal shame and contempt (Dan. 12:2). (c) During his ministry, Jesus promised there would be a future resurrection of both the good and the evil (Jn. 5:28-29). When the Sadducees, who disbelieved in the resurrection (Mt. 22:23), attempted to dispute with Christ regarding this doctrine, the Savior informed them that their dogma reflected ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God (Mt. 22:29). (d) The apostles of Christ vigorously argued for the doctrine of the bodily resurrection (see Acts 24:15). The entire 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with this theme. There Paul contends for the following. Christ was raised from the dead (1-11). His resurrection is the guarantee of that resurrection to come (12-24). The dead will come forth from the grave -- not in a physical form, but in a spiritual body (35-49). The bodily resurrection is a token of the ultimate victory of Christ's cause (50-58). In the final book of the N.T., Jesus contends that he has the "keys" of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18), which implies the resurrection of the body from the state of death, and the deliverance of the soul from the hadean realm.