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by _Father_of_five » Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:19 am
In this thread I have attempted to present the idea that all punishment and wrath from God must happen before the resurrection. So that, once the [physical] resurrection happens, "God may be all in all" (1 Cor 15:28 ). In this way He will have received both the firstfruits (the just) and the later fruits (the unjust, once purged from unrighteousness).
For this view to be correct, it is necessary for John 5:24-29 to be understood to be referring to spiritual resurrection. I would like to explain this more fully. Here are the scriptures again for reference.
John 5:24-25
24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 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.
John 5:28-29
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
In the first two verses (v24-25) Jesus is speaking of a spiritual resurrection. He says that he who "hears my word and believes" will pass from death to life. In this case, passing from death to life is a spiritual resurrection. This happens everyday when someone hears God's word, believes and becomes a Christian. It is important to point out that hearing alone does not make one a Christian; one must also believe, as was said in verse 24. Also, in these first two verses, Jesus points out that he was referring to a time that "now is." He was referring to the time of His earthly ministry (before His death) while He spoke directly to the people (face to face). During this time only some of the spiritually dead heard his voice.
In the second two verses (v28-29) Jesus speaks of an "hour" that was coming in which all of the spiritually dead would hear His voice. I do not believe that Jesus is contrasting spiritual resurrection verses physical resurrection; He is contrasting the number of hearers - some versus all. The "hour" spoken of here is referring to the Day of Pentecost when His Spirit was poured out on all flesh.
Jesus then says that he who hears and believes will be awakened to eternal life (just as new Christians do today). Those who hear, but do not respond, will be awakened to punishment. This punishment begins in our lifetime (Rom 1:18-32, Rom 13:1-4) and will find its completion at Christ's return (before the physical resurrection). I believe this is also the proper understanding of the "sheep and the goats" (Matt 25:31-46) as well as Rev 20:11-15.
Todd
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