DEATH, THE INTERMEDIATE STATE, THE RESURRECTION AND THE FINAL DESTINY — page 14

The Second Resurrection

The first resurrection will occur before the Millennium, but the second resurrection will occur after the Millennium (Rev. 20:7, 11-15). The wicked dead (who did not believe while alive) will be raised together to appear before the “great white throne” and will receive their sentence of eternal judgment. All who take part in this resurrection, which comprises the rest of the dead, will be cast into the “lake of fire”. This is very sad and solemn.

Reincarnation – a belief of many Eastern religions – which supposes that the soul of the dead returns to Earth in different forms to live again is certainly a false thing (Heb. 9:27). To say that the Bible supports this notion is absurd. The idea of reincarnation is that a person comes back as another person or animal. There are 10 or 12 people in Scripture who were raised from the dead, but they always came back in their own body and were the same person. Malachi 4:5-6 and Matthew 11:14 were used to support the mistaken idea. The Lord spoke of John the Baptist as Elijah, but He was not speaking literally, but that John would arise in his ministry with the same character and spirit as Elijah. Luke 1:17 confirms this, saying: “And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people well prepared (prepared – ARA)”.

The Bible teaches that once a person dies, they do not return to Earth to live again. It says: “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment [judgment – JND]” (Heb. 9:27). It is an appointment that only the wicked fulfill, for all who have faith have been freed from the judgment of their sins. The Lord said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and will not come into condemnation [judgment – JND], but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24).

The Lord Jesus said of the dead: “they can no longer die” (Luke 20:36). This confirms that they cannot keep returning to Earth to live and die repeatedly. King David could say of his child who died: “Can I bring her back? I will go to her, but she will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23). See also Ecclesiastes 12:7.