"All Those In Memorial Tombs

The word that Jesus' disciples used for "resurrection" literally means "raising up" or "standing up." This is a raising up from the lifeless condition of death - as it were, a standing up out of the common grave of mankind. Jehovah God can easily resurrect a person. Why? Because Jehovah is the Originator of life. Today, humans can record the voices and images of men and women on videotape and can replay these recordings after the individuals die. Surely, then, our almight Creator can record the details of any individual and resurrect the same person, giving him or her a newly formed body.

Jesus Christ said: "The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his [Jesus'] voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment." (John 2:28,29) All those in Jehovah's memory will be resurrected and instructed in his ways. For those who act in harmony with the knowledge of God, this will turn out to be a resurrection of life. However, it will turn out to be a resurrection of condemnatory judgment for those who reject God's teachings and rulership.

Naturally, those who have pursued a righteous course as Jehovah's servants will be resurrected. In fact, the resurrection hope strenghtened many to face death, even in cases of violent persecution. They knew that God could restore them to life. (Matthew 10:28) But millions of people have died without showing whether they would comply with God's righteous standards. they too will be resurrected. Confident in Jehovah's purpose in this regard, the apostle Paul said: " I have hope toward God.... that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." -- Acts 24:15.

The apostle John received a thrilling vision of resurrected ones standing before God's throne. John then wrote: "The sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. And death and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-14) Think of that! All the dead who are in God's memory have the prospect of release from Hades (Greek, hai 'des), or Sheol, mankind's common grave. (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31) They have an opportunity to demonstrate by their deeds whether they will serve God. Then "death and Hades" will be hurled into what is called "the lake of fire, " symbolizing complete destruction, as does the term "Gehenna." (Luke 12:5) The common grave of mankind itself will have been emptied and will cease to exist when the resurrection is completed. How comforting it is to learn from the Bible that God does not torture anyone! -- Jeremiah 7:30,31.


Next time: Resurrection To Where?