1) During Jesus' second coming, who will be raised to life in this first resurrection?
            "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17.
            In this first general resurrection, only the righteous, the dead in Christ, will be brought back to life in new immortal bodies, to meet the Lord in the AIR.  This contradicts the false theory that the righteous will stay on earth when Jesus comes back, and that Jesus will set His kingdom in Palestine, and rule with them for a thousand years.  The reason is because shortly before Jesus was led captive, He promised His disciples that He would take them to where His father lived.
            "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2,3.
            God's house is in Heaven.  Jesus, after His resurrection, went up into Heaven and He will come back to this earth to gather His people so that His people, as He promised in the verses above, may be where Jesus is; namely in Heaven.  God's kingdom reigning on earth does not occur until after the thousand years are over, where God's people will be able to live on the new earth and see the new heavens.
            There is no mention of any wicked being resurrected along with the righteous, which means that they will be raised at a later date.

2) What will the righteous then be doing?
            "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Revelation 20:6 (last part).
            Clearly it can be said that the wicked will not reign with God and Christ in Heaven as priests for a thousand years.

3) What is said about those who are part of the first resurrection?
            "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." Revelation 20:6 (first part).

4) When will the wicked be raised to life?
            "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Revelation 20:5.
            After the thousand years have passed, there will be a second general resurrection.  Who will be raised in this second resurrection?  If the first resurrection consisted of all the dead in Christ, the rest would logically be all of the wicked dead.  This also contradicts the fact, as some have suggested, that once a wicked person dies, then that person will stay in his/her grave for eternity, never to be raised to life again.
            "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which ALL that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28,29.
            This verse proves without a doubt that not only will the righteous be resurrected, being called the resurrection of life, but the wicked will also be resurrected as well, being called the resurrection of damnation.  All people who had ever lived and died, good and evil, will hear Jesus calling them out of their graves.
            One important fact to note is that for both of these general resurrections, beginning of the thousand years and at the end of the thousand years, either only the righteous are resurrected or only the wicked are resurrected, but never both at the same time.

5) After the wicked are raised to life, what will they be doing?
            "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." Revelation 20:9 (first part).
            This beloved city that is mentioned in this verse, as the next chapter will give evident of, is the New Jerusalem that comes down from Heaven after the thousand years are over.

6) As the wicked surround the camp of the saints, what event will then take place?  What will happen to the wicked as a result of this event?
            "And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." Revelation 20:9 (last part).
            Literal fire will come down from heaven and devour Satan, the evil angels and the wicked people.  The word here rendered "devoured" is the Greek katesthio, which means "to eat up, to devour" so that it denotes utter excision.
            Also, it is this fire from Heaven that cleanses the world of all sin and creates with it a new earth.  "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3:10.

7) What is this fire from God called?
            "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:14,15.
            We found out earlier that the second death has no power over the ones that are raised to life in the first resurrection, because they will have eternal life.  Then who are the ones that are not written in the book of life?  Obviously, these have to be the wicked, which are to be cast into the lake of fire, or in other words, the second death, where their bodies and spirits are destroyed, never to exist again.  If there is a second death, then there must have been a first death, which affects all humans on earth.
            "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:22.
            To be resurrected after the thousand years only to be destroyed forever is indeed a resurrection of damnation.

8) Is there any part in Scripture that hints at anything about a special resurrection?
            "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64.  (See also Mark 14:62).
            Who is Jesus talking to at this moment?  Who is the "ye" in this verse?  If you read some verses before, Jesus has already been arrested and was now brought before the high priest Caiaphas.  Jesus told Caiaphas that he would see Him coming in the clouds of heaven.  What point in time will Caiaphas see Jesus coming with power and great glory?  At His second coming of course:
            "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:30,31.
            This event that is happening is definitely the second coming of Christ, the climax of the Bible and earth's history, as His elect, the dead in Christ, are resurrected and gathered as we have seen earlier.
            But now there is a problem.  How can Jesus claim that Caiaphas will see Him in the clouds of heaven when only the righteous will be resurrected?  If Caiaphas was righteous, this would have made sense.  But we know that Caiaphas was wicked, he was one of the people responsible for the death of Christ, so he could not have possibly been resurrected along with the righteous.  Jesus was not talking about the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the thousand years either, for there is no mention how He will come during that time, but instead, the Lamb's wife, the New Jerusalem, will be the glory and attraction for the wicked to behold.
            At this point, the only conclusion we can make, and also the fact that we know Jesus cannot lie, is that Caiaphas will be alive to see Jesus coming a second time.  If Caiaphas is alive during this time, then he must have been resurrected some time before Jesus comes back in the clouds of heaven.  Other Scriptures will support this fact.

9) When Jesus comes back a second time, what type of people will see him?
            "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen." Revelation 1:7.
            This verse is unquestionably talking about the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven.  It says that every eye shall see him – basically every living person, righteous and wicked, that had survived the horrors of the seven last plagues, and are now to behold the Lord Himself.  But now we have extra information regarding those who will see Jesus.  In addition to the "every eye," there is also a distinct group which is said to have "pierced Him."  This special group is most appropriately applied to those who were chiefly concerned in the tragedy of Jesus' death, as was the case with Caiaphas.  But how can this be possible?  Those wicked people involved in the crucifixion of Christ are now all dead, so how can they be alive at Jesus' second coming?  We have seen that the general resurrection of the wicked does not take place until a thousand years after the second advent.  The only logical explanation is that those who "pierced Him" are resurrected some time before Jesus comes back.  The next question will explain this.

10) Where in the Bible does it say that there will be a special resurrection besides the general resurrections of the righteous and the wicked?
            "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2.
            What resurrection takes place here?  It is not the first resurrection, for in the first resurrection only the righteous are resurrected.  It is not the second resurrection either, for in the second resurrection only the wicked are resurrected.  If this resurrection is neither the first nor the second resurrection, then it can only be a special resurrection, because we see that this verse is the only verse in the Bible that talks about BOTH the righteous and the wicked people being resurrected to life at the same time.  The partial resurrection of the righteous and the wicked occurring at the same time in this verse is undeniably evident.  This takes place before the general resurrection of either group.  Many, not all, that sleep shall awake – some of the righteous, not all of them, to everlasting life, and some of the wicked, not all of them, to shame and everlasting contempt.  This resurrection takes place in connection with the great time of trouble such as never was, as seen in Daniel 12:1, which precedes the coming of the Lord.  With this verse, we can now understand the meaning of Matthew 26:64 and Revelation 1:7.
            In order for this partial resurrection of the righteous and the wicked dead to occur, there must have been a special reason for it.  Quoting from Daniel and the Revelation, p. 308, it says:
            "It is certainly most appropriate that some who were eminent in holiness, who labored and suffered for their hope of a coming Saviour, but died without seeing Him, should be raised a little before, to witness the scenes attending His glorious epiphany; as, in like manner, a goodly company came out of their graves at His resurrection to behold His risen glory (Matthew 27:52,53), and to escort Him in triumph to the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high (Ephesians 4:8, margin).  There will be also some, eminent in wickedness, who have done most to reproach the name of Christ and injure His cause, especially those who caused His cruel death upon the cross, and mocked and derided Him in His dying agonies, who will be raised, as part of their judicial punishment, to behold His return in the clouds of heaven, a celestial victor, in great majesty and splendor unendurable to them."
            Who are the righteous that come up during this special resurrection?  They will be those who have died in the Third Angel's Message having the seal of God written on their foreheads, namely, those who are part of the 144,000.  See the below Testimonies.

11) What does it say about those who are slain by the King of kings and Lord of lords?
            "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.  These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
            "And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Revelation 19:20,21.
            At Jesus' second coming, it appears that there is a remnant not numbered along with the beast or the false prophet, whom both contain the mark of the beast, that will be slain by Jesus' brightness and glory.  The Greek word translated here "remnant" is loipoi, which means "remaining ones," the same Greek word used in Revelation 12:17.  Therefore, the remaining ones would have to refer to those wicked, (and it cannot be the righteous remnant, since they will not be slain), that do not have the mark of the beast, namely, those who had "pierced" our Lord, being risen during the special resurrection specifically to behold the Christ.  A few examples are Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate and Judas.

Early Writings, p. 285
            "There was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth.  There was a mighty earthquake.  The graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the third angel's message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law."
            If you have died under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, then you would be sealed with the seal of God on your forehead, therefore being part of the 144,000.
            The time when the special righteous come forth to hear the covenant of peace occurs during the great earthquake of the 7th plague, shortly before Jesus comes back.

Great Controversy, p. 637
            Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth. . . awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."  Daniel 12:2.  All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of peace with those who have kept His law.  "They also which pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7), those that mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.

Great Controversy, p. 643
          There are those who mocked Christ in His humiliation.  With thrilling power come to their minds the Sufferer's words, when, adjured by the high priest, He solemnly declared: "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64.  Now they behold Him in His glory, and they are yet to see Him sitting on the right hand of power.
            Those who derided His claim to be the Son of God are speechless now.  There is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown Him king.  There are the very men who with impious hands placed upon His form the purple robe, upon His sacred brow the thorny crown, and in His unresisting hand the mimic scepter, and bowed before Him in blasphemous mockery.  The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence.  Those who drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His side, behold these marks with terror and remorse.
            With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary.  With shuddering horror they remember how, wagging their heads in satanic exultation, they exclaimed: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him." Matthew 27:42,43.

Early Writings, p. 16
            "Then Jesus' silver trumpet sounded, as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in flames of fire.  He gazed on the graves of the sleeping saints, then raised His eyes and hands to heaven, and cried, "Awake! awake! awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise."  Then there was a mighty earthquake.  The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted, "Alleluia!" as they recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and in the same moment we were changed and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air."
            Here all the 144,000 are alive during Jesus' second coming, therefore, the sealed dead were the ones resurrected during the special resurrection, and those that Paul wrote about where "we which are alive and remain" of 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Last Updated: August 19, 2000
references
Daniel and the Revelation, 1944, pp. 306-308; 349,350; 749.