This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.
There’s less in Scripture about the resurrection of the wicked than there is about the glorification of the just. Nevertheless, the Bible gives us enough information to know that those who reject Christ are physically resurrected one day and separated forever from God.
Daniel gives us the clearest Old Testament glimpse of the resurrection of the wicked, and their everlasting destiny: “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt” (Dan. 12:2). Job and Isaiah also offer insights into future resurrection (Job 19:25-27; Isa. 26:19).
In the New Testament, Jesus tells us a day of reckoning is coming for all people, an event that begins with resurrection (John 5:28-29). The New Testament writers confirm final judgment of the wicked in numerous places, a judgment that presupposes resurrection.
It is reasonable, but by no means certain, to conclude that the wicked of all ages are the last to be resurrected, depending on how one interprets Revelation 20. John writes, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed” (Rev. 20:5). These dead, great and small, stand before a great white throne and are judged according to their works (Rev. 20:11-13).
Prior to this judgment, Satan is thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Presumably, demons are cast there as well (see Matt. 25:41). Then, death and hades are cast into hell (Rev. 20:14). This lends credence to the view that the wicked are the last to be resurrected because no one dies physically anymore (death), and there is no need for an intermediate abode of the dead (hades). Last, the wicked, whose names are not found written in the book of life, are thrown into the lake of fire and experience the second death (Rev. 20:14-15).
But what kind of resurrected bodies do the wicked receive? Scripture offers no details like the ones Paul lays out for believers in 1 Corinthians 15. Even so, we may offer a few observations about the resurrected bodies of the damned.
First, they are physical bodies, reunited with the souls and spirits of the wicked in hades.
Second, they are prepared for everlasting separation from God in hell. Scripture does not support the false doctrines of annihilationism (the wicked ultimately cease to exist) or universalism (everyone ultimately is saved).
Third, they cannot be what Paul describes as “spiritual” bodies in 1 Corinthians 15:44, for the wicked have rejected Christ and thus are void of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Finally, they experience the second death – that is, the lake of fire – in which they are doomed forever for existence, but not for true life, for they are in outer darkness, cut off from the Source of Life.
What if there’s no corpse?
What about those whose bodies have been cremated, lost at sea, ravaged in warfare, or otherwise ruined beyond recovery? The God who names the stars (Isa. 40:26) is fully capable of tracing every human atom and resurrecting every person ever conceived, and then fashioning that body for everlasting life with God or everlasting existence apart from him.
Resurrection must take place for Christ to set things right. The salvation of believers depends on Jesus’ finished work at Calvary, purging sin and its consequences from their whole being, and restoring in eternity what was sacrificed in time for the sake of Jesus.
A young woman beheaded for professing faith in Christ must experience the resurrection power of Jesus, whose brutalized body burst forth from the grave in health and wholeness. The child who dies in his mother’s womb, never to draw his first breath, must experience the joys of childhood and the embrace of a loving Father. And the faithful bondservant of Christ whose physical vigor erodes with the ravages of time must experience the vitality of being a new creation once again.
Equally important, the punishment of the wicked demands resurrection, for their sins are not confined to their souls and spirits.
While outer darkness may seem unreasonably harsh, everyone who experiences everlasting existence apart from Christ has chosen it. The rich man in Jesus’ parable confesses to being in torment, but he shows no willingness to repent of his sin (Luke 16:19-31). The resurrected wicked summoned before the great white throne watch in stunned silence as books are opened, revealing no evidence of a desire for Christ (Rev. 20:11-15). Even those who dare to offer a word in their own defense are proven to be lawbreakers whom Jesus never knew (Matt. 7:21-23).
When judgment falls on the wicked, it does not produce repentance, for that is the goal of God’s kindness, restraint, and patience now (Rom. 2:4). In body, soul, and spirit, the resurrected wicked remain, throughout eternity, what they have proven to be on this side of the grave.
Like a black hole, the second death permits no escape. The gentle touch of the Savior’s hand, the Spirit’s still, small voice calling the lost to repentance, the joy of an intimate relationship with the God of the universe – these have been rejected and are not welcome in the second death. Worse, there is no second chance. The second death, experienced in an indestructible body devoid of the Spirit, is final and irrevocable.
Next: Everyone’s day of reckoning