"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" 1 Corinthians 15:22.
This short scripture means so much more than we can possibly comprehend. Let’s break it down. As a result of Adam’s first sin, all of humanity is destined to a life of sin, then death. Death does not take into account how much money or power someone has. Every earthly possession is insignificant to death. Yet, “even so in Christ shall all be made alive”. As all die, all will be made alive again through the power of Christ and his sacrifice for all of mankind. If you can’t tell by now, the key element of this scripture is all; not just some, not just those that read their bible everyday, not just those who are baptized, not just those that go to church each and every Sunday, but ALL. All die due to Adam, but thanks to Christ, all are made alive again!
Jesus has made a promise to resurrect all of those who are asleep in the grave. “For the hour is coming, in which all who are in their tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; those who have done good to a resurrection of life, and those who committed evil to a resurrection of judgment” John 5:28-29. This resurrection will be to a kingdom of rehabilitation whose sole purpose is to root out all sin from humanity. After 1000 years of rehabilitation, there will be a final judgment of the now restored humanity, stated in Revelation 20:7-8 “And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations”. This idea might be pretty different from what most people think about resurrection, so let’s take a closer look.
There are two classes of people are resurrected:
1. Those that have done good, believed in Christ and followed in his footsteps to the best of their abilities. They were made righteous in the eyes of God through the merit of Christ’s sacrifice. By proving faithful during this lifetime, their resurrection is unto life in heaven.
2. The second class is the rest of humanity. They have been subject to the power of sin and Satan’s temptations, and shall thus be resurrected into a life of judgment.
But what is this “life of judgment”? In John 5:29, the word translated as judgment is the Greek word “Krisis”. Contrary to popular belief, it does not mean condemnation or damnation. “Krisis” simply means a verdict reached by a trial. The final decision of this trial is one of two things: life or death. During the resurrection of judgment, Christ will be in charge of teaching mankind the importance of righteousness. “When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” Isaiah 26:9.
Ultimately, God’s final goal is for all of humanity to live in a perfect state, described in Jeremiah 31:34 where “no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
- A Follower of Christ