Every single human being who has ever existed is going to be resurrected. Your third-grade teacher, your first boss, your best friend, your worst enemy — everyone. The question isn’t whether you’ll stand before God. The question is which resurrection you’ll be part of.
That was the packed message Josh White delivered on December 13, 2020, as he continued his series through Philippians 3. After establishing in Part 1 that there will be a resurrection of the dead — and that our resurrection is tied to Christ’s — Nathan walked the congregation through the three distinct resurrection events still to come.
The First Resurrection: Before the Tribulation (The Rapture)
Paul writes in Philippians 3:11 that he hopes to “attain the resurrection out from among the dead.” That specific phrasing — “out from among” — is unique in Scripture. It signals there are actually two kinds of resurrection, and Paul wants to be part of the right one.
The first resurrection event is the one Paul longed for: the gathering called the rapture, which happens before the seven-year tribulation.
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
This is the resurrection for everyone who has trusted in Christ up to this point. The dead are raised, the living are changed, and believers are taken to be with the Lord — before the great and terrible day of the Lord begins.
“Behold! I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:51–52
Why does this matter? Because the tribulation that follows — the seven years of God’s pouring out His wrath on a rebellious world — will be horrific beyond description. We have no concept in 2020 of how devastating those years will be. By God’s grace, the Church is gathered before that starts.
The Second Resurrection: At the Second Coming (End of the Tribulation)
The second resurrection event takes place at the end of the tribulation, when Christ returns to establish His kingdom. Many will have come to faith during those seven years — some will have been martyred for that faith.
“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom authority to judge was committed… I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God… They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
— Revelation 20:4–6
But there’s another group: tribulation survivors who put their faith in Christ and make it through alive. At the second coming, they’re gathered together — still in their earthly bodies — to enter the millennial kingdom.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
— Matthew 25:31–32
The sheep — the righteous tribulation survivors — inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). They will populate the earth during Christ’s thousand-year reign.
The Third Resurrection: At the Great White Throne (End of the Kingdom)
At the very end of the millennium, the third and final mass resurrection occurs: the resurrection to judgment.
“Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened… And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”
— Revelation 20:11–12, 15
Everyone whose name is not found written in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Every unrepentant sinner who has ever lived — every person who rejected Christ — stands before the perfect justice of Jesus Christ and pays for their own sins.
Nobody will be able to argue. Nobody will claim they don’t belong there. The books will declare it, and it will be perfectly just.
Two Resurrections, Three Events, One Choice
Nathan closed with pointed application. Every person you know will be at one of these three events. Your friends. Your family. Your coworkers. The people you love most.
“Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
— Romans 10:9–10
The urgency is real. The resurrection is coming. And right now, while there’s still time, God is extending the invitation: place your faith in His Son, and you will be resurrected out from among the dead — into everlasting life.
This is the hope Paul held onto. This is the hope we can hold onto today.
Scripture References
- Philippians 3:11 — Paul’s hope to attain the out-resurrection
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 — The rapture and the dead in Christ rising first
- 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 — The mystery of the living being changed
- Daniel 12:2 — Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt
- John 5:28–29 — All in the tombs will hear His voice and come out
- Revelation 6:9–11 — The souls under the altar during the tribulation
- Revelation 20:4–6 — The second resurrection and the thousand-year reign
- Revelation 20:11–15 — The great white throne judgment
- Matthew 25:31–46 — The sheep and the goats at the second coming
- Romans 10:9–10 — How to be saved through faith in Christ