In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the coming event described in John 5:28-29. Jesus tells his listeners not to be surprised or shocked, for there is a specific hour in God's calendar when all those in the graves will hear his voice. This event is known as the first resurrection, or the resurrection of life. The preacher emphasizes the importance of being prepared for this event by accepting Jesus Christ as one's personal savior, as he is the only way to eternal life. The sermon encourages the audience to memorize and meditate on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which provides further details about the first resurrection.

I trust you have a Bible with you this evening, and there in your home why not find a Bible and turn to the book of John, the fourth gospel, John chapter 5. We come to the 28th verse of John chapter 5. This verse along with verse 29 tells of a coming event that is so mighty and miraculous that when one reads about it he can only shake his head with wonder and amazement. Knowing the response of human hearts to that which he is about to say, Jesus begins by saying, marvel not at this. Don't be shocked, don't be surprised, for what I'm about to tell you is true. Marvel not at this. The hour is coming. There's no ifs, ands, buts, or maybes about it. There is an hour in God's calendar. There is a time somewhere in the future, the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. Whose voice? Go back to verse 26 and there we are told about the Son of God who has life in himself. And again in verse 27 he is called the Son of Man. The hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of Jesus, the Son of God. What will happen when they hear his voice? They shall come forth. They that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. Now dear ones, there it is, clear and simple. The day is coming when all who have died will be raised from the dead. But you say that's impossible. Yes, with man it is. But my friends, when anyone brings up the argument of impossibility, I like to turn to the book of Jeremiah 32 and read these two verses to them. Verse 27 of Jeremiah 27, behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Did you note that? I am the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? And the question is answered in verse 17. Ah Lord God, behold thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arms, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Now do you think it's too hard for the God who made the universe to raise the dead? He is the God of all flesh. He made us in the first place. He knows our composition. He created us. And my friends, when these bodies die, he is able to make them alive again. With man it's impossible, but with God nothing shall be impossible. All the dead are going to be raised, and they will be raised by him who died on the cross for our sins, and who came back from the dead on the third day in a body incorruptible and glorious to die no more. The resurrection of all men, women, boys, and girls is guaranteed by the resurrection of him who is called in 1st Corinthians 15, the last Adam. Someone has said that the graveyards of man are the seed plots of resurrection, and the cemeteries of the people of God are the resurrection fields of the promised perfecting. In 1st Corinthians 15, 21, and 22 we read, since by man came death, that is by the first Adam, by man, Jesus, the last Adam, came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Yes, Christ's resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all, both believers and unbelievers. But what I want you to see here is that the resurrection of believers and unbelievers will not take place at the same time. I'm aware of the fact that some teach a general resurrection, but such teaching does not conform to the clear teaching of the Bible. The Bible teaches there will be two resurrections, the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation. Those to be included in the resurrection of life are those, according to our text, that have done good. Ah, you say, preacher, there's a contradiction. Doesn't it say in the third chapter of Romans that there is none that doeth good? No, not one. Of course it says that, but there's no contradiction, because the text there in Romans is speaking of the natural man. All of us are born in sin. We are born sinners. And in our natural state we can do no good thing, for in the flesh we cannot please God. But you see, Jesus taught us that we must be born again. And when we're born again, by receiving Christ as our personal Savior, we then receive the Holy Spirit. And then we don't walk in the flesh, we walk in the Spirit. And as we walk in Him, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us and controls us, then the deeds, the works that we perform are good in the sight of God. So when the Bible talks about the people that have done good being raised in the first resurrection, the Blessed Holy Spirit is teaching us that all who have been born again by the Spirit of God are going to be included in the first resurrection. So the good ones, the righteous ones in the eyes of God, are all that have repented of sin and have received Christ as Savior. Also to be raised from the dead are those that have done evil. Who are the evil ones in God's sight? Simply men and women and young people that have chosen their way to God. And I tell you tonight, friend, that the greatest sin you can commit is to reject the Son of God's love, who came all the way from the glory land, yea, from the very bosom of the Father, and took upon Himself the form of human flesh, and lived among men, and died on the cross for men, that we might not perish but have eternal life. The greatest sin that you can commit is to reject Jesus Christ as personal Savior. All that have rejected Him are evil in the sight of God. Thus the evil ones, according to verse 29, are to be raised from the dead, but they'll be raised in the resurrection of damnation. Now may I make it plain, dear friends, that you can be a religious person and yet evil in God's sight. You can be a church member and yet be evil in God's sight. You can be a good father and good mother, as the word goes in the world, and yet be evil in God's sight. If you've refused Christ, you're evil. You're in darkness. You're lost. And if you die without Christ, you'll be raised from the dead, but yours will be the resurrection of damnation. The details of these two resurrections are not given here, neither is the chronological order of events surrounding the two resurrections given here. But I'm glad the Holy Spirit makes the details clear in the epistles as well as the book of Revelation. And so tonight it is our joy and privilege to pursue some of these details together. The first resurrection, the resurrection of life, begins with the shout of the Son of God from heaven. Have you learned the passage yet? First Thessalonians 4, 13 to 18. Why don't you memorize it? Get it into your heart. It will bless your life and carry you through many problems that confront you. For this is the blessed hope of the Christians, the blessed hope of the church. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, verse 13 of First Thessalonians 4, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now we've had many wonderful meetings here at Arlington Baptist, but none can compare with the meeting in the air, in the sweet, sweet by-and-by. Oh I hope that you'll be there in that wonderful meeting. When the Lord shouts from the glory, and all that are his will hear his voice, they'll know his voice, they'll be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, that is those that are living and love the Lord, and together with the dead in Christ shall rise to meet him in the air. Oh what a meeting. Now following this event, when the dead in Christ are raised, and the living believers are changed, and taken away to be with the Lord in heaven, something terrible is going to happen on earth. The great tribulation will rage on the earth. Satan and his beasts will have the upper hand. Many will turn to the Lord and will refuse the mark of the beast, and will die the martyr's death. They shall be beheaded for their witness for Jesus. But hear me, these tribulation saints that will die will be raised at the end of the tribulation, and that's only a seven-year period, and will thereby have part in the first resurrection. For you see the first resurrection is in many stages. It began with Christ 2,000 years ago. Christ was the firstfruits, and then at the rapture of the church, when the dead in Christ are raised, and the living believers are caught away to meet the Lord in the air, this is again part of the first resurrection. During the tribulation the saints that die will not be first given by God, at the end of that period they'll be raised. They too will have part in the first resurrection. This is what the Apostle makes clear in the book of Revelation, the 20th chapter, verse 4. I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls, S-O-U-L-S, the souls of them that had their heads cut off for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived. Now there's resurrection there. The verse starts off with John seeing souls, then he says, these souls lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. And so it's very clear that the tribulation saints, all that come to the Lord during the tribulation and are beheaded because they don't receive the mark of the beast, these will be raised at the end of the tribulation, they'll be resurrected, and have part in the first resurrection, and they, along with all of us that love the Lord, will reign with Christ a thousand years. But what about the rest of the dead? What about the wicked dead that Jesus talked about in John 5, 29? My friends, they must await the second resurrection. Notice verse 5 of Revelation 20. But the rest of the dead, you see, following the tribulation period, the Lord will reign upon this earth with his Church for a thousand years. It will be the glorious kingdom reign of Christ, and not until that glorious period is ended will the rest of the dead, the wicked dead, be raised. But hear me, they will be raised, for after the thousand years are ended, the voice of the Son of God will be heard again, and the second resurrection will take place. This is described in the 20th chapter of Revelation, beginning with verse 11. I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them, and I saw the dead. Now here we have the rest of the dead, the unsaved dead, the wicked dead, who remained in their graves during the thousand-year reign of Christ upon earth. Now, John says, I saw them, the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every man according to their works, 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. We see then that between the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation, there is a time period of a thousand years. At the end of that period, the voice of the Son of God will resound again into eternity, into the tombs, into Hades, to the depths of the sea, wherever the unsaved dead are found. They will once again hear the voice of the Son of God and be raised for that final judgment. And the books will be opened. What are the books? I'm not sure, but I believe that God has the records of every life, and he's going to give a fair trial, a fair judgment to all that stand before him. No one will be able to say, Lord, you've been unfair, because he has all the records. And the book of life will be opened. And oh, what a terrible blank space there will be for those people where their name might have been. So what about the present state of the dead? We're all concerned about this, for all of us have loved ones that have passed on and are in eternity tonight. Well, I want you to understand this, that the resurrection concerns only the bodies of the dead. The disembodied spirits of the dead are right now in an intermediate state. For you see, dear friends, man is not a body with a soul. Man is a soul with a body. Jesus, speaking about the soul and the value of the soul, said, what shall it profit a man if he gained the world and loses soul? In another place he said, don't fear people that can hurt your body. We're going to have new bodies someday. Don't worry too much about this sinful dying body. But Jesus said, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. So the, the all-important part of us is the soul. This is the real man that lives inside this house and by or through this body merely expresses himself to others. But my friends, when a soul leaves the body, he is still very much alive. He has not ceased to exist. He is conscious. He knows. He loves. Isn't it good to know that your dear ones that have died in Christ still love you and still think about you? They still have these faculties according to the scripture. And so the Bible teaches that the believing dead, the believing dead are right now in paradise, Luke 23 43. And according to Philippians 1 21, they are with Christ, which according to verse 23 of Philippians 1 is for them far better than being here in this world. And then in 2nd Corinthians 5 8, they are absent from the body and present with the Lord. Oh, I know that we can't visualize this. We can't see it. We can't fully understand it. We must accept it by faith, but we can because God doesn't lie. And so we're taught that our loved ones that have died in Christ are at this moment conscious in the presence of our wonderful Lord awaiting that glorious day of the first resurrection. How about the unbelieving dead? According to the scriptures, they are in Hades, in the heart of the earth. And my friends hear me. For them, the fire has already begun according to Luke 16 22 to 24. And they shall remain where they are until the resurrection of damnation when they shall be properly judged and then cast into the eternal fire called the lake of fire. Now don't tell me that I'm out of date. Don't tell me that I'm old fashioned. The lake of fire that we have read about tonight in Revelation 20 is just as real a place as is the sun. Man didn't think up this idea. It's in the Bible. God has told us about this place and it's the place where the wicked suffer and where they're tormented for all eternity. In fact, it is called the second death. Oh may God deliver you from that, my friend. Do not laugh it off. Do not say it's not true. Don't say it can't happen to me. It's the word of God. And if you know not Christ and die without Christ, you'll go into Hades where the fire already begins. But that's not really hell. Hell is Gehenna, the lake of fire, right now uninhabited. But it's God's incinerator. And one day God is going to sweep all of the filth of this world into that place, including all that have died in their sins. But God wants to deliver you from such a destiny. And praise God he will. If you'll turn from your sins and look to Christ the Lamb of God, if you'll receive him as personal Savior, my friend, on the basis of his finished work, he will forgive your sins and make you worthy of the presence of Almighty God. And so, since death and the second coming of Christ in the first resurrection are always momentary possibilities, it is vital that you waste no time in getting ready for that journey into eternity. Amos tells us in the fourth chapter of his book that we should prepare to meet God. The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that we should prepare to meet God now. And we're reminded in the gospel of John the 14th chapter that the only adequate preparation for eternity, for heaven, is Jesus Christ the Son of God. For as many as receive him, to them God gives the right to become his son, even to them that believe on his name. If you should die as you are right now, if you should die tonight as you are right now, what resurrection would you face? The first resurrection unto life, or the second resurrection unto damnation? God grant that it will be the resurrection unto life. It can be, it will be, if you can say tonight, Jesus is mine. Oh, receive him, make sure of heaven, by receiving him into your heart right now. I trust you have a Bible where you are tonight. If so, turn to the book of John, the gospel of John, chapter five. The fifth chapter of the gospel according to John. If you have read the book of John and studied it carefully, you have noted that the great theme of this book is that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, sent by the Father into the world. Many have disputed and denied this great truth, others have believed it. And may I say that it is vital to eternal salvation that we believe it. For to deny this truth will mean our eternal damnation. Now in the verses that we are to look at tonight, we find that Jesus enters the great subject of witnesses. Witnesses to the truth that he is indeed the Son of God come down from heaven. He mentions here three great witnesses to this truth. Three supernatural witnesses. May I read beginning with verse 30. Jesus speaking, I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge. And my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. I want to stop there for a moment and make clear that Jesus is in no way suggesting that he could ever tell an untruth. That would be utterly impossible. He is once again emphasizing his oneness with the Father. All he does must be done just as the Father does it. Nothing is to be done separate from him. Now if Jesus bore witness of himself, his witness need not be accepted as truth. In other words, he didn't ask men to believe he was the eternal Son of God just because he said it. Then too, we must understand that he was speaking here to Jews. And as you know, the Jews were stricklers for the law. And so Jesus knew that in point of law, a self witness was open to suspicion. And for that reason, Jewish law demanded that a truth be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Now that is borne out in a number of scriptures such as Deuteronomy 17, 6, also Matthew 18, 16, and other portions. Jesus now points out three great witnesses to the truth, that he is indeed the eternal Son of God come down from heaven. Notice verse 32, there is another that beareth witness of me. And I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. Jesus is speaking here of the Father, whom he mentions as a witness in verse 37. And we'll see about that in a moment. Notice verses 33 to 36. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He, John, was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John, for the works which the Father hath given me to do, or to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. Jesus speaks here about John, and the witness that he gave concerning Christ. That was a wonderful witness. But as wonderful as that was, Christ's claim to deity didn't depend on human witness. For he says in verse 30, that he has greater witness than that of John. Notice again verse 36. I have greater witness than that of John, for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. Jesus brings out the first supernatural witness to his deity. What is the witness he brings forth to the world, and to all of you listening to my voice tonight, the witness of his works. Now we know that never man spake like this man, and we can go on to say that never man performed works like this man. Christ cleansed and healed the leper. He opened the eyes of the blind. He walked on the Sea of Galilee. When the storm whipped up those waters one day, he cried, peace be still. And like a mother hushing a baby to sleep, the sea became calm. Jesus turned water into wine. He healed many that were sick. There wasn't a work of any kind demanded of the Son of God that he could not perform. Yes, he performed mighty works, works that were more than man could do, yea, works that were in themselves supernatural. The people who saw Jesus and walked with him could not deny his miracles. They were self-evident. And you know John tells us in the 20th chapter of his gospel, verse 29, that beside all the signs and the miracles he wrote about in this book, many other signs or miracles did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. And again in chapter 21, verses 24 and 25, we read, this is the disciple which testifies of these things and wrote these things. And we know that his testimony is true. John says, I am not lying. There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written, everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Jesus was the mighty miracle worker. And he points to all of his works, he points to his great miracles, and he says, the works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. The works that I do bear witness. And then he goes on to make clear that besides these miracles, the Father himself gave witness of him. Verses 37 and 38, and the Father himself which hath sent me. Please note in your reading of the gospel of John, that over and over again, Jesus makes it clear that the Father sent me. The Father sent me. I am not of this world. I am not of the earth. I came from another place in the universe. That is exactly what happened. The Father sent me. And Jesus says in verse 7, the Father himself hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent him. Ye believe not. Now Christ brings before us the second supernatural witness to his deity, and to his claims. Jesus wants to show us that he is everything he claimed to be. And here are these supernatural witnesses witnessing to the truth, that he indeed was God the Son, and is God the Son. He says my work bear witness. And secondly, my Father hath borne witness of this truth. How or in what way did the Father bear witness of his blessed Son? Go back to the first gospel, the gospel of Matthew chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. Matthew 3, 16 and 17. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo the heavens were opened unto him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Here is God's witness to his Son. Here is the Father's testimony. And may I say at this point that such a thing never happened to anyone else. I well remember that wonderful message that the Holland preacher preached at the empty tomb of our Lord. And this was one of his points that day. How that the Father had declared, this is my beloved Son. And he went on to say that this never happened to Muhammad. Muhammad was on this planet. He walked among men, but no one can ever say, concerning him, that they heard a voice coming from heaven, saying, this is Muhammad, hear ye him. No voice like this came from heaven, regarding Confucius. He lived on this planet. He walked among men. But a voice never came from heaven, as far as the records of history show, saying, this is Confucius, hear him. And so it was with Buddha. A voice never came from heaven, saying, this is Buddha, hear him. This only happened to Jesus, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. When he came out of the waters that marvelous day of his baptism, the heavens opened, and a great and wonderful voice came from heaven. Think of it. Wouldn't you like to have been there? The voice of the Father, speaking from the skies, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The same witness was given at his transfiguration, when the voice came from the excellent glory, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him, Matthew 17, 5. My friends, the Father hath borne witness to his Son. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. Yes, the witness of the Father. Jesus said, the Father himself which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. But the great condemnation of the people was, that the one whom the Father sent, they believed not. Yes, they had the scriptures in their hands. The Jewish people, that nation, should have known better. But the problem was, they had the scriptures in their hands, and even in their heads, but they didn't have it in their hearts. And thus, Jesus turns, finally, to the great supernatural testimony of the scriptures, the holy scriptures. Verse 39, search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. Now Jesus, to understand that verse, you must realize he was addressing unbelieving Jews. Religious, yes, but unbelieving, relative to Christ, the Son of God. They had the Old Testament scriptures. They thought they had eternal life, because they were faithful in reading the scriptures, and trying to keep the commandment. But Jesus said, that they didn't have eternal life at all, because they rejected the one whom the Old Testament scriptures talked about. Jesus said, ye think ye have eternal life, because you have the scriptures. But that's not enough. You must believe what the scriptures say. Oh, there are many people that go into a Bible store and buy a Bible. Many want Bibles. They say it's the best seller. But I don't know that it's the best read. There are many who just like the feeling of having a Bible in the home, just to sit on the table, or on the dresser, or maybe to put pictures inside, or to keep a few records. Many have the scriptures, but that doesn't mean you have eternal life. You can have the scriptures and think you have eternal life, but if you don't believe what the scriptures say, concerning Jesus, the Son of God, you don't have eternal life. But Jesus went on to testify to these unbelieving Jews, that the scriptures testify of me. Now the Jews didn't believe that. They had the Old Testament scriptures. And Jesus said, those scriptures that you have in your hands, those scriptures you have in the temple, the scriptures you read every day, beginning with the book of Genesis, these scriptures testify of me. But they didn't believe it. And one of the reasons was that although they had the scriptures, they didn't search the scriptures with an open, honest heart. For if they had, they would have seen clearly how Jesus fit perfectly into the pages of sacred writ. Moses wrote about Jesus, for Jesus said in verse 46, had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me. And verse 47, if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? And verse 45, don't think that I will accuse you to the Father, there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. Search the scriptures. If you're a Jew listening to my voice tonight, and you don't believe on Jesus, search your scriptures. Search Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus. Go all through your Old Testament with a praying, open heart. And if you'll do that, you will find that that which Jesus said is absolutely true. The scriptures testify of me. Didn't Jesus confirm this truth after his resurrection? When he said to the Emmaus travelers, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and enter his glory. And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. They testify of me. Someone has said that Christ is seen in picture from Genesis to Esther. In poetry from Job to Solomon's Song. In prophecy from Isaiah to Malachi. In Genesis, he is the seed of the woman. In Exodus, the Passover lamb. In Leviticus, he's the atoning sacrifice. In Numbers, he's the smitten rock. In Deuteronomy, he's the prophet. In Joshua, the captain of the Lord's host. In Judges, he's the great deliverer. In Ruth, the heavenly kinsman. In the books of the kings, he's the promised king. In Ezra, the restorer of the temple. In Nehemiah, the restorer of the nation. In Esther, he is the advocate and propitiation. In Job, he is my redeemer. In the Psalms, my all in all. In Proverbs, my pattern. In Ecclesiastes, he's my goal. In the Song of Solomon, my satisfier. In the prophets, the coming prince of peace. Search the scriptures. They testify of me. So what excuse do you have to reject Jesus as the eternal son of God? What excuse do you have to reject him as the Messiah of Israel? What excuse do you have to reject him as the savior of the world? Your savior. His works witness to his deity. The Father has witnessed to his deity. And the scriptures make it clear, all of the scriptures, that he is everything he ever claimed to be. You have no excuse for refusing Christ except the wickedness of your own heart. That's what holds you from Jesus. In verse 40, he says this, and the strong words, you will not come to me. Ye will not come to me, that you might have life. The Greek is even more emphatic than the English. In the original, it reads like this, ye do not will to come to me. Even though you have heard the words of these witnesses, you still refuse. You have no heart to come to me. You love your sins more than you love me. You will not come to me, that you might have life. But my friend, if you want life eternal, you must come to Jesus. For there's no other way. You have no other hope. There's no other plan. God's plan of salvation is his son. And if you go to hell, it will be because you would not come to Jesus, that he might give you eternal life. Will you come? He invites you still. The door is still open. His arms are still outstretched. Hear him. Come unto me. All ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.