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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2026 12:43 pm
“And I saw a great white throne, and the One sitting on it… And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened… 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 whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Where exactly does the first resurrection take place during the Last Judgment?
No, the first resurrection does not take place during the Last Judgment, but earlier — at the Second Coming of Christ or at the beginning of the millennial period (in various interpretations: the premillennialists see it as a literal resurrection of the righteous before the millennium, the amillennialists and the postmillennialists — as a spiritual quickening of the souls of the faithful at baptism or immediately after death, when they “come to life” and reign with Christ in the heavens).
It is not directly connected to the Last Judgment — it is the resurrection of the blessed and the saints (the righteous, the martyrs, the faithful), over whom the “second death” (eternal condemnation) has no power.
The second resurrection is precisely what takes place during the Last Judgment (at the great white throne, Rev. 20:11–15). After the end of the thousand years, the rest of the dead (the wicked, the unbelieving) rise up, to stand before the judgment, to be judged according to their deeds and, if their name is not in the book of life, to be cast into the lake of fire — this is the second death.
The main key here is the separation by faith and by the deeds of love:
• The first — for those who have already “come to life” in Christ (spiritually or bodily, depending on the interpretation), reigns with Him, escapes the second death.
• The second — for the rest, in order to manifest the truth and complete the judgment.
In other places of Scripture this echoes:
• John 5:28–29 — “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.”
Where exactly does the first resurrection take place during the Last Judgment?
No, the first resurrection does not take place during the Last Judgment, but earlier — at the Second Coming of Christ or at the beginning of the millennial period (in various interpretations: the premillennialists see it as a literal resurrection of the righteous before the millennium, the amillennialists and the postmillennialists — as a spiritual quickening of the souls of the faithful at baptism or immediately after death, when they “come to life” and reign with Christ in the heavens).
It is not directly connected to the Last Judgment — it is the resurrection of the blessed and the saints (the righteous, the martyrs, the faithful), over whom the “second death” (eternal condemnation) has no power.
The second resurrection is precisely what takes place during the Last Judgment (at the great white throne, Rev. 20:11–15). After the end of the thousand years, the rest of the dead (the wicked, the unbelieving) rise up, to stand before the judgment, to be judged according to their deeds and, if their name is not in the book of life, to be cast into the lake of fire — this is the second death.
The main key here is the separation by faith and by the deeds of love:
• The first — for those who have already “come to life” in Christ (spiritually or bodily, depending on the interpretation), reigns with Him, escapes the second death.
• The second — for the rest, in order to manifest the truth and complete the judgment.
In other places of Scripture this echoes:
• John 5:28–29 — “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.”