Q: How is the resurrection described in the Bible?
A: Two distinct resurrections await God’s people—those who have passed away in Christ and those meeting Him in the air while still alive at the last day. Jesus affirmed this dual nature of resurrection:
“‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die... ’”
Some experience resurrection after death, while others undergo a profound change without facing death, as the apostles described in the book of 1 Corinthians.
“Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable... We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”
Believers who have passed away will be raised imperishable, and those alive will undergo a swift, transformative change. Scriptures foresee a moment when the dead in Christ rise first, followed by the living caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Th 4:14–17).
Innumerable multitudes will be resurrected, joined by the 144,000 saints alive and transformed to meet Christ as the Judge (Rev 7:2–4, 9).
