Did Jesus Speak of Two Resurrections in John 5:24-29

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Those who contend for two resurrections in John 5:24-29 are guilty of petitio principii in the extreme. They simply assume that there are two, and then argue from there. This is entirely inappropriate.

Once they have made their claim, they then proceed to either ignore, or manipulate the rest of John’s testimony about the “hour” and the time of the judgment and resurrection.

Dominionists are particularly guilty of this, but, their inconsistency is glaring and fatal.

One of the key arguments offered by our Dominionist friends is that the hour of John 5:28-29f is the “last day” of John 6. 39-40. And of course, it is the same time period, but, does this indicate a literal, physical resurrection of human corpses? No, and not one thing in these texts suggests this.

But the argument is made that “the last day” must be the last day of time, or of human history. But, we ask, how so?

Did not Daniel 12 predict the resurrection of the just and unjust at the “end of days”? Of course. So, what is the difference between “the end of days” and “the last day”? There is none.

This is important. Note that Joel McDurmon says: “As he wrote, in his time, the Old was becoming obsolete and was ready to vanish away. It has not yet been completely wiped out, but was certainly in its dying moments. It died in AD 70, when the symbol and ceremonies of that Old System– the Temple and the sacrifices– were completely destroyed by the Roman armies. This was the definitive moment when “this age’ of Jesus and Paul ended and completely gave way to their ‘age to come.’ This, of course, is exactly why Jesus tied ‘the end of the age’ to His prophecy of the destruction of the Temple.” (Joel McDurmon, Jesus V Jerusalem, (Powder Springs, GA., American Vision, 2011)47). You can order McDurmon’s helpful book from me here.

So, per McDurmon and other Dominionists agree– the last days of Israel had a last day, and that last day was the end of “this age”. And, we note, they even agree that Daniel 12– the prophecy of the resurrection– occurred at that last day! To say that this is troublesome for their view is a huge understatement.

John 5:24-29 and the Last Hour

And, take note also that in 1 John 2:18, John announced with certainty, “Little children, it is the last hour!” In my formal debate with McDurmon, July 2012, when asked during the Q and A session how he divorced the “last day,” from the last hour, McDurmon admitted that this was a great question and them proceeded to try to muddy the water with his response. Numerous people came up to me after the session and asked: “What did he say?”

Did the last days have a last day? Of course. Did that last day not have a “last hour”? If not, why not– and, where is the proof?

The bottom line is that in John’s writings there is a constant thread concerning the consummative time, the last day, the last hour, and John was emphatic– that last hour had arrived!

This is categoric demonstration that there were not two resurrections in John 5, and, even if there were, the last hour, the consummative time for the resurrection of John 5:28-29, had arrived when John wrote in 1 John 2. And it means that there are not two resurrections in John 5:24-29.

 

Stay tuned, we have more!

Be sure to order your own copy of my debate with Joel McDurmon, entitled End Times Dilemma. You will find it revealing, and informative. (Don’t bother trying to order it off of the American Vision site (unless something has changed over the last few days).  The last time I tried to find the book on their site, it was buried deep, and then, you could only purchase it in a bundle with another book. Furthermore, in a recent special offer on all of their Eschatology works, in which they offered special discounts, they did not even list the debate book. They are not promoting the book at all, which of course is quite revealing!