Who will Jesus raise up on the last day?
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:37-40
In the above scriptures Jesus talks about raising up two groups of individuals in “the last day.” The first group (verse 39) pertains to spiritual beings and the second group (verse 40) pertains to earthly beings.
The spiritual group: Who are the ones that God gives to Jesus? They are those who are drawn to God and Jesus by the Word of Truth in the Bible.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44)
These individuals want to follow in Jesus’ footsteps by denying their self-wills and doing sacrificial service to God. If faithful to their covenant of sacrifice, they will be raised up as immortal beings on the last day to be with God and Jesus in heaven. However, there is a possibility that they will be cast off if they repeatedly engage in willful sinning (Hebrews 6:4-6) since they have had the privilege of enlightenment through the holy spirit. That is why Jesus prayed that he should not lose any that the Father had given him.
The earthly group: What about those who God does not call, or those who have never even known of God or Jesus? Are they lost, even though Jesus died for them? Not at all. They, too, will be raised up on the last day, but their awakening will be on earth to a period of judgment.
They will not be spirit beings, but have new earthly bodies. During this Day of Judgment Satan, the great deceiver, will be bound and all will have an opportunity to learn righteousness and practice it in their lives. As John 6:40 says, it is God’s will that EVERYONE who looks to the Son and believes will have life. Some will have eternal life in heaven with our Lord and some will have everlasting life on earth.
The beauty of God’s plan is that he has a place for everyone in either his heavenly or earthly kingdoms and Jesus’ sacrifice included all of humankind.
“This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given at its proper time. 1 Timothy 2:3-6
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22
To learn more about Jesus’ ransom for everyone, listen to, “Did Jesus Really Die for Everyone?
