IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN WHAT THEY SAY IT MEANS
IT ALWAYS MEANS WHAT THE BIBLICAL TEXT ITSELF SAYS IT MEANS
John 5
24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [zoe aionios], and shall not come into condemnation [G2920 krisis]; but is passed from death [G2288 thanatos] unto life [zoe].
25 The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [G3498 nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live | be alive [zao]. 26 For as the Father hath life [zoe] in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life [zoe] in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [G3419 mnemeion] shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection [G386 anastasis] of life [zoe]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection [anastasis] of condemnation [G2920 krisis]."
John 5:24-29 with the verses rearranged, taking note of the key words:
* Life [G2222 zoe].
* Everlasting life [zoe aionios].
* Dead [G3498 nekros].
* Graves [G3419 mnemeion].
* The Resurrection [G386 anastasis].
* Live | be alive [G2198 zao].
* Hear the voice of the Son of God.
* Condemnation [G2920 krisis].
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The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [mnemeion] 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 condemnation [G2920 krisis].
Marvel not at this. For as the Father hath life [zoe] in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life [zoe] in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live | be alive [zao].
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [zoe aionios], and shall not come into condemnation [G2920 krisis]; but is passed from death [G2288 thanatos] unto life [zoe]."
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* The power by which the dead [nekros] pass from death to life, is Christ's death and resurrection from the dead
- which when He spoke, was about to occur:
"The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." (John 5:25).
* To be zao (alive) forever (immortal) we need to have everlasting life (zoe aionios) in us. Only Christ possesses everlasting life in Himself. To those who belong to Him, the everlasting life [zoe] that is given to us, is IN CHRIST (John 1:4; John 5:26; John 14:6; 1 John 5:11-12; Colossians 3:4).
Jesus is talking about the same judgment that is mentioned in the Revelation:
Revelation 11:18 (when the seventh trumpet sounds)
"Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."
Revelation 20:12 & 15
"I saw 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 whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
HOW THE ABOVE PASSAGE IS COMMONLY INTERPRETED
BY MAIN-STREAM CHURCHES
John 5:25–29 is commonly interpreted as describing two different “resurrections”
- one spiritual (present) and one physical (future).
This interpretation largely rests on dividing verse 25 (“now is, and is coming”) from verses 28–29 (“the hour is coming”), treating them as different time periods with different subjects,
but when read alongside the lexicon of:
zoē (life), nekros (dead), mnēmeion (graves), anastasis (resurrection), and thanatos (death),
then Jesus is speaking of one resurrection reality, inaugurated by His own death, burial, and resurrection - not describing two different resurrections consisting of a "spiritual" (present) resurrection and a (future) bodily resurrection - but a single resurrection in two stages:
1. Inauguration - “the hour is coming, and now is” (v.25).
2. Consummation - “the hour is coming” (vs.28–29).
One voice. One giver of life. One resurrection. Two phases of the same work: "Christ, the firstfruit, then when Christ comes, those who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:23), and then all the dead (John 5:25-29):
The difference is not in the kind of resurrection, but in the scope:
Verse 25 = the resurrection begins with Christ's resurrection (now is).
Verse 28–29 = the resurrection becomes universal (“all in the graves”).
This is a progression, not a theological split. Jesus does not change subjects - He expands the subject:
Jesus grounds both statements in the same authority: “God the Father has given Him authority to execute judgment.” (v. 27). Resurrection and judgment are tied together in John 5:24-29 - there is no gap between them.
Those who doubt this only need to ask themselves the following questions:-
1. Does Jesus explicitly say or imply that He is describing two different resurrections?
2. If the same voice raises the dead in both verses, why insist they are different events?
3. What hermeneutical basis allows you to separate v. 25 from v. 28 when Jesus unites them lexically?
4. How can the word zoē in v. 24 (used in reference to life) and the word zao in v. 25 (used in reference to being alive | living) both be referring to the everlasting life which Jesus spoke of in v. 24, yet not be referring to being bodily alive [zao]?
5. How can the words "nekros" (dead); "hear"; "everlasting life [zoe]"; "live | be alive [zao]"; "judgment", and "resurrection" refer to two different "resurrection" realities with respect to the dead, which are unrelated in time - within five verses?
6. Is the passage not basing what Jesus was saying upon His own death and resurrection which was soon to occur?
7. Why does the book of Revelation describe a resurrection / judgment event identical to John 5:24-29 if John intended two?
* Main-stream churches relate verse 25 of John 5:24-29 with what main-stream church theology calls "spiritual regeneration from death to life", which according to main-stream church theology occurs when someone who had been separated from the source of eternal life, is born of the Spirit
- but it is Christ's Spirit IN human beings that gives us eternal life [zoe] so that we will live | be alive [zao] continually (be immortal) following the resurrection of the body from the dead.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living [zao/chay] soul [nephesh]." (Genesis 2:7).
What happened to the spirit of life that God had breathed into him when Adam died?
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7 - Solomon).
When Jesus raised a young girl from the dead, the gospel of Luke tells us that:
"her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat." (Luke 8:55).
There is only one Spirit who is the source of life [zoe], by which human beings can live | be alive [zao]:
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living [zao/chay] soul [nephesh]." (Genesis 2:7).
Likewise there is only one Spirit who is the source of life [zoe], by which human beings can live | be alive [zao] FOREVER (be immortal) after having been resurrected from the dead through the power of Christ, the Son of man's, death and resurrection from the dead.
No "dead human spirit being quickened / regenerated from death" is going to be another source of life enabling the person to live forever.
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