Fundamental #20

Memory Scripture

But each one in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.—1 Corinthians 15:23

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.—Revelation 20:6

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.—John 5:28

Summary Statement

A lot of people think that when we die, we go to heaven and live as angels. But is that what the Bible says? Many are surprised to find it’s not! The Bible describes a resurrection to life after we die. In fact, there seem to be three different types of resurrections described in the Bible. These have traditionally been called the first, second, and third resurrections.

To be resurrected means to be brought to life again after death. Our Creator God has the power to do this because He made all people! Because God wants to give everyone a chance to become part of His family, He includes resurrections in His plan for all people.

When Christ returns to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the first resurrection will occur. This is when all the faithful servants throughout history who have lived and died, plus those still living, will be changed into spirit beings. Instead of being human, they will be changed into spirit, like God! They will reign with Christ as kings and priests for the 1,000-year period of time called the Millennium.

At the end of those 1,000 years, there will be another resurrection—a second resurrection—for anyone who has ever lived but has never had a chance to truly understand God and His plan for people. This would include babies who died before they could even grow up, or people born in remote places where no one had ever even heard of God.

This is a physical resurrection: people will be raised from the dead to physical form again and live a span of time as human beings. (The prophet Ezekiel wrote of this resurrection in Ezekiel 37.) At the end of that time span, there will be a period of judgment. Those who believe in God and become baptized and receive His Holy Spirit will be changed into spirit, like those in the first resurrection.

Also at this time is when a third type of resurrection must occur. For all those who lived and died and completely rejected God, there is no future in His Kingdom. They will not suffer for all time in hell fire, as some believe, but will instead be raised to physical life briefly before their lives are quickly ended. There are no more resurrections to life after that third resurrection.

Begin Your Study

Read through the memory scriptures together with your children, then read through the summary statement (remember to simplify the statement, if necessary). Have your children cut and paste the summary statement from this page in their “Fundamentals Bible Study Journal” (as suggested in the Memorizing Scripture resource “The Fundamentals”). Next, have your children read and write the memory scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:23 , Revelation 20:6 , and John 5:28 , in their journals.

Have your children take three different highlighters or markers and highlight each resurrection a different color. This will help them understand the differences of who will be in each resurrection and when they will occur. You and your children may find it helpful to use the fill-in chart Three Resurrections in the Additional Resources section.

You may also wish to review Fundamental #8, how long was Jesus in the grave? Remind your children that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave, which gives us hope that there is life for us after we die, too! God has a plan for all people, and no one will be forgotten or overlooked. God is merciful and full of compassion, so He wouldn’t allow someone to die and then make them watch from heaven as all their loved ones grieve. He also wouldn’t make anyone burn forever in hell fire, as some believe.

God loves people. He wants to give us all good and beautiful things. He wants everyone to be part of His Kingdom! He wants to offer everyone the chance to live forever with Him and does not want anyone to suffer ( 2 Peter 3:9 ).

Digging Deeper Interaction #1

Have your children write the memory scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:23, Revelation 20:6, and John 5:28, in their journals and practice them out loud. Ask your children if they remember how many resurrections there are and some of the differences among them. Those who are God’s people and have been baptized (refer back to Fundamental #10 for a review on baptism) will be in the first resurrection. They will be changed to spirit beings! Ask your children what they think some differences will be between being a physical being (like we are now) compared to being a spirit being.

The following chart includes some possible examples.

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Next, have your children trace their body outlines on a large piece of paper. Have them write the examples for a physical being on separate paper squares or rectangles. On the opposite side of each paper, write the examples for spirit beings. Fold over about an inch (depending on the size of your cutouts) at the top of each piece of paper.

Put glue on the fold and glue each paper on the paper body. Make sure the physical being characteristics are on the outside. Then, when your child flips each piece of paper up, there will be all the spirit being characteristics! Continue adding characteristics to the paper bodies as you think of them during the week.

Digging Deeper Interaction #2 {image 3}

Have your children read the memory scriptures again and then try to recite them from memory. Tell your children that if they continue to follow God, become baptized, and receive God’s Spirit, then they will be firstfruits! They will be resurrected and be spirit beings when Christ returns. Then they will have a very big job to do with Christ.

Jesus Christ will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and everyone will learn God’s laws. (You may wish to review Fundamental #19 about Jesus Christ’s return.) At that time, we will be teachers! Ask, “What do you think we will need to teach other people about in the Millennium?” After you brainstorm a list with your children, help them set up a classroom and have them be the teachers. If you can, include in your setup a whiteboard, chalkboard, or poster to write on.

Tell your children that they are going to be millennial teachers. You, along with perhaps stuffed animals or action figures, will be the students. Then give each of your children the opportunity to play school and instruct you. This is also a great way to see how much your children remember from their Bible studies and a fun way to get a glimpse of how they think.

Bible Story: The Eighth Day (Or Last Great Day)

Ask your children to tell you the memory scriptures and what they know about the resurrections. Together, read through Ezekiel 37 for an exciting description of a physical resurrection.

Ask your children if they can remember a holy day that also talks about the resurrections. The Eighth Day (also traditionally called the Last Great Day) is the holy day that pictures when all who have ever lived will be resurrected and have the opportunity to learn about God and His way of life. Read about it in Leviticus 23:36, 39  and Revelation 20:11-13 . Then together, go through the EEI resource “Last Great Day” in the Word of God section to develop a deeper understanding on this incredible part of God’s plan.

Bonus Ideas

Several scriptures contain the phrase “eternal life.” Challenge your children (and yourself!) to find additional scriptures to add to their “Fundamentals Bible Study Journal.” What message do these passages tell us about God’s plan for people?

What happens next? After the resurrections, God will make a new creation. Learn more about it with the fun EEI activity All Things New Whirlybirds, located in the Additional Resources section.

Wrap-Up Activity

Have your children create a poster for one or both memory scriptures and display it with all their posters. Now that they have 20 posters, you can create a scavenger hunt around the house to find them all!

To end your study, have your child recite the memory scripture for a small audience, perhaps at a small gathering for a holy day activity. Are they feeling brave? Perhaps your children could recite their favorite scripture from this series at the next church talent show.