This may be said to be the fundamental principle of God’s dealings with man in grace, seeing that man is through sin under the judgment of death. The expression, The general resurrection is found in works on theology, and is explained as meaning that the dead will all be raised at the same time; but this idea is not found in scripture. The Lord speaks of a resurrection unto life. “The dead in Christ” will be raised at the coming of the Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 4:16); and John speaks of the first resurrection, and adds that “the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:5-6). The term “first” designates rather the character than the time of the resurrection, it will evidently include only the saved; “the rest” being simply raised for judgment.
It will be seen in Romans 8:11, that the resurrection of believers is of a wholly different order from that of the wicked: the saints will be quickened by, or on account of, God’s Spirit that dwells in them, which certainly could not be said of the unconverted. The resurrection of the saints is also distinguished from that of the wicked in being, like that of the Lord and of Lazarus, “out from among (έκ) the dead” (Mark 12:25). It was the earnest desire of Paul to attain this (Phil. 3:11—see Greek).
The resurrection condition is in the strongest contrast to that after the flesh. That which springs from the seed sown in the ground appears very different in form from the seed sown, though absorbing the substance of the seed. 1 Corinthians 15 refers only to the resurrection of the saints, as may be seen in 1 Corinthians 15:23-24. There were those at Corinth who said that there was no resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12); and on the other hand it appears from 2 Timothy 2:18, some held that the resurrection had already past, that they had in fact reached a final condition
Few distinct intimations of the resurrection are found in the Old Testament, though the idea of it underlies all the teaching. Job may perhaps have learned it (Job 19:25-27), and when the Lord rebuked the Sadducees He taught that resurrection could be gathered inferentially from God speaking of Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob long after they were dead. He is God of the living, not of the dead (Mark 12:26-27). Martha spoke of the resurrection as a matter of common orthodox belief (John 11:24); which is also implied in its being said that the Sadducees did not believe in it.
Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-14; and Daniel 12:2, are often quoted as testimony to resurrection; but these passages are figurative and refer to Israel being raised up as from their national decease—the consequence of their departure from the Lord (Isa. 1:1-4), when God will again bless them on the earth. It is an important fact, however, that the figure of resurrection is used.