The "resurrection of condemnation" in John 5:29 is better rendered "resurrection of judgment," as most modern translations have it, rather than damnation or condemnation. It is not a resurrection to be thrown into a fiery hell. The just and the unjust are both raised, but not at the same time. The just rise to life at Christ's second coming, while the rest of the dead wait in their graves until the thousand years are over. God then raises many who never understood His way, who were deceived or never called, and reveals His plan of salvation to them for the first time. This is their first real chance at salvation, not a second one. They rise to physical life at the Great White Throne Judgment, where the books of the Bible are opened to give them true knowledge and understanding, and the Book of Life is opened so their names can be written in it when they repent, accept Christ as Savior, and receive the Holy Spirit. They are judged according to their works, based on how they live once they know the truth. God will save most of them, but some, in stubborn rebellion against Him, will condemn themselves to eternal death. God is not willing that any should perish, and this judgment is His means of bringing the most sons to glory.

The Bible identifies a resurrection to judgment or condemnation as distinct from the resurrection to life. This resurrection of condemnation involves those who willfully reject God's way of life, and it is separate from the resurrection of the just. In this final resurrection, the wicked, who knew God's truth and rejected it, will come up to face eternal judgment and death in the Lake of Fire. This stands in contrast to the hope and promise of eternal life offered through the earlier resurrections to those who follow God's path.

The third resurrection, as described in Revelation 20:11-15 and John 5:29, is a resurrection to the second death, where the incorrigibly wicked are raised from their graves, whether from the sea, death without burial, or hades. God Himself will sentence these unruly, miserable human beings, and whoever is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire to be burned up. In the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, as referenced in Luke 16:19-31, the wicked, like the rich man, are tormented in flame, realizing they have failed to receive salvation and seeing an impassable gulf between themselves and the Kingdom of God, with no chance to change their fate. Jesus Christ will refuse to answer the knock of these unruly sinners who have rejected salvation, as noted in Luke 13:22-30 and Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23, barring them from the Kingdom of God despite their weeping and grinding of teeth. By the time of this third resurrection, all humanity will have had the opportunity for salvation, and everyone's ultimate destiny will be eternally set, with no possibility for those who willfully sin after knowing the truth to avoid the second death. God does not desire anyone to perish but wishes all to come to repentance, as stated in II Peter 3:9 and I Timothy 2:3-4; yet, for those who reject His mercy and trample the sacrifice of His Son, He remains a God of justice, left with no choice but to put them to eternal death. Every human must ultimately choose between God's way of life and satan's way, between life and death, as highlighted in Genesis 2:15-17, Deuteronomy 30:19, and Romans 6:23, with the second death being final for the wicked. After the second death of the wicked, as described in II Peter 3:7-13 and Revelation 21:1-5, God will create a new heaven and earth where only righteousness dwells, characterized by peace, happiness, beauty, and glory for the righteous. Finally, in Daniel 12:2 and Malachi 4:1, the wicked awake in this third resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt, facing annihilation as punishment and an eternal example for rejecting salvation, while the righteous awake to everlasting life as glorified sons of God, serving their Creator eternally.

The resurrection of condemnation is the third resurrection, in which those who have done evil come forth from the graves to face final judgment. God commits all judgment to the Son, who raises the dead so that those who have rejected His offer of salvation receive the wages of sin. These individuals, having seared their consciences and refused to repent, are judged according to their works as recorded in the opened books and are found absent from the Book of Life. They are then cast into the lake of fire, which constitutes the second death and brings about their permanent destruction. This resurrection demonstrates both the goodness and the severity of God. While He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and desires all to come to repentance, His role as perfect Lawgiver, Executive, and Judge requires that the penalty for unrepented sin be enforced. Without this resurrection, the incorrigibly wicked could escape accountability, undermining justice for those who have striven to obey and rendering God's law ineffective as a deterrent. The resurrection of condemnation therefore removes every vestige of sin, evil, and death from the renewed creation, ensuring that only those written in the Lamb's Book of Life enter the new heaven and new earth where no abomination or lie can exist. In this way the resurrection of condemnation upholds the integrity of divine justice while securing the eternal peace and righteousness promised to the redeemed.