The hope of the Christian lies in the resurrection of the dead, a promise rooted in the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the grave nearly two thousand years ago. God will raise all the dead to life again, with the vast majority of mankind receiving the opportunity for salvation and the gift of eternal life through this process. The first resurrection, that of the firstfruits of God's Kingdom, is a key focus of this study. The Bible identifies distinct resurrections, including a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment, with the saints of God participating in the first and better resurrection at Christ's second coming. Only the just, the righteous, will rise at this time, including the martyred saints and true Christians alive at His coming, transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. This first resurrection involves the redemption of the body, where Christ our Savior will change corrupt mortal flesh into immortal, incorruptible spirit, like His glorious body. Jesus promises the overcoming saints unique blessings, including a new name, power over the nations under Him, righteousness, and a place with Him on His throne. God has established an order of resurrections, with His saints rising first in this initial event, marking their entry as eternal spirit beings into the God Family, filled with God's own character and incapable of sin.

The first resurrection is the first in God's ordered sequence of resurrections: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming (I Corinthians 15:23). Revelation 20:5-6 calls it blessed and holy, for those who have part in it are untouched by the second death and will be priests of God and of Christ, reigning with Him a thousand years. It is the hope and prayer of Christians, who will be raised from the dead or changed, if alive, at Christ's return (I Corinthians 15:50-52; I Thessalonians 4:17). Those converted now, whose judgment is now, are not personally affected by the later resurrections. At Christ's return the corruptible puts on incorruption and the mortal puts on immortality (I Corinthians 15:53), so even those alive and changed pass through a kind of death. Those who were physically raised before and converted, such as Lazarus, will also be changed into immortal spirit beings at this resurrection. The Christian now faces Christ in judgment (II Corinthians 6:1-2; I Peter 4:17), dying daily to the old self. The first resurrection stands in contrast to the second, at the end of the Millennium, and to the third, in which the incorrigible are raised to the Lake of Fire, the permanent second death.

The first resurrection occurs at Jesus Christ's second coming, when truly faithful Christians are raised to immortality. Revelation 20:4-5 describes these as rulers with Christ, serving as kings and priests on the earth during the Millennium. The phrase "this is the first resurrection" in verse 5 refers back to them. God does not raise all the dead at once. Paul affirms a resurrection of both the just and the unjust, and Jesus speaks of a resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgment, but these do not happen at the same time. God has an orderly plan in which He raises different groups at different times, every man in his own order, which implies a succession of resurrections. The first resurrection is that of the righteous, the called who have responded to God now, while the rest of the dead, who have not understood God's way, wait in their graves until the thousand years are over. The second resurrection then follows after the Millennium, giving the uncalled their first real opportunity for salvation.

The Bible reveals two main types of resurrection. The first type, commonly called the First Resurrection, is to immortal, spiritual life, as experienced by Jesus Christ. This is the resurrection that Christians anticipate, though only a few have witnessed it so far. In contrast, the Bible also describes a resurrection to mortal, physical, temporary life, which is detailed more extensively in scripture. The First Resurrection holds a unique significance, as it marks the transformation to eternal, spiritual existence, with Jesus Christ being the first of God's firstfruits. His resurrection is represented by the Wavesheaf Offering, while the resurrection of the saints is pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, occurring later at Christ's return. A significant period separates these events, symbolizing the time between Jesus' resurrection and the resurrection of the saints.

The resurrection of the dead holds central importance for Christians because it forms the primary object of their hope and supplies the vision that directs conduct throughout life. This hope does not center merely on being restored to life, as occurred with certain individuals in Old Testament times, but on being raised in union with Christ so that the relationship already begun with the Father and the Son may continue without interruption in the quality of life God Himself lives. Being in Christ carries both a legal standing imputed by God and a practical, experiential dimension in which the believer shares Christ's sufferings, death, and resurrection power, thereby being progressively conformed to His image. This union motivates perseverance, shapes daily decisions, and guards against the aimlessness that overtakes those lacking such a vision. The resurrection therefore serves as the threshold into an incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven, an inheritance defined not by material possessions but by eternal fellowship within the Family of God, where every participant lives according to the same righteous standard. Without this living hope energized by God's Spirit, believers would lack the impetus to cooperate with the process of being created in the divine image, and God's purpose for humanity would remain unfulfilled.

While death and the afterlife are often shrouded in confusion, biblical scripture consistently presents a clear, unified narrative: death is not an immediate transition to an immortal realm, but a total cessation of existence akin to sleep. Formed from dust and given life by God's breath, humans do not possess inherent immortality—a doctrine rooted in Satan's first lie—for God alone is immortal. At death, the body returns to the earth and existence ceases until the future resurrection, when rewards, eternal life, or complete destruction are rendered. Ultimately, true life is restored only through the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead, offering humanity the ultimate hope of waking from the dust to shine like the stars forever.

The first resurrection is the event at Christ's return when God's saints, His elect firstfruits who entered the New Covenant, put on immortality and incorruption (I Corinthians 15:53-54; I Thessalonians 4:15-17). Before Christ, people raised from the dead were raised only to physical life, but this resurrection is to spiritual life. The word "first" implies more than one, and Scripture reveals three: Jesus says all who are in the graves will hear His voice, some coming forth to a resurrection of life and others to a resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28-29), and Daniel 12:1-2 confirms this. The dead do not go to heaven at death but sleep in their graves until then, as David still does. Those raised first believed the gospel during lives opposed by Satan and this world, and worked to put on the image of their Savior. Revelation 20:4-6 calls them blessed and holy. The second death has no power over them, and they live and reign with Christ as priests of God for a thousand years, a Millennium of peace on earth. The rest of the dead do not live again until the thousand years are finished. Immortality is a gift of God given to each in his own order (I Corinthians 15:23), not an innate possession.