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there are several Premillenarians who do not accept the theory of a threefold resurrection, but
who nevertheless cling to the doctrine of a double resurrection.
3. CONSIDERATION OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR A DOUBLE RESURRECTION.
a. Great emphasis is placed on the fact that Scripture, while speaking in general of the
resurrection ton nekron, that is, “of the dead,” repeatedly refers to the resurrection of
believers as a resurrection ek nekron, that is, “out of the dead.” Premillenarians render this
expression, “from among the dead,” so that it would imply that many dead still remain in the
grave. Lightfoot also asserts that this expression refers to the resurrection of believers, but
Kennedy says, “There is absolutely no evidence for this definite assertion.” This is also the
conclusion to which Dr. Vos comes after a careful study of the relevant passages. In general it
may be said that the assumption that the expression he anastasis ek nekron should be rendered
“the resurrection from among the dead,” is entirely gratuitous. The standard lexicons know
nothing of such a rendering; and Cremer-Koegel interprets the expression to mean “from the
state of the dead,” and this would seem to be the most natural interpretation. It should be
noted that Paul uses the terms interchangeably in I Cor. 15. Though speaking of the
resurrection of believers only, he evidently does not seek to stress the fact that this is of a
specific character, for he uses the more general term repeatedly, I Cor. 15:12,13,21,42.[Cf. also
Waldegrave, New Testament Millenarianism, pp. 575 f.]
b. Premillenarians also appeal to certain specific expressions, such as “a better resurrection,”
Heb. 11:35, “the resurrection of life,” John 5:29, “the resurrection of the just,” Luke 14:14, and
“the resurrection of the dead in Christ,” I Thess. 4:16, — all of which refer to the resurrection of
believers only. These expressions seem to set that resurrection off as something apart. But
these passages merely prove that the Bible distinguishes the resurrection of the righteous from
that of the wicked and afford no proof whatsoever that there will be two resurrections,
separated from each other by a period of a thousand years. The resurrection of the people of
God differs from that of unbelievers in its moving principle, in its essential nature, and in its
final issue, and can therefore very well be represented as something distinctive and to be
desired far above the resurrection of the wicked. The former does, and the latter does not,
deliver men from the power of death. In spite of their resurrection unbelievers remain in the
state of death.
c. One of the principal proof passages of the Premillenarians for a double resurrection is found
in I Cor. 15:22-24: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each one
in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at His coming. Then cometh
the end, when He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father.” In this passage they
find three stages of the resurrection indicated, namely, (1) the resurrection of Christ; (2) the