“Out-from-among the Dead” Resurrection
One of the key differences between those who believe in the personal reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years and those who deny it is the question of the resurrection of the dead. Is there only one general resurrection of all of the dead? Or is there a distinct resurrection first of only the righteous? The “pre-millennial” interpretation requires a staged resurrection, the first being separated from the second by a thousand years. The a-millennial interpretation claims only one general resurrection of all of the dead at Jesus’ return.
Revelation 20 is one of the key passages in dispute between the two groups, with pre-millennialists pointing to its distinction between resurrections separated by a thousand years. A-millennialists seek to blunt this argument by making the “first resurrection” a reference to conversion, thus metaphorical. The a-millennialist’s interpretation is loaded with exegetical difficulties in this very passage, which deserves a separate treatment. However, the primary justification for allegorizing Revelation 20 is the claim that no other Scripture indicates a staged resurrection, but all references to the resurrection of the dead point to a single general resurrection of all of the dead. This article will focus exclusively on whether this claim is true or false, whether there is sufficient evidence of a staged resurrection elsewhere in Scripture apart from Revelation 20.
When examining the Greek text of the passages that speak of people being raised from “the dead,” a clear pattern emerges. There is a distinct difference between a “resurrection of the dead,”1 and “resurrection out from among the dead.” The former clause deals with the fact that dead people will be raised. However the latter clause can only refer to a partial resurrection of some of the dead. To come out from among a class of persons (the dead) requires leaving that group or class behind in their current state (in their graves). The critical difference between the two clauses above is the inclusion of the preposition ἐκ, a primary preposition meaning “out from among,” “out from within” the object of the preposition (“the dead”). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon gives the following definition for the preposition ἐκ.
“1621 ἐκ, before a vowel ἐξ, a preposition governing the genitive. It denotes exit or emission out of, as separation from, something with which there has been close connection; … from out of, out from, forth from, from. …
1. universally, of the place from which; from a surrounding or enclosing place, from the interior of: …”
2. from the midst (of a group, number, company, community) of many; …
3. from a local surface, as sometimes the Latin ex for de; down from:
4. of the direction whence; Latin a dextra,
5. of the condition or state out of which one comes or is brought:
6. of any kind of separation or dissolution of connection with a thing or person
This preposition is extremely common in the NT. It is used for leaving a physical place, or a state, or being separated out from among a larger group of people as in Thayer’s #2 above. Being raised ἐκ νεκρῶν “out from among the dead” requires a departure, a separation of the subject(s) from the larger group of “the dead,” who must be left in their graves and not resurrected.2 Leaving the rest of the dead behind in their graves is required by the inclusion of the preposition ἐκ. This requirement can be proven from the many times Scripture refers to Jesus’ own resurrection ἐκ νεκρῶν “out from among the dead,” from John the Baptist’s supposed resurrection “out from among the dead,” and from Lazarus’ being raised “out from among the dead.”3
1. Jesus: Matt. 17:9; Mk. 6:14; Mk. 9:9-10; Mk. 12:25; Luke 20:35; Lk. 24:46; Jn. 2:22; ; Jn. 20:9; Jn. 21:14; Acts 3:15; Acts 4:2,10; Acts 10:41; Acts 13:30,34; Acts 17:3,31; Rom. 4:24; Rom. 6:4,9; Rom. 7:4; Rom. 8:11; Rom. 10:7,9; 1 Cor. 15:12,20; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 2 Tim. 2:8; Heb. 11:19; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 1:3,21.
2. John the Baptist: Mark 6:16
3. Lazarus: Jn. 12:1,9,17
Of all of the verses listed above which refer to Jesus’ being raised “out from among the dead,” two passages deserves special notice.
Mark 9:9-10 (NASB) 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10 They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.
In verse 9 Jesus referred to His rising ἐκ νεκρῶν (“out from among the dead”). In verse 10, the question in the disciples’ minds was the meaning of this clause. It reads: συζητοῦντες τί ἐστιν τὸ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῆναι, literally: “discussing, What is the out-from-among the dead resurrection?” This statement indicates that the disciples did not understand the clause itself, not merely that it applied to Jesus. Of course they were familiar with the basic concept of resurrection from the Old Testament.4 But the clause “out-from-among the dead resurrection” was a new concept for them. It does not appear in the Old Testament at all. It is self-evident from this passage as well as all of the others listed above that Jesus’ own resurrection “out from among the dead” also defines this statement as a limited resurrection, distinct from a general resurrection of all of the dead.
The second passage which speaks of Jesus’ resurrection deserving special notice is the following:
Acts 26:23 (NRSV) “that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
As with all of the others, this verse refers to Jesus’ resurrection “out from among the dead.” The clause is: πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, “first out-from-among the dead resurrection.” Being “the first” implies that others would follow in the same manner, also being raised “out from among the dead” in the pattern of Jesus’ resurrection.
The following New Testament passages use the same language for the resurrection of the righteous “out from among the dead” at Jesus’ return, exactly as with Jesus’ own resurrection.
Mark 12:25 (NRSV) “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
Luke 20:35 (NASB) “but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;”
Mark 12:25 and Luke 20:35 are parallel accounts of the same conversation and both refer to a “resurrection, the out from among the dead.” Note that only some are considered “worthy to attain” this resurrection according to Luke’s account. These passages separate in timing the resurrection of the righteous from the remaining dead who must remain in their graves as required by the prepositional phrase.
Philippians 3:11 (NASB) “in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
This verse not only includes the words ἐκ νεκρῶν “out from among the dead,” but Paul also prefixed the preposition ἐκ to the word “resurrection” (ἐξ-ανάστασιν)5 just as he did in Acts 26:23. By using this critical preposition twice, once as a prefix to “resurrection” (out-from-among-resurrection) and again in the prepositional phrase (out from among the dead), Paul has doubly emphasized that this resurrection is partial. All the dead are not raised together, only a select group, leaving the rest of the dead behind. It literally reads: “that I may attain to the out-from-among-resurrection, the out-from-among the dead.” Paul’s statement points back to Jesus’ words in Luke 20:35 where Jesus indicated that this partial resurrection is to be attained only by some; it is not granted to all. This is also a reference to what Jesus called “the resurrection of the just” in Luke 14:14.
There is another relevant passage worth noting which uses the clause ἐκ νεκρῶν (out from among the dead) but in a metaphorical sense.
Romans 6:13 (NASB) and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
This passage is not about literal resurrection, but a mindset. We are to live as though we have been raised “out from among the dead,” thus separated from the larger group of “the dead.” The usage is absolutely consistent that being raised ἐκ νεκρῶν (out from among the dead) always has the sense of being separated from the remaining dead by being raised. These examples prove false the amillenialists’ claim that Revelation 20 is the only passage that presents a staged resurrection. There are other proofs as well, such as 1 Cor. 15:22-24 & Dan. 12:1-3. But these deserve separate treatment.
Notes:
1 Matt. 22:31; Acts 17:32; Acts 23:5; Acts 24:21; 1 Cor. 15:12,13,21,42; Heb. 6:2
2 While Thayers lists #5 coming out of a “state” or “condition” as a possible meaning of the preposition ἐκ, in all such cases the object (the state or condition) must be singular. This sense is not possible in all of the Scriptures listed here because “the dead” is always plural referring to dead people.
3 There are also a few cases which substitute the preposition ἀπὸ (apo – away from). This preposition is not as strong and does not necessarily imply previous presence among the object (the dead), yet some kind of separatation and distance from the remaining “dead” is still required: (Matt. 14:2; Matt. 27:64; Matt. 28:7; Luke 16:30). In all of these examples, someone is raised from the dead while the rest of the dead remain in their graves.
4 Job 19:25-27; Ezek. 37; Dan. 12:1-2
5 ἐξ and ἐκ are the same preposition, only the spelling differs when followed by a word beginning with a vowel.