The Resurrection of the Unjust
The Eschatology of John Part 15: John 5 Part 2
Before you read this article, I want you to see that it is part 15. What I mean is this is part of an ongoing series, and while you are free to continue reading, it would be good for you to at least read the previous post on John 5, which can be found here:
But if you want to start at the beginning, which according to Julie Andrews is a very good place to start, then you can click here:
A Grave Subject
Before we get to the matter of the resurrection of the unjust, I want to expound upon a footnote in the previous section.
The trouble with John 5:28-29 is that Jesus’s source for the resurrection of the just and unjust is obvious because it is limited, as far as I can tell, to one choice: Daniel 12:2.
But Daniel speaks of people coming out of the dust, not graves. Instead, I argued that Jesus’s source for the out-of-the-grave resurrection is Ezekiel 37:1-14. While this is the most compelling option to me because of John’s dependance on Ezekiel throughout his book, there is another option that is intriguing.
The Greek word μνημεῖον (mnēmeion) is used fifteen times in the Septuagint. Most of the references are not in an eschatological context; they have to do with Abraham or someone else burying their dead or setting up some sort of memorial.
The word is used in a popular resurrection passage, Isaiah 26:19:
The dead will rise, and those in the tombs will be raised, and those in the earth will rejoice; for the dew from you is a remedy for them, but the land of the impious will fall. Isaiah 26:19, LES
This passage is only concerned with the resurrection of the just, but it is an important one in discussing eschatology. Isaiah 24-28 contains a plethora of passages that are cited in the New Testament:
If Jesus is echoing Isaiah 26, it would certainly make sense, and it would make for an interesting study, but I think Ezekiel 37 makes more sense given the reasons I’ve already stated.
Daniel 12:2 and the Resurrection of the Unjust
Since Jesus’s source of the resurrection of “those who have done evil” is Daniel 12:2, we’ll turn our attention to it for the bulk of this article. Specifically, we’ll be looking at the Septuagint since it is the Bible of the first century church, and these differences between it and the Hebrew are important.
And many of those sleeping in the breadth of the earth will arise, some unto everlasting life, but some unto reproach, and some to dispersion and everlasting disgrace. Daniel 12:2
Reproach, Dispersion, and Everlasting Disgrace
Let’s begin with the ideas of dispersion and everlasting disgrace. The word “disgrace” is used a few times in the New Testament, but the most informative to me seems to be Philippians 3:18-21. In this passage Paul compares those who are enemies of the Cross (who I think are of his kinsmen, like in Romans 9-11, cf. Philippians 3:3) with those who have placed their faith in Christ.
For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Philippians 3:18–21
Their glory, a term used to describe the resurrection body in this context, is actually their shame because their minds are set on earthly things (cf. Colossians 3:1ff). That is, they have a resurrection to which they will attain (Philippians 3:11), but it is a resurrection of destruction and shame just like in Daniel 12:2.
Their goal, their telos, is death and darkness, not life and light.
These ideas are directly connected to the third of Daniel’s terms here: dispersion.
The diaspora is a term used to refer to the dispersion of Israelites among the Gentiles. The term is used even in our day to refer to Jews who live outside of Israel.
Here are a few examples of its use in the LXX:
May the Lord give you visitation before the enemies; by one road you shall come out to them, and by seven roads you shall flee from before them, and you shall be dispersion in all kingdoms of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:25
If your dispersion should be from one end of heaven as far as the other end of heaven, from that place the Lord your God will gather you and from that place the Lord your God will take you. Deuteronomy 30:4
And he said to me, “It is a great thing for you to be called my child, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to return the dispersion of Israel. Look! I have given you as a covenant for a nation, as a light for the nations so that you may bring salvation as far as the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6
You see how in all of these passages the dispersion would be to the ends of the earth. The last text is also important because it connects the dispersion with darkness and the restoration of Israel (and inclusion of the Gentiles) with light.
In our study of the eschatology of John, we have seen how important this contrast between darkness and light is to understanding John’s teaching of salvation, resurrection, judgment, and the kingdom.
So, what is Daniel saying here? The idea is that there would be a separation between those who had done good and those who had done evil. Those who had done good will receive eternal life, but those who had done evil would receive disgrace, reproach, and would be subject to yet another diaspora.
This would have been a huge blow to Daniel’s audience because Daniel was part of the first diaspora of Judah. While Israel had already been exiled under the Assyrian empire, Judah was exiled 120 years later under Babylon, but Judah was given hope that they would be restored just after seventy years (cf. Daniel 9). Yet despite the imminent restoration, Daniel foresaw another day in which some in Israel would be dispersed once more.
Jesus and the Diaspora
Jesus predicted something similar and applied it to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70:
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it, for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled. Luke 21:20–24
I used Luke’s account here because of the specific reference to another diaspora, but I need to spend a little time in Matthew as well:
In Matthew 24:15, Jesus draws directly from Daniel in his prediction of the fall of the temple. Then, Jesus said,
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:30–31
After immediately drawing upon the “Son of Man” imagery from Daniel 7, as we noticed in the previous article on John 5, Jesus predicts the eschatological regathering of Israel. Compare the language “from one end of heaven to the other” with the three citations from the LXX above regarding the diaspora. This also corresponds to Daniel 12:2 which said that they were asleep in the “breadth of the earth.” It is not a coincidence that Matthew’s source for an eschatological regathering of Israel at the sound of a great trumpet is Isaiah 27:13.
That is, in Christ, the diaspora is reversed; those who were sent away are brought near through Jesus; however, those who heard the voice of the Son of Man but did not listen experienced a “rising” as well, but it was a rising to condemnation, or as Daniel said, reproach, shame, and another diaspora.
When would Daniel’s prediction be fulfilled? Well, he actually had the same question. This was the answer given to him:
The man clothed in linen, who was upstream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven. And I heard him swear by the one who lives forever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be accomplished. Daniel 12:7
It is important to note here that the LXX translates this passage differently. Instead of “shattering of the power”, it says, “the completion of the power of the release of the holy people.” The word “release” most often refers to the release of captives, the forgiveness of sins, and the relief of debt. So this passage could be read as a time when Israel’s sins would be forgiven (cf. Daniel 9:24; Isaiah 27:9). It could also be read as a time when Israel’s power would be shattered. But the dual themes of judgment and restoration are not incompatible. Throughout the prophets, these two themes are often found in the same text, such as in Isaiah 65-66 or Malachi 3-4.
The point of all this is to show the relationship between Daniel 12 and Jesus’s teaching.
To reiterate, Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 12 concerns the “time of the end” and what would happen to his people during the “last days” (Daniel 10:14). At this time, Michael (Jesus?) would arise and save the people during a time of severe anguish, but only some of the people would be delivered (Daniel 12:1). Those who would be delivered would receive eternal life, but those who would not would go into another diaspora.
Like Ezekiel 37, Daniel is focused on the time of Israel’s restoration, but unlike Ezekiel 37, Daniel talks about what would happen to those who wouldn’t hear the voice of the Son of Man and live.
With this information under our belts, let’s return to John 5:28-29.
John 5:28-29
The people were in exile, darkness, and death. They denied they were in this condition, but they had believed a lie (John 8:33). Jesus came to wake them up to the reality of their predicament, but not all the people responded favorably to the Way offered by Jesus.
Instead of embracing the way of peace, they chose a path of violence, a path that began with the crucifixion of Jesus. Unfortunately, this would lead to a bitter end:
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” Luke 19:41–44
While John doesn’t talk about this event as specifically as the other gospel authors do, he does discuss how choosing hatred over love means abiding in death. While Jesus saw two hours (or perhaps one hour in two ways), one that was present and one that was coming, John only wrote about one hour in his epistles: the last hour.
Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18
I take this as commentary on John 5:24-29. The hour that was coming was now present for John.
This meant that the time for decision making had come to a close. Rome was marching upon Jerusalem, and the tearful words of Jesus would come true. As John himself wrote,
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” Revelation 22:10–11
Those who heard the voice of the Son would receive eternal life, but those who did not would abide in death. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:29).
Paul similarly said,
Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14
He also wrote,
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us walk decently as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in illicit sex and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:11–14
I think this presents a good opportunity for us to evaluate our own lives. Will we remain asleep? Will we abide in death? Or is it time for us to hear the voice of the Son and come alive? Let’s clothe ourselves in Christ and put all of our trust in him.
A Note on the Harvest
In my study on John 4, I pointed out how Jesus’s mention of the eschatological harvest could come from Hosea. I concluded that it didn’t specifically come from that prophet, but I believe Hosea’s prophecy is still relevant to this discussion.
Hosea’s dependence upon the harvest imagery to discuss the restoration of Israel is fascinating. Here is a small sampling of passages:
The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head, and they shall rise up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Hosea 1:11
On that day I will answer, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are my people,” and he shall say, “You are my God.” Hosea 2:21–23
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:2–3
The picture of harvest is the picture of resurrection. I think this further ties John 4 with John 5. John also uses harvest as a symbol for resurrection in John 12:
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit. John 12:24
I think this is all significant because there is another passage in the life of Christ which contains a prediction of an end of the age harvest which ends in the righteous being gathered into life and the wicked being “thrown into the fire.”1
This is the parable of the wheat and the tares, which is found in Matthew 13:24-30.
In this parable, someone sowed good seed in the field, but during the night his enemy came and sowed tares in the field. The two were allowed to remain to grow together until the harvest unless some wheat be mistaken for some tare.
The landowner said, “Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:30).
I believe this end of the age harvest is the same thing as John 5:28-29. Let me show you why.
In the explanation of this parable, Jesus uses the expression “end of the age,” an expression which could be sourced from Daniel 12:
And you, go! Rest yourself, for there are yet days and seasons until the fulfillment of the consummation. And he should give you rest, and you will arise upon your glory at the end of the age. Daniel 12:13
Moving beyond speculation, though, there is a clear link between these two passages, and that is the closing statement:
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! Matthew 13:43
This is a direct reference of Daniel 12:3, which means that the parable of the wheat and tares and the resurrection of the good and evil in John 5:28-29 are talking about the same event!
You might not think this could get more interesting, but it can.
In Matthew 24:3, Jesus’s disciples specifically ask him about when the end of the age would come, and Jesus ties it directly to the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9 and Daniel 12. He then says, “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place” (Matthew 24:34).
In other words, if the end of the age in Matthew 13 and Matthew 24 are the same, then the end of the age is limited to “this generation,” that is, the generation of Jesus’s contemporaries.
But if Jesus is drawing from, applying, and interpreting Daniel 12 in both Matthew 13 and Matthew 24, then it means that Daniel 12 is also limited to “this generation” and finds its fulfillment in the time leading up to and including the fall of the temple (i.e. the time when the power of the holy people would be completely shattered).
But if Matthew 13 and Daniel 12:2 are connected to John 5:28-29, which I think I’ve shown that they are, then this means that John 5:28-29 also finds its fulfillment in the time leading up to and including the fall of the temple, which corresponds to our interpretation of “the hour that is coming and now is” and “the hour that is coming” in our previous articles.
All of this evidence taken together, I think, demonstrates that my interpretation of the timing and nature of John 5:28-29 is, at the very least, plausible. It is also consistent with our other articles on the eschatology of John which view the ultimate eschatological hope as “Christ in you.” All of this, at the end of the day, is really about our openness to dwelling in God and God’s dwelling in us. This mystical interpretation of resurrection may not be orthodox in the strictest sense, but I find it the most compelling at this present time.
These articles take a lot of effort to research and write. If you appreciate them, consider subscribing, liking, or commenting to let me know to keep writing. Also, I promise the articles won’t be as technical as these last two every time.
I want to make a quick point here about this judgment language. I believe this language is most appropriately applied to this life. That is, the fire imagery, the talk of condemnation, and especially the diaspora all refer to the real-world consequences to people’s decisions. For example, in choosing violence, they brought violence upon themselves.
I always appreciate your teachings
Thank you so much, Daniel, for your work on this study. You have clarified so many Scripture references and how they connect. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and the congregation you serve!