Through the centuries, there have been many teachings and theories about what happens to God’s servants and others when they die. To begin with, since early in the Second Century some Christians have believed that they will go to heaven immediately upon their deaths. They base this belief on common pagan traditions and Jesus’ words at John 11:25, where he said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live. And all the living that believe in me won’t die through the age. Do you believe this?’

However, what they failed to recognize are Jesus’ words at John 6:40, where he said ‘This is what my Father’s will is; that everyone who pays close attention to the Son and believes in him should have life in this age, and I will resurrect him on the Last Day.’

In other words, they will be granted the gift of life ‘in this age’ (gr. ζώη ιώνιον – adjective, neuter, singular, nominative), but they will be resurrected ‘on the last day.’ We realize that some Bibles translate ζώη ιώνιον as ‘everlasting life,’ but the words mean life age.

On the other hand, most of us have been taught that only 144,000 go to heaven, and that the rest of us are either among the great crowd that will survive the battle of Armageddon, or we will be resurrected among ‘the rest of the dead,’ to prove ourselves along with the rest of resurrected humanity during the thousand-year reign. This is all based on the Seventh and Twentieth Chapters of Revelation.

Another View

However, recently we were contacted by an astute Bible student who produced many scriptures in an attempt to prove that no one goes to heaven and that those who rule the earth will live on the earth. And while after studying the things he said we deduced that his conclusions are wrong, he did raise some interesting points that have gone overlooked, especially when it comes to the wonderful earthly hope that has been offered to the faithful.

Putting his conclusions in a nutshell, he pointed out that according to Jesus, the hope sheep of Matthew 25:31-46 is what Jesus said in verse 34, ‘Come, you who have been praised by my Father, inherit the Kingdom that has been prepared for you from the founding of the world.’ And then he pointed out that at 1 Corinthians 15:50, Paul said ‘Flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom, nor can [anything that's] decaying inherit something that is clean.’

So, as he correctly stated, if Paul was talking about a heavenly hope in 1 Corinthians 15, the ‘sheep’ must have it, and their destiny must be heavenly. Then he went on to say that the words in 1 Corinthians 15 are actually talking about an earthly hope. For a more detailed discussion of this, please see the link http://www.2001translation.com/inherit.htm. He also correctly pointed out that Revelation 5:10 actually says in Greek that they will rule ON (not OVER) the earth.

Well, after studying his conclusions, we came to realize that he was partially right. However, the scriptures indicate that Paul was in fact speaking of both resurrections (heavenly and earthly), for the hope of going to heaven and ruling with Jesus is well established in the scriptures, as are the ‘types’ of those who will be taken to heaven (the ‘anointed’ priests of Israel, the descendants of Aaron).

The Kings and Princes

Until now, we’ve been taught there will in fact be another earthly class that will comprise the ‘kings and princes’ of Isaiah 32, which will rule the earth. Yet, they were also thought to be lumped among the singular ‘rest of the dead’ of Revelation 20 and ‘the great crowd’ of Revelation 7. However, if as John 6:40 says, the faithful will be given ‘life in this age,’ and as Jesus said at John 11:25, ‘Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,’ there is no scriptural indication that the faithful will be counted among ‘the rest of the dead,’ because they are already counted among the living.

This conclusion started us searching for more on the subject of the resurrection, and it was then we noticed that those with a heavenly hope are taken there before the battle of Armageddon and before the resurrections begin (see Matthew 24:40 and Revelation 19:6-9). So, it appears as though ‘the first resurrection’ is for those that are considered among the living by God and whose hope is earthly. They constitute the Jerusalem or ruling class that will be attacked by Gog of Magog. And as such, they appear to be the kings and princes that will rule the earth during the thousand years. And like those who will rule with Jesus in the heavens, they appear to be comprised of men and women alike.

We realize that the conclusions we have reached are a radical departure from what everyone else has taught down through the ages, and who are we? Yet, if you will do the research with an open mind, you will see the reasons why we have come to these conclusions.