My wife and I lost our young son under tragic circumstances After the accident, as I held his broken body in my arms for the last time, a deep realization dawned on me--this was not the end!

In a flash an amazing biblical truth became clear: My son would live again! The words of Jesus Christ-"for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth" (John 5:28-29)--suddenly took on new meaning.

The concept of a resurrection to life-a biblical teaching few understand-was no longer an intangible promise from the pages of the Bible. The resurrection suddenly became a very real event for me. I saw it for the first time for what it really is: a commitment from Jesus Christ Himself.

Jesus Christ is committed to "the hour" when we can meet again our little son whom I was bidding farewell. This would be a real family reunion--one that I knew we could not afford to miss no matter what the cost!

Hope amid tragedy

Jonathan's funeral was held the next day. The funeral director gave us a little white casket in his showroom--his expression of sympathy for our tragedy. We rented his small funeral parlor where we could pay Jonathan our last respects among family and friends.

The words of our minister, spoken as I sat there in the front row with my wife and two remaining children, still ring in my ears today: "We are assembled here today on a very sobering occasion. The life of young Jonathan was snuffed out ever so quickly, but God's Word shows us that he will live again!"

Then he proceeded to expound God's message of hope through the resurrection made possible by Jesus Christ.

As I looked at the little white casket, I wanted to weep but couldn't--that would come later. What God had revealed through His Word was too profound. Scriptures I had read many times suddenly came alive and took on deep meaning. The vision of hope that had inspired me there in the driveway began to take on new dimensions.

The promise of a resurrection to life was not just for me, not just for my family, not just for Jonathan. I began to realize that this promise was about a family reunion on an unparalleled scale--for the entire family of man!

Death knows no socioeconomic boundaries, but neither does the resurrection by which victory is promised: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive," declared the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Death seems so final. Death leaves gaping voids with numb and bewildered survivors in its wake. We know; we've been there. We laid little Jonathan to rest in a tiny gravesite and returned home on that fateful day with an indescribable void in our hearts.

But death is not final. It is simply a respite prior to the life to come. The pain of death for those left behind is real, but so is the promise of the coming resurrection that will reunite us with our loved ones.

We need to believe that promise

The promise of the resurrection has affected me and my family in such a powerful way. It has brought so much comfort and inspired so much hope.

There is much confusion on this subject, much needless fear of the unknown. The Bible gives answers, concrete answers that provide hope and comfort.

The truth of the resurrection is profound, and you can discover it for yourself in the pages of your own Bible.

We begin our journey in the Book of Revelation. This prophetic book provides a chronological framework of end time events including the resurrections.

The 19th chapter of Revelation sets the stage by describing the glorious return of Jesus Christ to earth. The heavens open and Christ rides out on a white horse followed by the armies of God. It is at this moment that the people of God from all ages are reunited in one dramatic action described by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

At this momentous event God's chosen people from all ages receive God's promise--eternal life in the family of God! As "heirs of God" and "joint heirs" with Jesus Christ they are glorified together with Him to become like Jesus Christ in the truest sense of the word (Romans 8:17; 1 John 3:2). It is a dramatic reunion as the patriarchs of old together with their brethren in Christ attain what they waited on for so long--a "better resurrection" (Hebrews 11:35; Daniel 12:13)

The story continues in Revelation. Jesus Christ and His heavenly forces crush the rebellious armies on earth in one final battle. An angel binds Satan so he cannot influence humankind (Revelation 19:14-21 ; 20:1-3). Finally, the world can be "at one" with God as Christ and the resurrected saints usher in the long awaited Kingdom of God (Revelation 20:4 ).

However, the resurrected saints are immediately given responsibilities. There is work to do, and Christ engages the active participation of all his brethren. The resurrected saints are given "thrones" and judgment is given to them. They reign with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4 ).

A new and glorious age of peace and prosperity has begun! Surely, this is an event no Christian would want to miss. Surely there can be no greater victory over death than to participate in this "better resurrection"!

What will the resurrected saints do?

Traditional Christian art has the blessed saints floating on clouds strumming on harps and basking in eternal bliss in the presence of God. The Bible paints a very different picture of what God's resurrected saints will do!

Jesus Christ makes "them kings and priests... and they shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:10). They have a part in a plan designed by God to engage and benefit all--righteous leadership and spiritual education for all.

The Bible is very specific about the responsibilities of certain resurrected personalities. Jesus Christ takes the role of King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16 ). King David is resurrected to be king over Israel (Jeremiah 30:9) and the 12 apostles will each rule over one of the tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). In this resurrection, all will be given responsibility according to their ability and faithfulness--some ruling over ten cities others over five, still others over one (Luke:19:11-27).

The resurrected saints are not destined to tune harps. They are destined to change the world for good! Indeed, the Bible reveals that there will be unparalleled prosperity as Christ and those resurrected to immortality at His return work together to build a new and wonderful world--a kingdom governed by the laws of the living God. (For more information about this wonderful time, please request The Gospel of the Kingdom and God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.)

Another resurrection follows

But what about all the other people--those that did not attain this "better resurrection"? Will they miss out simply because they did not know, or worse yet, will they suffer eternal damnation for not serving a God they did not know?

God says unequivocally that He loves the whole world (John 3:16). Can a God that declares such love for all humanity condemn them for not having believed in a name they never knew?

What about those who died premature or tragic deaths? What about our son Jonathan, whose life was snuffed out in his innocence with no chance to ever know Christ?

The answer is simply this: God fulfills His purpose one step at a time. No one is left out. No one is forgotten. The first and so called "better" resurrection, far from being a case of divine preferential treatment, simply sets the stage in preparation for the capstone of God's great plan to save mankind.

We pick up the story in Revelation, where we find that "the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation20:5 ). If the first resurrection was grandiose because of its glory, then this second resurrection is grandiose because of its numbers. Imagine how many billions of people are included in the resurrection of "the rest of the dead" when we consider all the people who have lived and died over the centuries.

The apostle John describes the second resurrection in this way: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it . . . And I sat the dead, small and great, standing before God and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books" (Revelation20:11-12).

A lot of information condensed into two verses! We shall allow the Bible to explain each element in detail.

Small and great before the throne of God

The apostle John sees the dead small and great standing alive before the throne of God. What is the manner of their resurrection?

The prophet Ezekiel provides us with specific details. Let's listen in to the dialogue between God and Ezekiel as God shows him a valley filled with dry bones. "And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' " (Ezekiel 37:3).

Notice how God engages Ezekiel in the powerful message he is communicating. He wanted it to be vivid and believable beyond doubt. He said to Ezekiel: "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live...' " (verses 4-6).

What a dramatic challenge for the prophet Ezekiel! He was supposed to prophesy to a hopeless pile of bones and bring them back to life.

When Ezekiel prophesied as commanded, notice what ensued: "...There was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh same upon them, and the skin covered them over" (verses 7-8). Then "breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army" (verse 10).

So here we have, in much greater detail, what is described in Revelation's framework as "the dead, small and great, standing before God" (Revelation 20:12). God brings them up out of their graves and restores them to physical life.

Imagine what a grand reunion this will be. How many families will be reunited? How many children will come up looking for their parents? How many grandparents and great grandparents will see their offspring for the first time?

Who do you know who will be a beneficiary of this grand restoration to life? Will you be there to meet him or her?

Books are opened...

God does not do anything capriciously. He brings these people back to life for a special purpose described in his dialogue with Ezekiel: "Then you shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:6). God is bringing them back to life not to condemn, but rather to give them the opportunity to really know Him for the first time.

How do we get to know God? Through His Word! This harmonizes perfectly with the statement "and books were opened" in Revelation 20:12 ). The Greek word for "books" in this passage is biblia and refers to the books of the Bible. For the first time these people have the opportunity to get know God and His Word.

Billions of people have lived and died without ever having heard about God and his Word. Untold millions of children have died in innocence before they had a chance to know God and commit their lives to Him.

These people will live again in the flesh in the resurrection described by Ezekiel. But they have more than physical life to look forward to as "another book is opened, which is the Book of Life" (same verse).

God does not want to just get to know these people by making his Word available to them. He wants to give them the opportunity of eternal life through His Spirit.

God describes it this way as He concludes his dialogue with Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones: " 'I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,' says the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:14).

Clearly the Bible paints a drastically different picture about the resurrection and judgment than the "hellfire and brimstone" concept held by many people. God is, according to the Bible, a merciful and loving God who brings these people up out of their graves not to condemn them, but to offer them the opportunity they never had: eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Certainly God holds them accountable for what they do--they are "judged according to their works"--but only after they know what God would have them do. Isn't it comforting and encouraging to know that God is truly not a respecter of persons; that He offers equal opportunity salvation to all people who ever lived?

There is much more to say about the resurrections to life but one thing is sure: they provide hope and comfort to those that are facing the reality of their own mortality or the death of a loved one. The promise of a resurrection gives a concrete explanation of the fate of the deceased--and more important the promise of reunification in a grand family reunion.

For our family, this family reunion is an event which we await with eager anticipation. This promise of hope has profoundly affected each member of my family. It has been and remains a catalyst; a flame burning deep within us that prods us toward the finish line when we will once again see and hold our son Jonathan.

May this vision also comfort, inspire and motivate you!