Technology entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is spending millions of dollars in an ambitious effort to overcome aging and extend his life. His elaborate regimen includes strict dietary restrictions, rigorous exercise, extensive medical monitoring, and experimental treatments. His Don’t Die movement even boasts, “We might be the first generation that doesn’t die.”
Despite numerous extraordinary advances in medicine, technology, and science, however, humanity has yet to discover a way to eliminate death. We can postpone it, predict its arrival, and mourn its consequences, but we are unable to escape its inevitability. Death is the one appointment no human being can avoid.
Thankfully, Jesus came to conquer the one problem we cannot overcome. One of the Bible’s most astonishing claims is that death will not have the final word for anyone. Every person who has ever lived will one day rise from the grave. The question is not whether we will live again, but what kind of eternity awaits us.
The story of Lazarus’ resurrection after four days is breathtaking (John 11). With just a word from Jesus, the dead man, already decaying, walked out of the grave very much alive (John 11:43-44). The one death had swallowed was now standing in victory! What we sometimes miss, though, is that the miracle that brought Lazarus out of the grave sets into motion the events that will put Jesus in one (John 11:53). And that is exactly the point.
Jesus declared that He is the resurrection and the life because He intended to restore the eternal life that was lost in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-6). And how would He do it? After His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus rose from the grave with a glorified body that, unlike Lazarus’, would never die again. Our Savior’s resurrection was not merely a temporary reversal of death, but a permanent victory that He offers to share with us.
Thus, the Apostle Paul refers to Christ as “the first fruits” of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20). In other words, because He was raised from the dead there are two resurrections that will follow in the future. First, all Christians will soon rise from the grave as well. Those who belong to Christ can rest easy knowing that we will live again even if we die (John 11:25).
Believers still get sick, grow old, and suffer. Faith in Christ does not exempt us from the painful realities of a fallen world, nor does He offer an avenue to sidestep the grim reaper. Yet, Jesus promises that through Him we can overcome death with greater profundity than even Lazarus knew. These bodies of ours, like seeds, are sown perishable but raised imperishable; sown in dishonor but raised in glory; sown in weakness but raised in power (1 Cor. 15:42-44).
Think about the glorious implications. The godly parent you long to see again will one day rise. The believer whose body deteriorated from disease will be whole again. The child of God whose life ended abruptly will gain a new lease on life. Christians who have been dead for centuries will hear the voice of Jesus and leave their burial clothes behind for good.
Whether we wait four days like Lazarus or thousands of years, the passing of time cannot weaken the promises of God or diminish the power of the ONE who is the resurrection and the life. Because Jesus lives, we will also.
Yet, the resurrection is not exclusively a promise of hope; for those who reject Christ, it is also a warning of judgment. Non-Christians will also rise from the dead to live forever somewhere. Jesus Himself explained this nuance by insisting that believers will experience a resurrection of life while unbelievers will face a resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29). Specifically, this is a reference to the Great White Throne Judgment.
The Apostle John described the terrible scene: “I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne . . . and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. . . . And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:12-15). Those outside of Christ will answer to God for their sins.
The ramifications are sobering. You cannot escape God by dying. The grave offers no refuge from divine judgment. There will be no eternal party in hell among friends who also rejected Christ and ignored His commands. Every person will one day be raised from the dead, but not everyone will be raised to enjoy eternal life with God.
The biblical doctrine of resurrection is not only a comforting promise for grieving Christians, but it is also a solemn admonition to those who remain outside of Christ. One day, every grave will surrender its occupant. All people will stand before the God who created them. The only hope of escaping eternal judgment is the Savior who conquered death through His own resurrection. Everyone will live again. The question is where, and with whom, you will spend eternity.
Adam B. Dooley
November 4, 2026
