In 24:15 Paul speaks of the resurrection: “Having hope toward God, which these themselves also look for, that there is about to be a resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous.” The resurrection of the righteous will occur before the millennium at the Lord’s coming back (1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thes. 4:16). It will be the resurrection of life (John 5:28-29a; Dan. 12:2). The resurrection of life is the resurrection of the saved believers before the millennium. The dead believers will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life at the coming back of the Lord Jesus. Hence, it is called the resurrection of life. It is also the resurrection of reward (Luke 14:14), when God will reward the saints (Rev. 11:18) at the Lord’s return (1 Cor. 4:5).
The resurrection of the righteous, which is the resurrection of life, also includes the first, or the best, resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6). Revelation 20:5 and 6 speak of the first, or the best, resurrection. The first resurrection is the best one. It is not only the resurrection of life, but also the resurrection of reward, the ex-resurrection, that is, the extraordinary resurrection for which the apostle Paul sought (Phil. 3:11), the resurrection of kingship as a reward to the overcomers so that they may reign as co-kings with Christ in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4, 6). Not only the resurrected overcomers, such as the man-child in Revelation 12:5 and the later martyrs in Revelation 15:2, but also the raptured living ones, such as the firstfruit in Revelation 14:1-5, will have “part in the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:6).
In Philippians 3:11 Paul refers to the first, or best, resurrection as the out-resurrection: “If by any means I may attain to the out-resurrection from among the dead.” This is the outstanding resurrection, the extra-resurrection, which will be a prize to the overcoming saints. All believers who are dead in Christ will participate in the resurrection from among the dead at the Lord’s coming back (1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52). But the overcoming saints will enjoy an extra, outstanding portion of that resurrection. This is called in Hebrews 11:35 the “better resurrection.”
To arrive at the out-resurrection means that our entire being has been gradually and continually resurrected. God first resurrected our deadened spirit (John 5:25; Eph. 2:5-6). Then from our spirit He proceeds to resurrect our soul (Rom. 8:6) and our mortal body (Rom. 8:11), until our entire being—spirit, soul, and body—is fully resurrected out of our old being by and with His life. This is a process in life through which we must pass and a race for us to run until we arrive at the out-resurrection as the prize. Hence, the out-resurrection should be the goal and destination of our Christian life. We can reach this goal only by being conformed to the death of Christ (Phil. 3:10), by living a crucified life. In the death of Christ we are processed in resurrection from the old creation to the new.
We have pointed out that in Acts 24:15 Paul says that there will be a resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous. The resurrection of the unrighteous will occur after the millennium (Rev. 20:5). It will be the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29) and of shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2b). This resurrection of judgment will be the resurrection of the perished unbelievers after the millennium (Rev. 20:5, 12). All the dead unbelievers will be resurrected after the thousand years to be judged at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Hence, it is called the resurrection of judgment. In Revelation 20:12 the word “standing” indicates the dead have been resurrected. This is the resurrection of judgment for eternal perdition upon the unrighteous after the millennium. This is the resurrection concerning which the apostle Paul warned unrighteous Felix in Acts 24:25.
All the unsaved will be in the resurrection of judgment. Because they will be condemned to eternal perdition, their resurrection will be of shame and everlasting contempt. Paul, in his wisdom, mentioned this resurrection as a warning to Felix. Paul’s word implies that Felix should prepare himself to face the coming resurrection of judgment. As we shall see, later on Paul spoke directly to Felix concerning the coming judgment.
In 24:16 Paul said to Felix, “In this I also exercise myself, to have always a conscience without offense toward God and men.” Paul uttered a similar word when he defended himself before the Sanhedrin: “I have conducted myself in all good conscience before God until this day” (23:1). We have seen that for Paul to conduct himself in all good conscience before God was a great return to God from man’s fall. Paul spoke such a word to vindicate himself before those who accused him of being a lawless and even a reckless person. Paul’s testimony in 23:1 and 24:16 concerning his conscience showed his high standard of morality in contrast to the hypocrisy of the Jewish religionists and the crookedness of the Roman politicians. As we continue on in Acts 24, we shall see more concerning the corruption of Roman politics.