"108John 5:28 f. - The difference of time in the two judgments is recognised by Meyer and Beyschlag. An objection made that the two resurrections take place in the same hour is rebutted by verse 26, where the spiritual resurrection which has gone on for nearly two millenniums is also called an "hour." A resurrection of the wicked does not emerge so clearly from the Synoptic accounts. That there is to be no general contemporaneous resurrection was foreshadowed by Psalm 1:6 [perhaps Psalm 1:5??]: "The wicked shall not arise in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous." See LXX. and Vulgate (resurgent). The German critics no more apprehend the sense of qum there than English translators, who alike adhere to "stand." But cf. Matthew 12:41, where all assign to ἀναστήσονται, in the same form of words, its natural meaning. The usual idea is that the Old Testament uniformly predicates resurrection of the righteous alone, but the point is that they who have done good and those that have done evil will not rise together. Cf. Simcox on Revelation 20:6. The Pharisees supposed that only the righteous would live again (Josephus, "Antiquities," xviii. 14; 2 Macc. 6: 26; and other references in Bousset, "Religion of Judaism," p. 259)."
Hello Watermark. Good to see you back at it. It is nice to continue our discussion from yesterday.
I think you meant verse 25 and not 26. Let me quote it here as it reads in Scripture with some important capitalization for emphasis.
John 5: 25, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the HOUR IS COMING, and NOW IS, when the dead will HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD; and those who hear will live."
Let's examine this verse very carefully. We also have to remember the "now but not yet" component that we find in Scripture with many doctrines. Like we are saved NOW by faith in Christ but NOT YET fully saved until we are perfected at the resurrection. Until then we still stumble with sin.
Same thing with the kingdom of God. It's here on earth NOW but NOT YET fully consummated until Christ's return.
So what is Jesus saying in John 5: 25? Notice what I capitalized. The HOUR (now) is when people will hear what? The VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD and live. I think we can agree this is people who are dead spiritually being made alive spiritually. People are getting saved through Jesus' preaching using His AUDIBLE/PHYSICAL voice. Jesus hasn't been on the earth for 2,000 years. He was talking to his listeners ONLY because you and I have never heard His voice physically. You cannot say this is a "spiritual" hearing of His voice going on for 2,000 years like your commentators are falsely claiming. Jesus makes it clear in this verse it is His audible/physical voice.
But He also says the HOUR IS COMING (not yet) which is described in verses 28 & 29. Those verses are about people also "HEARING HIS VOICE" and coming out of the graves physically. This is also an AUDIBLE shout from Him. The "hour" has not been going on for 2,000 years. Your commentators failed to see the "now and not yet" of verse 25 which is there. Jesus is talking about two different hours. One where people here His preaching and live and one where people hear his shout and come out of the graves.
We also have Acts 24: 15 which says the resurrection includes both the just and unjust at the same time which also disproves your commentators.
Acts 24: 15, "I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be A RESURRECTION of the dead, both of the just and unjust."
The word in the Greek for "resurrection" is in the singular meaning only one, not two as the premill will claim. If there was more than one resurrection Paul would have used the plural form in the Greek and it would have been translated "resurrections" in our English Bibles.