In another article, I already addressed the meaning of the Hebrew word olam, so often translated as “everlasting” in English, and demonstrated that it does not mean endless time. That mistranslation imports later theological assumptions into the text and obscures the original biblical sense, where olam speaks of an age, a horizon, or a quality of time shaped by purpose—not infinite duration. You can read that article below:

All will be resurrected—every soul, every life. And as Daniel 12:2 declares, Jesus confirms that a day of judgment awaits, when each person will be rewarded according to what they have done:

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

(John 5:28–29)

Notice that both groups—the righteous and the unrighteous—are resurrected. The difference lies not in whether one group is made alive again, but in the nature of that resurrection: life or judgment.

Resurrection of Life

The Bible isn’t a biology textbook, so here “life” isn’t about biology, especially since both have been resurrected.

Remember, life in the biblical sense never meant merely continuing to breathe. It meant blessing and joy, wholeness and peace, purpose, flourishing, and harmony with God. To live was to participate in the fullness of divine life—not merely to exist. Life was never defined by quantity or duration, but by quality: a life filled with meaning, joy, blessing, and flourishing under God’s presence.

Thus, “resurrection of life” signifies reward, honor, and greatness—what Jesus elsewhere calls being great in the kingdom (Matthew 5:19). The New Testament describes this kind of “life” in multiple ways: storing treasure (Matthew 6:20), winning the race (1 Corinthians 9:24), receiving rewards (1 Corinthians 3:14), inheriting the kingdom (Matthew 25:34), entering the kingdom (Matthew 7:21), receiving the crown of life (James 1:12), or walking the narrow path that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). These and others are biblical idioms and Jewish expressions that speak of spiritual blessings and achievements—depicting not those who merely intellectually accepted Christ but also lived out His way with faithfulness and love.

Resurrection of Judgment

By contrast, the “resurrection of judgment” implies shame, regret, chastisement, and sanction. There’s a big difference between feeling the sting of shame and condemnation when your sins come to light and suffering Eternal Conscious Torment in hellfire.

Imagine a Christian family with two young siblings returning home from summer camp. One behaved well, and everyone has nothing but praise for them; the other behaved terribly. When they walk through the door, one is met with warmth and celebration, while the other faces correction and discipline. Yet no one imagines that the parents would throw the misbehaving child into a fiery pit in the backyard.

When a child is punished for wrongdoing and feels “damned,” it does not mean they are cast away or destroyed. It means they are being corrected within a relationship of love. If that’s true about a loving parent, then why would we believe a merciful God would behave in a way that only an abusive, psychopathic parent would?

The resurrection of judgment represents those who failed to live according to God’s ways—not a sentence to unending torture, but a form of loss. Jesus described it using culturally understood symbols like “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28), a known Jewish/biblical idiom expressing deep remorse or jealousy (e.g., Psalm 35:16, 37:12, 112:10), much like the modern feeling of FOMO. Other terms like “outer darkness” (Matthew 22:13) or “will not inherit the kingdom” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10) don’t refer to annihilation or hellfire, but to missing out on the great honor, reward, and joy of being close to God in His kingdom.

In the ancient world, living inside a kingdom’s walls was a privilege reserved for the wealthy, the inheritors, and those honored by the king. Those not granted entry would remain outside after dark, missing out on the safety, light, and feasting within. “Outer darkness” was a Jewish metaphor for missing out on blessings (e.g., Deuteronomy 28:29) or being left outside the celebration—not executed or tortured, but distanced.

Likewise, Paul writes about the wicked who will be spared, “but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15)—they suffer loss, but are not condemned forever. They are still alive, yet without honor, reward, or inheritance.

The final judgment, then, is not simply a binary verdict of paradise or inferno, but a revelation of the quality of each life—its fruit, its faithfulness, its alignment with God’s love. Resurrection is God’s free gift to all, but reward is to be earned and based on how we lived.

This was an excerpt from my book “The Gospel Before Christianity: A Jewish Perspective on Jesus’ Atonement, Sacrifice, and Redemption“