Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:25-29, NASB)
The Bible passage above is part of the Apostle John’s account. Jesus had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate one of God’s feasts. He healed a man who had been paralyzed for many years at the pool called Bethesda. This happened on the Sabbath, which made the Jewish authorities very angry. Jesus got into heated discussions with them in which He equated Himself with His Father, which made them even madder. “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:18)
Further, the words of Jesus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24) So Jesus tells the Temple leadership that if they would believe His word, and believe in the Father, they would not only have everlasting life, but would escape eternal judgment and damnation. That would’ve made the authorities even madder, being lectured by this carpenter from Nazareth. But Jesus had more for them, from the passage above.
John 5:25 image. Found at Knowing Jesus, https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/John/5/25
He tells them that sometime after death, He will come back (!), and He will call, and whoever hears His voice “will live.” He further explains, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” While “good deeds” do not save someone, in the words of Jesus “This is the work of God, that you believe in He whom He sent.” (John 6:29) So the only good “work” we can do that is acceptable to God is to believe in His Son, Jesus. Those that do, will be raised to “a resurrection of life,” an eternity with God in heaven; those who don’t, “to a resurrection of judgment.”
There are, then, two resurrections: One for those who believe in Jesus, and who will spend eternity with God in heaven; and one for unbelievers, who will spend eternity totally separated from God. The choice is clear to me. In the words of my late mentor, Brigadier General Dick Abel: “Do you want smoking or non-smoking?” It’s up to us! My hope is in Jesus!