The hour of reckoning - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
John 5:28–29

The hour of reckoning
Yesterday we thought about the hour of grace, when Jesus Christ gives eternal life to all who believe in Him. Today’s Bible verse is about the hour of reckoning. Once again, it is not a duration of 60 minutes, but a future period of time when the Son of God will raise up those who have died. This “hour” can again be divided into two phases.

a. The resurrection to life: When the Lord Jesus will come again for His own, all who have died believing in Him will hear His mighty voice and come forth from death. As saved ones they will be resurrected to life. The Lord will take them to heaven with the believers then living on earth, that they may be with Him forever. This is referred to as the “rapture”.

b. The resurrection to judgment: About 1,000 years after the rapture of the redeemed, the Son of God will once again call people forth from death with His powerful voice. These are the unbelievers who have died in their sins and must then be resurrected for judgment. At the great white throne, they will be sentenced to eternal punishment (Revelation 20:11–15).

So the hour of reckoning will have completely opposite effects: with believers, the grace of God will triumph over death and sin; with unbelievers, the judgment of God will demand punishment because they did not want to be saved.

Today’s reading: Genesis 31:1-21 · Psalms 18:1-19