Question
John 5:25 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Is that true, all dead people will live in the future?
What is the deep meaning of ‘the hour is coming’ ?
Answer
In John five Jesus teaches His equality with the Father (John 5:17-18). His Father is God (John 5:18). Whatever the Father does, the Son does (John 5:19). The Father loves the Son and has committed all things to Him (John 5:20; cf. Matthew 28:18). The Father imparts life to the dead, and so does the Son (John 5:21). One work the Father has committed to the Son is judging, so that all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father (John 5:22-23). To fail to honor the Son is to fail to honor the Father Who sent Him (John 5:23). Then and now the Son imparts eternal life to the spiritually dead who hear His word and believe (John 5:24-26, “the hour is coming, and now is” – verse 25). That is the present role of the Son, to be the Savior, to impart eternal life to those who are dead in sin, separated from God (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2; John 8:24). This is spiritual rather than physical, reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). But when He comes again, it will be as Judge, at which time all shall be raised from the dead to stand before Him in judgment (John 5:27-29). His judgment is just, because He always does the will of the Father (John 5:30).
