The vision of the end of days carries a profound promise regarding the resurrection of the dead. This future reality shatters the finality of death, summoning individuals from the past to face the eternal consequences of their earthly deeds.
The primary approach among commentators is that the dead will return to life in both body and soul. Death is understood metaphorically as a deep sleep; just as a person wakes from slumber, the soul will eventually reunite with the physical body [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. However, this awakening will not encompass all of humanity. It is reserved for specific groups [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם], though some interpret this limited group as actually being quite small [אבן עזרא]. Taking a completely different approach, others view the concept of awakening metaphorically rather than literally. In this view, those sleeping in the earth represent the people of Israel suffering in the darkness of exile, and their awakening symbolizes the arrival of the redeemer, who will bring salvation to the righteous and ruin to the wicked [אבן עזרא].
For those who do physically rise, their destinies will sharply divide. The righteous will awaken to a pleasant, joyful, and eternal life, while the wicked will be resurrected only to face constant shame and an everlasting curse [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. An alternative perspective suggests that only the righteous will awaken to eternal life, whereas the wicked will simply remain in the ground, left to their eternal disgrace [אבן עזרא]. The purpose behind resurrecting these two distinct groups is closely tied to the suffering experienced during the exile. The righteous who sacrificed their lives to sanctify God will return to receive their rightful reward. In stark contrast, the wicked who tortured and murdered them will be brought back to life specifically to witness the ultimate triumph of their victims and to suffer their own punishment [מלבי״ם].
Beyond personal reward and punishment, the resurrection of the wicked and historically powerful figures serves a global theological purpose. They will be brought back to publicly confess that their former beliefs were false and that they had pursued meaninglessness. This dramatic admission by historical figures will reveal the true faith to all nations, bringing the entire world to recognize that God is one and His name is one [מלבי״ם, יוסף אבן יחיא].
As for the nature of this future existence, the righteous will experience a two-stage process. Initially, they will live during the Messianic era, enjoying physical delights such as legendary feasts. Afterward, they will experience death once more before rising for the ultimate resurrection in the World to Come. In this final, eternal state, there will be no eating or drinking; instead, they will exist purely to bask in the radiant glory of the Divine Presence [אבן עזרא].