‘But what of those who have died, such as my loved ones?’ you may well ask. Jesus himself told Martha that others, ‘even though they have died, will come to life.’ (John 11:25) That will be in an earthly resurrection. During the reign of Christ with his 144,000 associate kings and priests in the heavens, many millions of the dead whom God remembers favorably will be raised and will have full opportunity to learn the true worship of Jehovah. If faithful, they will gain the reward of eternal life in an earth-wide paradise. That will be during “the last day” that Martha referred to as she was agreeing with Jesus that her brother Lazarus would rise to life again.​—John 5:28, 29; 11:24; Luke 23:43.

Yes, the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate guarantee of the validity of the resurrection hope. So we too have a firm basis for trusting implicitly in the power and love of Jehovah God. We too can express the conviction that Martha had: ‘We know that the dead will rise in the resurrection on the last day!’