What does John 5:29 mean?
Passages such as Romans 14:10–12 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 speak of a resurrection involving a judgment for eternal rewards. This is sometimes referred to as the "judgment seat of Christ," or the "Bema Seat." The works we do don't determine our salvation. However, they do affect our eternal rewards. Those who are resurrected into life will experience this first judgment.According to Revelation 20:11–15, those who have rejected God—which means those who have rejected Jesus Christ—will be raised from death and judged. This judgment will result in eternal separation from God, in the lake of fire. Once again, the works described are symptoms of spiritual death, not something we need to avoid in order to earn salvation. This resurrection to judgment, for sin, is sometimes called the "great white throne judgment" or the "white throne judgment."
Jesus uses the description of this eventual resurrection, in verses 28 and 29, to connect common Jewish belief to His own ministry. Most Jewish people of this time believed in an eventual resurrection, of all people, to some type of judgment. Some did not, such as the Sadducees (Acts 23:8). In prior verses, Jesus has claimed all of the powers and attributes of God (John 5:19–23). This included both power over life and death, as well as the right to judge. This fits with the Hebrew sense of a future resurrection, leading Jesus to tell His listeners not to "marvel" at what He was saying.