The first resurrection
and the thousand year reign
In order to fully understand and make sense of the Book of REVELATION, it is of the utmost importance that we first recognize and always keep before us its structure. It was not written as a progression of events, one scene building upon or leading into another, but rather the apostle was simply recording that which he had been shown, a collection of isolated visions. These visions all reflected the same incident, the Return of Christ, but each from a different perspective. If we keep this vital key in our hand, then many of the difficulties and perplexities in the Book can readily be resolved.
John was given seven primary visions and the Book is thus divided up with this framework.
- 1) The vision of the Seven Churches, chapters 1-3
- 2) The vision of the Seven Seals, chapters 4-7
- 3) The vision of the Seven Trumpets, chapters 8-11
- 4) The vision of a great wonder in heaven, chapters12-14
- 5) The vision of the Seven Vials, chapters 15-16
- 6) The vision of the judgment of the great whore, chapters 17-20
- 7) The vision of the new heaven and earth, chapters 20-21
Each vision had to do with specific aspects of the Return of Christ. In some He was warning and admonishing certain individuals to remain faithful and true (2:3-25; 3:2-21; 13:10; 16:15). In others we see the unleashing and administering of the wrath of GOD upon that unrepentant and unholy nation and people, when their city and temple and nation would be wrecked, and the Jewish dispensation would finally come crashing down (6:2-17; 14:17-20; 16:17-21; 17:14; 18:2-24; 19:11-21). Still in others Christ was setting up His kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth, in the heavenly Jerusalem (1:18; 5:13; 7:17; 11:15; 12:10; 14:1-5, 14-16; 19:9; 21:1-2, 9-27; 22:1-5). Often an event in one vision might be repeated in a later one, with perhaps different and varying particulars, but they all continually kept His Return in view.
And contrary to the generally accepted belief, we have great and many reasons to be assured and confident that Yeshua (Jesus) returned and forthwith gathered together His Church into heaven around 70 A.D. (see the Study, Whatever Happened to Timothy?). It was at that time that the events surrounding the apocalypse occurred, as He had distinctly and repeatedly promised they would, in the very lifetime of His first century followers.
- MATTHEW 16:27-28 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Howbeit, this present Study has specifically to do with something which John had written concerning what he saw in one of his last visions, that of a first resurrection, and then of a thousand year reign.
- REVELATION 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
What then was this first resurrection? And to what time or age did this thousand years refer? Was it a literal thousand years, or was John just speaking figuratively? And further, who was it that was to be in the first resurrection and then reign with Christ for this thousand year period? These are interesting and important questions we will consider in this Study.
An earlier passage in REVELATION may shed important light for us on these questions. This event which John then saw and wrote about, alluded to an incident where some of the dead had previously been resurrected and were now pleading for justice.
- REVELATION 6:9-10 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth [ge, land]?
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Thus, with the opening of this fifth seal John saw some Christians, evidently martyrs, who had previously been slain but now they were alive in heaven, wanting to know how long before their murderers would be brought to justice. Who were these resurrected individuals and when had they been raised from the dead? Was this scene depicting the promised gathering together (2 THESSALONIANS 2:1) of all believers into heaven? Were these martyrs part of that great resurrection of which the apostle Paul had written?
- 1 THESSALONIANS 4:14-17 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
- For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep.
- For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then [epeita] we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together [hama] with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Here, Paul announced that both the dead and the living would be caught up together into heaven at Christ's parousia; but in John's vision there was only the resurrected dead. We should question then if there was not some period of time which might have intervened between the raising of these dead and then the gathering of those still alive? At Christ's second coming the dead in Christ were to rise first, but then, as Paul wrote, those still alive were to be caught up together with them into heaven. Did this happen instantaneously, or did some interim elapse between the two events?
Most of us have probably just assumed that at Christ's Return, those still alive were going to be immediately gathered together with those just resurrected. Howbeit, the passage really doesn't say that. It only says that then, sometime after the raising of the dead, that those still alive would be caught up together with them.
E. W. Bullinger was asked about this in his popular journal, Things to Come, Volume 14, page 12. His answer was as follows;
- We think it is impossible that there can be any interval between verses 16 and 17 of I Thess. iv. The word "then" (epeita) is conclusive. This is clear, from the further revelation, that the two parties, the raised dead and the living and remaining saints will both be "caught up together." The word rendered "together" is hama, which means both of the two parties, as explained in the expression "together with them."
Bullinger can often be trusted to be accurate, but here we wonder. Reflecting upon an earlier use of this Greek word epeita, we recall an episode where upon hearing the news that His dear friend Lazarus was ill, Yeshua waited two whole days before deciding to return to him. John wrote of the event, that "Then (epeita) after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again" (JOHN 11:7). In this case, epeita concerned a period which consisted of two days. Thus, this word epeita does not always mean immediately, or instantaneously, but rather just some time afterwards. Maybe right after, maybe not.
Then with this word hama, which Bullinger claimed proved that both the dead and living saints were to be gathered together at almost the exact same time, we should note that in the very next chapter of Paul's epistle we have this passage;
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- 1 THESSALONIANS 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together [hama] with him [Yeshua].
Did the believers live together instantly with Yeshua? Were they resurrected exactly when He was? Of course not. It was years, probably even decades later before the believers lived together with Him. So on both counts, Paul could have been intending some indefinite length of time between the resurrection of the dead believers and the gathering together of those still alive.
Perhaps many of us have just supposed that the two events, the resurrection of the dead and the gathering together of those still alive, both occurred simultaneously because of something which Paul had written concerning this same event in his letter to the Corinthians.
- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
We had thought that Paul was intending to say here that the period between the dead being raised and the living being changed was "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" but that is not really what he wrote. Removing the punctuation (which the original text did not have) we read that they would be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Their transformation from corruptible beings into incorruptible beings (verse 50) was clearly what was going to occur in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and not the period between the resurrection of the dead and the gathering into heaven of those still living.
We would do well to routinely and regularly be on our guard against reading into the text what is just not there. It is too easy for us to just skim over these passages and not earnestly think and dwell on just what the writer was intending.
That the dead martyrs were to rise first, independent and separate from those still alive, who were then, some time later also going to be caught up together with them into heaven, better reflects what John saw in his visions. In the opening of the fifth seal he saw only those who had been slain for the word of GOD. There was nothing said there about any changed or transformed believers standing about. Only the resurrected dead, who were evidently all martyrs.
Years before the apocalypse, the Lord had warned His disciples that there was a day coming when their beloved Temple would be thrown down, with not one stone being left upon another (LUKE 21:6). They then naturally wanted to know when this would occur, and He answered that they were to look for certain signs which would announce the commencement of those times. One of the first of these signs, which He repeatedly cautioned them about, was this great tribulation, which was to be accompanied by their own persecution.
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- MATTHEW 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
- LUKE 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
LUKE 21:16-17 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. - LUKE 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
His warning about this great tribulation was specifically to them, occurring within that very generation. For the believers this obviously was going to be a very harrowing and trying time, with many of them being persecuted, sometimes betrayed even by their own families. On many of these occasions they would be condemned to death by the religious leaders, who were going to be thinking that they were doing service to GOD (JOHN 16:2). We have instances of this exact thing being done, according to Paul's own admission, when he, having acted with a commission from the religious rulers, declared that he had previously put many of these Christians to death (ACTS 26:10).
The natural conclusion for us to draw is that these believers, the ones which had been slain in this great tribulation, were the same martyrs which John had seen alive in his fifth vision. Between Yeshua's own resurrection and His return about forty years later, many of these believers had been murdered, but then at some later time they were then raised from the dead, perhaps just before His Return, in what was called in scripture the first resurrection. These may be the very same individuals of whom Peter had alluded to in his epistle.
- 1 PETER 4:1-6 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin . . . . For for this cause was the gospel [euangelizo, good news, The New Jerusalem Bible] preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Here we are told some interesting and enlightening facts regarding those of this first resurrection. That these of whom Peter wrote were martyrs is intimated by the fact that they had died suffering in the flesh, as did their Lord. And further, that even though they had been judged guilty by their accusers, that they were going to live again, obviously by being resurrected.
He also stated that they were to have the euangelizo preached to them; but that doesn't necessarily mean that they were unbelievers, who were going to hear the Christian gospel for their salvation. The Greek word euangelizo doesn't always carry that meaning. Rather, they were going to be told some good news, some glad tidings (LUKE 1:19 & 1 THESSALONIANS 3:6), very possibly having to do with them being resurrected and/or reigning with Christ (1 PETER 3:22).
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But then when the next seal was opened (6:12), John was given further details concerning other individuals, who were evidently also in heaven, standing before the throne of GOD.
- REVELATION 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. . . .
- 13-14 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Here we are told of a great multitude who were alive in heaven. Howbeit, it is not said that they had been killed or were martyrs, only that they came out of great tribulation. Of course one could experience and endure affliction or tribulation without actually being slain (see 1 THESSALONIANS 1:6; 3:3, 7 REVELATION 1:9; 2:9-10, 22). As such, this great multitude could very well have been those same individuals of whom Paul had referred to as being alive when they were caught up into heaven.
We should digress a moment so as to consider just who this elder was which had been speaking with John. An elder is always a member of a larger and more numerous group (MATTHEW 15:2 & ACTS 15:4). They are usually the older and more respected members of some society. They are not necessarily an independent organization by themselves, but rather they are the representatives of a more diverse group. They are first mentioned in REVELATION in John's second vision.
- REVELATION 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Being called elders, these twenty four individuals were evidently older or more mature than the other resurrected believers. As such, we can speculate that they were probably the more faithful and seasoned individuals, who were fellow-participants in that first resurrection. It is significant to note that they also had crowns on their heads, as evidence of their position and responsibility.
Concerning this great multitude which had been caught up into heaven, throughout REVELATION there are a number of passages which may refer to these same believers who were still alive and had not been slain during the apocalypse (see 3:10; 7:3; 9:4; 12:5; 13:7; 14:12; 15:2; 16:15). Yeshua had Himself also spoke of them.
- MATTHEW 24:9-13 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
- 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
- 24:30-31 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven . . . . and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This all sounds remarkably similar with what Paul had written the Thessalonians, concerning those who were still alive at Christ's Return. None of these elect individuals who endured unto the end appeared to have died, yet they were still to be caught up into heaven.
Let us pause a moment and review what has been thus far presented. Prior to Christ's return around 70 A.D., many faithful Christians had been condemned to death for the simple reason of adhering to and testifying about the word of GOD; later they were raised to life in what was called the first resurrection. Of these martyrs, evidently twenty four were selected as elders. Then, some time after this first resurrection, other believers, those still alive during the apocalypse, were also caught up into heaven.
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Now let us reflect upon this thousand year reign, which was to be shared with Christ (REVELATION 20:4). In an earlier Study (The Thousand Years) we had considered just what this thousand years could have alluded to. We surmised then, that John had either seen a literal thousand year period, or else he was just speaking figuratively. As there was really no room in John's visions for a literal thousand years, that suggested that he must have been intending this thousand years to be only symbolical of some unspecified duration. Howbeit, there may yet be a third possibility as to what he meant which we would do well to consider.
We are told that those of the first resurrection, those martyrs who died and were resurrected around the time of Christ's Return, were also not going to be affected by the second death (REVELATION 20:6). Instead, they were to live and reign with Him a thousand years. Whether literal or figurative, one might wonder what they were going to be doing for a thousand years? While Satan was being bound a thousand years (20:2), and the rest of the dead remained dead for a thousand years (20:5), what were these martyrs going to be doing? It is said that they would be reigning with Christ, but what does that mean?
During Yeshua's last few hours with His disciples, not long before His betrayal and capture in the Garden of Gethsemane, He had shown them that evidently in the not too distant future they would be appointed as judges in His kingdom.
- LUKE 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The natural conclusion for us to draw is that sitting upon these thrones was the same as reigning with Christ. He was on His throne of glory (MATTHEW 19:28), and they were seated upon other thrones. And then Yeshua clearly revealed in this same passage that they were on these thrones so as to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus, their clear purpose and function upon these thrones was to judge Israel.
The idea of being judged doesn't necessarily suggest that something bad or unfortunate was about to befall the defendant. A judge is usually appointed to decide the guilt or innocence of those brought before his bench, and if one has been falsely charged or maligned, then they can look forward to their day in court wherein they can be declared guiltless and then redeemed. Of course this is assuming that the judge was honest, which they have not always proved to be.
We should also note that in REVELATION, the only disciples said to be seated upon thrones were the twenty four elders. Of course GOD was on HIS throne, and Yeshua was on His throne (3:21), and it was said that even Satan (2:13) and the beast were on their thrones (13:2; 16:10), but no others. So we are led to believe that the people doing the judging of the twelve tribes were these twenty four elders.
We have also read in REVELATION that Satan was to be bound a thousand years (20:2). Then we are immediately told that John saw thrones, and those that sat upon the thrones received the authority to be judges (20:4), and further that these judges were to live and reign with Christ, apparently not for ever and ever throughout all ages, but rather for a limited time, for perhaps a thousand years.
Evidently, what they were going to be doing for this period was judging; apparently they were to be judging every idle word (MATTHEW 12:36) and every secret (ROMANS 2:16). Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it was first necessary to bind Satan during this time, because he was the great accuser of the brethren (REVELATION 12:10 & 1 PETER 5:8). He needed to be shut up so that these judges could conduct fair and uninterrupted trials. But then after this judgment period was complete, then Satan was to be loosed to resume his persecution and deception in this apocalyptic drama (REVELATION 20:7).
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But we can also read in REVELATION how all of the things which were to take place during the apocalypse were going to occur in a methodical and systematic sequence. The letters to the seven Churches surely did not take centuries to be delivered and read. The forty and two months when the Gentiles were to tread under foot the holy city, which was destroyed in 70 A.D., was evidently an actual period which has been verified by historical accounts (REVELATION 11:2). The woman (probably the Judaean Church) being fed in the wilderness for 1,260 days apparently represented an actual flight of the believers from the doomed City (REVELATION 12:6). The Beast (Nero) was also given forty and two months to wreak havoc upon the believers (REVELATION 13:5), which was reportedly the exact length of his evil policy of persecution (Russell's The Parousia, page 460). And then Yeshua arrived on a white cloud to both gather His saints into heaven and then to take vengeance upon all those who had tormented and persecuted these believers. Where could this extended period for judgment have fallen; where could it have fit in?
- REVELATION 14:14-16 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth [ge, land] is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth [ge, land]; and the earth [ge, land]was reaped.
We should note that this word rendered earth here is from the Greek word ge, which doesn't necessarily describe planet earth but often means and is elsewhere rendered land (MATTHEW 2:6), representing the land of Juda.
In the end Satan was overcome and cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be himself tormented (REVELATION 20:7-10). But all of these events of which John wrote most likely had to occur within the limits which of the Book had set for itself.
- things which must shortly come to pass (1:1)
- the time is at hand (1:3)
- the marriage of the Lamb is come (19:7)
- these things must shortly be done (22:6)
- Behold, I come quickly (22:7, 12)
- the time is at hand (22:10)
- Surely I come quickly (22:20)
John was being given visions of isolated incidents of the Return of Christ, which were picturing events which evidently spanned a period of not more than three or four years. Thus, the opening of these seven seals, the sounding of the seven trumpets, the pouring out of the seven vials and all that pertained to them, including the destruction of Jerusalem, were occurring in a systemic manner. While the apocalypse was raging to its conclusion, how can we suppose or imagine that somehow everything was going to stop so that these elders could sit down in judgment with Christ for a thousand years, or even ten years?
There was just not time and space for these thousand year periods, where everything would be held in abeyance for many centuries. And so we had surmised that John must have been speaking figuratively, because there was just not room in these systematically moving events of his apocalyptic visions to stop everything, so that for a thousand years these martyrs could sit in judgment upon the myriads of Israelites presented before them. Or was there?
We should note that after John wrote to the seven Churches of Asia, that most all of his visions were in heaven.
- REVELATION 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
As such, the things which John was going to be shown concerning future events were things portrayed from a heavenly perspective. That being the case, it should be considered, Do incidents in heaven move at the same speed in which they move on earth? The answer to that all important question may finally unlock this millennial enigma. John was not seeing a thousand years played out on earth, but more than likely he was seeing a thousand years played out in heaven. These judgments were all to be in heaven.
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How long then does a day last in heaven? How long does it take heavenly spiritual beings to conduct their daily business? How long did it take Satan to go to and fro in the earth, and to walk up and down in it (JOB 1:7)? Are we to expect that he walked like we walk? If so it would have probably taken him many years before he ever found Job. And how about Yeshua? Does anyone think that after His resurrection that He was not able to fly through space and time at the speed of light? Same with the angels. They apparently go here and there in what might seem to us like an instant.
We measure our days and years by the sun and the moon, but in the new Jerusalem there is no sun and moon (REVELATION 21:23); so one wonders if a year in heaven has the same 365 days as it does on earth? There, a thousand years of events might transpire in what to us mortals may seem like only a brief time. They in heaven could probably crowd a whole year's worth of events into a single hour here on earth.
So how long did it take these twenty four elders to judge the twelve tribes of Israel? How long would it take to judge every idle word and every secret of all those Israelis who had ever lived? A thousand years? Evidently, because that is what they were given. But here on earth, that thousand years may have transpired in a very short time.
These resurrected disciples could have sat in judgment in heaven for a thousand years, while things on earth pretty much took no notice of it at all. Each of the earthly events which were playing out in John's visions were moving along at their own usual pace, while things in heaven would have been flying at lightning speed.
Then after Yeshua's return, and after He had come and destroyed that wicked and fruitless and unrepentant city and temple and people, then He evidently set about the business of judging the rest of the dead, the rest of humanity, who had remained dead for this thousand year period (REVELATION 20:5). Then it was that the books were opened and all were then to be held accountable for how they had conducted their lives while upon earth.
- REVELATION 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
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