rest of the dead
Revelation 20:5
The whole sentence, "But the rest of the dead lived
not again until the thousand years were finished," should be in parentheses. This is because the next
verse makes it clear that those of the first resurrection will reign with Christ 1,000 years, so
obviously those resurrected after the thousand years are not part of the "first
resurrection." What we learn, then, from this verse is that not everyone is resurrected at the same
time.
Who are the participants of the resurrections?
- First Resurrection
- Believers who were martyred during the tribulation (verse 4)
- Second ("Rest of the dead")
- Nonbelievers (verse 13 & 15)
At this point we are curious: What about the Old Testament Saints (e.g., Moses and David), and
what about New Testament Believers (e.g., Paul, you [hopefully], and me)? If you look at some
of the commentaries, you
will see that almost everyone has a different answer. We just don't know for sure. Most who follow
a literal interpretion of the Bible would say that New Testament Believers are raised at the
time of the Rapture shortly
before the seven year tribulation. Since believers then will "ever be with the Lord"
(1 Thess 4:17), it is assumed that we will join Christ in His
Second Coming and will also participate in the 1,000 year reign in some way.
In any case, rather than speculating about what isn't talked about, what is the
main point to be learned here? In this part of Revelation, John is focusing on just the
people going through the seven year tribulation. This will be a terrible time when most
people will be killed, either as a martyr or as a result of God's judgement. But all
these people will be raised again and have to face Christ. Those who trusted in Jesus as
their Savior, and proved their faith by not receiving the Mark of the Beast (verse 4),
will be resurrected right away and have the reward and honor of reigning with Christ 1,000 years.
Those who did not will be resurrected later, and will be judged, and will be cast into the
Lake of Fire (verse 15).
What about us New Testament Believers today, who most likely won't have to go through the
seven year tribulation? Our schedule is different, but we all:
- must make a decision about our faith (2 Cor 6:2) to trust Jesus and not the world
- will still face trials to prove the genuineness of our faith (1 Peter 1:7)
- will have to die (Heb 9:27) (unless we are living at the time of the Rapture)
- will get raised again at some point
- will be judged at some point (2 Cor 5:10) and get either reward or punishment
The devil will lie and try to tell us there is no God, no resurrection, and/or no judgement. God
makes it clear over and over in the Bible that these things are certain! Let's live with these
truths in mind, and let's make sure we are right
with God before death and judgement happen.
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