Revelation 20:4-6 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
The difficult passage continues to describe the end of time. The challenging part of this passage is the idea of resurrection and how this fits in with the other references to resurrection in the New Testament. These verses talk about two resurrections. The first resurrection in verse 4 is of those who had been beheaded because they did not worship the beast. This is a select group of people. Their reward for their faithfulness is to rule with Christ for 1000 years. They will be priests during those years. The second resurrection is often called the “general resurrection.”
The question is how does this fit with 1 Thessalonians 4-5 where the dead in Christ rise and those who are alive join with them. There is no reference to two resurrections. The idea is simply that when Jesus comes, there is a resurrection of the dead and that is the end. One idea is that Paul compresses everything very simply. Revelation breaks it apart into smaller units. Another idea is that John’s vision is more symbolic.
For those who hope in Christ, this will be the fulfillment of that hope. This life is not all that there is.
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