Editor’s Note: Students of the Bible have often found themselves confounded by how to interpret sections of the book of Revelation. One of the most crucial questions is how to interpret the “first resurrection.” In this article, biblical scholar Larry Pechawer (PhD, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) describes a couple of interpretive frameworks for understanding the “first resurrection.” End-times frameworks are not “essentials” of the faith, and however you have traditionally approached Revelation, you will find this article helpful.
Near the end of the book, Revelation describes two concurrent activities: Satan being bound for a thousand years and the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years. The timing and sequencing involved in Revelation 20:1-6 are the subject of much debate. The fact that this thousand years seems to follow the description of an end-times battle that almost certainly features the second coming of Christ generates much discussion. Here, the focus will be on the reign of resurrected saints, saints who are said to have experienced “the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5-6). A future article will target the binding and releasing of Satan.
Virtually no one believes that Revelation provides a straightforward chronological sequence from beginning to end. Rather, many, I am convinced, would recognize the existence of cycles throughout the book and that various descriptions of the second coming are followed by the inauguration of a new cycle or series of events, events that may once again eventually bring us to the return of Christ and its aftermath.
“Near the end of the book, Revelation describes two concurrent activities: Satan being bound for a thousand years and the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years.”
A key question of concern here asks: Does the content of Revelation 20 follow in chronological order the content of Revelation 19, which apparently describes the second coming through battle imagery, or does Revelation 20 take us back to Revelation 12 and the inauguration of the church age and the conflict between Christ and Satan, thus offering a condensed, targeted recapitulation of developments described previously in the book?
Recapitulation Recap
Repeatedly in Revelation, we encounter cycles that bring us to the end only to find that we are in some sense back to where we started. Note the repetition in Revelation 6, 11, and 16, for example. The sixth opened seal brings us to the arrival of the great day of the wrath of the Lamb and of the One seated on the throne (Revelation 6:16-17). Similarly, the blowing of the seventh trumpet signals the arrival of wrath and judgment for the wicked and the rewarding of the saints (Revelation 11:18). The sixth bowl of wrath finds God’s enemies assembled for the final battle at Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16). Parallel cycles (especially the trumpets and the bowls) are interrupted and intensified with various visionary interludes, some recounting the past with others pointing to the future.
In light of what has transpired leading up to Revelation 20, it would not be surprising to find one final reset in which promises made earlier to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3) are highlighted and Satan’s ultimate defeat is described. The binding of Satan and the reigning of the saints in heaven in Revelation 20 are best understood as representing a condensed recapitulation of much of what the book has already introduced and developed.
The alternative approach, one in which Revelation 20 is viewed as chronologically sequential to what has preceded, is a heavy burden to bear for those who seek meaningful harmonization with the rest of the New Testament. The insertion of a thousand-year earthly kingdom following the second coming creates incredible challenges for the student of New Testament eschatology.
“The insertion of a thousand-year earthly kingdom following the second coming creates incredible challenges for the student of New Testament eschatology.”
The presence of recapitulation and repetition in Revelation seems undeniable. Yet premillennialists urge that the only possible understanding of Revelation 20 is that it follows chronologically the climactic battle described in Revelation 19. Amillennialists, however, point further back in the text and note the parallels between Revelation 12 and 20, chapters that highlight Christ’s victory over Satan and the church’s ability to overcome even if at times through obedience unto death. In the amillennial approach, the millennium of Revelation 20 does not follow the church age but rather, in condensed form, represents the church age, an age in which Satan is already bound in a real sense and martyred saints already reign with Christ in a kingdom inaugurated through Christ’s accomplished victory over sin and death.
In Part Three of this series, the number one thousand was shown to be a common symbolic representation in both the Old and New Testaments. Among many passages cited, we find that a thousand years in God’s sight are like yesterday when it passes by, for a day with the Lord is like a thousand years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). In view of the extensive use of various symbolic numbers throughout Revelation, it is quite natural to understand the thousand years or millennium in Revelation 20 as a large qualitative number, especially since to take it literally is to create a thousand-year period nowhere else marked out in Scripture.
“In view of the extensive use of various symbolic numbers throughout Revelation, it is quite natural to understand the thousand years or millennium in Revelation 20 as a large qualitative number.”
Coinciding with the binding of Satan is the reign of resurrected saints. Both realities are said to last for a thousand years. But when and where? The basic premillennial approach sees this reign as occurring on (a partially renovated) earth following Christ’s second coming. The amillennial view instead sees this as a reign in heaven of the dead in Christ during the church age before Christ returns. In considering these options, the use of the terms involving resurrection and life elsewhere in the New Testament will be examined.
In later installments in this series, we will explore Revelation’s employment of Old Testament imagery regarding Israel’s glorious future “golden age.” Is this “golden age” best connected with the thousand-year period highlighted in Revelation 20 or with the eternal new heavens and new earth (and New Jerusalem) of Revelation 21-22? The word-for-word parallels between Isaiah 60, 65, and Revelation 21-22 should make the answer clear.
The Reigning of Resurrected Saints
The issues arising out of the wording of Revelation 20:4-6 are complex and the passage is quoted in full below to aid in exposition:
“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who 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 for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4-6, ESV)
A number of questions surface from this text. How many groups are described here? Are all the souls mentioned here martyrs? Who are “the rest of the dead” who do not come to life until after the thousand years? In what sense do these souls “come to life?” What kind of resurrection is this?
The first and second questions above go together. Likely not all those mentioned in Revelation 20 are martyrs for the faith. Some in John’s day who did not worship the beast may have died by other means. Hence the “first resurrection” probably includes more than martyrs, instead representing all the dead who are faithful unto death. (As well, not all martyrs were actually beheaded as the text describes. Some faced other forms of execution.)
“The ‘first resurrection’ probably includes more than martyrs, instead representing all the dead who are faithful unto death.”
Another difficult distinction involves those seated on thrones with authority to judge and those who experience the first resurrection and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The same or different groups? “Sitting on a throne” and “reigning” would seem to be two ways of describing the same thing. In the letters to the seven churches, such actions as conquering, having authority, ruling, wearing a crown, and sitting on Christ’s throne all describe the same basic triumphal reward (Revelation 2:10-11, 26-27; 3:21).
The image of saints reigning can also be viewed in Paul’s letters as well as elsewhere in Revelation (Romans 5:17; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:9-10; 22:5). Paul reminded Timothy, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:11-12, ESV). Resurrected and reigning: two important outcomes of endurance for believers.
After the introduction of the Lion of Judah (or the Lamb) in Revelation’s initial throne room scene, we read,
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’” (Revelation 5:9-10, ESV)
“You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Noteworthy is the fact that, although “Israelite” language like “kingdom and priests” is employed here, those so addressed represent peoples “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Clearly God’s “new Israel,” the church, is in view. The promise “they shall reign on the earth” is no proof-text for an earthly millennium as some claim. The “new earth” of Revelation 21-22 will be eternal.
The reference to “the rest of the dead” (Revelation 20:5) likely involves only the unsaved, those who do not experience the first resurrection and therefore those whose names are not found written in “the book of life.” The books that are opened, books containing the deeds of the dead standing before the throne, signal the final judgment for those not in Christ, those whose names are not written in the book of life (Revelation 20:12-15).
Paul’s earlier statement that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” to be judged according to our works (2 Corinthians 5:10) is clarified here in the sense that those found in the Lamb’s book of life are reckoned as righteous in Christ, justified through His blood. The decisive “work” (action) involved in man’s response is knowing Christ Jesus as Lord! The statement “They came to life…” (Revelation 20:4) likely describes the experience immediately after death for those in Christ, those who will at that time enter into the presence of Christ in heaven (Philippians 1:21-23).
“The books that are opened, books containing the deeds of the dead standing before the throne, signal the final judgment.”
It may make the best sense to view judgment as instantaneous upon death. Cannot God’s deliberation be at least as fast as the latest supercomputer or computer chip? (“AI” here then could stand for Authentic Intelligence or perhaps Absolute Intelligence!) After all, the fact that “the dead in Christ” are said to rise at Christ’s coming would seem to indicate that they have already been judged as being “in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
The First Resurrection and Second Death
John’s designation “the second death” (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8) alongside “the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5-6) is striking. Clearly the second death relates to the eternal, spiritual death also designated as “the lake of fire” (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8). Revelation makes no mention of a “first death” or a “second resurrection,” but one is tempted to fill in between the lines: the first death would signify physical death while the second resurrection would then refer to the final, “physical” resurrection, that which occurs at the second coming and which some would designate the general resurrection.
Again, no such designations “first death” or “second resurrection” occur in Revelation. However, the spiritual nature of the two terms that do occur, first resurrection and second death, should be evident.
The First Resurrection in Premillennialism
Premillennial interpreters tend to resist the above conclusion and insist that the first resurrection occurs at the beginning of the millennium while the later, general resurrection occurs at the end, and both are physical in nature. The difference between “first” and “second” is more a matter of time than essence for them. They urge that the word “resurrection” here must refer to a physical transformation since that is the meaning of the Greek word anastasis, “resurrection,” elsewhere in the New Testament. Also, they insist that since coming to life at the end of the millennium at Revelation 20:5 involves physical resurrection (for all the dead), the nature of “the first resurrection” within the millennium itself mentioned at Revelation 20:5-6 must also be physical.
This insistence is odd for two reasons. First, the symbolic, visionary nature of the descriptions throughout Revelation should keep us from pigeonholing terms into fixed slots. The fact that the term “death” in Revelation can speak to both a physical and a spiritual realty should elicit caution. Eternal (the “second”) death will follow physical death for many (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). The book speaks often of physical death (Revelation 2:10, 13; 6:8, 9, 11; 9:11, 15, 18; 11:7, 19; 12:11; 13:10; 14:13; 16:5; 19:2, 21; 20:4; 9, 13).
“The symbolic, visionary nature of the descriptions throughout Revelation should keep us from pigeonholing terms into fixed slots.”
Also, during His earthly ministry Jesus had spoken about life and death and resurrection in ways that were elusive yet powerful. Jesus told Martha the sister of Lazarus, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…” (John 11:25-26, ESV). In this short statement utilizing the words “live” and “die,” Jesus covers the gamut: physical death, spiritual life, physical life, and the avoidance of spiritual death. Believers shall never die, but though they die they shall live. Got it?
To argue that the term anastasis, “resurrection,” must indicate physical resurrection in Revelation (where it occurs only twice!) is unconvincing, especially when the repeated expression “second death” (clearly spiritual!) opens up a range of possibilities.
K. Beale offers ample New Testament evidence that the Greek verb zaō, “live, come to life,” and noun zōē, “life,” can be used for both physical and spiritual life and, of particular relevance here, for the existence of believers in the intermediate state—the state after physical death and before the general resurrection.[1] Paul referred to dying to sin and living with Christ spiritually (Romans 6:4-13; “dead to sin” and “alive to God,” Romans 6:11), while the Gospel of John relates that Jesus spoke of the believer passing from death into life in a spiritual sense followed still by a “resurrection of life” at the general resurrection (John 5:24-29).
“The Gospel of John relates that Jesus spoke of the believer passing from death into life in a spiritual sense followed still by a ‘resurrection of life’ at the general resurrection.”
In connection with the intermediate state, Jesus quotes Moses in speaking of God as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (Exodus 4:5) and then describes those individuals as presently living: “Now he is not God of the dead but of the living, for all live to him” (Luke 20:37-38, ESV; also Matthew 22:31-32 and Mark 12:26-27). Jesus is describing the patriarchs as being alive during their intermediate states, the time between their physical deaths and the general resurrection from the dead.
Premillennial approaches to “the first resurrection” suffer on several counts. The insistence on a physical resurrection is questionable, as noted above. Also, regarding dispensational premillennialism, if “the first resurrection” occurs at the beginning of the millennium, that is, at the second coming (Christ’s “return” or “revelation” after the “rapture”), what should be made of the glorious resurrection described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:50-57?
That resurrection, in common dispensational thinking, is experienced by the church at the rapture, an event preceding the second coming and its “first resurrection” by seven years or so. One would think that this alleged earlier resurrection at the rapture, also supposedly spotlighted in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by Paul, would be the “first,” so how does that all work out? 
For dispensationalism, there is (1) a resurrection at the rapture, (2) a later resurrection at the second coming (or “return”) for those previously “left behind” and condemned to face the beast and his minions and then martyred, and (3) a resurrection following the subsequent millennial reign (at the Great White Throne Judgment). Lots of resurrections.
“That resurrection, in common dispensational thinking, is experienced by the church at the rapture, an event preceding the second coming and its ‘first resurrection’ by seven years or so.”
With dispensationalists, the second of the above, the one designated as “first” in Revelation 20, seems to be their “second,” since the resurrection connected with the alleged rapture should be their “first.” Attempting to describe their two separate resurrection events, the “rapture” and the “return,” as a single entity featuring a “first resurrection” seems awkward. Dispensational scholars struggle here. Their “first resurrection” in Revelation 20 is actually their second.
Also awkward is the fact that the alleged rapture of the church is nowhere mentioned in Revelation. John’s being called up to heaven at Revelation 4:1-2 does not count as a rapture reference in spite of the insistence by some!
The First Resurrection in Amillennialism
The amillennial camp offers two primary suggestions for the nature of the “first resurrection” enjoyed by believers. Augustine and others have maintained that this expression describes the spiritual resurrection occurring at conversion. Paul pointed to baptism as the moment when believers are “raised up” with Christ and “made alive” together with Him (Colossians 2:12-13; compare Romans 6:3-11). Followers of Christ have been “born again” and enjoy new life in Christ. Eternal life is something now (“already”) enjoyed, not just something to be anticipated (1 John 5:11). However, although they provide appropriate and powerful New Testament terminology for conversion, the above designations actually may not be the focus in Revelation’s expression “the first resurrection.”
The other prominent amillennial answer is that the first resurrection represents the inauguration of and participation in the intermediate state of each believer, that state immediately following physical death and continuing until Christ’s return and the accompanying general resurrection. (On this topic I would recommend Charles E. Hill, Regnum Caelorum: Patterns of Millennial Thought in Early Christianity, Second Edition, 2001, especially pages 220-248.)
In Revelation 6:9-11, those “slain for the word of God” call upon God to enter into His final judgment; however, they are comforted and encouraged to “rest a little longer.”
“Those ‘slain for the word of God’ call upon God to enter into His final judgment; however, they are comforted and encouraged to ‘rest a little longer.'”
There is no “soul sleeping” here. These martyrs are actually given (temporary? anticipatory? mostly metaphoric?) “white robes” as they await the consummation. The fact that the world is still full of the wicked after Christ’s millennial reign (Revelation 20:7-9) makes it more likely that the thousand years in question describe the church age, not a paradisiacal earthly reign of Christ from Jerusalem as envisioned in premillennial reconstructions. This conclusion dovetails with the view that the intermediate state for the dead in Christ is represented here, the totality of which coincides with the church age.
The language in much of the New Testament suggests that saints who have died in Christ are “made alive” immediately after death. Paul speaks of being “with Christ” after his “departure” (Philippians 1:23). After death, Paul explains, believers are “at home with the Lord” even as they are “away from the body” (2 Corinthians 5:8). In one sense they “have fallen asleep,” that is, have died (1 Thessalonians 4:14), but, more importantly, they now abide in Christ’s presence.
The book of Revelation strongly affirms such an understanding. In attempting to grasp how the “Seven Churches of Asia” might have interpreted various teachings in Revelation, we should not forget Paul’s earlier influential contacts with churches of Asia such as Ephesus and Laodicea. Surely some of his teachings “stuck”!
“The language in much of the New Testament suggests that saints who have died in Christ are ‘made alive’ immediately after death.”
Regarding the intermediate state, four parallel scenes stand out.
- As noted above, at Revelation 6:9-11 we see martyrs under the altar in heaven calling out for divine judgment upon the wicked dwelling on earth. The general resurrection at Christ’s return lies ahead following the martyrs’ “intermediate state.”
- Revelation 7:8-17 describes worship before God’s throne by followers of the Lamb prior to the opening of the seventh seal (8:1). The intermediate state is in view.
- At Revelation 15:1-4, prior to the unleashing of the seven bowl plagues (Revelation 16), those who had conquered the beast play harps and sing in worship in heaven, having died but now very much alive! Again, the intermediate state.
- Further, at Revelation 19:1-9 we find a great multitude in heaven celebrating in anticipation of the triumphal marriage supper of the Lamb. Still yet another glimpse of the intermediate state for the dead in Christ.
Why is it surprising to some that the righteous dead repeatedly described in Revelation as actively worshiping and interacting with God prior to the general resurrection upon Christ’s coming could be said to have been “made alive” or to have experienced a “resurrection to life” (a “first resurrection”)? Here the book of Revelation seems to explain itself for those willing to allow it to do so.
“Here the book of Revelation seems to explain itself for those willing to allow it to do so.”
It would seem that Revelation 20 offers an additional scene describing the intermediate state:
- At Revelation 20:4-6, the dead in Christ “reign for a thousand years” leading up to Christ’s return, the final judgment and the creation of the new heavens and new earth. This reign is in heaven, not on earth.
A sound approach to the term “the first resurrection” is provided by the amillennial understanding of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His saints in Revelation 20. Within that understanding, the intermediate state is best viewed as beginning with “the first resurrection” of the believer.
[1] G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 1008-1011.
To check out Dr. Larry Pechawer’s book Unraveling Revelation: Hope, Wisdom, and Mystery in John’s Apocalypse, click here.
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Keys to Unraveling Revelation: What Is the First Resurrection?
By Larry Pechawer | Bio
Larry Pechawer served as a professor of Bible and Biblical Languages for nearly forty years combined at Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary, Central Christian College of the Bible (now Central Bible University), and Ozark Christian College. While at Central he also served as Academic Dean. In addition to preaching ministries in Kentucky and Missouri, Dr. Pechawer made eighteen overseas teaching trips on behalf of Seminary of the Nations.
Larry attended The Ohio State University and graduated from Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary (BA, MA) and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (PhD). His doctoral emphasis was on ancient Semitic languages, especially Hebrew and Aramaic. He has authored several books including Unraveling Revelation: Hope, Wisdom, and Mystery in John’s Apocalypse. He and his wife Julie, a retired elementary school teacher, live in Joplin, Missouri.
Editor’s Note: Students of the Bible have often found themselves confounded by how to interpret sections of the book of Revelation. One of the most crucial questions is how to interpret the “first resurrection.” In this article, biblical scholar Larry Pechawer (PhD, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) describes a couple of interpretive frameworks for understanding the “first resurrection.” End-times frameworks are not “essentials” of the faith, and however you have traditionally approached Revelation, you will find this article helpful.
Near the end of the book, Revelation describes two concurrent activities: Satan being bound for a thousand years and the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years. The timing and sequencing involved in Revelation 20:1-6 are the subject of much debate. The fact that this thousand years seems to follow the description of an end-times battle that almost certainly features the second coming of Christ generates much discussion. Here, the focus will be on the reign of resurrected saints, saints who are said to have experienced “the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5-6). A future article will target the binding and releasing of Satan.
Virtually no one believes that Revelation provides a straightforward chronological sequence from beginning to end. Rather, many, I am convinced, would recognize the existence of cycles throughout the book and that various descriptions of the second coming are followed by the inauguration of a new cycle or series of events, events that may once again eventually bring us to the return of Christ and its aftermath.
“Near the end of the book, Revelation describes two concurrent activities: Satan being bound for a thousand years and the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years.”
A key question of concern here asks: Does the content of Revelation 20 follow in chronological order the content of Revelation 19, which apparently describes the second coming through battle imagery, or does Revelation 20 take us back to Revelation 12 and the inauguration of the church age and the conflict between Christ and Satan, thus offering a condensed, targeted recapitulation of developments described previously in the book?
Recapitulation Recap
Repeatedly in Revelation, we encounter cycles that bring us to the end only to find that we are in some sense back to where we started. Note the repetition in Revelation 6, 11, and 16, for example. The sixth opened seal brings us to the arrival of the great day of the wrath of the Lamb and of the One seated on the throne (Revelation 6:16-17). Similarly, the blowing of the seventh trumpet signals the arrival of wrath and judgment for the wicked and the rewarding of the saints (Revelation 11:18). The sixth bowl of wrath finds God’s enemies assembled for the final battle at Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16). Parallel cycles (especially the trumpets and the bowls) are interrupted and intensified with various visionary interludes, some recounting the past with others pointing to the future.
In light of what has transpired leading up to Revelation 20, it would not be surprising to find one final reset in which promises made earlier to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3) are highlighted and Satan’s ultimate defeat is described. The binding of Satan and the reigning of the saints in heaven in Revelation 20 are best understood as representing a condensed recapitulation of much of what the book has already introduced and developed.
The alternative approach, one in which Revelation 20 is viewed as chronologically sequential to what has preceded, is a heavy burden to bear for those who seek meaningful harmonization with the rest of the New Testament. The insertion of a thousand-year earthly kingdom following the second coming creates incredible challenges for the student of New Testament eschatology.
“The insertion of a thousand-year earthly kingdom following the second coming creates incredible challenges for the student of New Testament eschatology.”
The presence of recapitulation and repetition in Revelation seems undeniable. Yet premillennialists urge that the only possible understanding of Revelation 20 is that it follows chronologically the climactic battle described in Revelation 19. Amillennialists, however, point further back in the text and note the parallels between Revelation 12 and 20, chapters that highlight Christ’s victory over Satan and the church’s ability to overcome even if at times through obedience unto death. In the amillennial approach, the millennium of Revelation 20 does not follow the church age but rather, in condensed form, represents the church age, an age in which Satan is already bound in a real sense and martyred saints already reign with Christ in a kingdom inaugurated through Christ’s accomplished victory over sin and death.
In Part Three of this series, the number one thousand was shown to be a common symbolic representation in both the Old and New Testaments. Among many passages cited, we find that a thousand years in God’s sight are like yesterday when it passes by, for a day with the Lord is like a thousand years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). In view of the extensive use of various symbolic numbers throughout Revelation, it is quite natural to understand the thousand years or millennium in Revelation 20 as a large qualitative number, especially since to take it literally is to create a thousand-year period nowhere else marked out in Scripture.
“In view of the extensive use of various symbolic numbers throughout Revelation, it is quite natural to understand the thousand years or millennium in Revelation 20 as a large qualitative number.”
Coinciding with the binding of Satan is the reign of resurrected saints. Both realities are said to last for a thousand years. But when and where? The basic premillennial approach sees this reign as occurring on (a partially renovated) earth following Christ’s second coming. The amillennial view instead sees this as a reign in heaven of the dead in Christ during the church age before Christ returns. In considering these options, the use of the terms involving resurrection and life elsewhere in the New Testament will be examined.
In later installments in this series, we will explore Revelation’s employment of Old Testament imagery regarding Israel’s glorious future “golden age.” Is this “golden age” best connected with the thousand-year period highlighted in Revelation 20 or with the eternal new heavens and new earth (and New Jerusalem) of Revelation 21-22? The word-for-word parallels between Isaiah 60, 65, and Revelation 21-22 should make the answer clear.
The Reigning of Resurrected Saints
The issues arising out of the wording of Revelation 20:4-6 are complex and the passage is quoted in full below to aid in exposition:
“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who 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 for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4-6, ESV)
A number of questions surface from this text. How many groups are described here? Are all the souls mentioned here martyrs? Who are “the rest of the dead” who do not come to life until after the thousand years? In what sense do these souls “come to life?” What kind of resurrection is this?
The first and second questions above go together. Likely not all those mentioned in Revelation 20 are martyrs for the faith. Some in John’s day who did not worship the beast may have died by other means. Hence the “first resurrection” probably includes more than martyrs, instead representing all the dead who are faithful unto death. (As well, not all martyrs were actually beheaded as the text describes. Some faced other forms of execution.)
“The ‘first resurrection’ probably includes more than martyrs, instead representing all the dead who are faithful unto death.”
Another difficult distinction involves those seated on thrones with authority to judge and those who experience the first resurrection and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The same or different groups? “Sitting on a throne” and “reigning” would seem to be two ways of describing the same thing. In the letters to the seven churches, such actions as conquering, having authority, ruling, wearing a crown, and sitting on Christ’s throne all describe the same basic triumphal reward (Revelation 2:10-11, 26-27; 3:21).
The image of saints reigning can also be viewed in Paul’s letters as well as elsewhere in Revelation (Romans 5:17; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:9-10; 22:5). Paul reminded Timothy, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:11-12, ESV). Resurrected and reigning: two important outcomes of endurance for believers.
After the introduction of the Lion of Judah (or the Lamb) in Revelation’s initial throne room scene, we read,
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’” (Revelation 5:9-10, ESV)
“You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Noteworthy is the fact that, although “Israelite” language like “kingdom and priests” is employed here, those so addressed represent peoples “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Clearly God’s “new Israel,” the church, is in view. The promise “they shall reign on the earth” is no proof-text for an earthly millennium as some claim. The “new earth” of Revelation 21-22 will be eternal.
The reference to “the rest of the dead” (Revelation 20:5) likely involves only the unsaved, those who do not experience the first resurrection and therefore those whose names are not found written in “the book of life.” The books that are opened, books containing the deeds of the dead standing before the throne, signal the final judgment for those not in Christ, those whose names are not written in the book of life (Revelation 20:12-15).
Paul’s earlier statement that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” to be judged according to our works (2 Corinthians 5:10) is clarified here in the sense that those found in the Lamb’s book of life are reckoned as righteous in Christ, justified through His blood. The decisive “work” (action) involved in man’s response is knowing Christ Jesus as Lord! The statement “They came to life…” (Revelation 20:4) likely describes the experience immediately after death for those in Christ, those who will at that time enter into the presence of Christ in heaven (Philippians 1:21-23).
“The books that are opened, books containing the deeds of the dead standing before the throne, signal the final judgment.”
It may make the best sense to view judgment as instantaneous upon death. Cannot God’s deliberation be at least as fast as the latest supercomputer or computer chip? (“AI” here then could stand for Authentic Intelligence or perhaps Absolute Intelligence!) After all, the fact that “the dead in Christ” are said to rise at Christ’s coming would seem to indicate that they have already been judged as being “in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
The First Resurrection and Second Death
John’s designation “the second death” (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8) alongside “the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5-6) is striking. Clearly the second death relates to the eternal, spiritual death also designated as “the lake of fire” (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8). Revelation makes no mention of a “first death” or a “second resurrection,” but one is tempted to fill in between the lines: the first death would signify physical death while the second resurrection would then refer to the final, “physical” resurrection, that which occurs at the second coming and which some would designate the general resurrection.
Again, no such designations “first death” or “second resurrection” occur in Revelation. However, the spiritual nature of the two terms that do occur, first resurrection and second death, should be evident.
The First Resurrection in Premillennialism
Premillennial interpreters tend to resist the above conclusion and insist that the first resurrection occurs at the beginning of the millennium while the later, general resurrection occurs at the end, and both are physical in nature. The difference between “first” and “second” is more a matter of time than essence for them. They urge that the word “resurrection” here must refer to a physical transformation since that is the meaning of the Greek word anastasis, “resurrection,” elsewhere in the New Testament. Also, they insist that since coming to life at the end of the millennium at Revelation 20:5 involves physical resurrection (for all the dead), the nature of “the first resurrection” within the millennium itself mentioned at Revelation 20:5-6 must also be physical.
This insistence is odd for two reasons. First, the symbolic, visionary nature of the descriptions throughout Revelation should keep us from pigeonholing terms into fixed slots. The fact that the term “death” in Revelation can speak to both a physical and a spiritual realty should elicit caution. Eternal (the “second”) death will follow physical death for many (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). The book speaks often of physical death (Revelation 2:10, 13; 6:8, 9, 11; 9:11, 15, 18; 11:7, 19; 12:11; 13:10; 14:13; 16:5; 19:2, 21; 20:4; 9, 13).
“The symbolic, visionary nature of the descriptions throughout Revelation should keep us from pigeonholing terms into fixed slots.”
Also, during His earthly ministry Jesus had spoken about life and death and resurrection in ways that were elusive yet powerful. Jesus told Martha the sister of Lazarus, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…” (John 11:25-26, ESV). In this short statement utilizing the words “live” and “die,” Jesus covers the gamut: physical death, spiritual life, physical life, and the avoidance of spiritual death. Believers shall never die, but though they die they shall live. Got it?
To argue that the term anastasis, “resurrection,” must indicate physical resurrection in Revelation (where it occurs only twice!) is unconvincing, especially when the repeated expression “second death” (clearly spiritual!) opens up a range of possibilities.
K. Beale offers ample New Testament evidence that the Greek verb zaō, “live, come to life,” and noun zōē, “life,” can be used for both physical and spiritual life and, of particular relevance here, for the existence of believers in the intermediate state—the state after physical death and before the general resurrection.[1] Paul referred to dying to sin and living with Christ spiritually (Romans 6:4-13; “dead to sin” and “alive to God,” Romans 6:11), while the Gospel of John relates that Jesus spoke of the believer passing from death into life in a spiritual sense followed still by a “resurrection of life” at the general resurrection (John 5:24-29).
“The Gospel of John relates that Jesus spoke of the believer passing from death into life in a spiritual sense followed still by a ‘resurrection of life’ at the general resurrection.”
In connection with the intermediate state, Jesus quotes Moses in speaking of God as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (Exodus 4:5) and then describes those individuals as presently living: “Now he is not God of the dead but of the living, for all live to him” (Luke 20:37-38, ESV; also Matthew 22:31-32 and Mark 12:26-27). Jesus is describing the patriarchs as being alive during their intermediate states, the time between their physical deaths and the general resurrection from the dead.
Premillennial approaches to “the first resurrection” suffer on several counts. The insistence on a physical resurrection is questionable, as noted above. Also, regarding dispensational premillennialism, if “the first resurrection” occurs at the beginning of the millennium, that is, at the second coming (Christ’s “return” or “revelation” after the “rapture”), what should be made of the glorious resurrection described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:50-57?
That resurrection, in common dispensational thinking, is experienced by the church at the rapture, an event preceding the second coming and its “first resurrection” by seven years or so. One would think that this alleged earlier resurrection at the rapture, also supposedly spotlighted in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by Paul, would be the “first,” so how does that all work out?
For dispensationalism, there is (1) a resurrection at the rapture, (2) a later resurrection at the second coming (or “return”) for those previously “left behind” and condemned to face the beast and his minions and then martyred, and (3) a resurrection following the subsequent millennial reign (at the Great White Throne Judgment). Lots of resurrections.
“That resurrection, in common dispensational thinking, is experienced by the church at the rapture, an event preceding the second coming and its ‘first resurrection’ by seven years or so.”
With dispensationalists, the second of the above, the one designated as “first” in Revelation 20, seems to be their “second,” since the resurrection connected with the alleged rapture should be their “first.” Attempting to describe their two separate resurrection events, the “rapture” and the “return,” as a single entity featuring a “first resurrection” seems awkward. Dispensational scholars struggle here. Their “first resurrection” in Revelation 20 is actually their second.
Also awkward is the fact that the alleged rapture of the church is nowhere mentioned in Revelation. John’s being called up to heaven at Revelation 4:1-2 does not count as a rapture reference in spite of the insistence by some!
The First Resurrection in Amillennialism
The amillennial camp offers two primary suggestions for the nature of the “first resurrection” enjoyed by believers. Augustine and others have maintained that this expression describes the spiritual resurrection occurring at conversion. Paul pointed to baptism as the moment when believers are “raised up” with Christ and “made alive” together with Him (Colossians 2:12-13; compare Romans 6:3-11). Followers of Christ have been “born again” and enjoy new life in Christ. Eternal life is something now (“already”) enjoyed, not just something to be anticipated (1 John 5:11). However, although they provide appropriate and powerful New Testament terminology for conversion, the above designations actually may not be the focus in Revelation’s expression “the first resurrection.”
The other prominent amillennial answer is that the first resurrection represents the inauguration of and participation in the intermediate state of each believer, that state immediately following physical death and continuing until Christ’s return and the accompanying general resurrection. (On this topic I would recommend Charles E. Hill, Regnum Caelorum: Patterns of Millennial Thought in Early Christianity, Second Edition, 2001, especially pages 220-248.)
In Revelation 6:9-11, those “slain for the word of God” call upon God to enter into His final judgment; however, they are comforted and encouraged to “rest a little longer.”
“Those ‘slain for the word of God’ call upon God to enter into His final judgment; however, they are comforted and encouraged to ‘rest a little longer.'”
There is no “soul sleeping” here. These martyrs are actually given (temporary? anticipatory? mostly metaphoric?) “white robes” as they await the consummation. The fact that the world is still full of the wicked after Christ’s millennial reign (Revelation 20:7-9) makes it more likely that the thousand years in question describe the church age, not a paradisiacal earthly reign of Christ from Jerusalem as envisioned in premillennial reconstructions. This conclusion dovetails with the view that the intermediate state for the dead in Christ is represented here, the totality of which coincides with the church age.
The language in much of the New Testament suggests that saints who have died in Christ are “made alive” immediately after death. Paul speaks of being “with Christ” after his “departure” (Philippians 1:23). After death, Paul explains, believers are “at home with the Lord” even as they are “away from the body” (2 Corinthians 5:8). In one sense they “have fallen asleep,” that is, have died (1 Thessalonians 4:14), but, more importantly, they now abide in Christ’s presence.
The book of Revelation strongly affirms such an understanding. In attempting to grasp how the “Seven Churches of Asia” might have interpreted various teachings in Revelation, we should not forget Paul’s earlier influential contacts with churches of Asia such as Ephesus and Laodicea. Surely some of his teachings “stuck”!
“The language in much of the New Testament suggests that saints who have died in Christ are ‘made alive’ immediately after death.”
Regarding the intermediate state, four parallel scenes stand out.
Why is it surprising to some that the righteous dead repeatedly described in Revelation as actively worshiping and interacting with God prior to the general resurrection upon Christ’s coming could be said to have been “made alive” or to have experienced a “resurrection to life” (a “first resurrection”)? Here the book of Revelation seems to explain itself for those willing to allow it to do so.
“Here the book of Revelation seems to explain itself for those willing to allow it to do so.”
It would seem that Revelation 20 offers an additional scene describing the intermediate state:
A sound approach to the term “the first resurrection” is provided by the amillennial understanding of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His saints in Revelation 20. Within that understanding, the intermediate state is best viewed as beginning with “the first resurrection” of the believer.
[1] G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 1008-1011.
To check out Dr. Larry Pechawer’s book Unraveling Revelation: Hope, Wisdom, and Mystery in John’s Apocalypse, click here.
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