Ammillennialism's illegitimate redefining and switching around of the meaning of Greek words and biblical concepts

[Zao is life]

Amillenialism's illegitimate redefining and switching around of the meaning of Greek words and biblical concepts is the reason why they double down with their false doctrine when faced with posts like THIS one.

Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 2:7: καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν.

The words in English: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [zoe]; and man became a living [zao] soul [psuche]."

(The Greek word used for “living” in Genesis 2:7 in the Septuagint is ζῶσαν (zōsan), which is derived from the root verb ζάω [zaō] ) *

* zaō means to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead) (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon).

Note: Genesis 2:7 tells us that the source of being alive [zao], is life [zoe] - the source of which is God.​

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There is only one Spirit who is the source of life [zoe], by which human beings can live | be alive [zao].
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In the New Testament eternal life is always called "zoe aionios (life eternal). The Greek texts of the New Testament never call eternal life "zao aionios" (alive forever). To be alive forever is to be immortal, the source of which is eternal life [zoe], the source of which, is God.

Paul wrote:

"There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we IN HIM; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we BY him." (1 Corinthians 8:6);

and:

"In Him (God) we live | are alive [zao], and move, and have our being; For we are also his offspring." (Acts 17:28).

* The One God who exists from eternity unto eternity is a Spirit (John 4:24) and the source of all existence, and all life [zoe]. The life [zoe] that is in Him is eternal life [zoe aionios].

* God alone has/possesses life [zoe] in Himself (John 1:4; John 5:26).

Have you ever heard someone say, "I have eternal life because God has given me eternal life"?

Eternal life [zoe] never becomes something we possess IN OURSELVES: Of all human beings ever to have walked on the earth since Adam and Eve, only to the Son of God (the Man, Jesus Christ) has it been given by God to have eternal life [zoe] in Himself (1 John 5:11-12 & John 5:26).

Eternal life [zoe] is given IN Christ Jesus to the seed of created human beings (1 John 5:11-12; John 1:4; John 5:26; John 14:6; Colossians 3:4).​

THE BIBLE EXPLICITLY GIVES THE REASON CHRIST DIED AND ROSE AGAIN

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Romans 14:9
--- "For this reason Christ died [apothnesko] and rose again from the dead [anistemi], and lived again [anazao], so that he may be the Lord of both the dead [nekros] and living [zao: those who are alive, not dead]." ---​

=================================================

"Fear not; I am the first and the last:
I am he that is alive / that liveth [zao],
and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive [zao] to the ages of the ages, Amen;
and I have the keys of hades and of death."
(Revelation 1:17-18)

=================================================​

"If Christ's Spirit is in you,

1. your body is dead [G3498 nekros] because of sin, but the Spirit (of Christ) is your (eternal) life [zoe] because of (Christ's) righteousness.

2. Moreover, if the Spirit of the one who raised [egeiro] Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised [egeiro] Christ from the dead will also quicken [zōopoiéō] your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you." (Romans 8:10-11).

Notice how Paul is talking both about the everlasting life [zoe] of the Spirit of life AND of our lack of everlasting bodily life [zao] in Romans 8:10-11 ?
​

The New Testament does not say it has "been given to us to be alive [zao] in Christ" without mentioning the source of being alive. It says that though we are dead, we will be alive [zao] in our bodies (following our bodily resurrection from the dead) because we have been given eternal life [zoe] in Christ (who alone has life - zoe - in Himself) - which is what Jesus said to Martha.

THE AMILLENNIAL FAIL WITH REVELATION 20:4​

The Amil failure to interpret Revelation 20:4-6 correctly lies in the fact that

(a) their interpretation of Revelation 20:4 has the verse talking about souls who have life [zoe] in Christ instead of what the verse says - that they were alive [zao].

They have illegitimately switched around the two Greek words, which mean two different things, to force the verse to comply with their false doctrine; and

(b) their illegitimate interpretation of the bodily resurrection (anastasis) mentioned in verses 5 and 6 as the reason for those who were beheaded being alive [zao], as either

(i) talking about a "spiritual resurrection" or "quickening" - despite, and ignoring the fact that the word anastasis is always talking about a bodily resurrection from the dead and nothing else wherever the word is found in the rest of the New Testament; or

(ii) asserting that the souls being spoken about were alive [zao] in Christ.

The second part of their assertion is the most ludicrous because in terms of the only meaning of the Greek word zao it has the souls of people who had been given eternal life [zoe aionios] in Christ and who had been alive [zao] in their own bodies before they were beheaded, now being alive [zao] with Christ in His body instead of in their own bodies.

It is because of Amillenialism's illegitimate switching around and changing of the meaning of Greek words zoe and zao and the biblical concepts that they talk about,

that there are at least four passages where the New Testament uses the word zao to talk about those who had died but will live again | be alive again following the resurrection of the body from the dead,

where Amillennialism and main-stream churches still influenced by Amillennialism's false doctrines conflate zao (to live | to be alive) and zoe (spiritual life, which is of God) by replacing the word zao with the word zoe in their doctrine:-

|| Matthew 22:32 & Mark 12:27; John 5:24-29; John 11:25-26;

and Revelation 20:4-5. ||

Amillennial theology also conflates the quickening of the human body mentioned in some passages with the quickening of the human spirit, again switching around the meaning of two different Greek words and two different Greek concepts in order to force passages to comply with Amillennial doctrine.

With regard to the above, many Premillennial churches and authors of Premillennial theological works do not realize that they too are still teaching a carry-over of Amillennial false interpretations of some of these passages which are based on a conflation caused by switching around of the meanings of different words and the different biblical concepts they express.

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST​

 

[Zao is life]

SCRIPTURE vs. CHURCH DOCTRINE
IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN WHAT THEY SAY IT MEANS
IT ALWAYS MEANS WHAT THE BIBLICAL TEXT ITSELF SAYS IT MEANS​

Below is an example of a typical set of statements produced by AI and derived from those who ought to be more informed, followed by the reasons why they are partly false:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------​

In both the LXX and NT:

1. zoe can denote ordinary creaturely life, not only eternal life.

2. zao can be used figuratively or theologically, not only for bodily animation.

Lexicons define ranges of meaning, not iron rules. Treating zao as “always bodily life” and zoe as “always spiritual life” is an example of illegitimate semantic restriction ...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------​

etc etc

Only the first statement above is true, and though they may be based on the opinions of certain educated scholars, ALL statements like the above fail to ascertain what the authors who penned the Bible meant by words like the words zao and zoe in each and every verse of the New Testament where the authors who penned New Testament used the words

- by providing a complete list of all the verses using the word zao in the New Testament in order to prove which verses are NOT referring to being alive, but rather to the spiritual life [zoe] which is the source of it, and vice-versa regarding the word zoe.

THIS PAGE provides and quotes a comprehensive list of all the verses using the word zao in the New Testament in order to prove IF there are any that are NOT referring to being alive, but rather to the spiritual life [zoe] which is the source of being alive.

THIS PAGE provides and quotes a list of verses in the New Testament using the word zoe in order to prove IF there are any that are NOT referring to life (life itself - the only source of which is God), but in reference to being alive. *

* The list has been shortened because there are so many to quote which are ALL referring to life (life itself - the only source of which is God).

THIS PAGE compares the above two words / concepts in terms of the biblical usage of the words.

THIS PAGE provides and quotes a comprehensive list of all the verses in the New Testament using the words égersis; anístēmi; egeírō and anástasis, which are all the words used in reference to resurrection from the dead,

- bearing in mind that the first three words: égersis; anístēmi and egeírō are not always used in reference to resurrection from the dead: Sometimes they are used in a usual sense for rising (up as in "get up!"), or being raised up as a leader, or rising from sleep - so those verses have been left out, and only the verses referring to resurrection from the dead are quoted

- in order to prove IF there are any that are NOT referring to the resurrection of the body, but to the "resurrection of the human spirit" (because the "resurrection of the human spirit" is a doctrine taught in many churches).

THIS PAGE provides a comprehensive list of the verses in the New Testament using the words zoopoieo (quickened or made alive again) and suzōopoiéō (quickened with) and makes a comparison between them all

- in order to prove IF any of the verses are NOT referring to the quickening of the human body, but to the "quickening of the human spirit" instead (because the "quickening of the human spirit" is a doctrine taught in many churches).

It's important for all who love the Word of God to browse through the above pages, because some of the doctrine often taught in main-stream churches (typically Amillennial churches):

* Fails to adhere to the clear and consistent distinction that the Greek New Testament makes between life [G2222: zoe] on one hand, and to be alive | to be living [G2198: zao] on the other hand, and as a result conflates the Biblical concept of zoe aionios (eternal life), with being zao (alive) forever (immortal) in the way they interpret parts of scripture (especially New Testament scripture); and

* Fails to adhere to the fact that all New Testament verses talking about the resurrection are talking about the resurrection of the body from the dead (never of the "resurrection" of the human spirit); and

* Falsely applies some of the New Testament's references to the quickening of the human body to a "quickening of the human spirit" instead.

So this is a good example of why a Christian who believes the scriptures, with reliance on the Holy Spirit of Christ after asking God in prayer for understanding, should always allow the scriptures to train his mind, instead of allowing sources outside of scripture to train his mind

- because the fact of the matter is that in respect of certain verses, many mainstream churches (as well as the doctrine of Amillennialism) illegitimately switch certain words around by replacing the one word for the other in their exegesis (and the doctrine / theology it produces).

Those who love God, love His Word which His inspired prophets and apostles wrote, and seek to fully understand what the authors who penned the scriptures meant in each and every verse.

Allow the Bible to train your mind.

Do not allow your mind to train the Bible.
Do not allow the church to train your mind, or the Bible.

Allow the Bible to train your mind.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Amillenialism's illegitimate redefining and switching around of the meaning of Greek words and biblical concepts is the reason why they double down with their false doctrine when faced with posts like THIS one.


Have you ever heard someone say, "I have eternal life because God has given me eternal life"?

Eternal life [zoe] never becomes something we possess IN OURSELVES: Of all human beings ever to have walked on the earth since Adam and Eve, only to the Son of God (the Man, Jesus Christ) has it been given by God to have eternal life [zoe] in Himself (1 John 5:11-12 & John 5:26).

Eternal life [zoe] is given IN Christ Jesus to the seed of created human beings (1 John 5:11-12; John 1:4; John 5:26; John 14:6; Colossians 3:4).​

THE BIBLE EXPLICITLY GIVES THE REASON CHRIST DIED AND ROSE AGAIN

=================================================​

Romans 14:9
--- "For this reason Christ died [apothnesko] and rose again from the dead [anistemi], and lived again [anazao], so that he may be the Lord of both the dead [nekros] and living [zao: those who are alive, not dead]." ---​

=================================================

"Fear not; I am the first and the last:
I am he that is alive / that liveth [zao],
and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive [zao] to the ages of the ages, Amen;
and I have the keys of hades and of death."
(Revelation 1:17-18)

=================================================​

"If Christ's Spirit is in you,

1. your body is dead [G3498 nekros] because of sin, but the Spirit (of Christ) is your (eternal) life [zoe] because of (Christ's) righteousness.

2. Moreover, if the Spirit of the one who raised [egeiro] Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised [egeiro] Christ from the dead will also quicken [zōopoiéō] your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you." (Romans 8:10-11).

Notice how Paul is talking both about the everlasting life [zoe] of the Spirit of life AND of our lack of everlasting bodily life [zao] in Romans 8:10-11 ?
​

The New Testament does not say it has "been given to us to be alive [zao] in Christ" without mentioning the source of being alive. It says that though we are dead, we will be alive [zao] in our bodies (following our bodily resurrection from the dead) because we have been given eternal life [zoe] in Christ (who alone has life - zoe - in Himself) - which is what Jesus said to Martha.

THE AMILLENNIAL FAIL WITH REVELATION 20:4​

The Amil failure to interpret Revelation 20:4-6 correctly lies in the fact that

(a) their interpretation of Revelation 20:4 has the verse talking about souls who have life [zoe] in Christ instead of what the verse says - that they were alive [zao].

They have illegitimately switched around the two Greek words, which mean two different things, to force the verse to comply with their false doctrine; and

(b) their illegitimate interpretation of the bodily resurrection (anastasis) mentioned in verses 5 and 6 as the reason for those who were beheaded being alive [zao], as either

(i) talking about a "spiritual resurrection" or "quickening" - despite, and ignoring the fact that the word anastasis is always talking about a bodily resurrection from the dead and nothing else wherever the word is found in the rest of the New Testament; or

(ii) asserting that the souls being spoken about were alive [zao] in Christ.

The second part of their assertion is the most ludicrous because in terms of the only meaning of the Greek word zao it has the souls of people who had been given eternal life [zoe aionios] in Christ and who had been alive [zao] in their own bodies before they were beheaded, now being alive [zao] with Christ in His body instead of in their own bodies.

It is because of Amillenialism's illegitimate switching around and changing of the meaning of Greek words zoe and zao and the biblical concepts that they talk about,

that there are at least four passages where the New Testament uses the word zao to talk about those who had died but will live again | be alive again following the resurrection of the body from the dead


With regard to the above, many Premillennial churches and authors of Premillennial theological works do not realize that they too are still teaching a carry-over of Amillennial false interpretations of some of these passages which are based on a conflation caused by switching around of the meanings of different words and the different biblical concepts they express.​

The concern raised in this thread deserves to be taken seriously: no Christian should redefine Greek terms or biblical concepts to force a theological outcome. But that standard cuts both ways, and when the Greek grammar and usage are examined carefully, the charge against Amillennialism does not hold.

A few clarifications are necessary.

1) ζωὴ (zōē) and ζάω (zaō) are not rigid, mutually exclusive categories

It is true that ζωὴ often denotes “life” with theological depth in the New Testament, and that ζάω commonly means “to live” or “to be alive.” However, the argument presented assumes a fixed technical distinction between these terms that the Greek language itself does not sustain.

In both the LXX and NT:

ζωὴ can denote ordinary creaturely life, not only eternal life.

ζάω can be used figuratively or theologically, not only for bodily animation.

Lexicons define ranges of meaning, not iron rules. Treating ζάω as “always bodily life” and ζωὴ as “always spiritual life” is itself an example of illegitimate semantic restriction, the very error being alleged.

2) Genesis 2:7 does not establish a New Testament soteriological distinction

Genesis 2:7 (LXX) describes animation: God breathes the “breath of life,” and man becomes a “living being” (ψυχὴν ζῶσαν). Nothing in the grammar establishes ζωὴ as a technical category of eternal life distinct from ζάω in the later Pauline or Johannine sense.

Reading a fully developed NT theology of eternal life back into Genesis 2:7 is theological inference, not grammatical necessity.

3) Revelation 20:4 — the Greek does not demand a bodily resurrection reading

Revelation 20:4 uses the aorist verb ἔζησαν (“they lived / came to life”). Standard Greek grammars—including Daniel Wallace—identify this as an ingressive aorist, emphasizing entrance into a state, not specifying the nature of embodiment.

Crucially, Wallace groups Revelation 20:4 with Luke 15:32 (“was dead and is alive again”), a passage universally recognized as figurative, not bodily resurrection language. That alone demonstrates that ζάω does not require a bodily resurrection referent.

Thus, the claim that Amillennialism “redefines” ζάω in Revelation 20 fails at the grammatical level. The verb itself does not settle the debate; context does.

4) “ἀνάστασις always means bodily resurrection” is overstated

While ἀνάστασις frequently refers to bodily resurrection, asserting that it always and only does so is linguistically imprecise. Words carry meaning in context, and Revelation is apocalyptic literature, not a Pauline didactic epistle.

The dispute in Revelation 20 is not whether bodily resurrection exists (all orthodox views affirm it), but which resurrection is in view and how John structures the vision.

5) Romans 8 and Romans 14 do not support the proposed dichotomy

Romans 8:10–11 speaks of:

present possession of life in Christ

future vivification of mortal bodies

The verbs involved (ζωοποιέω, ζάω, ἐγείρω) overlap semantically and contextually. They do not support a hard separation between “spiritual ζωὴ now” versus “bodily ζάω later” as if the NT itself enforces that distinction.

Similarly, Romans 14:9 is cited as if it hinges on a special resurrection verb (ἀναζάω), but the passage simply affirms Christ’s lordship over both the living and the dead—again without the lexical freight being placed upon it.

6) Textual integrity is not in question

The passages under discussion (John 5; John 11; Romans 8; Romans 14; Revelation 20) are textually stable and well-attested.
This is an interpretive disagreement, not a textual one.

Conclusion

Amillennialism does not survive by “switching Greek words around.” It stands or falls on contextual exegesis of apocalyptic literature, not on denying bodily resurrection, redefining ζωὴ, or evacuating ζάω of meaning.

Ironically, the argument advanced here commits the very error it accuses others of committing: freezing lexical glosses into absolute categories and then demanding that the text conform to them.

Faithful interpretation means letting context, genre, and usage govern meaning—not importing theological conclusions into individual verb forms.

**Daniel B. Wallace Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Zondervan, 1996) is the reference used for the Greek discussion in my reply.

 

[Lizbeth]

I think it can be helpful to look at the words in the original languages, as you are doing here, since English is a more limited and less nuanced language, as long our reliance is on the Holy Spirit to illuminate His word to us. But I don't know what your definition of Amillennialism is.....are you saying Amillennialists don't believe in a bodily resurrection?

I've come to understand what Jesus meant when He said that the kingdom of Christ does not come with observation that we may say lo here it is, or there, but is within/among us. It is a spiritual/heavenly kingdom, not earthly. And Jesus began ruling and reigning it two thousand years ago. After His resurrection He testified that all power/authority (rulership) in heaven and earth had been given to Him.........and He had told the religious leaders of His time that if He by the finger of God casts out demons and heals the sick then the kingdom has come to them. It is the gospel of the kingdom that He went around preaching/teaching as well as saying it was nigh......His kingdom rule began back then for whoever would get a hold of it. And we will be resurrected bodily in the resurrection, (like Jesus was and became a quickening spirit)....and will be like the angels, as He also said, becoming ministering spirits and having spiritual bodies like them.

It was the looking for an earthly kingdom with an earthly ruler that tripped up most of the Jews back then and caused them to rule Jesus out as Messiah because He refused an earthly crown and earthly kingdom that the devil (as well as some of the people) were tempting Him with. I believe the expectation of an earthly kingdom is tripping up many Christians today and Jews as well....it has potential to lead to an earthly messiah. We are not to be looking for an earthly reign and kingdom as such, but an heavenly.....NEW heavens and NEW earth.

 

[Hazelelponi]

are you saying Amillennialists don't believe in a bodily resurrection?

I'm not he thread's author or the person you quoted but I hold an Amillennial eschatological position so I hope you don't mind my jumping in.

Amillennialism unequivocally affirms the bodily resurrection of the dead at the last trumpet and the visible return of Jesus Christ. The disagreement is not over whether Christ returns or whether the dead are raised, but over how the millennium of Revelation 20 is to be understood.

Amillennialism understands the “thousand years” as a symbolic designation for the present gospel age—the period between Christ’s first and second comings—rather than a literal, future, earthly reign in which Christ is physically present on earth for exactly 1,000 calendar years.

We confess that Christ will return once, bodily and visibly, at which time:

• the dead will be raised,
• final judgment will occur,
• and the eternal state—the new heavens and the new earth—will be consumated.

Accordingly, Amillennialism holds that Christ may return at any moment or may tarry according to the Father’s will. The church is therefore not tasked with deciphering end-times signs in every news cycle, but with faithful proclamation of the gospel, perseverance in holiness, and confident hope in Christ’s promised return.

This position does not diminish the future hope of the church; it grounds that hope directly in Christ Himself, not in a speculative timetable.

 

[Davy]

I'm not a scholar of the Bible languages, but I don't see that as any great setback, simply because God put more than one example of a Biblical event in His Word, even though it may be in different words.

I believe the "thousand years" event of Revelation 20 the way and order it is written there, which is a Premillennial view. I do not hold to the false Pre-trib Rapture theory that it seems mostly Amill tries to establish as Premillialists like a 'guilt-by-association' ploy. The first century Apostles and Church fathers were Premillialists, so there must be a reason why, and there is.

A close inspection of just the KJV translation of Rev.20 with the subject flow shows the "thousand years" in connection with the future time when Satan will be 'bound' in his pit prison, and not allowed to work deception in the world (like Peter showed in 1 Peter 5:8, that Satan is still roaming like a lion today seeking whom he may devour). Thus Satan being bound is still yet to happen, so that excludes any claiming that the "thousand years" had already begun in the past like some Amill folks are taught.

Furthermore, Rev.20:4-5 directly refers to the future resurrection of both Old Testament saints, and New Testament saints. And specifics are given for why many of those saints were persecuted, back in Old Testament time, and New Testament times at the end of this world during the coming "great tribulation" that Jesus warned us about for the end. That directly... moves the "thousand years" subject to after... the "great tribulation" at the end, so men's Amill theories that the thousand years is only symbolic for the Church age that began right after the cross does not work at all.

And one does not have to be a scholar of the Bible languages to understand this.

 

[rwb]

The concern raised in this thread deserves to be taken seriously: no Christian should redefine Greek terms or biblical concepts to force a theological outcome. But that standard cuts both ways, and when the Greek grammar and usage are examined carefully, the charge against Amillennialism does not hold.

A few clarifications are necessary.

1) ζωὴ (zōē) and ζάω (zaō) are not rigid, mutually exclusive categories

It is true that ζωὴ often denotes “life” with theological depth in the New Testament, and that ζάω commonly means “to live” or “to be alive.” However, the argument presented assumes a fixed technical distinction between these terms that the Greek language itself does not sustain.

In both the LXX and NT:

ζωὴ can denote ordinary creaturely life, not only eternal life.

ζάω can be used figuratively or theologically, not only for bodily animation.

Lexicons define ranges of meaning, not iron rules. Treating ζάω as “always bodily life” and ζωὴ as “always spiritual life” is itself an example of illegitimate semantic restriction, the very error being alleged.

2) Genesis 2:7 does not establish a New Testament soteriological distinction

Genesis 2:7 (LXX) describes animation: God breathes the “breath of life,” and man becomes a “living being” (ψυχὴν ζῶσαν). Nothing in the grammar establishes ζωὴ as a technical category of eternal life distinct from ζάω in the later Pauline or Johannine sense.

Reading a fully developed NT theology of eternal life back into Genesis 2:7 is theological inference, not grammatical necessity.

3) Revelation 20:4 — the Greek does not demand a bodily resurrection reading

Revelation 20:4 uses the aorist verb ἔζησαν (“they lived / came to life”). Standard Greek grammars—including Daniel Wallace—identify this as an ingressive aorist, emphasizing entrance into a state, not specifying the nature of embodiment.

Crucially, Wallace groups Revelation 20:4 with Luke 15:32 (“was dead and is alive again”), a passage universally recognized as figurative, not bodily resurrection language. That alone demonstrates that ζάω does not require a bodily resurrection referent.

Thus, the claim that Amillennialism “redefines” ζάω in Revelation 20 fails at the grammatical level. The verb itself does not settle the debate; context does.

4) “ἀνάστασις always means bodily resurrection” is overstated

While ἀνάστασις frequently refers to bodily resurrection, asserting that it always and only does so is linguistically imprecise. Words carry meaning in context, and Revelation is apocalyptic literature, not a Pauline didactic epistle.

The dispute in Revelation 20 is not whether bodily resurrection exists (all orthodox views affirm it), but which resurrection is in view and how John structures the vision.

5) Romans 8 and Romans 14 do not support the proposed dichotomy

Romans 8:10–11 speaks of:

present possession of life in Christ

future vivification of mortal bodies

The verbs involved (ζωοποιέω, ζάω, ἐγείρω) overlap semantically and contextually. They do not support a hard separation between “spiritual ζωὴ now” versus “bodily ζάω later” as if the NT itself enforces that distinction.

Similarly, Romans 14:9 is cited as if it hinges on a special resurrection verb (ἀναζάω), but the passage simply affirms Christ’s lordship over both the living and the dead—again without the lexical freight being placed upon it.

6) Textual integrity is not in question

The passages under discussion (John 5; John 11; Romans 8; Romans 14; Revelation 20) are textually stable and well-attested.
This is an interpretive disagreement, not a textual one.

Conclusion

Amillennialism does not survive by “switching Greek words around.” It stands or falls on contextual exegesis of apocalyptic literature, not on denying bodily resurrection, redefining ζωὴ, or evacuating ζάω of meaning.

Ironically, the argument advanced here commits the very error it accuses others of committing: freezing lexical glosses into absolute categories and then demanding that the text conform to them.

Faithful interpretation means letting context, genre, and usage govern meaning—not importing theological conclusions into individual verb forms.

**Daniel B. Wallace Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Zondervan, 1996) is the reference used for the Greek discussion in my reply.

Genesis 2:7 (KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

John 20:22 (KJV) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

God 'breathed' נָפַח naphach describes action from God defined as blowing air into man in much the same manner one would blow up a balloon, blowing air into man's lungs. 'Breath of life' נְשָׁמָה neshamah חַי chay describes the result of God blowing air into man at creation when man became a living soul.

We find the same breath coming from Christ when He breathed; blow at ἐμφυσάω emphysao on His disciples making them spiritually alive through the Holy Ghost (Spirit) ἅγιος hágios πνεῦμα pneûma.

Physical life man naturally receives when born, ceases when man physically dies. That physical life is not the same eternal life man must receive from the breath of Christ that gives man everlasting life through His Spirit in us. That's the reason man must be born again or born from above, i.e. receive eternal spiritual life from the Holy Spirit.

I believe much confusion is caused when we call spiritual re-birth a resurrection, instead of man being born again. John writes that man must have part in the first resurrection to overcome the second death. Just as man could not become physical living souls without God's breath of life breathed into them, neither can man become eternally spiritually alive (living) souls without the breath of life breathed into man through the Holy Spirit sent to them from Christ. The living souls John says are alive after martyrdom have not been resurrected to life again. That won't be until time symbolized a thousand years expires. They are alive (living souls, spiritual body) in heaven after physical death because they remained faithful unto death by having part in the resurrection life through the physical resurrection of Christ who is the "first resurrection", physically raised to never die again.

 

[WPM]

I'm not a scholar of the Bible languages, but I don't see that as any great setback, simply because God put more than one example of a Biblical event in His Word, even though it may be in different words.

I believe the "thousand years" event of Revelation 20 the way and order it is written there, which is a Premillennial view. I do not hold to the false Pre-trib Rapture theory that it seems mostly Amill tries to establish as Premillialists like a 'guilt-by-association' ploy. The first century Apostles and Church fathers were Premillialists, so there must be a reason why, and there is.

A close inspection of just the KJV translation of Rev.20 with the subject flow shows the "thousand years" in connection with the future time when Satan will be 'bound' in his pit prison, and not allowed to work deception in the world (like Peter showed in 1 Peter 5:8, that Satan is still roaming like a lion today seeking whom he may devour). Thus Satan being bound is still yet to happen, so that excludes any claiming that the "thousand years" had already begun in the past like some Amill folks are taught.

Furthermore, Rev.20:4-5 directly refers to the future resurrection of both Old Testament saints, and New Testament saints. And specifics are given for why many of those saints were persecuted, back in Old Testament time, and New Testament times at the end of this world during the coming "great tribulation" that Jesus warned us about for the end. That directly... moves the "thousand years" subject to after... the "great tribulation" at the end, so men's Amill theories that the thousand years is only symbolic for the Church age that began right after the cross does not work at all.

And one does not have to be a scholar of the Bible languages to understand this.

The fate of Satan, the beast (spirit of antichrist / mystery of iniquity) and the fallen angels (demons) are all knit together in Scripture. When Satan fell from heaven, so, did all his demons. When Satan was banished from the Garden then all evil was. They also all came under the same spiritual subjugation at the exact same time through Christ’s earthly ministry.

When Christ bound Satan’s kingdom through His life, death and resurrection then all were bound. 2 Peter 2:4, Jude v 6, Revelation 9 and Revelation 20 all prove the whole demonic realm has been restrained from stopping the free-flow of the Gospel. The bruising of the head of the beast (Revelation 13:3, 13:12 and 13:14) correlates with the bruising of the head of Satan 2,000 years ago through the earthly ministry of Christ (Genesis 3:15). They correspond with the spiritual binding imprisoning of Satan during the millennial period. These are figurative metaphors describing the impairment of the kingdom of darkness 2000 years ago.

When Satan was banished from heaven, so was the whole demonic realm (1/3 of the angels went with him).

Through his defeat, Satan fell from heaven (John 12:31 & Revelation 12:7-9) and is now present in the abyss (Revelation 9:1-11 & Revelation 20:3). The abyss is not a physical geographical place. After all, physical metal chains cannot hold spirits. It is a spiritual state of restraint for spirits now. Near the end, the beast will be released from his restraints and the “deadly wound” to his head will be “healed” (Revelation 13:3, 13:12 and 13:14). This tells us that he too was bruised like Satan’s head through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

Just like Satan’s power and influence were curtailed through the life, death and first resurrection of Christ, so too was the beast’s. The fate of the two mirror each other. The reason is, the beast is dependent upon the power of Satan to do his evil. The beast is his envoy or enforcer. At the end Satan will be released from his restraint to empower the beast to subjugate the Church, curtail the Gospel expanse and deceive the nations again. There will be a suppression of the Gospel in the last of the last days. This will result in deep persecution. But the darkest days in history have always been the brightest days in history.

When Satan is released before the second coming for a little season then so are the beast, and Satan's minions. Satan is promised a freedom from restraint before the second coming, as is antichrist, and every demon. Scripture shows the abyss being opened near the end whereupon Satan and his demons are released from their spiritual restraint (Revelation 9:1-11 and Revelation 20:7). This parallels with the beast also rising from the abyss (Revelation 11:7 and Revelation 17:8). This corresponds with the restraint being taken off the mystery of iniquity in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 before Christ’s return.

Then comes the end! But Christ comes in majestic and eternal glory to overthrow the kingdom of darkness forever. The demonic realm is all killed when Satan is destroyed at the climactic second coming (Isaiah 26:19-27:1, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19:20, 20:9-10). Daniel 7:9-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:8 and Revelation 19:19-20 show this to be the same time when the beast is obliterated.

 

[WPM]

Amillenialism's illegitimate redefining and switching around of the meaning of Greek words and biblical concepts is the reason why they double down with their false doctrine when faced with posts like THIS one.

Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 2:7: καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν.

The words in English: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [zoe]; and man became a living [zao] soul [psuche]."

(The Greek word used for “living” in Genesis 2:7 in the Septuagint is ζῶσαν (zōsan), which is derived from the root verb ζάω [zaō] ) *

* zaō means to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead) (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon).

Note: Genesis 2:7 tells us that the source of being alive [zao], is life [zoe] - the source of which is God.​

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There is only one Spirit who is the source of life [zoe], by which human beings can live | be alive [zao].
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​

Until you understand who and what the "first resurrection" is you are going to struggle with understanding Revelation 20. The Bible makes it clear that Christ is "the first resurrection" (Acts 26:23 and Revelation 20:6), "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18), "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20), "first begotten of the dead" (Revelation 1:5).

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."

You overlook the phrase "hath part." This is the condition to experiencing eternal life. The Greek for “that hath part” is echo méros. The Greek verb echo correctly interpreted “that hath” in the King James Version is written in the present tense and in the active voice. Therefore, we can view the relevance and vitality of “the first resurrection” as being both current and ongoing. Christ’s victory over death is not simply a past event that has no active bearing upon what we are today; it is ongoing reality in the lives of God’s people. The Greek word translated “part” in the text is the word meros meaning share, allotment or portion. This reading tells us that all those that have come to the joy of saving faith in Christ have become partakers in the resurrection life, and through this will escape the horrors of the second death – eternal wrath.

This passage is describing the reality and result of our mystical union with Christ. The expression “in Christ” [Gr. en Christo] is found 216 times in the New Testament and refers to our federal and covenantal standing. It shows us that our spiritual status is totally derived from and dependent upon relationship with Christ. Upon salvation we are united to Christ. He is the head we are the body. The blessing, decisions and authority come through the head.

This is talking about the salvation enjoyed by those who have their part in Christ's glorious first resurrection (the only first resurrection known in Scripture). Revelation 20:6 is conditional. There is an if' involved in that passage. So, IOW, once one has part in the first resurrection it is then impossible to lose part in it. Born again Christians receive the gift of eternal life when they believe. Eternal life is salvation (namely to be "saved"). Christians do not die. We live forever.

This is an ongoing current reality for the believer in salvation. Experiencing eternal life delivers us from eternal punishment.

Jesus said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Without that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

Jesus said in John 5:24-25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

John 5:24-25 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Withiout that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

Jesus said in John 6:40, “this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:40 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Withiout that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

Jesus says in John 6:45-47, “Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

John 6:45-47 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Withiout that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

Jesus said in John 6:48-51, “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 6:48-51 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Withiout that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

Jesus also said in John 8:52, "If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death."

John 8:52 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Withiout that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

Jesus said in John 11:25-26: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

John 11:25-26 parallels Revelation 20:6. Those who exercise faith in Christ have their part in Christ's first resurrection. Withiout that there is no victory over sin and death. Simple!

We assuredly know that the righteous physically die just like the ungodly. So obviously Christ is not speaking of natural death here but rather of soul.

 

[WPM]

the word anastasis is always talking about a bodily resurrection from the dead and nothing else wherever the word is found in the rest of the New Testament; or

​

This is simply NOT true.

Two resurrections result for the believer from Christ’s one resurrection. Man needs both spiritually redeemed and physically redeemed. When one gets saved they are spiritually redeemed. But they are not physically redeemed until resurrection day. His “first resurrection” secured both resurrections for those who will put their faith in Christ.

Romans 6:3-6 says, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up [Gr. egeiro] from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection [Gr. anastasis]: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

There are two Greek words used in Romans 6:3-10 that are used to describe the resurrection of Christ, and that are significantly in turn purposely equated to the believer and the new birth experience; they are egeiro (Strong’s 1453) and anastasis (Strong’s 386). Such a correlation between these two diverse types of resurrection (physical and spiritual) is only secured through Christ’s sinless life, atoning death and glorious resurrection, enabling the believer to walk in resurrection power and “newness of life.” The believer here is therefore supernaturally transferred from a condition of death into one of life. This undoubtedly relates (1) to a spiritual state, and, (2), to the here in now. It cannot relate to the physical resurrection which is still future and which occurs at the second coming of Christ.

The first word egeiro (Strong’s 1453) is used many times throughout the New Testament to describe the Lord’s physical resurrection. These references are found in Matthew 14:2, 16:21, 17:9, 23, 20:19, 26:32, 27:63, 64, 28:6, 7, Mark 14:28, 16:6, 14, Luke 1:69, 9:22, 24:6, 34, John 2:19, 20, 22, 21:14, Acts 3:15, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40, 13:30, 37, Romans 4:24, 25, 6:4, 9, 7:4, 8:11, 34, 10:9, 1 Corinthians 6:14, 15:4, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 2 Corinthians 4:14, 5:15, Galatians 1:1, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 1 Peter 1:21.

Similarly, the other Greek word anastasis (Strong’s 386), which is identified several times in Scripture with the new birth spiritual resurrection is also used several times to describe the Lord’s physical resurrection. It is derived from the root word anistemi (Strong’s 450). These are outlined in Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34, 16:9, Luke 18:33, 24:7, 26, John 20:9, Acts 2:24, 31, 32, 3:26, 4:2, 33, 10:41, 13:33, 34, 17:3, 18, 26:23, Romans 15:12, Philippians 3:10 1 Thessalonians 4:14, 1 Peter 1:3, 3:21.

The same two Greek words that are repeatedly employed to describe Christ’s physical resurrection from the dead are also used in Ephesians 5:14 to describe the new birth experience of the believer. The sinner being commanded: “Awake [Gr. egeiro] thou that sleepest, and arise [Gr. anastasis] from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14).

The resurrection portrayed here is again not a physical resurrection, but, a spiritual resurrection in which the recipient (the sinner) receives the joy of salvation. Through this spiritual resurrection, the believer receives the “light” of God and is therefore spared the awful sentence of eternal wrath. The verb “arise” in this text specifically relates to salvation and is a metaphor describing the spiritual resurrection that Christians undergo when they are lifted from the grave of sin. It also demonstrates the blessing that follows this resurrection. The true child of God receives the blessed light of God’s dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:34 also records, “Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again [Gr. anastasis or resurrecting] of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.”

Matthew Henry explains in relation to this passage, “He (Jesus) is set for the rising again of many in Israel, that is, for the conversion of many to God that are dead and buried in sin, and for the consolation of many in God that are sunk and lost in sorrow and despair. Those whom he is set for the fall of may be the same with those whom he is set for the rising again of. He is set eis ptosin kai anastasin - for their fall, in order to their rising again; to humble and abase them, and bring them off from all confidence in themselves, that they may be exalted by relying on Christ; he wounds and then heals, Paul falls, and rises again”

The believer is raised from the grave of his sin and spiritual death at conversion, which of necessity must be a spiritual resurrection. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, “For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth [Gr. egeiro] the dead: Who delivered us (past tense) from so great a death, and doth deliver (present tense): in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us (future tense).”

This whole passage is concentrated upon the great eternal provision of spiritual deliverance. The word “raiseth” in this reading is a present active verb, therefore it is talking about a resurrection that is happening now, rather than the future physical resurrection. This is obviously speaking of spiritual resurrection, because it alone has been ongoing since Christ’s first (physical) resurrection. This will, of course, culminate with the general physical resurrection at His return.

The same word repeatedly applied to Christ’s physical resurrection in the New Testament – egeiro – is here again used spiritually to describe the spiritual resurrection of the believer from the reality of spiritual death. It shows a present realisation and victorious triumph over that state in this testimony of Paul. This reading does not at all indicate that the believer will not experience natural death, no, but rather, that he wouldn’t experience spiritual death. It positively outlines that through the spiritual (or first) resurrection the believer is rescued from entering into the awful realisation of the second death (eternal punishment).

 

[WPM]

that the word anastasis is always talking about a bodily resurrection from the dead and nothing else wherever the word is found in the rest of the New Testament; or

​

Colossians 2:10-14 says, “ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ‘ye are risen with him’ [Gr. sunegeiro] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised [Gr. egeiro] him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened [Gr. suzoopoieo] together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”

This explicit passage describes the act of salvation as a resurrection feat. Moreover, the raising of the forgiven child of God in resurrection power in salvation is in turn carefully identified with, and connected to, Christ’s glorious resurrection. It confirms that our hearts “are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” in salvation, and likens this supernatural work to a death, burial and resurrection. This reading shows how the child of God is “buried with him,” “quickened together with him,” and finally “risen with him.”

The wording relating to this spiritual resurrection – “ye are risen with him” – is translated from the Greek word sunegeiro (Strong’s 4891), which is derived from the coupling of two other Greek words sun (Strong’s 4862) – denoting union and togetherness, and egeiro (Strong’s 1453), which means to awaken or resurrect from the dead. This word egeiro is constantly used in the New Testament in reference to Christ’s physical resurrection.

Also, the word rendered “quickened” in the above passage is translated from the Greek word suzoopoieo (Strong’s 4806), which is derived from combining the words sun (Strong’s 4862) with zoopoíeo (Strong’s 2227), meaning to make alive, give life and revitalize. Hence, we can see the deep meaning of this word in the aforementioned passage and the essential work that is perfected in the penitent sinner in regeneration.

Many new birth passages in Scripture are surrounded in resurrection terminology. Notwithstanding, they are not in any way referring to a physical resurrection, although, often, using the same type of language that accompanies literal ones. These references repeatedly describe spiritually dead men being spiritually made alive by being first spiritually quickened and then spiritually resurrected from the grave of their sin. This reading plainly outlines how the penitent sinner is raised with the exact same supernatural power that raised Christ at His resurrection, saying, “ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

Colossians 3:1-4 goes on to add, “If ‘ye then be risen with’ [Gr. sunegeiro] Christ (speaking in the present tense about those who have experienced spiritual resurrection in Christ), seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear (speaking of the second coming), then shall ye also appear with him in glory (referring to the physical resurrection which is future tense).”

There are two distinct resurrections outlined in this reading, the first being spiritual and the second being physical. The initial resurrection of necessity sees a spiritual change, whereas, the second resurrection of necessity requires a physical change. Interestingly, the Greek word sunegeiro is again used here to describe the spiritual resurrection of the penitent sinner through union with Christ. No one could surely dismiss the current reality of the resurrection outlined at the beginning of the above passage. Moreover, those that have experienced the aforementioned resurrection are then instructed to “seek” and “set their affection” upon “those things which are above” – spiritual actions that are to be performed in this scene of time. The key to experiencing the reality of this current resurrected life is found in the concluding part of the reading that our earthly life is “hid with Christ in God.”

Ephesians 2:1-6 also says, “you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, ‘hath quickened us together’ [Gr. suzoopoieo] with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) And hath ‘raised us up together’ [Gr. sunegeiro] and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

The same two Greek words found in Colossians 2:10-14 are also used in this reading to describe the spiritual resurrection. Again, the word rendered “quickened” here in Ephesians 2 is the Greek word suzoopoieo, which indicates a uniting to Christ in mystical union by means of being spiritually revitalized and made alive. The Greek word sunegeiro carries the meaning of union with Christ through resurrection. It is also in the aorist active demonstrating that it relates to the present. All sane theologians know that is not therefore not talking about physical resurrection.

Romans 4:17 says, speaking of that great father of the faith Abraham, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth [Gr. zoopoieo] the dead, and calleth those things which be not (unbelieving Gentiles) as though they were (the people of God).”

Again, the word rendered “quickened” in the above passage is translated from the original word zoopoieo meaning to make alive, give life and revitalize. It is the same word used in Ephesians 2:5 and Colossians 3:1, only it is prefixed there by the Greek word sun in those passages. This passage is describing how God breathed spiritual life into the once darkened Gentile nations, and brought them into a personal relationship with the living God. Those within the nations that received God’s provision for sin and uncleanness were then immediately brought from a condition of spiritual death unto a state of spiritual life through the precious work of Christ at Calvary. This quickening of the Gentiles is therefore plainly not just a future hope but a joyous present reality.

In the new birth, the nature of Christ is imputed into the believer thus raising him up from a spiritual grave into a real living communion with God. I John 3:14 succinctly explains, “We know that we have passed from death unto life.” How? This text makes it clear that the death that is conquered here in the-here-and-now is assuredly not physical but spiritual death. The sinner that believes (and is thus born again of the Spirit of God) has entered into the realisation of the first resurrection in this life and will one day be physically raised at the second resurrection unto life.

Conclusion

We have seen how the Greek word anastasis (Strongs 386), used in Revelation 20 to describe the first resurrection, is related to the new birth in several New Testament passages. We have seen how its root meaning anistemi (Strongs 450) is also related to the new birth experience. We have seen how other similar resurrection words like egeiro (Strong’s 1453) and zoopoíeo (Strong’s 2227) are also identified with the first spiritual resurrection.

 

[rwb]

And we will be resurrected bodily in the resurrection, (like Jesus was and became a quickening spirit)....and will be like the angels, as He also said, becoming ministering spirits and having spiritual bodies like them.

When man physically dies their body returns to dust of the earth, and the spirit (breath of life) returns to God who gave it. The spirit of man is destined to return to heaven a spiritual body (living soul) after physical death, or the spirit of man in unbelief, like the spirit (breath of physical life) of animals will go downward to the earth.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 (KJV) Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 3:20-21 (KJV) All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

When we read the prophesy from Daniel with the words of John in Rev 12, we find that Michael stood up as Daniel foretells He would when Christ was born. That's when many that had died before the advent of Christ were spiritually awakened and those found written in the book spiritually ascended to heaven with Christ. These died in faith waiting for Messiah to come to save them from the grave.

Daniel 12:1 (KJV) And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Daniel 12:2 (KJV) And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Revelation 12:5 (KJV) And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Revelation 12:7-8 (KJV) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Matthew 27:52 (KJV) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Ephesians 4:8-10 (KJV) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Hebrews 12:9 (KJV) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Hebrews 12:22-23 (KJV) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

When man has been born again before they die, when they die their spirit a living soul ascends to heaven and are as the angels of God a spiritual body without physical form. Because when man is born again, we have eternal spiritual life so even though our flesh will die, as spirit we live forever. In heaven as the bride of Christ we neither marry nor are we given in marriage because we are espoused to Christ forever. Then when the final trumpet begins to sound our mortal flesh shall be resurrected and made alive again through our spirit that returns with Christ to live once again as complete living soul for everlasting life on the NEW earth.

 

[Zao is life]

"For this reason Christ died [apothnesko] and rose again from the dead [anistemi], and lived again [anazao: lived again in a body that is not dead], so that he may be the Lord of both the dead [nekros] and living [zao: those who are alive in a body that is not dead]." (Romans 14:9).

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Jesus & the Sadducees

The Sadducees were bringing arguments against the concept of the resurrection of the dead to Jesus, so as biblical proof of the coming resurrection, Jesus pointed out:

1. The fact that God is not the God of the dead, but of those who are alive [zao]; and

2. The fact that God is called "The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob", who had all died.

Jesus said:

"As touching the dead [nekros[, that they rise [egeiro]: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead [nekros], but the God of the living [zao: of those who are alive]: ye therefore do greatly err." (Mark 12:26-27).

The Sadducees understood that they could bring no further argument against the resurrection (of the body) from the dead, because Jesus reminded them that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who were dead, and God is not the God of the dead, but of those who are alive in the body [zao].

AI - generated reply to "God of the living" (derived from main-stream Christian theology):

"In the Bible, God is referred to as the "God of the living," emphasizing His relationship with those who are spiritually alive.

(The Bible does **not** talk about created humans being "spiritually alive", but of those who have been given eternal life, which is in Christ - who alone possesses eternal life in Himself).

There is no such thing as a "spiritual" resurrection or a "spiritual" quickening (a quickening of a "dead human spirit") spoken of in the New Testament - as though such a "regenerated dead human spirit" is another source of eternal life [zoe aionios].

AI answer: "In the Bible, God is referred to as the "God of the living," emphasizing His relationship with those who are spiritually alive" (false).

True: In the Bible, the living [zao] God who alone is spiritually alive [zoe], having (eternal) life in Himself, is referred to as the "God of the living", emphasizing His relationship with created human beings who are alive [zao].

AI answer: "Jesus used this phrase to argue against the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the body from the dead, to indicate that these patriarchs were still alive in God's presence." (false).

True: Jesus was referring to the fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not bodily living [zao], yet God was nevertheless still their God, therefore Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - who had died and were therefore dead, not zao (alive), would rise again from the dead bodily (hence they will be zao - alive in their resurrected bodies following their resurrection from the dead).

Hence, Jesus proved to the Saduccees that their arguments against the resurrection were all false. (Mark 12:26–27).

 

[Zao is life]

John 5
24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [zoe aionios], and shall not come into condemnation [G2920 krisis]; but is passed from death [G2288 thanatos] unto life [zoe].

25 The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [G3498 nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live | be alive [zao]. 26 For as the Father hath life [zoe] in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life [zoe] in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [G3419 mnemeion] shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection [G386 anastasis] of life [zoe]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection [anastasis] of condemnation [G2920 krisis]."

John 5:24-29 with the verses rearranged, taking note of the key words:

* Life [G2222 zoe].
* Everlasting life [zoe aionios].
* Dead [G3498 nekros].
* Graves [G3419 mnemeion].
* The Resurrection [G386 anastasis].
* Live | be alive [G2198 zao].
* Hear the voice of the Son of God.
* Condemnation [G2920 krisis].

==============================================​

The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [mnemeion] shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of condemnation [G2920 krisis].

Marvel not at this. For as the Father hath life [zoe] in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life [zoe] in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live | be alive [zao].

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [zoe aionios], and shall not come into condemnation [G2920 krisis]; but is passed from death [G2288 thanatos] unto life [zoe]."

==============================================​

* The power by which the dead [nekros] pass from death to life, is Christ's death and resurrection from the dead

- which when He spoke, was about to occur:

"The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." (John 5:25).

* To be zao (alive) forever (immortal) we need to have everlasting life (zoe aionios) in us. Only Christ possesses everlasting life in Himself. To those who belong to Him, the everlasting life [zoe] that is given to us, is IN CHRIST (John 1:4; John 5:26; John 14:6; 1 John 5:11-12; Colossians 3:4).

Jesus is talking about the same judgment that is mentioned in the Revelation:

Revelation 11:18 (when the seventh trumpet sounds)
"Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

Revelation 20:12 & 15
"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 whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

HOW THE ABOVE PASSAGE IS COMMONLY INTERPRETED BY MAIN-STREAM AMIL CHURCHES

John 5:25–29 is commonly interpreted as describing two different “resurrections”

- one spiritual (present) and one physical (future).

This interpretation largely rests on dividing verse 25 (“now is, and is coming”) from verses 28–29 (“the hour is coming”), treating them as different time periods with different subjects,

but is this separation actually necessary? Does the text demand it?

When read alongside the lexicon of:

zoē (life), nekros (dead), mnēmeion (graves), anastasis (resurrection), and thanatos (death),

then Jesus is speaking of one resurrection reality, inaugurated by His own death, burial, and resurrection - not describing two different resurrections consisting of a "spiritual" (present) resurrection and a (future) bodily resurrection - but a single resurrection in two stages:

1. Inauguration - “the hour is coming, and now is” (v.25).

2. Consummation - “the hour is coming” (vs.28–29).

One voice. One giver of life. One resurrection. Two phases of the same work: "Christ, the firstfruit, then when Christ comes, those who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:23), and then all the dead (John 5:25-29):

Verse
25: The dead
28-29: All in the graves

Action
Verse 25: Hear His voice
Verses 28-29 Hear His voice

Result
Verse 25: Live [zao]
Verses 28-29: Come forth.

The difference is not in the kind of resurrection, but in the scope:

Verse 25 = the resurrection begins with Christ's resurrection (now is).
Verse 28–29 = the resurrection becomes universal (“all in the graves”).

This is a progression, not a theological split. Jesus does not change subjects - He expands the subject:

Jesus grounds both statements in the same authority: “God the Father has given Him authority to execute judgment.” (v. 27). Resurrection and judgment are tied together in John 5:24-29 - there is no gap between them.

Those who doubt this only need to ask themselves the following questions:-

1. Does Jesus explicitly say or imply that He is describing two different resurrections?

2. If the same voice raises the dead in both verses, why insist they are different events?

3. What hermeneutical basis allows you to separate v. 25 from v. 28 when Jesus unites them lexically?

4. How can the word zoē in v. 24 (used in reference to life) and the word zao in v. 25 (used in reference to being alive | living) both be referring to the everlasting life which Jesus spoke of in v. 24, yet not be referring to being bodily alive [zao]?

5. How can the words "nekros" (dead); "hear"; "everlasting life [zoe]"; "live | be alive [zao]"; "judgment", and "resurrection" refer to two different "resurrection" realities with respect to the dead, which are unrelated in time - within five verses?

6. Is the passage not basing what Jesus was saying upon His own death and resurrection which was soon to occur?

7. Why does the book of Revelation describe a resurrection/judgment event identical to John 5:24-29 if John intended two?

 

[WPM]

There is no such thing as a "spiritual" resurrection or a "spiritual" quickening (a quickening of a "dead human spirit") spoken of in the New Testament - as though such a "regenerated dead human spirit" is another source of eternal life [zoe aionios].

You can only come to that conclusion by avoiding repeated Scripture. It is time for your to address the evidence above.

 

[Zao is life]

"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God,

and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands.

And they were alive [záō] and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

But the rest [loipoí] of the dead did not live again [anazáō] until the thousand years were finished.

This is the first resurrection of the body [anástasis].

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6).

Revelation 20:4-6 is sandwiched in-between the following statement:

(A) "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."

(B) "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them ..

.. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night to the ages of the ages." (Revelation 20:1-3 & 7-10).

The verses in-between the above statement (Revelation 20:4-6) do not exist in isolation from the rest of the book of Revelation: The verses are linked to:

Revelation 13:7-8 & 15-18; Revelation 14:9-13; and Revelation 11:7-12.

What is stated in Revelation 20:4-6 is therefore key to dating the commencement of the thousand years, because the fact that those spoken about in Revelation 20:4 & 6 were beheaded because they "had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" places the date of the commencement of the thousand years in a time that will follow the ascending of the beast from the abyss at the close of this age, and after the return of Christ - when the beast is defeated and thrown alive into the lake of fire (the only reasonable reading of the text does this).

 

[WPM]

John 5
24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [zoe aionios], and shall not come into condemnation [G2920 krisis]; but is passed from death [G2288 thanatos] unto life [zoe].

25 The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [G3498 nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live | be alive [zao]. 26 For as the Father hath life [zoe] in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life [zoe] in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [G3419 mnemeion] shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection [G386 anastasis] of life [zoe]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection [anastasis] of condemnation [G2920 krisis]."

John 5:24-29 with the verses rearranged, taking note of the key words:

* Life [G2222 zoe].
* Everlasting life [zoe aionios].
* Dead [G3498 nekros].
* Graves [G3419 mnemeion].
* The Resurrection [G386 anastasis].
* Live | be alive [G2198 zao].
* Hear the voice of the Son of God.
* Condemnation [G2920 krisis].

==============================================​

The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [mnemeion] shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of condemnation [G2920 krisis].

Marvel not at this. For as the Father hath life [zoe] in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life [zoe] in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live | be alive [zao].

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [zoe aionios], and shall not come into condemnation [G2920 krisis]; but is passed from death [G2288 thanatos] unto life [zoe]."

==============================================​

* The power by which the dead [nekros] pass from death to life, is Christ's death and resurrection from the dead

- which when He spoke, was about to occur:

"The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." (John 5:25).

* To be zao (alive) forever (immortal) we need to have everlasting life (zoe aionios) in us. Only Christ possesses everlasting life in Himself. To those who belong to Him, the everlasting life [zoe] that is given to us, is IN CHRIST (John 1:4; John 5:26; John 14:6; 1 John 5:11-12; Colossians 3:4).

Jesus is talking about the same judgment that is mentioned in the Revelation:

Revelation 11:18 (when the seventh trumpet sounds)
"Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

Revelation 20:12 & 15
"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 whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

HOW THE ABOVE PASSAGE IS COMMONLY INTERPRETED BY MAIN-STREAM AMIL CHURCHES

John 5:25–29 is commonly interpreted as describing two different “resurrections”

- one spiritual (present) and one physical (future).

This interpretation largely rests on dividing verse 25 (“now is, and is coming”) from verses 28–29 (“the hour is coming”), treating them as different time periods with different subjects,

but is this separation actually necessary? Does the text demand it?

When read alongside the lexicon of:

zoē (life), nekros (dead), mnēmeion (graves), anastasis (resurrection), and thanatos (death),

then Jesus is speaking of one resurrection reality, inaugurated by His own death, burial, and resurrection - not describing two different resurrections consisting of a "spiritual" (present) resurrection and a (future) bodily resurrection - but a single resurrection in two stages:

1. Inauguration - “the hour is coming, and now is” (v.25).

2. Consummation - “the hour is coming” (vs.28–29).

One voice. One giver of life. One resurrection. Two phases of the same work: "Christ, the firstfruit, then when Christ comes, those who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:23), and then all the dead (John 5:25-29):

Verse
25: The dead
28-29: All in the graves

Action
Verse 25: Hear His voice
Verses 28-29 Hear His voice

Result
Verse 25: Live [zao]
Verses 28-29: Come forth.

The difference is not in the kind of resurrection, but in the scope:

Verse 25 = the resurrection begins with Christ's resurrection (now is).
Verse 28–29 = the resurrection becomes universal (“all in the graves”).

Christ’s death, burial and resurrection secured two distinct, yet inextricably linked, resurrections for the believer, not one as the Premillennialists repeatedly assert; the first being a spiritual resurrection – the new birth; the second being a physical resurrection of the just. Significantly, there are many passages in Scripture, which support this biblical supposition. We must therefore keep this though very much in our mind as we examine the allegorical passage before us in Revelation 20:6.

Jesus said in John 5:24-29, referring to these two different, yet inextricably linked, resurrections, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live (speaking of our spiritual resurrection in Christ). For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life (speaking of the second or physical resurrection); and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

There are clearly two resurrections here:

(1) Spiritual
(2) Physical

The first highlighted part here is clearly referring to the first resurrection, the spiritual resurrection that comes through having our part in Christ (Revelation 20:6). The terminology “the hour is coming, and now is” is used here and in other places to simply indicate – ‘the time is now upon us’ although it would have an immediate reality for every passing generation. The first resurrection outlined here is a spiritual resurrection pertaining solely to the elect: “the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live,” it relates to the here-and-now. The second relates to all the dead (saved and unsaved), "the hour is coming, in the which ALL that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth." It relates to the all-consummating resurrection day. The physical resurrection is therefore not restricted to the elect alone but to “the dead.” It is they in total that hear Christ’s voice, being raised to two different destinations.

The wording of this passage is consistent with the spiritual terminology of many of the New Testament passages that describe the same resurrection that attends salvation. The gist of this passage is beyond dispute, and is in no real need of interpretation. God succinctly declares, “ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live.”

The Holy Spirit has always been the means by which the elect of God were spiritually convicted, spiritually raised, spiritually led and spiritually ‘ministered through’. Moreover, salvation has always been through faith and therefore by spiritual resurrection. With all truth, there is a greater revelation and a more unequivocal realization of it in the New Testament, although sometimes it is couched in different terminology.

 

[Zao is life]

I'm not a scholar of the Bible languages, but I don't see that as any great setback, simply because God put more than one example of a Biblical event in His Word, even though it may be in different words.

I believe the "thousand years" event of Revelation 20 the way and order it is written there, which is a Premillennial view. I do not hold to the false Pre-trib Rapture theory that it seems mostly Amill tries to establish as Premillialists like a 'guilt-by-association' ploy. The first century Apostles and Church fathers were Premillialists, so there must be a reason why, and there is.

A close inspection of just the KJV translation of Rev.20 with the subject flow shows the "thousand years" in connection with the future time when Satan will be 'bound' in his pit prison, and not allowed to work deception in the world (like Peter showed in 1 Peter 5:8, that Satan is still roaming like a lion today seeking whom he may devour). Thus Satan being bound is still yet to happen, so that excludes any claiming that the "thousand years" had already begun in the past like some Amill folks are taught.

Furthermore, Rev.20:4-5 directly refers to the future resurrection of both Old Testament saints, and New Testament saints. And specifics are given for why many of those saints were persecuted, back in Old Testament time, and New Testament times at the end of this world during the coming "great tribulation" that Jesus warned us about for the end. That directly... moves the "thousand years" subject to after... the "great tribulation" at the end, so men's Amill theories that the thousand years is only symbolic for the Church age that began right after the cross does not work at all.

And one does not have to be a scholar of the Bible languages to understand this.

I'm not a scholar at all. I just go to the trouble of listing each and every New Testament verse using the words zoe and zao to see what those verses are talking about

- and I do the same in respect of the word zoopoieo (quickening)

- and I do the same in respect of the words used in reference the resurrection

- to see what each of those verses are talking about

- and if you would ever take the trouble to do all that, you will soon discover in which of all the verses Amillennialism has switched the meanings around or ascribed other meanings that do not exist for that word, in order to get the verse to comply with Amillennial theology.

If we don't do this but only follow the church's theology then we will never know (for example) why Amillennialists can never say Revelation 20:4 is referring to those who had been "spiritually" quickened and that the claim they make, is false.

That verse is one of the main verses they hinge their Amil false doctrine on.

"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God,

and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands.

And they were alive [záō] and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

But the rest [loipoí] of the dead did not live again [anazáō] until the thousand years were finished.

This is the first resurrection of the body [anástasis].

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6).

Revelation 20:4-6 is sandwiched in-between the following statement:

(A) "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."

(B) "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them ..

.. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night to the ages of the ages." (Revelation 20:1-3 & 7-10).

The verses in-between the above statement (Revelation 20:4-6) do not exist in isolation from the rest of the book of Revelation: The verses are linked to:

Revelation 13:7-8 & 15-18; Revelation 14:9-13; and Revelation 11:7-12.

What is stated in Revelation 20:4-6 is therefore key to dating the commencement of the thousand years, because the fact that those spoken about in Revelation 20:4 & 6 were beheaded because they "had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" places the date of the commencement of the thousand years in a time that will follow the ascending of the beast from the abyss at the close of this age, and after the return of Christ - when the beast is defeated and thrown alive into the lake of fire (the only reasonable reading of the text does this).

 

[WPM]

What is stated in Revelation 20:4-6 is therefore key to dating the commencement of the thousand years, because the fact that those spoken about in Revelation 20:4 & 6 were beheaded because they "had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" places the date of the commencement of the thousand years in a time that will follow the ascending of the beast from the abyss at the close of this age, and after the return of Christ - when the beast is defeated and thrown alive into the lake of fire (the only reasonable reading of the text does this).

Revelation 20:4 says, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls [Gr. tas psychas] of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived (aorist active indicative) and reigned (aorist active indicative) with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”

Revelation 20:4 is simply talking about the dead in Christ that reign as kings and priests now with Christ in heaven. They have experienced their "part" in the "first resurrection in life (salvation) and now they rule with Him in glory. Simple! This is a current event. Please note the tenses. Also, this is the dead in Christ reigning in glory now in heaven. We are looking at "souls" here (namely the disembodied saints) not bodied saints.

Before the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the kingdom of darkness (i.e. Satan and his angels), controlled the Gentiles. The nations were overwhelmingly blind, enveloped in ignorance, deceived and were incarcerated in the devil's dark prison. Because of what Adam passed down to them through the fall, Satan had authority to accuse the brethren day and night before the throne of God. After all, the penalty for sin had not been paid. That is why the redeemed believers went to Abrahams bosom upon death. Heaven had not been opened to God's people as sin, death, Satan and Hades had not yet been defeated.

When Christ came, justice demanded:

• Christ had to defeat sin – the source of man’s enslavement.
• He had to defeat Satan – the instrument used to tempt man to sin.
• He had to defeat death (or the grave) – the penalty of sin.
• He had to defeat Hades (or Abraham’s bosom) – the prison of the righteous dead.
• He had to defeat eternal punishment – the just reward for unrepentant sinners.

No longer would God's people go to Hades upon death. Christ made a way of escape from that. He defeated Hades. He secured the keys of death and of hell through His victorious life, death and resurrection.

2 Timothy 1:9-10 says, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

It is hard for us to measure in human terms the enormity and scale of the victory that was secured through Christ’s resurrection. But we know that its prime affect upon fallen man was to defeat death (both spiritual and physical). Death could not hold Christ. Death certainly had a hold upon man in his imperfect corrupt state, but Jesus voluntarily and majestically defeated the grave on our behalf thus destroying it awful dark hold upon man. Life overcome death and His glorious first resurrection allowed all the redeemed to realize the same.

Death has lost its sting. Hades has been emptied of the redeemed. Christ’s appeared unto John on the Isle of Patmos years after the cross, in Revelation 1:18, and testified: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (or Hades) and of death.”

Death and Hades are now defeated. The grave has been conquered. God's people who die go now to be with Jesus. Hades was emptied after the first resurrection. Jesus defeated sin, death, Hades and Satan through his first Advent. The dead in Christ now reign in heaven with Christ.

Hebrews 2:14-18 explains: “through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

Christ currently holds the keys of Hades and of death, and Satan cannot snatch them out of His hand. He holds the keys because they belong to Him. He possesses all authority in heaven and on earth. That includes power over life and death.

Christ secured these crucial keys of authority over death and hell through His sinless life, His atoning death and His glorious resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Praise the Lord, the grave has been defeated.

 

[Davidpt]

You overlook the phrase "hath part." This is the condition to experiencing eternal life. The Greek for “that hath part” is echo méros. The Greek verb echo correctly interpreted “that hath” in the King James Version is written in the present tense and in the active voice. Therefore, we can view the relevance and vitality of “the first resurrection” as being both current and ongoing. Christ’s victory over death is not simply a past event that has no active bearing upon what we are today; it is ongoing reality in the lives of God’s people. The Greek word translated “part” in the text is the word meros meaning share, allotment or portion. This reading tells us that all those that have come to the joy of saving faith in Christ have become partakers in the resurrection life, and through this will escape the horrors of the second death – eternal wrath.

IOW, I guess--hath part in---can't fit anything such as the following---and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds

Guess what? Even those that are alive and remain have part in this event when the dead in Christ rise first. A resurrection, in regards to the saved, means to rise from a state of mortality to state of immortality. It even plainly says so in 1 Corinthians 15.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.


Is one going to argue that only the physically dead are mortal and need to put on immortality, but those that are alive and remain don't need to? That those still alive and remain are not mortal as well. In the world I live in, the real world, every single saved person whether alive or dead are still in a mortal state until they put on immortality at the last trump. But so what? Right? That still doesn't equal anyone having part in anything. Right? One can only have part in a resurrection if the resurrection is spiritual and applies to the here and now. Right?