No they physically died because they had partaken of the resurrection of Christ, Who is the "first resurrection". Why do you keep denying that one must partake of the resurrection of Christ to have eternal life? John sees beheaded LIVING; i.e spiritual life, souls in heaven after they had physically died on earth, because in life (a thousand symbolic years) they had partaken in the resurrection life of Christ. To partake of the "first resurrection" is to be born again of His Spirit. "Ye must be born again", in Christ, Who says,
John 11:25-26 (KJV) Jesus said unto her, 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. Believest thou this?
I am not denying what the first resurrection is. You are. You claim the first resurrection is the second birth.
Then you claim these people physically dying is the first resurrection. Everything but a resurrection. A birth is a birth, not a resurrection. A death is a death, not a resurrection. Do you not see how words are used to give a specific meaning? You are changing the term resurrection to make it say what you want it to, to prove your Amil bias. All you are doing is totally avoiding what the first resurrection is.
The first resurrection happens when a physical body physically dies and is given a new physical body. Old body from Adam. New body from God. Old body from the dust of the ground, returning to dust. New body from God, permanent, never dying again, ever, period!
The first resurrection is not a spiritual birth into God's family. That happens when one is still in Adam's dead corruptible flesh. The first resurrection is definitely not the point nor definition of the first death. In fact Lazarus waited 4 days in Abraham's bosom between the first death, and the first resurrection. Noah waited thousands of years between the first death and the first resurrection.
Jesus said that soon, those hearing His words would never taste death again. At the Cross was the point death is no longer a waiting period. Tasting death is waiting in Abraham's bosom. Tasting death was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Those redeemed in the OT, had to physically leave Adam's dead corruptible flesh, and their soul waited in Abraham's bosom.
The first resurrection gave them back God's permanent incorruptible physical body. That is a first resurrection.
John saw (will see soon) those souls, because they had to wait as souls from the time they physically died, until they were judged after Armageddon. Was (will) Abraham's bosom be used during those 42 months, who knows? What we do know is they did not go to heaven or Paradise, or John would have stated such.
I get that you want these people to represent some phenomenon over the last 1992 years, because you claim Revelation 20 is about the last 1992 years. But all these points are just human imagination, and don't fit what John is saying at all. Your imagined scenario directly contradicts 2 Corinthians 5:1. These souls without a body is contrary to the fact the church no longer tastes death. These souls are literally in a state of death having no body, until they stand before these thrones and judged. The church was judged at the Cross, and will not stand as dead waiting for a body in the future.
As pointed out you have to change resurrection to either birth or even death as you claim to get your imagined scenario to even work.
The moment these souls are given the first resurrection, they have permanent incorruptible physical bodies. They will live on earth like all others before them who were resurrected on earth.
Yes for the last 1992 years all the redeemed have experienced the first resurrection immediately. The soul leaves Adam's dead corruptible flesh, and without any time passing enters God's permanent incorruptible physical body. That is the ongoing phenomenon called the first resurrection. It does directly coincide with the first death. Yet you will immediately reject and deny this truth from Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:1, because Paul does not adhere to your imagined phenomenon. The one you built around the point Revelation 20 surely is not talking about a future 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. This imagined phenomenon where you only have one future general resurrection for every single human ever to live, even if they already were resurrected and physically enjoying Paradise for 1992 years.
Jesus currently has and has had a physical body in Paradise for 1992 years. So has every other soul in Paradise. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus is not the let's wait until the Second Coming for a resurrection and life. Jesus called Lazarus out of his grave. It was not a soul without a body waiting for the Second Coming. Lazarus was the primary example of the Resurrection and the Life. And it struck fear in the hearts of those who saw it, and the desire to crucify Jesus was planted that day. It was not a resurrection back to death. It was a permanent incorruptible physical body.
You can read here: John 11:45-53
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
You can believe Lazarus just died again. But there is literally no reason to accept that. To deny that is to deny that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"
This was the very context Jesus made that claim in. If you deny Lazarus was the very example of the first resurrection to life, then you may as well cancel your future single resurrection as well. And first does not mean primary or first of that kind, or even first in a series of resurrections. That is not the point of the first resurrection. First means physical out of Adam's dead corruptible flesh. Lazarus was not resurrected into Adam's dead corruptible flesh. That would mean Jesus failed at being the resurrection and the life. You are missing the whole point of the exchange with Mary:
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Jesus called Lazarus out as proof Lazarus would never die again.
Amil give the same excuse as Mary did:
"I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Jesus did not agree with that assessment.
"Jesus said unto her, 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."
Yet you claim Lazarus just died again. Jesus told Mary, Lazarus would live and never die again, no? If Lazarus was the embodiment of Jesus' exact words, then he experienced what all will experience, from the Cross on. Now God did not force Lazarus to live on this sin cursed earth until the Second Coming. He would have ascended with all the OT redeemed on Sunday morning when Jesus ascended with the firstfruits of His accomplishment over death and the grave. The first order in Paul's order of those being free from the death caused by Adam.
The last day resurrection promised throughout the OT that Mary was pointing to was not the Second Coming. Now you want to be a futurist on this point, instead of pointing to the Cross. You point to the Cross for those in Revelation 20:4, who have not even died yet, and what Mary stated, you point to the Second Coming. That is backwards.
Mary was talking about the Cross, because that was the last day of the OT. The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, and all the OT came out of their graves, many even in Jerusalem. The hour that Jesus promised came with Lazarus and has been an ongoing phenomenon that will end at the GWT. Although at that point creation will be handed back to God, and no more graves to call people out of. The dead are not called out of their graves. Death and sheol are literally dumped out like one would dump out trash into a garbage dump. Jesus hands Death and sheol over to God along with the rest of creation, and that reality will cease to exist. Death and sheol ending up in the LOF.
