The First Resurrection - Already Happened

[Vincent]

For a while now I’ve known that we are currently reigning with Christ (who is the life and the word of God) during the period called the thousand years, but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing.

Obviously there are many verses that tell us Christ’s reign has begun. Here are a few examples.

1 Peter 3:22
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Ephesians 1:20-21
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come

Matthew 28:18
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

So Christ has been given the authority and now reigns over both heaven and earth, and if Christ lives in us, we reign with him which means we are now living in the period of time called the thousand years. As we can see in Luke 10:17, even those with Jesus reign with authority over the devils.

[sup]17 [/sup]And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

So the reign of Christ and those who are his began immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. The confusion in Revelation 20 comes from expecting a physical resurrection at the start of the thousand year reign. In order to better understand this we have to look at what life is and we do that by looking at what Jesus is.

John 1:1-4,12-13
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

1 John 1:2
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

Jesus is the word of God through who all things were created. In other words, all life on earth was created through Jesus. Jesus is the word of God and Jesus is life. And those who receive him become children born of God. In other words, those who receive Christ have life already because He lives in them.

Simply put, the first resurrection is not a scene of corpses stepping out of their graves but rather those who came to life in the first resurrection are those who came to Jesus. Or put another way, anyone who has accepted Jesus has already risen from the dead and is reigning with Christ as we speak.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came (notice the past tense) also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

After this time of Christ is complete there will be a physical resurrection (aka the second resurrection) for everyone (both the righteous and the wicked) in order to be judged on our physical deeds and to receive our rewards. The first death is physical death but the second death is eternal separation from God. This is why it says those who take part in the first resurrection don't have to fear the second death as they have Christ in them, and Christ is the life. That is us. We don't have to fear the second death because we have received Christ and our names are written in the book of life. We have received life already. We have already been resurrected and redeemed from death.

Now think about the beheadings. In order to be resurrected you must first die. A beheading is a very final, complete and certain end to life and therefore makes for the perfect symbolism to describe the end of our old lives without Christ.

Revelation 20 says that those who were beheaded for the sake of Christ take part in the first resurrection. We, by losing our old lives and being born again, have been spiritually beheaded already. We have lost our lives for the sake of Christ and Jesus said that anyone who does this will find life. We have found that life. We have gone from being dead without Christ to being alive with Christ.

We have not been physically beheaded but we have been spiritually beheaded by leaving our old lives behind and being born again, a new creation with new life in Jesus. Born of God. This is what Revelation 20 is speaking of, and this is what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

 

[teleiosis]

You make a better case for saying that Satan was cast down 2000 years ago when Jesus went up to Heaven after seeing Mary in the garden outside the tomb. 1Pe 3:22, Eph 1:21, and Mt 28:18 speak of Jesus being unopposed by Satan in Heaven. Thank-you. I'll have to include those verses in my support for Rev 12:7-8 as having happened a long time ago.

John 1:1-4, 1Jn 1:2, Lk 10:17, and Mt 10:39 don't speak of the first resurrection.

1Co 15:21 does NOT state the resurrection in the past tense. I find that if I want to make something of a single word, I really need to do the word study on it. Indeed, in this case, there is no verb in the Greek for that verse. That is the reason most Bible versions put the word "came" in italics. (I had expected to find the aorist tense initially.) Paul is not saying the resurrection is past, but rather he is equating that by man = death; so too by man (Jesus) = resurrection of the dead. It is a simple reversal of fortune and by a single source.

Furthermore, 1Co 15:21 cannot contradict 1Th 4:16-17 whereby Paul describes a coming resurrection of the dead.

 

[Groundzero]

For a while now I’ve known that we are currently reigning with Christ (who is the life and the word of God) during the period called the thousand years, but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing.

Obviously there are many verses that tell us Christ’s reign has begun. Here are a few examples.

1 Peter 3:22
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Ephesians 1:20-21
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come

Matthew 28:18
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

So Christ has been given the authority and now reigns over both heaven and earth, and if Christ lives in us, we reign with him which means we are now living in the period of time called the thousand years. As we can see in Luke 10:17, even those with Jesus reign with authority over the devils.

[sup]17 [/sup]And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

So the reign of Christ and those who are his began immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. The confusion in Revelation 20 comes from expecting a physical resurrection at the start of the thousand year reign. In order to better understand this we have to look at what life is and we do that by looking at what Jesus is.

John 1:1-4,12-13
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

1 John 1:2
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

Jesus is the word of God through who all things were created. In other words, all life on earth was created through Jesus. Jesus is the word of God and Jesus is life. And those who receive him become children born of God. In other words, those who receive Christ have life already because He lives in them.

Simply put, the first resurrection is not a scene of corpses stepping out of their graves but rather those who came to life in the first resurrection are those who came to Jesus. Or put another way, anyone who has accepted Jesus has already risen from the dead and is reigning with Christ as we speak.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came (notice the past tense) also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

After this time of Christ is complete there will be a physical resurrection (aka the second resurrection) for everyone (both the righteous and the wicked) in order to be judged on our physical deeds and to receive our rewards. The first death is physical death but the second death is eternal separation from God. This is why it says those who take part in the first resurrection don't have to fear the second death as they have Christ in them, and Christ is the life. That is us. We don't have to fear the second death because we have received Christ and our names are written in the book of life. We have received life already. We have already been resurrected and redeemed from death.

Now think about the beheadings. In order to be resurrected you must first die. A beheading is a very final, complete and certain end to life and therefore makes for the perfect symbolism to describe the end of our old lives without Christ.

Revelation 20 says that those who were beheaded for the sake of Christ take part in the first resurrection. We, by losing our old lives and being born again, have been spiritually beheaded already. We have lost our lives for the sake of Christ and Jesus said that anyone who does this will find life. We have found that life. We have gone from being dead without Christ to being alive with Christ.

We have not been physically beheaded but we have been spiritually beheaded by leaving our old lives behind and being born again, a new creation with new life in Jesus. Born of God. This is what Revelation 20 is speaking of, and this is what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

Can't say I've read much about this kind of stuff, but if this is the millennium reign of Christ, then we've got some major problems.

 

[Rocky Wiley]

Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

Hi Vincent,

That says it all.

 

[John_8:32]

For a while now I’ve known that we are currently reigning with Christ (who is the life and the word of God) during the period called the thousand years, but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing.

Hmmm, how’s that working out with Ahmadinijad? How about getting Bibi and Mahmoud Abbas to gether. For that matter, how about fixing some of the problems in D.C.?

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

How are you doing with your cities?

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Luk 19:16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
Luk 19:17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
Luk 19:18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
Luk 19:19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

This doesn’t begin until the Millenium.

Obviously there are many verses that tell us Christ’s reign has begun. Here are a few examples.

1 Peter 3:22
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Ephesians 1:20-21
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come

Matthew 28:18
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

So Christ has been given the authority and now reigns over both heaven and earth, and if Christ lives in us, we reign with him which means we are now living in the period of time called the thousand years. As we can see in Luke 10:17, even those with Jesus reign with authority over the devils.

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Luk 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luk 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luk 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Until Christ returns, the world is the Devil’s and he rules over it.

Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Verse 39 world is…

G165
αἰών
aiōn
ahee-ohn'
From the same as G104; properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; specifically (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future): - age, course, eternal, (for) ever (-more), [n-]ever, (beginning of the, while the) world (began, without end). Compare G5550.

So the Devil is sowing foul seed until the end of this age...

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The Devil has deceived the whole world and is not stopped until when?

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

This event occurs when? Right after…

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The return of Jesus Christ as the crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

[sup]17 [/sup]And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

So the reign of Christ and those who are his began immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. The confusion in Revelation 20 comes from expecting a physical resurrection at the start of the thousand year reign. In order to better understand this we have to look at what life is and we do that by looking at what Jesus is.

This resurrection was the hope of the New Testament church…

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

What happens at His return…

Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Remember Rev 19:11- ? Well here is some more of the same…

Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
Zec 14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
Zec 14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
Zec 14:15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

You can’t just spiritualize away these verses.

John 1:1-4,12-13
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

1 John 1:2
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

We just read that in that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. He is coming back to earth to distribute rewards to the faithful…

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

When do we receive our rewards? When He returns. Remember Luke 19:16-19 and Rev 5:10?

Jesus is the word of God through who all things were created. In other words, all life on earth was created through Jesus. Jesus is the word of God and Jesus is life. And those who receive him become children born of God. In other words, those who receive Christ have life already because He lives in them.

Simply put, the first resurrection is not a scene of corpses stepping out of their graves but rather those who came to life in the first resurrection are those who came to Jesus. Or put another way, anyone who has accepted Jesus has already risen from the dead and is reigning with Christ as we speak.

And yet that is what we read about…

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Notice the tense? Future!

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

I would suggest to you that you take the hatpin test. I believe that you will discover that you are still flesh and blood.

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

When? At the last trump. What happens at the last trump?

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came (notice the past tense) also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Now read verse 23…

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

After this time of Christ is complete there will be a physical resurrection (aka the second resurrection) for everyone (both the righteous and the wicked) in order to be judged on our physical deeds and to receive our rewards. The first death is physical death but the second death is eternal separation from God.

No, the second death is exactly what it says it is…

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Death:

G2288
θάνατος
thanatos
than'-at-os
From G2348; (properly an adjective used as a noun) death (literally or figuratively): - X deadly, (be . . .) death.

Just as Christ said…

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Destroy:

G622
ἀπόλλυμι
apollumi
ap-ol'-loo-mee
From G575 and the base of G3639; to destroy fully (reflexively to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: - destroy, die, lose, mar, perish.

Joh 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.

G622
ἀπόλλυμι
apollumi
ap-ol'-loo-mee
From G575 and the base of G3639; to destroy fully (reflexively to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: - destroy, die, lose, mar, perish.

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Burned to death in the lake of fire and gone forever. Death, not eternal life in some other place. This separation from God baloney sounds exactly like…

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

What did God say?

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Die:

H4191
מוּת
mûth
mooth
A primitive root; to die (literally or figuratively); causatively to kill: - X at all, X crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy (-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro [-mancer], X must needs, slay, X surely, X very suddenly, X in [no] wise.

This is why it says those who take part in the first resurrection don't have to fear the second death as they have Christ in them, and Christ is the life. That is us. We don't have to fear the second death because we have received Christ and our names are written in the book of life. We have received life already. We have already been resurrected and redeemed from death.

Hatpin please.

Now think about the beheadings. In order to be resurrected you must first die. A beheading is a very final, complete and certain end to life and therefore makes for the perfect symbolism to describe the end of our old lives without Christ.

But you just told me it was life in some other place.

Revelation 20 says that those who were beheaded for the sake of Christ take part in the first resurrection. We, by losing our old lives and being born again, have been spiritually beheaded already. We have lost our lives for the sake of Christ and Jesus said that anyone who does this will find life. We have found that life. We have gone from being dead without Christ to being alive with Christ.

Symbolic of martyrs…

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them:

Here is one group, those who have been given thrones but martyrdom is not mentioned.

and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,

Here is a group that has been martyred.

and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;

And another group is mentioned, those who did not worship the Beast, or his image, (some great false religion and a military state which was ruled over by the false religion) or had not received the mark of the Beast. The mark of the Beast is not enforced yet and has not been since 31 AD. This is a future event just prior to the return of Christ.

and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

This is where the word Millenium comes from.

We have not been physically beheaded but we have been spiritually beheaded by leaving our old lives behind and being born again, a new creation with new life in Jesus. Born of God. This is what Revelation 20 is speaking of, and this is what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

You are certainly right about one thing…

but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing

You are confused about Rev 20 and the resurrections.



When my posts get too long, the quotes quit working. Maybe I am too verbose? Ya think?

 

[Spirit Covenant]

This is what will happen when the thousand year reign of Christ begins.

Matthew 13
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out His Messengers, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Mathew 25

31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy messengers with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left



.

 

[Trekson]

Sorry Vincent but in no way do I agree that this: "Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

is the first resurrection. This is what happens when people try to spiritualize the literal.

 

[afaithfulone4u]

For a while now I’ve known that we are currently reigning with Christ (who is the life and the word of God) during the period called the thousand years, but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing.

Obviously there are many verses that tell us Christ’s reign has begun. Here are a few examples.

1 Peter 3:22
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Ephesians 1:20-21
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come

Matthew 28:18
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

So Christ has been given the authority and now reigns over both heaven and earth, and if Christ lives in us, we reign with him which means we are now living in the period of time called the thousand years. As we can see in Luke 10:17, even those with Jesus reign with authority over the devils.

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

So the reign of Christ and those who are his began immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. The confusion in Revelation 20 comes from expecting a physical resurrection at the start of the thousand year reign. In order to better understand this we have to look at what life is and we do that by looking at what Jesus is.

John 1:1-4,12-13
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

1 John 1:2
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

Jesus is the word of God through who all things were created. In other words, all life on earth was created through Jesus. Jesus is the word of God and Jesus is life. And those who receive him become children born of God. In other words, those who receive Christ have life already because He lives in them.

Simply put, the first resurrection is not a scene of corpses stepping out of their graves but rather those who came to life in the first resurrection are those who came to Jesus. Or put another way, anyone who has accepted Jesus has already risen from the dead and is reigning with Christ as we speak.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came (notice the past tense) also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

After this time of Christ is complete there will be a physical resurrection (aka the second resurrection) for everyone (both the righteous and the wicked) in order to be judged on our physical deeds and to receive our rewards. The first death is physical death but the second death is eternal separation from God. This is why it says those who take part in the first resurrection don't have to fear the second death as they have Christ in them, and Christ is the life. That is us. We don't have to fear the second death because we have received Christ and our names are written in the book of life. We have received life already. We have already been resurrected and redeemed from death.

Now think about the beheadings. In order to be resurrected you must first die. A beheading is a very final, complete and certain end to life and therefore makes for the perfect symbolism to describe the end of our old lives without Christ.

Revelation 20 says that those who were beheaded for the sake of Christ take part in the first resurrection. We, by losing our old lives and being born again, have been spiritually beheaded already. We have lost our lives for the sake of Christ and Jesus said that anyone who does this will find life. We have found that life. We have gone from being dead without Christ to being alive with Christ.

We have not been physically beheaded but we have been spiritually beheaded by leaving our old lives behind and being born again, a new creation with new life in Jesus. Born of God. This is what Revelation 20 is speaking of, and this is what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

Actually there was a resurrection just after Jesus was resurrected. It was of many of the OT saints who were in the bosom of Abraham and had seen Jesus' day when he would fulfill the law in his lifetime and become the holy sacrifice to release them from the death penalty. They are the fulfillment of Ezek 37 of the dry bones. They were the whole house of old Israel and the sinews and bones came together in the EARTHQUAKE(Rattle Shake) and the Spirit of God was given to them for LIFE.
Ezek 37:5-8
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking{EARTHQUAKE AS IN MATT.}, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
KJV
Ezek 37:12-14
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And 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,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
KJV
Matt 27:50-54
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
KJV

Jesus is the Living Word, the Very Word that the Father Created all things with and by and nothing that is made was made without the Word who has been with the Father since the beginning.
Jesus said that those who believe upon me... The Word who became flesh.. shall never die, hunger or thirst. However, the first resurrection will be of priests and kings only that will rule and reign with Christ and then for 1,000 yrs.. not two thousand, but 1,000 then Satan is loosed to bring out the last traces of evil ones in the world who hate Israel because the people of God bring the Word of God to a dark world. Once they are exposed, they will be destroyed THEN the second resurrection takes place where all the books are opened and all will be sent to their places of choice that they chose for themselves according to their walk in life rather it was in Christ or without. The elect which are those who have been chosen before the foundation of the NEW EARTH and have been being raised up and prepared to rule and reign will inherit the bride and all others who have received salvation yet not perfected and holy, shall come back as the saved nations. All who rejected Christ/The Word all together due to unbelief shall have their part in the lake of fire.

This time now can not be of the first resurrection because once the 1,000 year millinium is done, the new heaven and earth will be seen. I see no new heaven or earth but I do see it as in the days of Noah. I do see it as told to Daniel the end times would be where we travel to and fro and knowledge increased.
I do see ungodly man has created space craft and exalted himself up to the stars and the heaven where God's throne is, to leave the only planet that God gave to His man to have domain, who is trying to BE GOD. I do see them cloning human beings and animals as if God's creation is not good enough. I do see them granting man the rights to murder LIFE of an unBORN child and to pervert the vow of marriage to mean two of the same sex being lovers of SELF.

 

[tgwprophet]

Vincent wrote: " For a while now I’ve known that we are currently reigning with Christ (who is the life and the word of God) during the period called the thousand years, but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing "

You should re-think that stance for there will be NO false religions when Jesis reigns... period!

 

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, Vincent.

For a while now I’ve known that we are currently reigning with Christ (who is the life and the word of God) during the period called the thousand years, but somehow the description of the resurrections in Revelation 20 seems a bit confusing.

Obviously there are many verses that tell us Christ’s reign has begun. Here are a few examples.

1 Peter 3:22
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Ephesians 1:20-21
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come

Matthew 28:18
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

So Christ has been given the authority and now reigns over both heaven and earth, and if Christ lives in us, we reign with him which means we are now living in the period of time called the thousand years. As we can see in Luke 10:17, even those with Jesus reign with authority over the devils.

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

So the reign of Christ and those who are his began immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. The confusion in Revelation 20 comes from expecting a physical resurrection at the start of the thousand year reign. In order to better understand this we have to look at what life is and we do that by looking at what Jesus is.

John 1:1-4,12-13
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

1 John 1:2
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

Jesus is the word of God through who all things were created. In other words, all life on earth was created through Jesus. Jesus is the word of God and Jesus is life. And those who receive him become children born of God. In other words, those who receive Christ have life already because He lives in them.

Simply put, the first resurrection is not a scene of corpses stepping out of their graves but rather those who came to life in the first resurrection are those who came to Jesus. Or put another way, anyone who has accepted Jesus has already risen from the dead and is reigning with Christ as we speak.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came (notice the past tense) also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

After this time of Christ is complete there will be a physical resurrection (aka the second resurrection) for everyone (both the righteous and the wicked) in order to be judged on our physical deeds and to receive our rewards. The first death is physical death but the second death is eternal separation from God. This is why it says those who take part in the first resurrection don't have to fear the second death as they have Christ in them, and Christ is the life. That is us. We don't have to fear the second death because we have received Christ and our names are written in the book of life. We have received life already. We have already been resurrected and redeemed from death.

Now think about the beheadings. In order to be resurrected you must first die. A beheading is a very final, complete and certain end to life and therefore makes for the perfect symbolism to describe the end of our old lives without Christ.

Revelation 20 says that those who were beheaded for the sake of Christ take part in the first resurrection. We, by losing our old lives and being born again, have been spiritually beheaded already. We have lost our lives for the sake of Christ and Jesus said that anyone who does this will find life. We have found that life. We have gone from being dead without Christ to being alive with Christ.

We have not been physically beheaded but we have been spiritually beheaded by leaving our old lives behind and being born again, a new creation with new life in Jesus. Born of God. This is what Revelation 20 is speaking of, and this is what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:39
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the first resurrection.

You are making a serious mistake in thinking that subjugation means that the subjugator is King! There's more to being a king than just subjugation. Therefore, the "many verses that tell us Christ’s reign has begun" do nothing of the sort! You have ASSUMED that Christ's reign has begun because of the subjugation! However, such an assumption cannot be truly supported by Scripture. There is nowhere in Scripture that says that Yeshua` is CURRENTLY reigning as King. To the contrary, there are many verses that say He WILL be reigning in the future! As I've said before in other threads, if Yeshua` is currently reigning as King, then He is an extremely impotent King! I am not willing to say that Yeshua` is or will be an impotent King; therefore, my conclusion is that Yeshua` is NOT currently reigning as King.

It's the same sort of argument that I use to say that haSatan (Hebrew for "the Enemy") is NOT currently chained and locked away in the abussos.: IF he is currently chained and locked away in the abussos, the pit with an unsounded bottom, then the chaining and confining is seriously ineffective! I can't imagine that haSatan will have ANY sort of influence when he is so confined; therefore, I conclude that he is NOT currently locked away.

Furthermore, don't use too much symbolism and allegory in your understanding of particular verses. The Scriptures were not meant to be read that way. They were meant to be read literally, understood literally, and prophecies will be fulfilled literally, just as they were at Yeshua`s first coming. Just because we may not understand HOW they will be literally fulfilled doesn't mean they won't be literally fulfilled! One must be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS with an attitude of hypercriticism:

Some believe that the story of Yonah (Jonah) being swallowed by the "whale" of a fish couldn't be true because they have deemed it fiction. And why do they think it's fiction? Because they've never seen it done! They can't imagine there EVER being a fish so big that it could swallow a man whole! (Never mind the fact that Jonah 1:17 says that God "prepared" such a fish for this mission.) Therefore, it must be a fictional story! They never think to add a GOD who can perform miracles into the story! To these hypercritics, a "God who can perform miracles" only serves to PROVE that the story must be fictional! Can you see how such an attitude actually elevates the critic higher than the God of the Scriptures, the creature higher than the Creator, the reader higher than the Author? It's nothing more than SELF IDOLATRY!

This is the same mentality that people have toward Scriptures, if they can't imagine how that a particular verse could be fulfilled literally! Since it is "obvious that it can't be fulfilled literally," then it must have an allegorical interpretation! It must be symbolic or represent something else! Again, one is not letting the Scriptures speak to him; he is imposing upon the Scriptures what HE thinks it really says! Some erroneously and self-righteously call this a "spiritual" interpretation, when it is nothing of the sort!

When one lets the Scriptures speak to him, that is called "exegesis."

When one imposes upon the Scriptures what he thinks it really says, that is called "eisegesis."

Exegesis is the correct way to study the Scriptures. One should ALWAYS allow the Scriptures to speak to him or her; NEVER the reverse! By "literally," by the way, I mean "according to the normal historical and grammatical interpretation of Scripture," which most often does mean "literally." However, a "normal historical and grammatical interpretation" does allow for some analogy and figurative language, just as we have in normal conversation and literature. It just doesn't conclude that all or even nearly all of the Scriptures should be so considered FIRST!

One should not come to a particular passage and immediately ask the question, "What does this really mean?" One should first attempt to understand the passage within its context and with a normative interpretation, assuming first that the author was speaking literally. Only when one has exhausted all possibilities that the author could have been speaking literally should one resort to a figurative understanding of a passage.

Many Christians give up FAR too quickly in this endeavor. I did say "when one has exhausted all possibilities." Thus, we have a HUGE amount of figurative interpretations, as wide and as varied as we have interpreters! But, the farther we get away from a normal historical and grammatical interpretation of Scripture, the wider the variations become! We've left the moorings of a stable, anchoring interpretation of Scripture for a "the sky's the limit" interpretation that has NOTHING to do with the original meaning the author or Author was trying to convey! If the author of a particular passage was present when one was explaining his "spiritual" interpretation of the passage of Scripture, the author could say, "Wow! That's very interesting! I've never seen that before! It's wrong, of course, because I never intended that meaning, but it's still interesting how you got to that conclusion!"

The background of each of the passages you've quoted above needs to be investigated BEFORE you try to piece them together! They are not just automatically going to fit together like pieces of a puzzle. If you try, you will get a cubistic, hodge-podge collage of items that are vaguely similar but were never meant to be pieced together! For instance, one must consider WHEN in history did Luke 10:17 occur? What event or events surrounded this statement? Is it truly global in scope or was it more specific, limited in scope to a particular instance in history? CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING!