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.
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.