What is the first resurrection and who has part in it?
This is a question that must be answered in order not to miss an important truth in scripture.
One answered well, but it was dismissed, so I will just give something for you to consider concerning the First Resurrection.
First, when we see the First Resurrection spoken of...
Revelation 20
1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3And cast him into the bottomless pit, 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.
4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls 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 and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
...we will notice some interesting points.
1-Satan is bound for a 100 years. While this might be considered an "undetermined length of time" by some, I ask that we be shown in scripture where a specific time is given and it also is taken to mean something other than what is means.
2-Satan is released after a specific amount of time.
3-Clearly the "souls" of v. 4 are Tribulation martyrs, as the phrase "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" tells us not that they are, but
no-one other than those who died according to these exact specifications are mentioned.
We see a few things we can consider:
A-they were Killed for the witness of Jesus Christ, clearly placing these individuals after the Cross of Christ.
B-they had not worshipped the beast, clearly placing them within the period that "the beast" is upon the earth. And while "the beast" is spiritualized by some, Revelation places his entrance within the Tribulation period.
C-They had not received his mark. I have seen some great commentary stating this to mean that this speaks of evil deeds of the mind (forehead) and evils acts (hands), but, when we consider that Revelation places these events in a specific time period, rather than a spiritualized hodge-podge leaving interpretation to unending possibilities, I tend to reject that. All prophecy has been fulfilled in a manner in which specific events took place, rather than a general spiritualized fulfillment.
D-these are resurrected.
4-This is said to be the
First Resurrection.
Says it right there, right? This is the first one, so that ends it.
Not quite.
The first thing to consider (no pun intended) about this is the word first, for obvious reasons.
Let's look at a few uses of this word (see link to see Strong's def and biblical usage):
Matthew 20:27
King James Version (KJV)
27And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
First, we can see that this word can refer to a headship, as this verse, I think, carries the meaning of several verses where Christ speaks of the first and the last.
Mark 14:12
King James Version (KJV)
12And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
Are we to take this as scriptural evidence that Israel did not, in reality, celebrate the "First" day of unleavened bread until this particular year?
A rigid interpretation would demand this, right? If we forget that we are dealing with a book in which that which is taught must not contradict itself.
And one more example, and my favorite:
Hebrews 8:7
King James Version (KJV)
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Those that have studied Hebrews will know that the insertion of covenant is justified, for that is what is referred to here, without doubting.
They will also know that what the First Covenant refers to is the Covenant of Law, or, the Mosaic Covenant.
Was that indeed the first covenant? No, but it was the First Covenant.
What is the first resurrection and who has part in it?
The member that gave verses referring to the Rapture was indeed correct.
The First Resurrection speaks of the resurrection of the just, of those that are saved.
By the time we get to the First Resurrection of Revelation 20, we can see two that take place before this particular resurrection, leading one to conclude that First is a reference to the type, not the timing, of this resurrection.
The first event of resurrection is of course the Rapture, which I firmly believe will take place before the Tribulation period.
This is a debatable position, of course, and I love my post-trib brothers, but, I believe they are wrong, sorry.
The second recorded resurrection that takes place we see here:
Revelation 11:11-12
King James Version (KJV)
11And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
They are resurrected, and ascend unto heaven. Kind of like how the Rapture is described...isn't it?
Insistence that the resurrection must take place on the last day does not preclude that the reference spoke of an age. A pre-trib Rapture will accomodate a resurrection at the end of the age we are presently in, a post-trib resurrection the end of the Tribulation, and a resurrection at the end of the Millennial Kingdom at the end of another age.
So when this:
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18
King James Version (KJV)
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16For 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:
17Then 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.
18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
...is offered as an example of the First Resurrection, don't be so hasty to dismiss the notion. We see that resurrection is the subject at hand, however, we see nothing concerning martyrs, nor is this group secluded to membership of those
who have died for Christ's sake.
What is the first resurrection and who has part in it?
The first resurrection describes the glorification of the saints, independant of timing.
Only those that have received Christ in this life will partake of the First Resurrection.
Those that reject Christ will suffer the second death. Also descriptive of something...eternal separation from God.
Okay, submitted for consideration.
God bless.
