TRV
Translation
King James Version
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Complete Jewish Bible
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first resurrection.
Berean Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection.
American Standard Version
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.
World English Bible Messianic
The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Geneva Bible (1599)
But the rest of the dead men shall not liue againe, vntill the thousand yeres be finished: this is the first resurrection.
Young's Literal Translation
and the rest of the dead did not live again till the thousand years may be finished; this is the first rising again.
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In the KJVVerse 31,044 of 31,102
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Commentary on Revelation 20 verses 1–10
1 ¶ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And 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.
4 And 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.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 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.
9 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.
10 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 for ever and ever.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
We have here, I. A prophecy of the binding of Satan for a certain term of time, in which he should have much less power and the church much more peace than before. The power of Satan was broken in part by the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the world; it was further reduced by the empire's becoming Christian; it was yet further broken by the downfall of the mystical Babylon; but still this serpent had many heads, and, when one is wounded, another has life remaining in it. Here we have a further limitation and diminution of his power. Observe, 1. To whom this work of binding Satan is committed - to an angel from heaven. It is very probable that this angel is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ; the description of him will hardly agree with any other. He is one who has power to bind the strong man armed, to cast him out, and to spoil his goods; and therefore must be stronger than he. 2. The means he makes use of in this work: he has a chain and a key, a great chain to bind Satan, and the key of the prison in which he was to be confined. Christ never wants proper powers and instruments to break the power of Satan, for he has the powers of heaven and the keys of hell. 3. The execution of this work, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3. (1.) He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan. Neither the strength of the dragon, nor the subtlety of the serpent, was sufficient to rescue him out of the hands of Christ; he caught hold, and kept his hold. And, (2.) He cast him into the bottomless pit, cast him down with force, and with a just vengeance, to his own place and prison, from which he had been permitted to break out, and disturb the churches, and deceive the nations; now he is brought back to that prison, and there laid in chains. (3.) He is shut up, and a seal set upon him. Christ shuts, and none can open; he shuts by his power, seals by his authority; and his lock and seal even the devils themselves cannot break open. (4.) We have the term of this confinement of Satan - a thousand years, after which he was to be loosed again for a little season. The church should have a considerable time of peace and prosperity, but all her trials were not yet over.
II. An account of the reign of the saints for the same space of time in which Satan continued bound (Rev 20:4-6), and here observe,
1.Who those were that received such honour - those who had suffered for Christ, and all who had faithfully adhered to him, not receiving the mark of the beast, nor worshipping his image; all who had kept themselves clear of pagan and papal idolatry.
2.The honour bestowed upon them. (1.) They were raised from the dead, and restored to life. This may be taken either literally or figuratively; they were in a civil and political sense dead, and had a political resurrection; their liberties and privileges were revived and restored. (2.) Thrones, and power of judgment, were given to them; they were possessed of great honour, and interest, and authority, I suppose rather of a spiritual than of a secular nature. (3.) They reigned with Christ a thousand years. Those who suffer with Christ shall reign with Christ; they shall reign with him in his spiritual and heavenly kingdom, in a glorious conformity to him in wisdom, righteousness, and holiness, beyond what had been known before in the world. This is called the first resurrection, which none but those who have served Christ and suffered for him shall be favoured with. As for the wicked, they shall not be raised up and restored to their power again, till Satan be let loose; this may be called a resurrection, as the conversion of the Jews is said to be life from the dead.
3.The happiness of these servants of God is declared. (1.) They are blessed and holy, Rev 20:6. None can be blessed but those that are holy; and all that are holy shall be blessed. These were holy as a sort of first-fruits to God in this spiritual resurrection, and as such blessed by him. (2.) They are secured from the power of the second death. We know something of what the first death is, and it is awful; but we know not what this second death is. It must be much more dreadful; it is the death of the soul, eternal separation from God. The Lord grant we may never know what it is by experience. Those who have had experience of a spiritual resurrection are saved from the power of the second death.
III. An account of the return of the church's troubles, and another mighty conflict, very sharp, but short and decisive. Observe, 1. The restraints laid for a long time on Satan are at length taken off. While this world lasts, Satan's power in it will not be wholly destroyed; it may be limited and lessened, but he will have something still to do for the disturbance of the people of God. 2. No sooner is Satan let loose than he falls to his old work, deceiving the nations, and so stirring them up to make a war with the saints and servants of God, which they would never do if he had not first deceived them. They are deceived both as to the cause they engage in (they believe it to be a good cause when it is indeed a very bad one), and as to the issue: they expect to be successful, but are sure to lose the day. 3. His last efforts seem to be the greatest. The power now permitted to him seems to be more unlimited than before. He had now liberty to beat up for his volunteers in all the four quarters of the earth, and he raised a mighty army, the number of which was as the sand of the sea, Rev 20:8. 4. We have the names of the principal commanders in this army under the dragon - Gog and Magog. We need not be too inquisitive as to what particular powers are meant by these names, since the army was gathered from all parts of the world. These names are found in other parts of scripture. Magog we read of in Gen 10:2. He was one of the sons of Japheth, and peopled the country called Syria, from which his descendants spread into many other parts. Of Gog and Magog together we only read in Eze 38:2, a prophecy whence this in Revelation borrows many of its images. 5. We have the march and military disposition of this formidable army (Rev 20:9.): They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city, that is, the spiritual Jerusalem, in which the most precious interests of the people of God are lodged, and therefore to them a beloved city. The army of the saints is described as drawn forth out of the city, and lying under the walls of it, to defend it; they were encamped about Jerusalem: but the army of the enemy was so much superior to that of the church that they compassed them and their city about. 6. You have an account of the battle, and the issue of this war: Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured the enemy. Thus the ruin of Gog and Magog is foretold (Eze 38:22), I will rain upon him and upon his bands an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, and fire and brimstone. God would, in an extraordinary and more immediate manner, fight this last and decisive battle for his people, that the victory might be complete and the glory redound to himself. 7. The doom and punishment of the grand enemy, the devil: he is now cast into hell, with his two great officers, the beast and the false prophet, tyranny and idolatry, and that not for any term of time, but to be there tormented night and day, for ever and ever.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–10. Public domain.
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Papias of Hierapolis (as quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea, AD 339)AD 130
Church History (Book III), Chapter 39, Section 12
There will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and... the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth.
Justin MartyrAD 165
Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter LXXX
But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.
Victorinus of PettauAD 304
Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
Therefore they are not to be heard who assure themselves that there is to be an earthly reign of a thousand years; who think, that is to say, with the heretic Cerinthus. For the kingdom of Christ is now eternal in the saints, although the glory of the saints shall be manifested after the resurrection.
Victorinus of PettauAD 304
Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
"And I saw thrones, and them that sate upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were slain on account of the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast nor his image, nor have received his writing on their forehead or in their hand; and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years: the rest of them lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." There are two resurrections. But the first resurrection is now of the souls that are by the faith, which does not permit men to pass over to the second death. Of this resurrection the apostle says: "If ye have risen with Christ, seek those things which are above."
Eusebius of CaesareaAD 339
Church History (Book III), Chapter 39, Sections 12-13
To these belong his [Papias] statement that there will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth. I suppose he got these ideas through a misunderstanding of the apostolic accounts, not perceiving that the things said by them were spoken mystically in figures.
For he appears to have been of very limited understanding, as one can see from his discourses. But it was due to him that so many of the Church Fathers after him adopted a like opinion, urging in their own support the antiquity of the man; as for instance Irenæus and any one else that may have proclaimed similar views.
JeromeAD 420
De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men)
He [Papias] is said to have published a 'Second coming of Our Lord or Millennium'. Irenæus and Apollinaris and others who say that after the resurrection the Lord will reign in the flesh with the saints, follow him. Tertullian also in his work 'On the hope of the faithful', Victorinus of Petau and Lactantius follow this view.
JeromeAD 420
St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SEVEN
[Daniel 7:17-18] "These four great beasts are the four kingdoms which shall arise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High God shall take the kingdom." The four kingdoms of which we have spoken above were earthly in character. "For everything which is of the earth shall return to earth" (Ecclesiastes 3:20). But the saints shall never possess an earthly kingdom, but only a heavenly. Away, then, with the fable about a millennium! (Revelation 20:4-6)
"...And they shall possess the kingdom unto eternity, even forever and ever..." If this be taken to refer to the Maccabees, the advocate of this position should explain how the kingdom of the Maccabees is of a perpetual character.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
City of God 20.9
Compare [John’s] other words: “The hour is coming, and now is here, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live”—implying that the rest of the dead (who do not hear) will “not come to life.” The added clause, “until the thousand years were finished,” means that during that time “the rest of the dead” did “not come to life” as they should by passing over from death to life. Therefore, in the day of the body’s resurrection, they will go forth from their tombs, not to life but to “judgment,” meaning that condemnation that is called the second death. Anyone at all who will have failed to “come to life” during this millennium, this whole era of the first resurrection, by not hearing “the voice of the Son of God” and by not passing from death to life will certainly, when the second and bodily resurrection comes, pass to the second death, body and soul together.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Enchiridion 92
Whoever are not liberated from that mass of perdition (brought to pass through the first man) by the one Mediator between God and humankind, they will also rise again, each in his own flesh, but only that they may be punished together with the devil and his angels. Whether these people will rise again with all their faults and deformities, with their diseased and deformed members—is there any reason for us to labor such a question? For obviously the uncertainty about their bodily form and beauty need not weary us, since their damnation is certain and eternal. And let us not be moved to inquire how their body can be incorruptible if it can suffer—or corruptible if it cannot die. For there is no true life unless it be lived in happiness; no true incorruptibility save where health is unscathed by pain. But where an unhappy being is not allowed to die, then death itself, so to say, dies not; and where pain perpetually afflicts but never destroys, corruption goes on endlessly. This state is called, in the Scripture, “the second death.”
Augustine of HippoAD 430
City of God 20.9
Anyone who thus participates [in the first resurrection] is one who not only rises from the death of sin but also perseveres in his newfound life. “Over these,” says John, “the second death has no power.” Therefore, it has power over all the others of whom he said above: “The rest of the dead did not come to life till the thousand years were finished.” They may have lived long enough in their bodies, in the period John calls the “thousand years,” but they did not rise from the binding death of their ungodliness. If they had, they would have shared in the first resurrection and thus escaped the power of the second death.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
The rest of the dead. Now this resurrection regards not the body, but the soul. For souls, too, have a death of their own in wickedness and sins, whereby they are the dead of whom the same lips say, Let the dead to bury their dead, Matthew 8:22— that is, let those who are dead in soul bury them that are dead in body. It is of these dead, then— the dead in ungodliness and wickedness— that He says, 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. They that hear, that is, they who obey, believe, and persevere to the end. Here no difference is made between the good and the bad. For it is good for all men to hear His voice and live, by passing to the life of godliness from the death of ungodliness. Of this death the Apostle Paul says, Therefore all are dead, and He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Thus all, without one exception, were dead in sins, whether original or voluntary sins, sins of ignorance, or sins committed against knowledge;
Caesarius of ArlesAD 542
EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:5, HOMILY 18
[The first resurrection] is that by which we rise through baptism. As the apostle says, “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things which are above.” And again he says, “living as [those who have been brought to life] from the dead.” For sin is death, as the apostle says, “when you were dead through trespasses and sins.” Therefore, just as the first death is in this life because of sin, so also the first resurrection is in this life through the remission of sins.
Apringius of BejaAD 600
TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:5
“Until the thousand years were ended,” that is, until such time as the sacrament of the faith and the mystery of the cross is perfected in them and that those who are beginning to flourish might appear in their eternal blessedness. “The rest of the dead did not come to life.” He did not say, “they did not arise again,” but that they did not come to life, because without joy and happiness, and without the reward of eternity, in their torments they shall be regarded as though dead. “This is the first resurrection.” That is to say, the happiness of the saints and their reward; for it is said to be the “first” because of its splendor and its preeminence.
Apringius of BejaAD 600
TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:6
He indicates that those over whom the second death has power did not come to life. To be sure, they have been resurrected unto the second death, that is, they have been damned to the lake of fire, even as it is stated in the psalms: “As though living he swallows them as in anger.” Indeed, concerning those over whom the second death has no power, it says, “they shall be priests of God and they shall reign with him a thousand years.” All those who shall have been in the congregation of the saints, shall be called saints, and they shall be priests of Christ our God, and they shall reign with him in the strength of the cross and in the sovereignty of his might.
Andreas of CaesareaAD 614
COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:5-6
From the holy Scriptures we are taught that there are two lives and two deaths. The first life, which is after the transgression of the commandment, is temporary and fleshly. The [second] life is eternal and is promised to the saints because of Christ’s obedience to the divine commandments. Likewise, there are two deaths. The first is that of the flesh and is temporary. The other is eternal and is the reward for sins. It occurs in the age to come; this is the Gehenna of fire. We also know a distinction among the dead. There are the accused, of whom Isaiah wrote, “The dead shall not see life.” These are those persons who by their deeds bring upon themselves both stench and death. There are … the praiseworthy, who in Christ put to death the deeds of the body and crucified themselves with Christ and died to the world. The dead who are rejected, who were not buried with Christ and did not rise with him through baptism but who remained in that death which comes through sins, they shall not live with him until the completion of the thousand years, that is, that perfect number that extends from his first appearance until his second, glorious appearance.… Having been born only from the earth and not from the Spirit, these return to the earth. Their death becomes the beginning of the punishment coming to them. However, those who have a portion in the first resurrection, that is, in the rising from thoughts that bring death and from dead works, these are blessed, for the second death, that is, the unending torment, shall have no power over them.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Revelation
This is the first resurrection. Indeed, by which we rise again through baptism, as the Apostle says: If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above (Col. 3). For just as the first death in this life is through sins, when the soul that sins shall die, so also the first resurrection in this life is through the forgiveness of sins.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Revelation
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. Whoever, during this whole time when the first resurrection, that is, of souls, is happening, has not heard the voice of the Son of God and has passed from death to life, will surely pass, in the second resurrection, which is of the flesh, into the second death, that is, eternal torments, with that very flesh.
OecumeniusAD 990
Commentary on Revelation
And concerning the rest of the dead he says they did not live again until the thousand years are completed. He calls dead those who have remained in unbelief, about whom also the Lord said, "let the dead bury their own dead." (Matt. 8:22)
Therefore, the unbelievers did not live the spiritual life until the time of the Incarnation is fulfilled, which is the thousand years; for after these things they lived. How? By the visitation and presence of the Holy Spirit. For then most of the Jews will have believed in Christ, those who did not believe in him when he was present bodily among them. For the matter was administered in the most divine way, and beyond what human reason could have hoped for; for in the Old Covenant the Father was proclaimed and known, and by the Incarnation and the countless divine signs and powers the Son was proclaimed; but the Holy Spirit had not yet been clearly revealed to men. But only a word about the Spirit existed in the Old Covenant, and there was no work that was evident and perceptible, nothing that most of all leads people to faith, as with the Son, although it was known to those who had advanced into the depths of contemplation. That indeed all things that have been done and fashioned by the Holy Trinity have been accomplished, and the Lord clearly presents this, where he says "the Father gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak," (Jn. 12:49) and again: "I can do nothing from myself," (Jn. 8:28) bringing the things that happen into the Trinity; and again to John: "the Son of man cannot do anything of himself unless he sees the Father doing it," (Jn. 5:19) and he further confirms: "if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God." (Matt. 12:28) But since, as has been said, the work of the Holy Spirit was not perceptible to people, he arranged that almost all people should receive faith in Christ by the visitation and power of the Paraclete and of God the Father, so that indeed the consubstantial and equal-to-all relation of the Son to the Father might become clear. It is needless to say that in the whole period of the Incarnation there are recorded not more than one hundred and twenty who had believed; for the Acts specify so many gathered together in the upper room. (Acts 1:15)
Even if the power of Christ's teaching has been proven to many, faith in that presence was preserved by the Spirit. Therefore, one might find, as with a scattered seed, that whenever rain comes and the sun shines, all the formerly hidden and unnoticed seeds in the earth then spring up, clearly showing that they had entirely been committed to the earth; so it occurs with the visitation of the Holy Spirit. All those to whom the Lord's teaching was sown have risen toward faith.
Therefore, it is said more precisely in the Revelation that the rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years should be completed. This, he says, is the first resurrection, namely the resurrection of faith; for the second will be the universal resurrection of bodies.
Nicholas of LyraAD 1349
until the thousand years were finished. That is, the time of Christ; for they will rise with others at the end of the world to be punished simultaneously in body and spirit.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Revelation 20:5 serves as a crucial clarifying statement within John's apocalyptic vision, delineating the timing and nature of the "first resurrection" in contrast to the general resurrection of all other deceased individuals. It explicitly states that the "rest of the dead" will not experience resurrection until the completion of the thousand-year period, thereby distinguishing the blessed resurrection of the saints, described in the preceding verse, as chronologically and qualitatively distinct from the later resurrection unto judgment. This verse is foundational for understanding the sequence of eschatological events, particularly the millennial reign of Christ and the ultimate fate of humanity.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse immediately follows Revelation 20:4 which describes those who were martyred for their faith in Jesus and for God's word, and those who refused to worship the Beast or his image. These individuals are explicitly stated to "live and reign with Christ a thousand years." Revelation 20:5 then acts as a crucial parenthetical clarification, ensuring that readers understand that the resurrection of these faithful ones is a unique event, distinct from the resurrection of all other deceased individuals. It sets up the subsequent description of the blessedness of those who participate in this "first resurrection" in Revelation 20:6, before the narrative shifts to the final battle and the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:7-15.
Historical & Cultural Context: The concept of resurrection was not new to Jewish thought, with various streams of Judaism holding differing views on its nature and timing. The Old Testament hints at a future resurrection (Daniel 12:2), and by the time of Jesus, the Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection, while the Sadducees denied it. Early Christian communities, deeply rooted in Jewish eschatological expectations, understood resurrection as central to their faith, particularly in light of Christ's own resurrection. John's vision in Revelation 20, however, introduces a specific chronological sequence of resurrections, which would have been a significant development for its original audience, many of whom were facing severe persecution under the Roman Empire. The idea of a "first resurrection" would have offered immense hope and vindication to those suffering for their faith, promising them a special share in Christ's future reign.
Key Themes: Revelation 20:5 is central to several key themes within the Book of Revelation and broader biblical eschatology. Foremost is the theme of Resurrection, particularly the distinction between a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment, echoing themes found in John 5:28-29. It firmly establishes the concept of Two Distinct Resurrections, separating the righteous from the unrighteous chronologically. This verse also underpins the Millennial Reign of Christ, explicitly stating the "thousand years" as a defined period during which the "rest of the dead" remain deceased, thereby reinforcing the idea of a literal earthly reign of Christ with His saints. Finally, it speaks to the theme of Divine Justice and Vindication, assuring believers that those who suffer for Christ will be specially honored, while the wicked will face their ultimate reckoning after this distinct period.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The primary literary device at play in Revelation 20:5 is Contrast. The verse sharply contrasts "the rest of the dead" with those who "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" in the preceding verse. This juxtaposition highlights the exclusivity and blessed nature of the "first resurrection" for believers, setting it apart from the later resurrection of the unrighteous. Additionally, Temporal Specificity is crucial, as the phrase "until the thousand years were finished" provides a precise chronological anchor, structuring the eschatological timeline. The declarative statement, "This [is] the first resurrection," functions as a Definitive Clarification, ensuring the reader understands the unique nature and timing of this event within the broader narrative of final judgment and new creation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Revelation 20:5 is a cornerstone for understanding Christian eschatology, particularly regarding the sequence of resurrections and the nature of the millennial reign. It unequivocally establishes a chronological distinction between the resurrection of believers, termed "the first resurrection," and the resurrection of the unrighteous. This separation underscores God's meticulous justice and His divine order in bringing about His redemptive plan. The "first resurrection" is not merely a chronological marker but a theological statement about the blessed and privileged status of those who belong to Christ, particularly those who have suffered for their faith. It highlights the unique reward and vindication awaiting faithful believers, contrasting sharply with the delayed and condemnatory resurrection awaiting the rest of humanity after the millennium.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Revelation 20:5 offers profound hope and a clear perspective on the future for believers. The "first resurrection" is a promise of a bodily return to life, not for judgment, but for reigning with Christ. This truth should inspire unwavering faithfulness, especially in the face of persecution or tribulation, knowing that our ultimate destiny is not merely survival but participation in Christ's glorious reign. It reminds us that God's justice is perfect and meticulously executed; while the wicked may seem to prosper now, their resurrection will be for judgment, not for life and reign. For us, this verse cultivates a deep sense of gratitude for God's grace, which includes us in this blessed hope, and it compels us to live lives worthy of this calling, persevering in our testimony and commitment to Christ, confident in the future vindication and reward that awaits those who are truly His.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the "thousand years" mentioned in this verse?
Answer: The "thousand years," often referred to as the millennium, signifies a literal period of one thousand years during which Christ will reign on earth with His resurrected saints. Revelation 20:5 explicitly states that "the rest of the dead" (i.e., the unrighteous) will not be resurrected until after this period is finished, thereby establishing a clear chronological framework for end-time events. This period is distinct from the eternal state and serves as a time of Christ's visible, righteous rule on earth, following His second coming and preceding the final judgment.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Revelation 20:5, while describing a future eschatological event, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ Himself. The "first resurrection" is not merely a chronological event but a participation in the resurrection life of Christ, who is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). His resurrection from the dead inaugurated a new creation and secured the promise of resurrection for all who believe in Him. Those who participate in this "first resurrection" do so because they are "in Christ" (Romans 6:5), having been spiritually resurrected with Him through faith (Ephesians 2:5-6). Their physical resurrection is the culmination of their union with Him, allowing them to share not only in His life but also in His reign, fulfilling the promise that "if we endure, we will also reign with Him" (2 Timothy 2:12). Thus, the "first resurrection" is a direct outflow of Christ's victory over death and a testament to His sovereign Lordship over all creation and history.