Then, I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them—both the souls of the ones having been beheaded because of the witness of Jesus and through the word of God, and the same who did not throw themselves prostrate in homage to the beast nor the image of it, and did not receive the etched mark upon their forehead or upon their hand—and they became alive and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The remaining dead did not become alive until the thousand years would be completed. This is the first resurrection.
Supremely blessed and holy the one having a share in the first resurrection, upon these the second death does not have authority, but rather they will be the priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6
The Premillennial and Amillennial views were covered last week (see the recap below).
Premillennial
Expositors read this passage as a literal description of a time yet to come. John received a prophetic vision of Jesus reigning victoriously on earth for a thousand earthly years. Christ will be surrounded by believers from every era who have been raised up into physical bodies in the first resurrection in order to rule with him. Those seated upon thrones will be given authority to judge the people of earth (though exactly who are seated on thrones is not clear)
Amillennial
Rather than a physical resurrection, John was gazing upon all the faithful who had passed from earthly life into eternal existence to be enjoyed in a blessed spiritual state in heaven. There will be a physical resurrection, but this first resurrection must be spiritual as elsewhere the Bible states there will be only one physical resurrection of all mortals on the Last Day. To reign with Christ speaks of the Christian Era, now two millennia long.
f. 26v: The First Resurrection | By Anonymous – Public Domain
Postmillennial
Similarly to amillennial thinking, some theologians in this camp see the thousand years as metaphorical, speaking of a long period of time in which ultimately the church worldwide will reach its ascendancy. The whole earth will eventually be under the blessing of Christian rule, all the nations of the world will enjoy the benefits of living by Christ’s commands, ethos, values, and morality.
The First Resurrection
Unlike premillennialists, who view the first resurrection as a literal raising up of all the faithful to physical bodies, interpreters suggest the first resurrection may refer to
- The regeneration that happens when someone puts their faith in Jesus, the experience of being born anew from above.
- The passing from earthly life (through the experience of earthly death) into a spiritual state of eternal life with God in heaven, filled with blessing.
- Jesus’s own resurrection, the “first born from the dead,” the “first fruits of those who have died,” which opened the way for all believers to be raised up.
Supremely blessed and holy the one having a share in the first resurrection are all those who have a part in Jesus’s resurrection, and those already in heaven (as John saw) live as testimony of the eternal life awaiting those still on earth.
The Martyrs’ Reign
Others point to the extreme persecution of Christians in the early history of the church, and the “rebirth” of the Jesus movement after many had been martyred for its cause. The first resurrection would refer to the martyrs’ exaltation in joy and victory to the throne of Christ to reign with him over the now thriving and burgeoning church.
Or, perhaps, this first resurrection indicates will be a resurgence of the towering faith of those first generations of Christians. It will be a revival like none experienced before in history. Christians will become fully conscious of and embrace the divine empowering of the Holy Spirit. They will live triumphant over every evil, the gospel will prevail like never before, and the power of Satan rendered impotent. Believers will live sanctified and glorified internally, and societies will no longer suffer the ills brought on by succumbing to Satan’s dark spiritual forces.
Τελέω | teleō, to Execute, Perform, Complete, Fulfill
Possibly, because of the full reign of Christ through the church, those who are allied in some way with evil, or with Satan, or who do not respond in faith to the gospel, will not have the strength to resist the mighty work of the Spirit in Christians’ lives.
But there will be an endpoint to this gradual increase of Christian influence. When the thousand year timeframe has been executed, successfully completed, performed to the full, then a shift will occur in human history. Satan will be released from his constraints, and the power of darkness will be redoubled to opposed the light.
Reign of the Saints
There can be a “both / and” meaning in John’s vision. Those who are enthroned in heaven rule with Christ.
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 2:5-6 (NRSVUE, italics added)
While at the same time, Christians on earth also exercise dominion and governance.
“And the one conquering and the one keeping My works until the end, I will give to that one jurisdiction over the nations,
“and that one will shepherd them like a staff of iron as the vessels of potters are shattered”
“And You created them for our God, a kingdom and priests, and they will reign upon the earth.”
Then the seventh angel sounded a trumpet: and there came mighty voices in heaven saying: The kingdom of the cosmos became [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign into the ages of the ages.
Revelation 2:26-27; 5:10; 11:15
Having been raised by faith into Christ’s resurrection, some commentators believe Christians now are commissioned to establish Christ’s rule on earth—as Christians have been doing for centuries, wherever they have established governments. This is, in fact, what the Puritans sought to do as religious refugees to the New World three hundred years ago: to establish a Christian nation.
To this end, the theocracy established in the Hebrew Bible acts as a template for Christians today in terms of civic government. To establish Mosaic Law as God’s divine standard prepares the way for all earth to one day recognize Christ’s rule.
May all kings fall down before him,
Psalm 72:11 (NRSVUE)
all nations give him service.
The three millennial views are taken from Revelation: Four Views A Parallel Commentary, edited by Steve Gregg
