OceanSide church of Christ
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THE FIRST RESURRECTION
Victor M. Eskew
Revelation 20 is one of the most challenging chapters of the Bible. It is challenging because this chapter
has been used to promulgate the false doctrine of Premillennialism. It is also challenging because it is
highly figurative, and the figures are not clearly defined by
inspiration.
The chapter begins with the words:
“And I saw…” The apostle
John is seeing a vision revealed to him by God. In John 20:1-3, he sees the Devil cast
into a bottomless pit for a thousand year period. In verse 4, John’s attention is turned
to “the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God.” These martyrs had
been raised to sit upon thrones, “and judgment was given unto them…and they
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” In John 20:5, John refers to this as
“the first resurrection.” The
question that this article seeks to answer is: “What is this first
resurrection?”
As we answer this question, let us keep two points in mind that are made
at the outset of the book of Revelation.
First, this is a book written in figurative language. In Revelation 1:1, we are told that
Jesus “sent and signified” the
message “by his angel unto his servant John” (emp. mine, vme). Second, many of the things described in
this book were to “shortly come to pass” (Rev. 1:1; 22:6). This point has been lost by many who
interpret this book. They would
have us to believe that almost all the events of Revelation are still
future. With these things said,
let’s seek to understand the first resurrection.
It is important to realize that this resurrection has to do with those
who were “beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God.” It was this group that was raised to sit
upon thrones. They lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.
They were involved in the first resurrection. This is not a resurrection of all the
righteous dead as the theory of Premillennialism
asserts.
The first time we are introduced to these martyrs is in Revelation
6. The seals of the book were being
opened by the Lamb of God. “And
when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that
were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9-10). Roman opposition against the church was
growing stronger. Many Christians
were losing their lives to the Roman sword. For a period of time, it looked as
though the cause was faltering. It
seemed that
In Revelation 20, things are different. The martyrs are raised (resurrected) to
sit upon thrones. Judgment is given
unto them. It is no longer in the
hands of their oppressors. They are
living the reigning with Christ.
The cause of Christ is no longer dying. It is alive and growing by leaps and
bounds. Figuratively, the cause was
raised from the dead.
The Revelation presents two different pictures of the martyred
saints. In one picture, they are
crouched under the altar wondering, “How long?” In next picture, they are raised to sit
on thrones and reign with Jesus Christ.
Even though the cause of Christ seemed to be dead at one point, it would
live again. It would be resurrected
to vibrant life. This is the first
resurrection. What a message to
Christians who were suffering, even to the point of death, under the intense
persecution of the