What is meant by the “first resurrection?”

    "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5a). Now notice carefully, the Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints, and the Tribulation martyrs "live" at the beginning of the Millennium. And this is called "the first resurrection." While the words "second resurrection" or "last resurrection" do not occur in the text, it is made perfectly clear that there is another resurrection. John says, " But the rest of the dead did not “live” again until the thousand years were finished." The Scripture teaches two resurrections, separated by 1000 years.

    Now notice who is raised in the first resurrection: only believers! "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6). They are the same group we met in verse 4: Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, and Tribulation martyrs.

    Now that raises a question. Are these all raised at the same time after the Tribulation? Please note this carefully: The first resurrection is not an isolated event. It is an order of resurrections including ultimately all the righteous dead who are raised before the Millennium begins. They are first in comparison to those who are last, the unbelievers who are raised after the Millennium to stand before the Great White Throne.

    There is an order to the first resurrection, and we need to remember that. First, there is Christ. And that resurrection was almost 2000 years ago. Second, the saints of this Church Age (1^st. Thessalonians 4:13-16) who shall be raised at the Rapture before the Tribulation. Third, Old Testament saints and Tribulation martyrs, who shall be raised at the end of the Tribulation to enjoy the Millennium.

    Now, just as there are two resurrections (first and last), so there are two deaths: physical death and what the Scriptures call the second death. The second death is defined for us in Revelation 20:13. It says, "And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hades delivered up the dead that were in them, and they were judged, every man according to their works. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast down into the lake of fire."

    The second death is a reference to eternal judgment. The lake of fire. So those who are a part of the first resurrection shall reign with Christ. Those who are a part of the second resurrection shall experience eternal agony in the lake of fire.

Now you don't have to wait for the second resurrection. That's the best news I have for you today. 

The 1000-year Reign

    Premillennialism, is the view that Christ will return before the Millennium. He will return to the earth before this 1000-year reign and He personally will establish it. While there are different approaches and different emphases among Pre-millennialists, the most widely held form understands the Millennium as a literal 1000 year period during which Christ will reign on earth as the supreme spiritual and political leader, fulfilling the many Old Testament promises concerning a kingdom on earth in which the nation Israel is prominent and the Gentile nations are blessed. I believe the Apostle John has inserted a chronological note at progressive stages through this revelation that makes the order of events conclusive, and unquestionably substantiates the doctrine of Premillennialism. That phrase is "And I saw." Look at its use at key intervals;

In Revelation 19:11, he saw heaven open and Christ return. In Revelation 19:17 and the following verses he saw the downfall of the beast and his armies. In Revelation 20:1, he sees Satan bound. In Revelation 20:4, he sees believers reigning with Christ. In Revelation 20:11 and 12, he sees a great white throne and the final judgment of unbelievers. These events build on one another, each succeeding event depending on the one that preceded it. Such chronological notes like “until the thousand years were finished” in Revelation 20:5 and “when the thousand years are ended” in Revelation 20:7 make it clear that John in relating the events in their proper order.

    There is no way to interpret or symbolize these words and say that these words do not mean what they say (yet that is what Amillennialists and Postmillennialists do). If you believe that these words mean what they say, then this demands a Premillennialist viewpoint. I believe firmly in the Premillennial point of view because I believe very strongly that the Scripture teaches it. There is no question that Christ is going to come back before the Millennium to establish His kingdom on earth. The repetition of the words "thousand years" six times over in Revelation 20:1-7 would leave no doubt but that God wanted us to understand this as a literal period of time.

    The Millennium is the subject of Revelation 20:1-6, and what we are told here is simply that during this Millennium, we shall reign with Christ. This is just the beginning. That reign will last forever. At the conclusion of the Millennium, time ceases and the eternal state begins. Of course, eternity is in existence today above the framework of time, but time will stop and the reign will go on forever. The book of Revelation says that. This is not contradictory. We're simply studying the initial phase on earth in time. But over in Revelation 22:5, we read concerning eternity, that there shall be no night and they need no lamp or have need for the light of the sun because the Lord God gives them light and they--there's that "they" again; --they shall reign forever and ever. More on this next week...

The Wedding Supper continues;

Who is the Bridegroom? The question has but one answer. The Bridegroom can only be "the king's son" of the Parable, the Lord Jesus Himself. In John 3:29, long after John the Baptist had introduced Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world", John was asked to identify himself. He made it clear that he was not the Christ, he referred to Christ as "the bridegroom," and to himself as: "the friend who attends the bridegroom [and who] waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice." Clearly Christ is here referred to as the Bridegroom as well at the Lamb. Thus, Christ is the Bridegroom at the marriage of the Lamb.

Who is the Bride? A verse of importance is found in Ephesians 5:32. The Apostle Paul, speaking to husbands and wives of their relationship together, likens the husband to Christ and the wife to the Church. He sums it up (in verse 32) by saying, "This is a profound mystery: but I am talking about Christ and the church", clearly indicating that the perfect picture of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and His Church is that of a bride and a bridegroom. Therefore, when a person accepts Jesus Christ, he or she becomes a member of the Church, the true invisible Church, and is automatically espoused or engaged to Christ. This engagement will be finalized at the marriage of the Lamb.

Where and When Will This Marriage Take Place? The marriage of the Lamb must take place in heaven, for in Revelation 19:11, after the marriage of the Lamb and the marriage supper of the Lamb, we find the Lord Jesus coming in what we call "the Glorious Appearing" to set up His kingdom. For this reason, we must conclude that the marriage and the supper have occurred in heaven. Their location in Revelation chapter 19, shows these events to have taken place at the end of the Tribulation, just before the millennial reign of Christ on the earth. Ephesians 5:27 indicates the manner in which the Bride will be presented to Christ: "a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." This condition will exist only after the judgment of Christ when believers have been completely cleansed and the Church is made whole. For that reason, I believe that the Judgment Seat of Christ, which will take place during the Tribulation, will precede the marriage supper of the Lamb, and immediately after the judgment of reward has been presented to believers, the marriage of the Lamb will take place. All Christians who have trusted in Christ during the age of grace, from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture of the Church, will make up His Bride.

The Identity of the Guests: Some invited to the wedding ceremony are guests and not the Bride. Obviously, a bride is never invited to a wedding supper, nor is a bridegroom. Those who are invited are the friends of the bride and groom. Who are these friends or guests? It cannot be the Church because the Church is the Bride. John the Baptist, one of the last Old Testament saints, indicated that he was a friend of the Bridegroom (John 3:29). These Old Testament saints will be in heaven and will have their rewards, but they are not the Church, not the Bride of the Christ. They are the friends of the Bride and Bridegroom, who at this point, can be seen as the ones invited as guests to the feast. So then, all the believing dead from Adam until the resurrection of Christ will be guests at this feast. In addition to them will appear those who have received the Savior during the Tribulation, both Jew and Gentile, many of who will have been martyred for the testimony of Christ.

What happens after the wedding? Join me next week...

“Saved the best for last!”

    The words “blessed are they” or “you are blessed” appear sixty times in the Bible. Just the word “blessed” by itself appears two hundred and seventeen times. Many times the context is repetitious, but the fact remains that if you are a Christian, a true Christ believer and follower, a born-again and Spirit filled disciple, you are blessed in many ways! We have looked at some of those blessings in the last three chapters, but as the old saying goes, God has saved the best for last! These last blessings come from the last three chapters of the Book of Revelation, and as wonderful and awesome as all of our earthly blessings are now in this life, they pale in comparison to our eternal blessings to come.

   To that end, I want to cover the following scriptures;

Revelation 19:9 – “Then the angel said to me, write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”

Revelation 20:5-6 – “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection.”

Revelation 20:14 – “Then death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death!”

Revelation 21:8 – “But, the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death!”

Revelation 22:14 – “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may go through the gates into the city.”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

    The marriage supper of the Lamb is a subject greatly misunderstood, not because of erroneous teaching, but because it is almost neglected in preaching today. The marriage supper of the Lamb is after the Rapture and following the judgment seat of Christ, where the members of the church will be rewarded for their faithful service. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10)

    A marriage will take place. The church, "the bride of Christ" and our Lord Jesus Christ (the bridegroom) will be officially married in heaven. While the earth is suffering through the last throes of the Tribulation, the church will enjoy a heavenly wedding. And then a feast! 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

    The marriage supper of the Lamb was one of the themes on which the Lord Jesus loved to dwell. In many of His stories or parables, He spoke of marriage suppers. For instance, in the parable of the ten virgins, He told about the preparation for the coming of the bridegroom. Matthew 22:1-14 – “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. (Israelites) Then he sent some more servants (Prophets) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So, go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, (Gentile and Israelite believers) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

More on this next week...

    Let me take you back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and pull out some verses that will sort of wrap around what Jesus is saying here and tie a bow on it. Matthew 4:23 says that - “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Matthew 9:35 – “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.” Luke 16:16 – “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached.” Matthew 6:10 – “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 10:7 – “As you go, proclaim this message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Over and over in the Parables Jesus repeated the words – “The kingdom of God is like…” So, my question is “What was the focus of Jesus’ teaching and preaching?” The kingdom.

    Luke 4:43 tells us – “But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” He has been doing this for nearly three years now, and the people still don’t get it! In fact, the disciples are not really sure that they get it! So, Jesus takes the time to fully explain the Parables to them. He says “the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” This begs the question, “Why?” Well it’s an “eye, ear, and heart” issue! Listen again to the answer Jesus gave them to their question – “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts.” The people were following Jesus around, but they were not really seeking. Here is the first key to being a seeker; Our hearts, souls, and minds must be filled with the desire to know and love God completely; with no reservations. If we have this desire, then our eyes will be fully open to see truth in God’s Word; our ears will be fully open to hear all that is preached and taught through sermons and Bible studies; and our hearts will be opened to understanding through the work of the Holy Spirit. In Christian circles we call this a “hunger for God and His Word”.

    It is when our “hunger and thirst for righteousness” is filled by the life-giving understanding of the Holy Spirit, that we are truly Blessed!