And I saw thrones, and they sat on 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 worshiped 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...but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished...this is the first resurrection...Rev. 20:4-5.
In what realm - earth or spirit - does this scene take place? This text clearly reveals believers in Christ after they left the earth. They could not have arrived in the celestial city of God unless they had been born again, while they lived on the earth. Jesus said that we must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven...John 3:3.
This vision gives us a sneak peak of the throne of God in advance, providing assurance to the persecuted martyrs of Christ, that what Jesus promised them, while He lived on the earth, will be fulfilled. A very important purpose of the book of Revelation is the unveiling of the eternal side of life offered by Jesus Christ - His future plans and purposes for His human family in eternity.
In the first blog of this series I stated that reigned with Christ a thousand years is inextricably connected to the first resurrection. So how do I know this? Resurrection in the Greek language is anastasis meaning: standing up again. If someone is dead and stands up again - lives again - he has been resurrected. This leaves us with the question, "When was the first death that produced the need for a first resurrection?"
After God created the earth, firmament, and every form of life, He created Adam and placed him in a garden called Eden. Then He gave Adam the following warning...the Lord God commanded the man saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die."...Gen. 2:16-17.
Eve was created after this warning to Adam, but he shared God's warning with her. Then the serpent shows up in this peaceful garden, whom we know is Satan in disguise...Rev. 12:9.
When the serpent appeared on the scene he said to Eve...has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?...and the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die"...Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die...for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."...So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate...the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves covering...Gen. 3:1-7.
Actually Satan told her a half-truth - not a total lie. Satan knew that Adam & Eve wouldn't die physically - cease to exist - but he also knew they would die spiritually, which means spiritually disconnected - separated - from their Creator. They would lose the dominion God gave to them, over every living thing, when He created them...Gen.1:28. Satan took their dominion over every living thing for himself, and became god over them...II Co. 4:4.
This is the first death...therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned...Rom. 5:12. This transgression by Adam & Eve is called - original sin. The first death is a spiritual death - separation from the presence of God through disobedience.
Satan insinuated to Eve that knowing good and evil, as did God, was something to be coveted - equality with God. Yet, shame was their first experience after receiving their new-found knowledge of good and evil...Gen. 3:7. Terrific! When does the good stuff begin?
With his new earthly reign over every living thing, including mankind, Satan also held within his authority, the power of death over the inhabitants of the earth. From that day forward, Satan held men captive to the fear of physical death, since they weren't assured they were spiritually right with God...Heb. 2:14-15.
Scripture just explained when the first death - spiritual death - took place, so when does the first resurrection take place? When will mankind "stand up again" - from death to life? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
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