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
20:1-10)
That first silent night was suddenly shattered by
spectacular sights and sounds, as angels said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” The heavenly messengers announced the
fulfillment of the messianic promises of the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah called Jesus, “the Prince of Peace,” and said that in
His reign the nations would beat their swords into plowshares and spears into
pruning hooks, with war and violence banished from the earth. Yet, as we end this Christmas season and
stand on the threshold of a new year, we see a world filled with bloodshed and fear
the threat of terrorism. Still, the
child of God can submit such fear to the promises of a sovereign God and supplant
them with faith in His supreme purposes.
There may be horror today, but there is hope for tomorrow. Jesus is coming again and He will put things
right in this world. That is what the
twentieth chapter of Revelation proclaims.
This chapter commences with the seven-year tribulation
period concluded. All the terrible
judgments described in the bulk of the book reached their climax with the Lord
Jesus coming with heaven’s armies to wipe out the Antichrist and his
military. The global economic system of
the Beast and the worldwide ecclesiastical system of the False Prophet have
been destroyed and the demonically driven duo cast into the Lake of Fire. Next in Revelation 20:1-3, we read that the
third member of that terrible trinity of terror—Satan himself—will be bound
with chains and imprisoned in the bottomless pit. The world will be liberated by the Lord!
This will inaugurate 1000 years of heaven on earth
(v.4-6). The church will reign with
Christ—in all probability from the New Jerusalem which is suspended above the
earth. We will have freedom of movement
throughout the universe in our glorified bodies. John writes of the first resurrection. It is the first of its class—a resurrection
to life. Blessed are all those of the
first resurrection order for they are all those who have died in faith. The second kind of resurrection is that of
the wicked who will be raised to stand before the Great White throne and
sentenced to everlasting damnation (v.11-15).
We say that these are two classes of resurrection in that several
resurrections of the first order have already occurred at this point—Jesus, a
handful of Old Testament saints with Him, the dead in Christ at the rapture of
the church, and the two witnesses in Revelation 11. As the millennial reign of Christ begins the
tribulation martyrs are raised, and I believe the rest of the Old Testament
saints as well. The latter group will
reign, I think, from the old Jerusalem—possibly with David sitting on his
former throne as Christ’s regent on earth.
We will need to reign, for as strange as it seems,
even in this environment, the evil hearts of humans will need to be governed. Those who survive the tribulation and are
converted will repopulate the earth and their offspring will need to be
saved. Many will reject Christ and at
last, when Satan in released, will follow him to their doom (v.7-10). Such is the depraved heart of man! I am glad I am part of the first resurrection
class!
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