Taking Part Of The Resurrection(s)

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon 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 hands; and hey 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. Blessed and holy is he that 

hath part in the first resurrection: on this the 

second death hath no power, but they shall be 

priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign 

with him a thousand years.

Revelation 20:4-6 

     With great caution I enter into an examination of these verses as there is major controversies as to what they mean and how they are to be applied. John now sees thrones, so what is meant by "throne?" Well, simply put a throne can be as simple as a place to sit, a chair, a literal object. Or, it can mean more and it does. I will use English tranliteration rather that the Greek lettering for the words. It will keep it simple to understand, if one wants to know the exact Greek, go to Strong's Dictionary, this is where I am getting my definitions. We must not confuse "bema" for "throne," they are connected but are different. Bema means several things, as a raised place, a place of assembly where orations were made. Bema is called the judgment seat of Christ to whom all judgment has been given (2Corinthians 5:10). Here at the Bema people will be judged according to what they have done both good and bad (I will cover this later in this chapter). Throne is by implication power or authority, a potanetate-seat. As a noun, and in this verse it is a noun. A throne is a place of authority (Matthew 19:28). John sees those who sat upon this seat of authority and judgment was given to them. The Greek word used here is "krima," and being used as a noun, it denotes a sentence, a verdict, a condemnation, the decision resulting from an investigation. Krima is used of a decision passed on the faults of others. It is used as a process leading to a decision and the pronouncement of the decision or verdict. The ones sitting on thrones, a place of authority who who know and acknowledge the decision of God are the faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ. This pronouncement of this decision was by their examination of the word of God. These are the ones who did not fall prey to the image of the beast, who did not have the mark of the beast, either on their forehead or the hands. This they will do for a thousand years, and this seems then to correspond to the thousand years that Satan is bound and thrown into the bottomless pit for a thousand years, chained by a great chain and by this binding Satan himself cannot go about to personally deceive. 

     Here is where this gets "dicey." It is a about resurrection, is there a rapture or not, and do some go to heaven by a resurrection before others are resurrected, or is there only one resurrection other than the resurrection of Jesus Christ who is The First Resurrection? We began this study of Revelation and one of the first things written was: "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead" (Revelation 1:5). In the year 96 A.D. Clement of Rome wrote: "God has made the Lord Jesus Christ the first-fruits by raising Him from the dead." The first resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus. We must then, notice this, the word "but," for it has great meaning for us to understand that those sitting on the throne had already been killed, were dead, but now alive and are participants in the "first resurrection" and are pronouncing judgment for this thousand years and then after the thousand years the rest of the dead are given life. These on the throne cannot be affected by death any longer and they are priests of Christ, that is, they minister as priests for and with Jesus Christ. They participate in the judgement God is applying to those who will not follow Him. 

     Well, this brings us to the word "rapture." It is not in the Bible. Here is the famous verses that are used to support the word "Rapture": "We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will be no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain with be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1Thessalonnians 4:15-17). These verses do not speak of two resurrections. These verses do speak of an orderly arrangement in the resurrection: first the dead will be resurrected (you cannot be resurrected unless you are dead), and then those who are alive (they have not died) will join them (can you see that both are resurrected in the one resurrection?), in the air to be with the Lord. It is true that the Authentic Christians will be rise to be with Jesus Christ, but, what about non-Christians? Will they be resurrected? This will be answered as we continue in this chapter and the answer will be absolutely clear. Let me give you a hint, no, let the Bible give you a hint: "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29). 

     Clement of Rome wrote in 96 A.D.: "there will be a future resurrection." Polycarp, a student of John wrote: "If we please Him in this present world, we will also inherit the future world. For He promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead (135 A.D.). I want to give to you hope, a reason to praise God, to have comfort by quoting from some early Church fathers and here is one from Irenaeus 189 A.D. (remember he was alive in the times of the apostles and was a student of Polycarp and John): "The Father did not exercise His providence only for the men who are now alive. Rather, He exercised it for all men who from the beginning (according to their capacity), in their generation, have both feared and loved God, have practiced justice and piety towards their neighbors, and have earnestly desired to see Christ and to hear His voice. For that reason, at His second coming, He will first rouse from their sleep all persons of this description. And He will raise them jup (as will as the rest who will be judged) and give them a place in His kingdom." 

      We must change from the inside/out our faith and to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, to be committed to follow Jesus Christ no matter the cost, to deny ourselves and pick up our cross. We have a congregation that we attend and we must be committed to it to do all that can be done to assure that all have food, clothing, money, and comfort in times of trouble. We must love our neighbor as ourselves as Jesus instructed us to do. This all can happen if we love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul. This was taught from the foundation of Christianity and it has not changed all these years. Jesus is coming, what part of the resurrection do you fit in? Your choice!

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

     and look upon the earth beneath:

for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,

    and the earth shall wax old like a garment,

and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner:

   but My salvation shall be for ever,

and My righteousness shall not be abolished.

                      Isaiah 51:6

Having been born again, you will exist again

Richard L. Crumb