TWO RESURRECTIONS

AND A THOUSAND YEARS

 2 Peter 3:10 ABut the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.@ NKJ

Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, ... .” (Lk 21:33, Matt. 24:36).

Hebrews 6:7-8 “For the earth .. If it bears thorn and briers, it is rejected ... whose end is to be burned."

 Zephaniah 1:14-18 A... On the day of the Lord=s wrath; And all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.@  NAS

Genesis 6:13  AAnd God said to Noah, >The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.=@   Luke 17:26‑30 AAnd as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ... the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: ... on the days that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.@

 Part Two : Absolute Destruction - And An Ark of Safety.                    compiled by Rachel Cory-Kuehl, June 10, 2007

 The term AMILLENNIUM@ refers to a period of 1000 years.  The majority of Christians agree that  the 1000 years, spoken of in Revelation chapter 20,  will begin when Jesus returns in glory.  But here the agreement ends.  Some believe that Christ will set up His kingdom on earth during this period, where He will Arule the nations with a rod of iron.@  Others believe  the earth will be desolate during this millennium.  The resurrected and translated believers will spend this time with Jesus, Ain the Father=s house.@  Let=s  look at the Scriptures.    

 John 13:33, 36  AI=m going away,@ Jesus said, AWhere I am going you cannot come.@  AWhere I am going you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.@   But where are you going that we can=t come with you Lord?  Peter asked.  Then Jesus explained about His Father=s house. 

 John 14:2-3  AIn my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.@ 

Note: The Aplace@ which Christ would Aprepare@ was to be in His Father=s house - that is, in Heaven.  Christ promised to return, receive us to Himself, and take us to the place which He has prepared. Many Bible passages support Christ=s return to His Father in Heaven: (John 16:28. ANow I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.@) (John 16:16-17.  AWhom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things ...@) Acts 3:21.  Some would say that Aafterward@ means after Peter=s death, that He would immediately go to heaven to be with Christ.  I don=t believe this, and explain why in my study about death, at this web site.  I believe Jesus was telling Peter that He would return for all of His followers at the end of the age, and would transport them to the place He has prepared.  

ANCIENT HEBREW MARRIAGE CUSTOM GIVES US A CLUE     

Marriage was contracted between the father of the bride to be, and the father of the groom - each accompanied by a Awitness.@  This betrothal was as binding as the marriage.  Adultery during this period of betrothal was punishable by death.  The period of betrothal lasted about one year, during which time the groom to be, prepared a Ahome@ for his bride.  When this Ahome,@ usually an apartment within the extended family compound, was completed - the date was set for the wedding.  The ceremony was simple.   

The groom=s attendant lifted the veil from the bride=s face. Draping it over the shoulder of the groom, he pronounced, AThe government shall be upon his shoulder@ (Isa. 9:6). The bride then accompanied her husband back to his family home, where the wedding feast took place.  (The New Manners and customs of Bible Times, by Ralph Gower, pub. Moody Press, Chicago.  Pg65.: The Lion Encyclopedia of the Bible, edited by P.T.Alexander, pub. Reader=s Digest.  Pg.166.) 

A SANCTUARY - AN ARK OF SAFETY 

When the earth was covered by the waters of the flood, Noah and his family were safe inside the ark.  When the earth is covered in flames - devastated by the last plagues, the people of God will be safe inside Aa place@ which Christ has prepared. It is clear that we must be removed from the earth for some period of time.  The whole earth will be Aburned up.@  Whatever remains on this earth during the final outpouring of God=s wrath will be consumed! 

AWITHOUT FORM AND VOID@

THE EARTH IS COMPLETELY DEVASTATED

BY THE ATRUMPETS AND BY THE 7 LAST PLAGUES

Just think about the effects....... 

First Trumpet:  One third of all the trees and all green grass are burned up, probably by              meteorites (Rev. 8:7).  

Second Trumpet:  One third of all creatures alive in the ocean are destroyed, and one third of all ships are destroyed, probably by the asteroid hit (Rev. 8:8). 

Third Trumpet:  One third of all rivers are contaminated.  Men are made sick and many die after drinking the bitter tasting water (Rev. 8:10). 

Fourth Trumpet:  One third of sunlight and one third of moonlight is darkened.  Dust may have   been thrown into the atmosphere by the asteroid hit, blocking the sun.  This will limit the growth of plant food  Rev. 8:12.  

Sixth Trumpet:  One third of mankind is killed in a global war (Rev. 9:15-18). 

Note:  The Athird@ part destroyed by each trumpet disaster gives us a clue.  AThe tail of the dragon (Satan) drew a third of the stars (angels) of heaven@ (Rev. 12:4).  I believe that Satan will deceive men into believing that the trumpets are the 7 last plagues, and that he is Christ come.  AThe Abomination of Desolation@ will Astand in the holy place@ (Matt. 24:15, II Thess. 2:3-4)  on Athe mount@ in Jerusalem.  He will cause Afire to come down from heaven@ (Rev. 13:13).   He will demand worship  and order that those who refuse be put to death.  Men will do anything he commands in order to escape these terrible plagues.  The trumpet plagues are not universal, they are counterfeit 7 last plagues, but they will be the worst disasters that the world has ever seen.  At the 7^th trumpet of Revelation Christ will return for His own.  The people of God will NOT be on the earth when God withdraws His protective spirit and permits the final destruction of the 7 last plagues.  These 7 last plagues are said to be the full Awrath of God@ Apoured out without mercy@ (Rev. 15:1, 7; 16:1).  There is no reason for God=s people to be on the earth during this time. No one else will receive the truth. (Rev 9:20-21; Rev 16:9,11).

In the type, Lot (who was in covenant with God) with his family was led out of Sodom by the hand of angels BEFORE it Arained fire and brimstone.@  The Lord had assured Abraham that He would NOT DESTROY Sodom and the other cities of the plain while any Arighteous@ remained in those cities.  And so the Lord will not destroy the earth, while any righteous remain.  Also a type, Noah-with his family, was safely inside the ark and the door shut by an angel, BEFORE it began to rain. 

Notice that the seven vials ARE universal in effect.   

Remember: The second beast (Rev. 13:11) causes every one on earth to worship the first beast, and to receive a Amark@ on their right hand or on their forehead (Rev. 13:17).  Any person who Aworships the beast and his image, and receives his mark@ Awill drink of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.@ The wrath of God is said to be Acomplete@ in the seven last vials (Rev. 15:1).  

Only those whose names ARE written in the Book of Life will refuse to worship the beast, or to take his mark.. These only will escape the 7 last plagues, because they are removed from the earth on the day that Christ returns.   

First Vial: A plague causing Aloathsome sores@ will spread throughout the earth. Possibly bio-       engineered smallpox, or radiation burns.   (Rev.16:2).  

Second Vial:  Every living thing in the ocean dies.  If the ocean no longer supports life, there is no food chain (Rev. 16:3).  There is also little oxygen, because sea vegetation dies.  

Third Vial:  All of the rivers and all of the springs of water become blood (Rev. 16:4).  There will be no evaporation - no water cycle - no rain.  They will not support life.  

Fourth Vial:  The sun gets hotter and scorches men with fire (Rev. 16:8).  Possibly a gamma ray burst, or the result of the earth being knocked into a different orbit around the sun.  Many will die of radiation, if not from the intense heat . 

Fifth Vial:  Darkness covers the Akingdom of the beast@ (Rev. 16:10).   

Possibly caused by dust thrown into the atmosphere by the asteroid hit of the second trumpet judgment which blocks sunlight, or possibly caused by a different orbit bringing earth farther from the sun.    The beast power rules the entire earth - therefore this plague of darkness will be universal.  The plague of Asores@ continues because all seven plagues are poured out Aon one day@ (Rev. 18:8).  Everything is set in motion on the day that Christ removes His people and His Spirit from the earth. 

Sixth Vial: Demonic powers gather Athe kings of the earth and of the whole world@ for a global war (Rev. 16:14). 

Seventh Vial: The greatest earthquake the world has ever known.  Every island fled away and the mountains were not found.  Great hail from heaven fell upon men, every hailstone about the weight of a talent (100pds)@ (Rev. 16:18-21).   

Revelation 6:12-14  AThere was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth  of hair, and the moon became like blood.  And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.  Then the sky receded as a scroll which  is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 

Imagine the forces it will take.   

Isaiah 24:18-20 AFor the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.  The earth is violently broken.  The earth is split open.  The earth is shaken exceedingly.  The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut.@ 

Zechariah 14:4‑5 AAnd in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley;  Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints (Aholy ones@ = angels)  with You.@ 

Micah 1:3-4 AFor behold, the LORD is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.  The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.     

II Peter 3:7, 10-12 ABut the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.@ ... ABut the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?  Nevertheless we, according to His promise look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.   

Isaiah 13:13 ATherefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.@   

When earth is hit by an asteroid large enough, it may change the orbit, moving earth closer to the sun during part of the orbit, and farther away during another part of the rotation.  This could explain the light and dark, the heat and cold.  

PLEASE TELL ME!!  

HOW COULD ANY HUMAN LIFE CONTINUE ON THIS PLANET

AFTER THESE EVENTS?

Think of those things which are necessary to support life:

sunlight - not to much or too little

water - and the evaporative cycle which results in rain

vegetation - which is dependent upon the right amount of sunlight and water

oxygen - made by plants in the ocean and on the land

 Every one of these things is gone after the plagues.    

THE EARTH IS WHOLLY DEVASTATED

BY THE PLAGUES WHICH FOLLOW THE  SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 

IT LIES WASTE AND EMPTY OF HUMAN HABITATION.  

Jeremiah the prophet saw the earth after Athe great day of the Lord.@ 

Here is his description:

"I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.  I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.  I beheld and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 

I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. 

For thus, hath the Lord said, the whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 

For thus shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it (Jeremiah 4:23‑30). 

AWithout form and void@ B these are the same Hebrew words that were used to describe the earth on the first day of creation, before God made anything  (Genesis 1:2).  The earth was empty and dark, and without life.   

Comment: I do agree that this prophecy was given just before the Babylonian destruction of  Judea, and Jerusalem.  It was a type.  I believe it is a DUEL PROPHECY.  It was for them, but it is also for us in these last days. "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they are written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come"  (1 Corinthians 10:11). 

Isaiah 2:17‑21 "And the loftiness of man shall be lowered down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 

And the idols He shall utterly abolish.

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." 

Comment:  All of ISAIAH, it is claimed is only a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of Israel by the Babylonians.  These verses speak of the "glory of His majesty" which was not seen at the destruction of Jerusalem of old. It will be seen at the second coming. The whole earth did not "reel like a drunkard" nor was it "clean dissolved," at the destruction of Jerusalem.  Compare Revelation 6:15 where all men - rich and poor, slave and free will hide themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains when Christ  returns in His glory, and in the glory of His Father. 

Zechariah was a prince descended from King David.  He was  the great, great, grandson of King Hezekiah, and second cousin of King Josiah.  He was also a prophet of God.  The following is a warning given to Israel before the Babylonian destruction, warning of impending doom.  This also, I believe, is a DUEL PROPHECY.  Let=s read his description:  

Zechariah1:2‑3:  "I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and  beasts; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the shrines with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.@   

Zechariah 1:14‑18  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for He shall make a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land."   

Note: At the time of the Babylonian invasion, not Aall@ were killed or taken captive.  The Babylonians left a large number of the poor people unharmed.  After Jesus returns for His own, the plagues which follow WILL Arid@ the earth of AALL@ inhabitants.  

Note: "Walk like blind men" might refer to the plague of darkness or to the effect of the intense brightness of His coming, as when the guards at the tomb of Christ were struck blind, or as Saul was struck blind by the brightness on the road to Damascus.   

Nahum 1:5,6,8  AThe mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, Yes,      the world  and all who dwell in it.  Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, And the rocks are thrown down by Him.  But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies.

DESTRUCTION OF THE NATIONS 

Isaiah 34:1-2 ACome near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and             all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it.   For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter.@  (Revelation 16:14) 

34:3 AAlso their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.@   

34:4 AAll the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.  (Revelation 6:14) 

34:8-10  AFor it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.  Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.  It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever (Revelation 14:10-11, Revelation 19:3).

Note: Verse 5-6 of this chapter tell us that this is a prophecy concerning AEdom@ the kingdom of Esau=s descendants.  The ancient destruction of Edom by Babylon was the type. The rest of the passage tells us that this prophecy concerns the whole earth - burned with unquenchable fire. 

34:11 AAnd He shall stretch out over it the line of confusion (meaning Awithout form@) and the stones of emptiness (meaning Avoid).  The Hebrew words used here are the same words used in Genesis 1:2, and Jeremiah 4:23 translated Awithout form and void.@   

ISAIAH=S DESCRIPTION DETAILS THE EFFECTS:   

24:1      "Behold the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants.@  

24:3      AThe land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word.@ 

24:6      ATherefore, the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate; therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left.@ 

24:13    AIt shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.@  (Rev. 6:13; Rev 14:19-20) 

24:18      AAnd the foundations of the earth are shaken.@ 

24:19      The earth is violently broken.  The earth is split open.  The earth is shaken exceedingly. 

24:20    The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be totter like a hut;  Its transgression shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. 

 24:21   And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish on high the host of exalted ones, (Satan and his angels) and on the earth the kings of the earth.  They will be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison.  After many days they will be punished. 

WHERE DOES SATAN SPEND THE 7^TH MILLENNIUM? 

The verse just quoted from Isaiah gives us a clue.       AThe host of exalted ones@ are Agathered in the pit.@  

Revelation 20:1-3, 7-8 AThen I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.  But after these things he must be released for a little while.@ ...  ANow when , the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle whose number is as the sand of the sea.@     

Note: The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament was translated from the ancient Hebrew text into the Greek, by Hebrew scribes living in Egypt, descended from those who fled from the Babylonians in the days of Jeremiah.  In the Septuagint, the Greek word abussos (meaning bottomless, boundless) was used to translate the Hebrew Abohuw,@  in Genesis 1:2, and Jeremiah 4:23. (Strong=s # 0922 - meaning emptiness, void, waste) The same Greek word Aabussos@ (Strong=s #12) is translated Abottomless pit@ in Revelation 20:1-2.  Satan is thrown into the abyss.

Isaiah 14:12‑15  AHow you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: >I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.= Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.@  

NOTE: Just an aside here.  Babylon is not mentioned AFTER the return of Christ in glory.  Babylon is destroyed - never to rise again.  The powerful figure in opposition to Israel AFTER the millennium is Gog (Ezekiel 38).  

THE EARTH HAS BEEN TURNED INTO AN UNINHABITED WASTELAND -- AWITHOUT FORM AND VOID.@    IT IS AN ABYSS - A BOTTOMLESS PIT.   

Satan wanted the earth for his kingdom.  Many believe that  he will spend a thousand years on the dark and empty earth, bound by those circumstances which he caused.  He is bound to earth where there is no one to tempt.  Everyone is dead - slain Aby the brightness of His coming,@

(II Thess. 2:8) and the plagues poured out on that day. 

THE SCAPEGOAT 

As noted earlier, I have long believed that events connected with Christ=s return in glory will fulfill the ancient Day of Atonement type.  On that day, two goats were chosen by lot.  The first goat was sacrificed and its blood used to Acleanse@ the Sanctuary and the Alter in the courtyard.  The sins of the congregation (all those which had been confessed and transferred to the priest or to the sanctuary thru the Asin offering@ sacrifice prior to this day) were AGAIN confessed over the head of the second goat, called the Aazazel@ goat..  This second goat was then led into the Awilderness@ (uninhabited place - Strong=s #4057), and released.  The goat carried the confessed sins of the entire congregation of Israel.  The goat was not killed.  (Leviticus 16:21-22).  

I believe that the Ascapegoat@ symbolized Satan - who is banished to the Auninhabited place@ by Christ - the Afit  man.@   Some object to this interpretation, wondering how Satan could ever be said to Abear@ on himself Aall their iniquities.@  I would explain that this is supported by the picture of a judgment scene (Daniel 7:10-22, Rom. 3:4, Psa. 51:4).  Jesus carried our sins, as the Lamb of God.  He assumed the guilt - UNTIL the judgment sits.  Then Satan will be found guilty of all the sins which he has caused God=s people to commit.  He is the prima and original cause.  He is left alive, because, after the 1000 years there will be a resurrection.  Satan will try to deceive, but many of those who come back to life will choose Christ.  Satan must be found guilty of their sin also.  When he is at last cast into the Alake of fire and brimstone@ he will carry their guilt with him  (Rev. 20:10).

THE PIT - SATAN=S PRISON FOR 1000 YEARS 

Revelation 20:2-3 AHe [Christ] laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.  But after these things he must be released for a little while.@  

Revelation 20:7 ANow when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth . . . A

Some maintain that the earth itself, waste and devoid of human habitation is the abyss where Satan will spend the 1000 years.  Others point to Bible passages which seem to suggest that Athe pit@ is not the earth, but a place of restraint, a prison for spirits which existed even in Jesus day. 

Jude 6  "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." 

Some believe that certain of the demons took possession of the minds and bodies of men in the days before the flood (Genesis 6:1-4 ).  These demons are now being held in a prison for spirit beings, until the judgment of the great day.  They will be released from Athe Pit@ at the time of the 5^th trumpet (Rev. 9:1-11).  With all the angels of Satan, they will no longer be restrained from tormenting evil men.  Only those with the Aseal of God@ will be protected. 

 

Luke 8:30-33 AJesus asked him, saying, >What is your name?=  And he said, >Legion,= because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.@  

Here the Aabyss@ is a present reality, to the demonic angels in Christ=s day.  It seems to be a place of restraint for them.   

My feeling, at this point in my study, is that the earth will remain uninhabited for 1000 years.  The earth will Arest.@ Nothing will be planted or harvested during this time, as in the type (Lev. 251-4).   The Israel of God will return to the earth after the 1000 years.  They will begin to rebuild, and Jesus will begin to heal and restore the earth.  Ezekiel=s Temple will be built and the healing river will flow out - and the earth - with its people - will come back to life. 

 THE REST OF THE DEAD 

Revelation 20:1‑6  Satan is bound for 1000 years ... "And I saw thrones and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  But, the rest of the dead did not live again until the 1000 years were finished.  This is the first resurrection. 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.@

Note: Some students of prophecy believe that only those who were martyred will rise in the Afirst resurrection@ and Areign with Him for a thousand years.@ 

While I have no problem believing that those who gave their lives for Christ will be given an exalted place in the kingdom, I believe that other Bible passages support my belief that all of the Adead in Christ@ will rise when the trumpet sounds at His return. (I Thess. 4:16, Matt. 24:30-31). When the 7^th angel sounds, the time has come to Areward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great.@ (Revelation 11:15). 

So who are Athe rest of the dead@ of Revelation 20:5? 

There are now only two groups:

The Israel of God - Alive

- those who are Christ=s at His coming (I Corinthians 15:23).

- whose names are written in the Book of Life (Daniel 12:1)

- who have gone with Him to His Father=s House. (John 14:2, Heb. 11:16)

- judgment committed to them (Rev. 20:4)

- will Ajudge angels@ (I Corinthians 6:3)

- will reign with Him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4)

- will Anot go outside the door of the tabernacle ( which symbolized heaven)@ (Lev. 8:33)

Everyone else - Dead

- those whose names were never entered into the Book of Life during their

lifetime. These individuals  never had the opportunity to enter into covenant with God because of young age, ignorance of the truth, mental defect, or circumstances beyond their control.  Included in this group would be those who performed the customs of entry into the covenant prescribed by their culture, but who did so without understanding, or with very limited understanding (example: physical circumcision at eight days old).  

Note: We considered those Israelites who are judged and cut off from the people on the day that Christ returns.  These are persons who knowingly continued in rebellion against God.  They are left to die in the plagues. I do not believe that they will rise again.  They were raised to Aeverlasting contempt.@  (Daniel 12:3).  This will not change.  They have been judged.  Their names were blotted out of the Book of Life.  On the other hand, Paul did say that the branches which were Abroken off@ because of unbelief, COULD be Agrafted in again@ if they came to faith in Christ.  Like the Aprodigal son@ they may have a lesser status, yet be restored to the kingdom.  There may be many descendants of Jacob grafted in again.