"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Revelation 20:5
In the referenced scripture, the bible tells us that, the rapture of the church is the first resurrection. Those folks who died without accepting The Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, have not risen from the grave yet. This 1000 years is just for the resurrected Christians. "The rest of the dead" The bodies of unbelievers of all ages will not be resurrected until what is called "The Great White Throne Judgment". The bible tells us that there are two kinds of resurrections, the “resurrection of life” and the “resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29; Dan. 12:2; Acts 24:15). The first kind of resurrection is described as “the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14), the resurrection of “those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Cor. 15:23), and the “better resurrection” (Heb. 11:35). It includes only the redeemed of the church (1 Thess. 4:13-18), the Old Testament (Dan. 12:2), and the Tribulation Period. They will enter the kingdom in resurrected bodies, along with believers who survived the Tribulation. The second kind of resurrection, will be the resurrection of the unconverted who will receive their final bodies suited for torment in hell.
The first resurrection is the resurrection included in verse Rev. 20:4. It has three principal phases:
1.The resurrection of Christ (the firstfruits; 1 Cor. 15:23; Rev. 1:5);
2.The resurrection of the church (the dead in Christ; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 4:16); and
3.The resurrection of Old Testament and Tribulation saints (verse 4; Isaiah 26:19; Dan. 12:2).
The rest of the dead (unbelievers), will be raised in the second resurrection, described (in verses 12-13). The first resurrection is a resurrection to life (John 5:28-29), whereas the second resurrection is a resurrection to death. The second death is eternal punishment in the lake of fire (see verse 14). Friends, strive to be part of the First Resurrection. The bibles tells us in Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." “Blessed” here means those who die in the Lord (14:13), are blessed with the privilege of entering His kingdom. We Christians believers in Chris Jesus are the blessed. You can easily see that the wicked dead have no part in this resurrection. We believers in Christ (the redeemed), are not subject to death because we have life (which Jesus breathed into us), when we were born again. We will never die. This second death mentioned here is for the lost. Not only will the Christians reign on this earth with Jesus for 1000 years, but we will live for all eternity in heaven with Jesus, because we have eaten of the Tree of Life which is Jesus Christ our Lord. The “Second death”: The first death is only physical, the second is spiritual and eternal in the lake of fire, the final, eternal hell mentioned (verse 14). It could exist outside the created universe as we know it, outside of space and time, and is presently unoccupied. This second death mentioned here is for the lost, those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Not only will the Christians reign on this earth with Jesus for 1000 years, but we will live for all eternity in heaven with Jesus, because we have eaten of the Tree of Life which is Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
What is the Millennium? Christ's 1000 year reign upon David's throne is the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, Israel and to David, but its more than that, it is the final proof of the incorrigible nature of man's sinful heart. Christ is present in Jerusalem, ruling the world, and the saints of all ages in resurrected bodies administer the kingdom righteously under His direction. All evil is prohibited and punished immediately. Even Satan is locked away so that he cannot in any way influence mankind. Many of the believers who enter the Millennium in their natural bodies as survivors of the Tribulation. At the end of the Millennium, “Satan” will be released from prison to make one last attempt to defeat Christ. He will “deceive the nations” into rebellion against God. The reference to “Gog and Magog” shows that this final battle will be like the invasion described (in Ezekiel chapter 38). The “beloved city” is the earthly Jerusalem, headquarters of Christ’s millennial kingdom! I would encourage everyone to read to book of Revelations, the only book in the bible that blesses whoever reads the book!
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