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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Second Resurrection
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 worshipped 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. (Revelation 20:4).
The first resurrection from the dead, that which will take place when the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven, is described above. This is the first resurrection of the saints. There is no resurrection or ascension of the Christian saints prior to this one, as we understand the Scriptures.
The next verse assures us no person will be resurrected after the first resurrection until the end of the thousand-year period:
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:5)
There are two resurrections from the dead. The first one takes place at the beginning of the thousand-year period. The second one takes place at the end of the thousand-year period.
It is taught commonly that every person who is saved will participate in the first resurrection, and all other people—those who are reunited with their bodies at the end of the thousand-year period—will be assigned to eternal torment in the Lake of Fire. It is our opinion that this doctrine is in error.
There are two reasons why we believe this commonly taught doctrine is incorrect. First, it gives rise to a serious problem with respect to the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. Second, the twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation, the chapter that describes the two resurrections, does not state or imply that the first resurrection is the general resurrection of salvation or that all who participate in the second resurrection will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
Let us discuss first the serious problem of consistency of doctrine produced by the belief that every person who is to be saved will rise to meet the Lord in the first resurrection. After this we will examine the statements found in Chapter 20 of Revelation that, to our way of thinking, do not support the belief that all the saved are in the first resurrection or that all who are in the second resurrection will be assigned to the Lake of Fire.
The second and third chapters of Revelation describe the seven churches in Asia. Many Christian scholars believe these seven golden lampstands refer to the Christian churches on the earth. In some instances it appears that only a minority of the members of the churches have met the standards Christ has set for the victorious saints.
The church in Sardis is an example. Here was a Christian church that had a reputation among believers for being alive. Therefore it was a growing, vital congregation or group of congregations. It is likely the church in Sardis was made up of many believers in Christ, as undoubtedly was true of the other six churches of Asia.
But what did Christ state concerning the church in Sardis?
"You have a few names even in Sardis who are worthy to walk with me in white." (Revelation 3:4)
To be continued.