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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Aspects of the Resurrection of the Saints
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 on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they 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 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.
(Revelation 20:4-6)
The Book of Revelation is a description of the Day of the Lord. The emphasis is on the return of Christ to the earth, the resurrection of the dead, and the Divine judgment on the conduct of human beings.
Revelation 1:7 is the cornerstone of this vision:
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
When the Lord Jesus returns He will call forth the dead bodies of all people, beginning with His victorious saints.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)
Apart from the blood atonement, the resurrection from the dead is the most important act of the Divine redemption.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (I Corinthians 15:16-19)
The Spirit of God has described various aspects of the resurrection from the dead, particularly the first part of the resurrection, in the Book of Revelation. The first part of the resurrection from the dead is the resurrection of the royal priesthood.
The first resurrection from the dead, which will take place at the coming of the Lord from Heaven, is the climax of the redemption of the saints. It is the expression, in the firstfruits of the Church, of Christ's own triumphant resurrection.
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. (Revelation 20:6)
After the cornerstone has been laid (Revelation 1:7), we see in Revelation, Chapters Two and Three the necessary elements in attaining the first resurrection—the resurrection of the victorious saints, the "chosen" (Matthew 20:16).
It is the author's point of view that the rewards to the overcomer are steps in attaining the first resurrection from the dead and taken together constitute the first resurrection. It may be observed that the first reward to the overcomer is to eat of the tree of life (Revelation 2:7). The last reward to the overcomer is to sit with the Lord Jesus on His throne (Revelation 3:21).
To be continued.