📖 A Correction on Revelation 20 The “First Resurrection” and the Importance of Sequence

🧩 Introduction: Why This Needed to Be Addressed

In a previous study, I presented an interpretation of Book of Revelation 20 that, upon further examination, required correction.

This was not due to external pressure or disagreement.

It was due to the text itself.

Specifically, a closer reading of:

Revelation 20:5
“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.”

revealed that my earlier conclusion did not fully account for the structure and flow of the chapter.

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⚠️ Where the Confusion Came From

The confusion did not originate in Revelation alone.

It came from trying to reconcile Revelation 20 with:

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17

Which describes:

the dead in Messiah rising

the living remaining alive

a gathering at His coming

This created a perceived structure:

1 A resurrection at Yeshua’s coming

2 Another resurrection after the thousand years

3 Then a statement that seemed to call the later resurrection “the first”

That combination introduced a major tension.

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📖 The Verse That Caused the Problem

Revelation 20:5 reads:

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.”

At first glance, the sentence appears to say:

👉 The resurrection after the thousand years = the first resurrection

But this reading depends on isolating the sentence from its context.

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🔍 The Immediate Context (This Resolves Everything)

To understand the phrase, we must go back one verse.

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Revelation 20:4

“They came to life and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years.”

Here, a specific group is described:

they come to life

they reign

they participate in the thousand-year period

This is a clear resurrection event.

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Then Revelation 20:5

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.”

This is not defining the first resurrection.

It is introducing a contrast.

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🔑 The Critical Phrase: “This is the First Resurrection”

The phrase:

“This is the first resurrection”

does not refer to the later group.

It refers back to the group in verse 4.

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Greek Clarification

The word translated “this” is:

αὕτη (hautē)

This is a demonstrative pronoun that typically refers to something already mentioned, not something yet to occur.

So the structure is:

group raised in verse 4

contrast with the rest of the dead

identification: this (the previous group) = the first resurrection

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⚖️ What the Text Actually Shows

When read as a sequence, Revelation 20 presents:

1. A resurrection before the thousand years

1. A reign during the thousand years

1. A later resurrection after the thousand years

1. A final judgment

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🧠 The Later Resurrection (Not Named, But Clearly Described)

Later in the chapter:

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Revelation 20:11–13

the dead, small and great, stand before God

the sea gives up the dead

death and Hades give up the dead

This is clearly a resurrection event.

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The Judgment

books are opened

another book is opened: the Book of Life

all are judged according to their works

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Final Outcome

“If anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire.”

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❗ Important Observation

Revelation does NOT say:

“second resurrection”

“resurrection of the unjust”

However, it clearly describes:

👉 a second stage resurrection
👉 followed by judgment

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🔄 Resolving the Thessalonians Tension

Returning to:

1 Thessalonians 4

The resurrection described there aligns with:

👉 the first resurrection group

Those who:

rise

are gathered

are not subject to the second death

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🧱 The Structural Principle

The entire confusion came from:

reading one sentence in isolation
instead of following the sequence of the chapter

Once the sequence is followed:

the tension disappears

the structure becomes consistent

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🧠 Key Distinction

Event Description

First resurrection before the millennium, life + reign
Later resurrection after the millennium, judgment
Labeling only the first is explicitly named

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🔒 Final Conclusion

The phrase:

“This is the first resurrection”

does not refer to the resurrection after the thousand years.

It refers to the group already described as:

coming to life

reigning with Messiah

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🧭 Final Thought

A single verse can create confusion when isolated.
The full sequence removes it.

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📌 Discussion

How do you understand the phrase:

“This is the first resurrection”?

Do you see it as:

referring to the group in verse 4

referring to a later event

or something else entirely?