What is the meaning of Revelation 20:5? The rest of the dead John describes two distinct groups in this chapter. Verse 4 has just spoken of those who “came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” By contrast, “the rest of the dead” are the unbelieving dead—everyone whose name is not in the Lamb’s Book of Life. They remain in conscious existence but without resurrected bodies, awaiting judgment (Revelation 20:12–13; Luke 16:23). Jesus already distinguished between “those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). did not come back to life Their bodies stay in the grave; their spirits stay in Hades. No partial resurrection, no soul-sleep, no second chances. The phrase affirms a real, bodily resurrection still future for the wicked (Daniel 12:2; Acts 24:15). Until that moment, all unredeemed humanity remains physically dead while the redeemed are alive and reigning with Christ. until the thousand years were complete The text places a clear time marker: one thousand literal years—Christ’s millennial reign on earth. – Satan is bound for that same period (Revelation 20:2). – The nations experience unprecedented peace and righteousness (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:6-9). – When the Millennium ends, Satan is released briefly, final rebellion is crushed, and only then does the last resurrection and judgment occur (Revelation 20:7-10). This is the first resurrection John is still talking about the earlier resurrection of verse 4. Calling it “first” highlights order and quality: – It is first in sequence; the resurrection of the righteous precedes the resurrection of the wicked (1 Corinthians 15:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). – It is first in blessing; “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:6). – It unfolds in stages, all still counted as “first”: • Christ’s own resurrection—the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20). • The church at the rapture. • Tribulation martyrs and Old Testament saints, raised at the Lord’s return (Isaiah 26:19; Revelation 20:4). Together these participants reign with Christ during the Millennium, immune to the “second death” (Revelation 20:6). summary Revelation 20:5 marks a sharp line between two bodily resurrections. The righteous rise first and share Christ’s millennial reign; the unrighteous remain dead until the thousand years end, when they are raised for final judgment. The verse therefore underscores both the completeness of salvation for believers and the certainty of judgment for unbelievers, all on a literal timeline God has revealed and will unfailingly keep. |
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