Cronology of the resurrection of the unrighteous
Note: All text is taken from the NIV translation for ease of understanding.
This post is aimed at those who believe the "first resurrection" of Christs millenial reign has not happened.
So in Revelation 1 it says,
"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
The opening makes it sound like these events are on the verge of happening, not about to happen in thousands of years, but I digress before I have even begun.
Revelation 1:7 says regarding Christ;
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
It occurred to me that perhaps the only way this could happen (since those who pierced Jesus have been dead for thousands of years) is if either (a)He came in the clouds while they were still alive which we know did not happen in a literal sense, or (b) those who pierced Him were to be resurected before He descends from the clouds.
But in Revelation 20 It appears to explain that the "first resurrection" occurs of the righteous, who "came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Then it says, in Revelation 20:5 "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended." So presumably the unrighteous (whom I would be inclined to think includes those who "pierced" Jesus, aren't resurected until well after Christ has touched down and reigned for a thousand years with the righteous. Hence the question, how did they who pierced Christ see Him "coming with the clouds" if they are dead during this period.
So play devil's (or the Bible's) advocate here, and explain to me my error (or just engage in mental gymnastics if I haven't comitted any error).
Note: All text is taken from the NIV translation for ease of understanding.
This post is aimed at those who believe the "first resurrection" of Christs millenial reign has not happened.
So in Revelation 1 it says,
"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
The opening makes it sound like these events are on the verge of happening, not about to happen in thousands of years, but I digress before I have even begun.
Revelation 1:7 says regarding Christ;
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
It occurred to me that perhaps the only way this could happen (since those who pierced Jesus have been dead for thousands of years) is if either (a)He came in the clouds while they were still alive which we know did not happen in a literal sense, or (b) those who pierced Him were to be resurected before He descends from the clouds.
But in Revelation 20 It appears to explain that the "first resurrection" occurs of the righteous, who "came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Then it says, in Revelation 20:5 "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended." So presumably the unrighteous (whom I would be inclined to think includes those who "pierced" Jesus, aren't resurected until well after Christ has touched down and reigned for a thousand years with the righteous. Hence the question, how did they who pierced Christ see Him "coming with the clouds" if they are dead during this period.
So play devil's (or the Bible's) advocate here, and explain to me my error (or just engage in mental gymnastics if I haven't comitted any error).