Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Understanding the First Resurrection
One of the biggest mistakes Post-Tribbers make is to believe the First Resurrection happens in one felled swoop. They see the dead come to life in Revelation 20, then see the verse that says "This is the First Resurrection" and assume that the entire first resurrection happens there in Revelation 20. But that simply is not how it works.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NASB
20 But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
In this scripture, there is no doubt that Paul is speaking about the First Resurrection. Jesus was raised from the dead first. That will be followed by those who are His at His coming.
However, Jesus rose from the dead almost 2,000 years ago. So if He is the First Fruits of the First Resurrection, and the dead believers coming to life at His coming are after that, then it is literally impossible for the First Resurrection to happen in one quick shot. It clearly happens in at least two phases. Which means that in Rev 20 when it clearly states "This is the First Resurrection" it has to mean "This is the completion of the First Resurrection".
Now in that scripture, Paul calls Jesus the "First Fruits" two different times. Do you know where that name comes from? In the book of Leviticus, God lays down some laws for how the Jews were to harvest their wheat.
Leviticus 23:10 (NASB)
10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you gather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
So God tells them to first take a swath from the field and present it to the Priests for an offering. Then later, in verse 22, God gives them another rule to follow.
Leviticus 23:22 NASB
22 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”
They are not to bring in the entire harvest but they are to leave the outer edges for the poor and the travelers to pick from. Even today the Jews still follow these rules. They will first take a swath from the center of the field and present it to the master who decides if it is ready or if it needs time to ripen. Then they harvest most of the wheat, leaving the outer edges for the poor. However there is a third phase to their harvest that you can easily look up. They call it the Gleanings. Once the poor have had their time to pick at the wheat, but before it can over ripen and rot, they go out and collect what is left. Even what is on the ground. The Jewish Wheat Harvest happens in three phases. The fact that Paul refers to Jesus as the First Fruits, is a good clue to the understanding that the First Resurrection will be fashioned after the Wheat Harvest and will happen in three phases.
1) The First Fruits -- Jesus resurrected and then ascended to the Father and presented Himself to the Father.
2) The Main Harvest -- This will be the rapture.
3) The Gleanings -- This will be represented by the dead Tribulation Saints who come to life in Revelation 20:4. "After" the Second Coming and after the devil is cast into the abyss.
So when it says "This is the First Resurrection", it is not saying this is where it begins. Paul makes it clear it began with Jesus. It is better understood to mean, "This is the completion of the First Resurrection".
The First Resurrection does not happen in one felled swoop. It happens in three phases. Starting with Jesus. Then the rapture. Then is finished with the dead tribulation Saints coming to life.
Post-Tribbers will not want to accept this, but to make Rev 20:4 fit their belief, they need to change the order of the events in scripture, they need to add to Gods word to make the dead who come to life about all the dead and not just those who die during the tribulation like it plainly says, and then they need to explain Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.
Rev 20:4 simply does not fit the Post-Trib view as it is, so they are forced to twist Gods word to make it work. Yet from the Pre-Trib view, it fits absolutely perfect as it is.
