2006-9-25 05:45:00
Here are the next verses:
4 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 upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 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.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
Revelation 20:4-7
To understand these verses we must examine them as a whole. There are two groups of people here. The first group was those who escaped the mark of the Beast and endured whatever persecution necessary for the sake of truth. The second group was those who did not stand up for truth and bore the mark.
The first group of the faithful is to come forth in the first resurrection and "live and reign with Christ for a thousand years." The unfaithful are to come forth in the second or possibly later resurrection.
What are these two resurrections? They are described in the other famous book authored by John.
The hour is coming in 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
The word "damnation" is from one of the most mistranslated words in the Bible, the Greek word KRISIS.
Translators don't quite seem to know how to handle it and have rendered it according to their bias rather than the actual meaning. In the King James Version it is translated as: "accusation, condemnation, damnation, and judgment," but none of these portrays the word accurately. The modern English word "crisis" (which is derived from the Greek word KRISIS) is a more accurate rendering than the Bible translations. The actual Greek word implies a decision that brings correction. It is hard to give the meaning of this word with one English word, but the word "correction" would probably be the closest.
We thus have a resurrection to life where the person experiences the life of Christ manifested within and without. These are they who will be reborn on the earth when either the Christ himself will be here or the presence of Christ working through disciples on a fairly peaceful and stable planet.
The second resurrection will come after the New Age of peace becomes somewhat shaky again. Then those in need of correction will incarnate again into not so peaceful situations so they can learn their needed lessons and work off some of their negative karma.
We are told the faithful who reap the resurrection of life will receive numerous benefits as they return to life during the Age of Peace.
Among them are:
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them."
The thrones are the positions of power throughout the earth. Presently, and in past ages, most of them are held by those who worship personal power and the authority of the Beast. Finally, in the New Age these positions will be held by the most enlightened who will govern with wisdom and judgment.
"...they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
They will go in and out of incarnation and find pasture during the Age of Peace where the Christ consciousness dominates.
"...they shall be priests of God and of Christ."
They shall not only rule in the governments of earth but shall be spiritual teachers and true servants of God and of mankind.
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Revelation 20:7
Nothing good lasts forever in this round. After all the good souls have had a chance to enter the New Age the not-so-good start incarnating again and causing trouble. This releases negative adversarial power that upsets the fragile balance that insures peace and brotherhood.
Here are the next verses:
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Revelation 20:8-10
I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.
Terry Pratchett
Copyright © 2006 by J J Dewey, All Rights Reserved