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The "First Resurrection"
Revelation 20:4-6 is a powerful argument for a post-trib rapture. Some of the saints who will be raised in the "first resurrection" are the martyrs of the tribulation. If this resurrection is "first," then there can not be a prior resurrection seven years earlier!
Rev 20:4-6
Pre-tribbers usually counter by claiming that this resurrection could not be the resurrection Paul spoke of in 1 Thess. 4, which accompanies the rapture, because here it occurs AFTER Christ returns to earth at Armageddon in chapter 19.
However, this argument is bogus. If you look closely at the wording of Rev. 20:4-6, you will see that John did not actually see the "first resurrection" as it was occurring in his vision. He saw and described the aftermath of the first resurrection. What he actually saw was those who had already been raised ruling with Christ for 1,000 years. He identified some of them as the ones who had been martyred during the tribulation. The Greek verb tenses support the idea that the first resurrection had already occurred in the sequence of events prior to John's seeing the resurrected saints ruling. When John wrote they "lived" ..., he meant living AFTER having been resurrected. "Lived" does not mean the ACT of being raised. The act of being raised are the Greek words "egeiro" or "anastasis." The word "lived" in out text comes from the root "zao" (which is the common word for "life" or be "alive"). But, in this passage, the first aorist active indicative of "zao" is used ("ezesan"). This form of "zao" is found in only a few places. Here are two of them.
Luke 15:32
Revelation 2:8
"Ezesan" in each and every case means the state of being alive after having been raised, or, "having been made alive." It NEVER refers to the act of being raised. It assumes a resurrection in the past! That is precisely the meaning in Rev. 20. If you wanted to stress the proper verb tense, you could precisely translate what John saw like this:
"...and they were living (after having been raised) and reigning with Christ one thousand years."
John did NOT witness the "first resurrection" in this passage. He described what he saw, and there is no mention of people being raised from the dead. He only witnessed the saints who had been killed by the Antichrist, and who had been resurrected, reigning with Christ on thrones in the Millennium. The Greek is very precise in avoiding placing the actual resurrection at this point in time. It speaks of the "first resurrection" as though it was past-tense when these people were seen by John living and reigning with Christ. The Greek here is quite clear, although the English is less precise. But, you can get the idea from the two other verses above that use exactly the same form, first aorist active indicative of "zao," ("ezesan"). And in each case it assumes a prior resurrection.
The fact that he spoke of "souls" does NOT mean they were still as yet unresurrected. Rather, he identified them as the "souls" that he had previously seen "under the altar" at the 5th seal (martyrs).
Rev 6:9-11
John saw these same "souls" now living and reigning with Christ, something that is only possible after the resurrection. Also, the words "I saw" just prior to "souls" is not in the Greek text at all, but was added by translators! You will find "I saw" italicised in the KJV, and bracketed in the ASV and NASB, meaning the words are not in the original text. The Greek actually says the following, word for word:
"Kai eidon thronous kai ekathesan ep autous kai krima edothee autois kai tas psuchas ton pepelekismenoon ... kai ezesan kai ebasileusan meta tou Christou chilia etee."
The exact word for word translation follows. The bracketed words are implied but not stated.
"And (I) saw thrones, and (they) sat on them, and judgment was given them AND the souls that were beheaded... And (they) lived (after having been previously raised) and reigned with the Christ one-thousand years."
This is EXACTLY how the Greek text reads (paying particular attention to the tenses of the verbs), and it clearly implies that John was using the word "souls" to simply identify and include the ones who were previously "under the altar" in this "first resurrection" that had already occurred!
Therefore, it is proper to say that the "first resurrection" occurs BEFORE Revelation 20, but AFTER the last martyr has been killed by Antichrist.
A second attempt to dodge the force of the "first resurrection" by pre-tribbers is to show that there can be other "first" resurrections. They point to Jesus' resurrection, and claim that since He was resurrected before this resurrection, this one cannot be "first" for all time. Therefore, they attempt to say it is only first in relation to the resurrection after the Millennium.
When John spoke of the "first resurrection" he was obviously speaking of FUTURE events from his point in time (first century). Remember, after Rev. 4:1, John was recording the FUTURE! So, when he referred to the "first resurrection," he was obviously speaking of a FUTURE resurrection. Of course he would not take into account past events, like Jesus' resurrection! If I said to you, "Go stand on the curb, and the FIRST car that comes by will be me," do you understand that I mean no other car has ever driven by on that road? Of course not! You understand that "first" applies only to the time following your arival at the curb! One must view my words from the perspective that I intended them. In the same way, John was speaking of the first future resurrection from his point in time, some six decades after Jesus was raised! And his intended audience knew full well that he was seeing and recording FUTURE events! Therefore, in their thinking his words would necessarily exclude the resurrection of Jesus, which Paul said was the "firstfruits" of our resurrection to come. However, if John wrote that this future resurrection after the tribulation is the "first resurrection," and yet there would be another future resurrection for the Church 7 years before this one, that makes John a liar! There can be only one "first resurrection" after John wrote Revelation! And it is AFTER the tribulation.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and (I saw) the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
(ASV)
32 'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and IS ALIVE AGAIN, and was lost and is found.'"
(NKJV)
8 "And unto the angel of the church of Smyrna write: `These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead and IS ALIVE:
(NKJV)
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
(NKJV)