🧵NOT SPIRITUAL METAPHOR

The “first resurrection” described in Revelation 20 occurs before the thousand-year reign of Christ and must be understood as a bodily resurrection, not a spiritual metaphor.

John writes, “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years ended. This is the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4–5).

The text explicitly contrasts two groups: those who come to life and reign with Christ, and those who remain dead until after the millennium.

This demands a sequential, bodily resurrection—not a metaphor for conversion or spiritual renewal.👇 ✝️The Greek verb used—ἔζησαν (“they lived”)—is the same word used throughout the New Testament to describe physical resurrection (e.g., John 11:25; Rom. 14:9).

The phrase “first resurrection” (ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη) indicates a discrete event, one that precedes another.

To claim this is spiritual while the “second resurrection” is physical violates the parallel structure and the clear grammatical distinction the passage makes.

Both groups “come to life,” just not at the same time. The text gives no hint that these are distinct types of resurrection.

🧵The sequence of the millennium in Revelation 20:1–6 is literal, not symbolic.

Revelation 20 describes a sequence of events with clear temporal markers: Satan is bound (v.2), the saints are resurrected and reign with Christ for a thousand years (v.4), and only after this period does the final judgment occur (v.11–15).

This sequence follows Christ’s visible return in Revelation 19, where He defeats the Beast and false prophet in a global confrontation (vv.11–21).

The natural reading of chapters 19 and 20 places Christ’s return before the millennium—hence, Premillennialism. 👇 ⛪️🚫Attempts to allegorize the 1,000 years as a symbol of the Church Age collapse under the textual weight of this orderly progression.

The passage identifies this reign as one involving those “beheaded for their testimony” who “came to life and reigned with Christ” (20:4).

The Greek verb ἔζησαν (“came to life”) mirrors usage elsewhere for physical resurrection (cf. John 11:25; Romans 14:9), not metaphorical renewal. This “first resurrection” (v.5) contrasts with a second resurrection of “the rest of the dead,” suggesting two distinct bodily events separated by time.

🧵👀Memorial animal sacrifices in the Millennial Kingdom are retrospective; not redemptive.

The Old Testament prophets describe a future Messianic kingdom with physical, geopolitical, and ecological features that have never been fulfilled in the Church Age or in heaven and therefore must point to a literal future reign of Christ on earth.

These prophecies are not vague religious hopes—they contain measurable dimensions, defined territories, ritual observances, and international dynamics that resist spiritualization.👇 🌱Isaiah 11 presents a vision of the Messiah, the shoot from the stump of Jesse, who will rule the nations in perfect justice. Under His reign, “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,” and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (vv.6–9).

These are not metaphors for inner peace or ecclesial harmony. They depict real changes in nature’s order and in the political status of the nations.

This period includes judgment with equity for the poor and meek—conditions absent from both Israel’s history and the present Church Age.

The Gentile nations will seek the Root of Jesse, and His “resting place shall be glorious” (v.10), showing that this kingdom is not merely spiritual but international and embodied.

We ARE the underground church.
Our journey began in Iran, expanding to Afghanistan and now spans 73% of Muslim-majority nations, reaching 71 countries globally.
We focus on making disciples of Jesus in the most unreached areas, coaching believers to do the same.
1/6 We're made historic strides by infiltrating the belly of the beast: Mecca, the epicenter of Islam.
Here we've faced immense spiritual opposition but God's word has been proclaimed even still. Leading to the first recorded baptism in 1400 years with 6 more planned.
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