Early believers were taught that Jesus was coming to give them the Kingdom. They were taught that Jesus alone was sufficient, without the works of the Law, for entry into the Kingdom.
Christians started dying natural deaths, or being martyred. Some concern arose that the dead in Christ might have missed out on the Kingdom.
There was even some concern that everyone may have missed the Kingdom.
So Paul reassured them that the resurrection had not past. There had to come a great falling away first. The man of sin had to sit in the Temple first.
Paul taught that the dead in Christ are with Christ; that He shall bring them with Him; and they shall be raised first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.
Whether in death or life, believers were assured of participation in the future Kingdom. They were also assured of living with Christ despite physical death.
Jesus said he who believes in him would never die but is passed already from death to life. Though he die, yet shall he live. But then He also spoke of the day when the dead will come out of the graves, both the righteous and wicked.
Then when the time came when a great persecution and distress upon nations was to arise, John forewarned them, and symbolised the scheme of things in visions, so they could make sense of their present sufferings, which seemed to contradict their hope of the coming Kingdom (the scheme of things as already taught by the Lord and the Apostles).
Perhaps the meaning of the thousand year reign therefore was as follows:
The devil bound - on the cross - meaning, the devil was judged, stripped of his power through the Law, stripped of the power of death
The dead believers lived - spiritually raised with Christ; and living with Christ despite physical death, in heaven (the first, spiritual, heavenly resurrection)
And reigned with Christ - in life or in death; in spirit (on earth), or in heaven. Reigning, yet waiting - like Christ reigned in heaven, yet waits til His enemies be made His footstool
A thousand years - for an indeterminately long period of time - the Church age
The rest of the dead - the unbelievers
Lived not again - spiritually, nor physically
Until the thousand years be ended - that is, until the end of the Church Age - the Second Coming - the general, physical resurrection of everybody - they don't go to heaven in the meantime
Devil loosed - perhaps an increase in deception towards the end of time
Camp of the saints - symbolic of all the righteous
Second resurrection - the general, physical resurrection - of the righteous to eternal life, of the wicked to damnation
Blessed is he who partakes of the first resurrection - because the second death cannot hurt him
The second death - is when the resurrected body is cast into the lake of fire - so the first death is either physical death or spiritual death inherited from Adam
So the first resurrection - might be spiritual - not the eternal physical resurrected state
The purpose may have been to encourage believers that despite martyrdom and death, they can't lose, due to the above scheme.
I'm not ruling out the idea that the thousand years is instead a literal historical period to come. I see some problems with it. But I will give it more thought in future.
Christians started dying natural deaths, or being martyred. Some concern arose that the dead in Christ might have missed out on the Kingdom.
There was even some concern that everyone may have missed the Kingdom.
So Paul reassured them that the resurrection had not past. There had to come a great falling away first. The man of sin had to sit in the Temple first.
Paul taught that the dead in Christ are with Christ; that He shall bring them with Him; and they shall be raised first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.
Whether in death or life, believers were assured of participation in the future Kingdom. They were also assured of living with Christ despite physical death.
Jesus said he who believes in him would never die but is passed already from death to life. Though he die, yet shall he live. But then He also spoke of the day when the dead will come out of the graves, both the righteous and wicked.
Then when the time came when a great persecution and distress upon nations was to arise, John forewarned them, and symbolised the scheme of things in visions, so they could make sense of their present sufferings, which seemed to contradict their hope of the coming Kingdom (the scheme of things as already taught by the Lord and the Apostles).
Perhaps the meaning of the thousand year reign therefore was as follows:
The devil bound - on the cross - meaning, the devil was judged, stripped of his power through the Law, stripped of the power of death
The dead believers lived - spiritually raised with Christ; and living with Christ despite physical death, in heaven (the first, spiritual, heavenly resurrection)
And reigned with Christ - in life or in death; in spirit (on earth), or in heaven. Reigning, yet waiting - like Christ reigned in heaven, yet waits til His enemies be made His footstool
A thousand years - for an indeterminately long period of time - the Church age
The rest of the dead - the unbelievers
Lived not again - spiritually, nor physically
Until the thousand years be ended - that is, until the end of the Church Age - the Second Coming - the general, physical resurrection of everybody - they don't go to heaven in the meantime
Devil loosed - perhaps an increase in deception towards the end of time
Camp of the saints - symbolic of all the righteous
Second resurrection - the general, physical resurrection - of the righteous to eternal life, of the wicked to damnation
Blessed is he who partakes of the first resurrection - because the second death cannot hurt him
The second death - is when the resurrected body is cast into the lake of fire - so the first death is either physical death or spiritual death inherited from Adam
So the first resurrection - might be spiritual - not the eternal physical resurrected state
The purpose may have been to encourage believers that despite martyrdom and death, they can't lose, due to the above scheme.
I'm not ruling out the idea that the thousand years is instead a literal historical period to come. I see some problems with it. But I will give it more thought in future.
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