The Rest Of The Dead

Whom though will these kings judge if as the apostle John here inserts, "(the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended)"? (Revelation 20:5a) Again, the expression "come to life" has to be understood according to context. this expression can have varying meanings in varying circumstances. For example, Paul said of is anointed fellow Christians: "It is you God made alive though you were dead in your trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1) Yes, spirit-anointed Christians were "made alive," even in the first century, being declared righteous on the basis of their faith in Jesus' sacrifice. -Romans 3:23, 24.

Similarly, pre-Christian witnesses of Jehovah were declared righteous as to friendship with God; and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were spoken of as "living" even though they were physically dead. (Matthew 22:31,32; James 2:21, 23) However, they and all others who are resurrected, as well as the great crowd of faithful other sheep who survive Armageddon and any children that may be born to these in the new world, must yet be raise to human perfection. T his will be accomplished by Christ and his associate kings and priests during the thousand-year Judgment Day, on the basis of Jesus' ransom sacrifice. By the end of that Day, "the rest of the dead" will have "come to life" in the sense that they will be perfect humans. As we shall see, they must then pass the test, God will declare them worthy of living forever, righteous in the fullest sense. They will experience the complete fulfillment of the promise: "The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it." (Psalm37:29) What a delightful future is in store for obedient mankind!

Next time: The First Resurrection

Revelation Its Grand Climax At Hand! Watchtower Bible And Tract Society, 1988