When the Seventh Seal is opened
The Last Trumpet will sound
And Christ will come in the Clouds
This will be the End of the Great Tribulation
The First Resurrection takes place at the Last Trumpet;
the Dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are still alive will be Raptured in the Twinkling of an eye
Believers who are alive will be redeemed / raptured / transfigured / harvested / translated to Heaven, the 144000 Jews will be Sealed and the dead in Christ will be Resurrected almost simultaneously
Only then God will pour out His Wrath on the Nations
Blessed is he who is a part of the First Resurrection
Revelation 20:1-6
The Thousand Years
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.
After that, he must be set free for a short time.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God.
They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands.
They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
The first resurrection takes place at the End of the Great Tribulation and is linked to the Second coming of Christ and the Rapture in 1Thes 4:16-17 and is linked to the rapture and the second coming of Christ at the Last Trumpet in 1Cor 15.
When the Seventh or Last Trumpet sounds the Kingdom of this World becomes the Kingdom of our Lord (Rev 11:15-19). This is when Christ begins his Millennial Reign.
When the First Resurrection and the Rapture occurs, a great multitude appear in Heaven. (Rev Chapters 7, 14, 15, 19)
In this Passage, (Rev 20) the first resurrection clearly takes place before the Millennium.
Blessed and Holy are those to have a part in the First Ressurection.
Those who take part in the first ressurection did not worship the Beast or his Image or receive his Mark during the Great Tribulation.
They Reign with Christ for 1000 years in Heaven.
The rest of the dead do not come to life until the Thousand years are over. (This is the second resurrection which is when the Pagans are resurrected for Judgment at the Great White Throne)
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake
Some to Everlasting Life, Some to everlasting contempt
Daniel 12:1-13
The End Times
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.
There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.
One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”
The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time.
When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. ”
There will be two resurrections at the end of the Age.
Blessed is he who is involve in the first resurrection.
They will reign with Christ in Heaven for 1000yrs and will be priests of God and Christ.
The first resurrection takes place before the Millennium.
When Christ comes at the End of the Great Tribulation, all believers, dead and alive are called up to meet Him in the Air.
After this they will be with the Lord forever.
They will reign with Christ in Heaven during the Millennium and will be with Christ in the New Jerusalem in Eternity.
The rest of the dead do not come to life until the thousand years are over.
At the End of the Millennium the dead outside of Christ are raised for Judgement.
If their names are not in the Lamb's Book of Life, they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire which is the second death.
As there will be Nations surrounding the New Jerusalem in Eternity, there must be some Nations in the Lamb's Book of Life.
The First Resurrection and the Rapture
1Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11
The Coming of the Lord
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Those who are asleep in Christ will be raised first to meet the Lord. This is the first resurrection.
After that, those who are still alive in Christ when He returns will be caught up (raptured) to meet the Lord in the air together with those that were raised from the dead.
All Christians, dead or alive, will be gathered up to meet the Lord in the air when he comes.
From that point on, ALL believers (whether resurrected or raptured) will be with the Lord FOREVER.
When Christ Returns to redeem His Church at the last trumpet, some will be alive and some will be asleep, but we will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye
1Corinthians 15:1-58
The Resurrection of Christ
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.The Resurrection of the Dead
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.” Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.The Resurrection Body
But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
As with the previous passage, the First Resurrection and the Rapture are linked together and occur almost simultaneously. This will be when Christ returns at the Last Trumpet.
The Second Coming, the First Resurrection and the Rapture are therefore inseparably linked and are said to occur at the Last Trumpet.
While the previous passage says that the living believers will not meet the Lord before the sleeping believers, this passage indicates that there will not be much time in between the first resurrection and the rapture which take place in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.
The first resurrection and the rapture occur at the Last Trumpet which is the Seventh Trumpet in Revelation.
Christ was the first to be resurrected from the Dead and so is called the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
A Great Multitude appear in Heaven when the seventh seal is opened
Revelation Chapter 7:9 -8:1
The Great Multitude in White Robes
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
After the first resurrection and the Rapture, but before the Angels pour out the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath upon the Nations left on Earth, those who were victorious over the Beast praise God in Heaven
Revelation Chapter 14:14 -15:8
The Harvest of the Earth
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
The Great Multitude praise God when the Great Babylon is destroyed
and prepare for the Marriage of the Lamb
Revelation Chapter 19:1-10
The Great Multitude Shout Hallelujah!
After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!”The Wedding of the Lamb
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
