An example of the First Resurrection

An example of this resurrection is found in Revelation 11.  It’s always difficult to express “the evidence of things unseen” which is the bedrock of our faith. This is why Jesus always used parables to express the invisible realities of our existence.  However, John is given a revelation of two witnesses (Revelation 11), who were raised and invited to come up.  They ascended in a cloud as their enemies watched them.   Though Josephus does not confirm the resurrection, he speaks of the two priests who were slain in the streets and left for dead during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.   So, this is not a spiritual resurrection or the restoration of Israel.  It is similar to the resurrection appearances and ascension of Christ, with the exception that they did not show themselves alive by many witnesses for 40 days like Jesus.  If Jesus’ resurrection was a physical sign of a spiritual reality, how do we explain the resurrection of these two witnesses within the city walls of Jerusalem?  It seems like a good illustration of the chronology offered in Revelation 20 that commences with the binding of Satan, the first resurrection, and their reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6).   In addition, the saints who were alive and remained at His coming join the resurrected saints (1 Thessalonians 4:17).   They did not all die before the coming of the Lord.  Yet, they did have something in common. Paul writes, “we will all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).  When the trumpet sounded, (1) the dead were raised incorruptible and (2) those alive were changed (1 Cor. 15:52) and caught up to be with the Lord.  Neither the glorified saints who were raised, nor the saints who were alive entered their glory robed in carnal bodies of flesh and blood.  Flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 15:50).