S-A: (Rev20-6) He that hath part in the first resurrection

Scripture Analysis: (Rev.20:6) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection

As good as reading the Bible is, we miss a LOT of valuable details as our eyes simply pass over the words. To really get into the heart of the verse, it is important to —slow down, to —take note what it says, and to —understand it in the context of rightly dividing the passage in which it resides.
----------------------------

Rev.20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The book of Revelation can be an intimidating and cryptic book, but when you stay within the boundaries of sound hermeneutics¹ and apply right division to it, it's contents will ring out loud and clear. The importance of this cannot be more emphasized as we break open our focus verse and delve into its details. Even though there is no cryptic language here, and thus can be understood in a fully literal way, it is of vital importance to recognize right division; that is, to know who John is writing to or addressing, and the specific time to which the verse is referring to. 

The details in this verse are intriguing and they might even surprise you (depending on your insights into end-times events). Let's have a look at our focus verse in more detail.

"Blessed and holy is he"

'Blessed' can be translated more appropriately as, —happy, or fortunate, or to be envied. These are really good synonyms to describe those who will form part of the particular resurrection type* in question; the resurrection to life and not eternal destruction.
*(explained below)

'Holy' is used in the sense that those participating in the first resurrection are set apart from the unsanctified (the damned), but it can also be interpreted that they have reached the point of ultimate sanctification, having being freed from their corruptible bodies and have been clothed with their new incorruptible bodies, (1 Cor.15:52; 1 Pet.1:23, Rom.8:23).

'He', represented here as a singular pronoun, is referring to ALL people, of ALL ages, who at some point in their lives responded in faith to the good news of the gospel that God had provided at that time; whether it be the proto-gospel, the Kingdom gospel, the Grace gospel, etc.

So, in this section of the verse it is important to know that we are dealing with ALL people (from Adam to the second coming of Christ) who are saved by faith in the gospel. These are the people who will be happy and fortunate, who will be separated unto salvation, and who will live in the presence of God for all eternity.

"that hath part in the first resurrection:"

In this part of the verse we need to define the 'FIRST resurrection'. There is more to this resurrection than meets the eye. The first thing to understand is that the Bible speaks of two types of resurrections: The resurrections of the righteous (1st Resurrection.) and the resurrection of the unrighteous (2nd Resurrection.). Jesus and Paul plainly declared these two resurrection 'types':

John 5:28 [Jesus] "for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out —those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned."

Acts 24:15 [Paul] ...having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, that there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous; (Also see: Daniel 12:2)

As you can see, there will be resurrections of both the righteous and unrighteous. This doesn't mean, however, that there will only be two resurrections in number, just that there are two TYPES of resurrections.

Revelation 20:4-6 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 about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The [resurrection to 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 is the resurrection of the righteous, meaning those in right-standing with God. Again, when Jesus and Paul spoke of these two resurrections (above), they were talking about TYPES of resurrections and not numbers. While there's only one resurrection of the unrighteous, the resurrection of the righteous takes place in STAGES, which correspond to the analogy of an Old Testament Jewish harvest.

In biblical times the Jewish harvest took place in three specific stages:

1. the first fruits, (Christ's resurrection)
2. the main harvest, (the Rapture of the Body of Christ), and 
3. the gleanings (all saints through all ages, excluding the Body of Christ). 

The harvest began with the first fruits, which concerned the first fruits and grains to ripen in the season and were offered to the LORD as a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Exodus 23:16,19). Later came the main harvest (Exodus 23:16) and, lastly, the gleanings, which was the portion of harvest left over after the main harvest, kept for the poor, the needy and the foreigner. (Leviticus 19:9-10).

Now, here is something VERY important to note, and which becomes clear when rightly dividing the Word and recognizing who the author is addressing, and at what time he is writing about. Even though we have noted that there are three resurrections that are part of what Jesus called the resurrection unto life (John 5:28-29 or the FIRST resurrection), we must recognize that the resurrection in our scripture reference is only referring to the 3rd part of the FIRST resurrection; in other words, it is referring to the gleanings part, representing all the saints in the Bible who are not part of the rapture of the Body of Christ. Remember, Jesus has already been resurrected as the first fruits. Also, the Body of Christ has already been raptured away as the main harvest, seven (or more) years prior to the second coming. So the only resurrection left is the 'gleanings', which will take place at Christ's second coming and just before the inauguration of the 1000-year Millennial Kingdom, (Rev.20:4, "They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years"). 

Those involved in all three these resurrections, under the banner of the FIRST resurrection, can be counted as blessed, happy, fortunate and to be envied.

"on such the second death hath no power,"

If one has been resurrected in the FIRST resurrection, they have no part in the second resurrection. This is why the verse says that the second death has no power over them. So, having analyzed the first resurrection, it is logical to understand that the 'second death' is a representation of the second resurrection, or to be more accurate, it is the end result (or destiny) of all the wicked; all who rejected the gospel in their day, and it's these people who are raised at the second resurrection to undergo judgement and receive the penalty of the second death.

Rev.20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 

Rev.21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 

This second resurrection will occur at the end of the 1000-year Messianic Kingdom and just before the Great White Throne judgment. At this judgment, Jesus will judge all who have rejected Him and His salvation. (Rev.20:11-15) 

The event which divides the first and second resurrections is the Millennial Kingdom. The last of the righteous, (the gleanings), before the millennium, are "raised to reign with Christ a thousand years." (Rev.20:4), but the "rest of the dead, (that is, the wicked (cursed)), lived not again until the thousand years were finished", (Rev.20:5).

"but they shall be priests of God and of Christ," 

The word, 'they', is in reference to the gleanings; those who were raised in the third specific resurrection of the FIRST resurrection type. The greatest majority of these resurrected will be Jewish (incl. those who have proselyted into the Jewish faith). It is they who become the priests of God and of Christ. Remember, it is the Jews who have been identified as a Kingdom of the priests (Exo.19:6) and who will fulfil that role in the Millennial Kingdom, standing in the mediatory position between Christ and the nations.

"and shall reign with him a thousand years"

The duration of the Millennial Kingdom is 1000-years. Rev.20:2-7 mentions this no less than 6 times. All Jews in the Millennial Kingdom will be priests and will be highly esteemed individuals. For example,

Deut.15:6 When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.

Deut.26:19 that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.

Deut.28:13 The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.

Many, in addition to being priests, will also be assigned positions of rank and title; the 12-apostles, for example, will be seated on 12 thrones, ruling over the 12 tribes of Jacob, Matt.19:28.

In Conclusion

Its incredible how much information is packed into a single verse. When I do these scripture analysis articles, I'm always amazed at how much the verse can be expanded and how much can be said about the individual parts that make up the verse. The important thing is that it has to be understood in the right context; who is the verse referring to, what time is it referencing, and what are the circumstances surround the verse. 

I trust that this analysis has enlightened you, to some extent, regarding end-times events. My hope is that you are encouraged and that you can learn more about God's incredible Word as we break open individual verses or passages of scripture. May God bless you as you continue in His Word.

¹Unless the verse or passage clearly indicates the author was using figurative language, it should be understood in its normal sense. We are not to look for other meanings if the natural meaning of the sentence makes sense. Also, we are not to spiritualize Scripture by assigning meanings to words or phrases when it is clear the author, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, meant it to be understood as it is written.