THE GOD CULTURE PHILIPPINES BLOG | SEPTEMBER 11, 2025

First Resurrection vs. Second Death: A Clear Teaching Guide

Understanding Revelation 20 in Context

📖 Two Distinct Groups in Revelation 20

2 Distinct Groups

🛡️ Believers

• Those in Messiah; martyrs who refused the beast

• Partake in the First Resurrection and reign with Messiah. No Second Resurrection is mentioned.

⚖️Unbelievers

• The rest of the dead (those outside the Book of Life)

• Remain dead until Judgment, then face the Second Death. Disappear before the 1,000 years.

📚 Key Terms Defined

Term                                                   Meaning                                                                                    Who It Applies To

First Resurrection (Rev. 20:5–6): Resurrection to eternal life and reigning with Messiah – Believers only

Second Death (Rev. 20:14–15): Final, spiritual destruction in the lake of fire – Unbelievers only

🧠 What Revelation 20 Doesn't Say

• ❌ There is no such thing as a “Second Resurrection”. Second Death is not for believers and is not such.

• ❌ Sinners are not resurrected to reign. The do not live again thru the 1,000 years either because they were consumed on 1 day in scripture on the Day of Judgment.

• ❌ Messiah does not only reign for 1,000 years — His reign is eternal (Rev. 11:15). The 1,000 years is the bondage period for Satan and a Sabbath repose for believers. There is no such thing as a “Millennial Reign” as he rules forever from the Day of Judgment.

🧾 Revelation 20 Timeline Simplified

1 Martyrs resurrected — First Resurrection Rev. 20:4–5

2 Reign with Messiah — 1,000-year rest Rev. 20:4, 6

3 Satan released briefly, judged and gone Rev. 20:7–10

4 Final Judgment of the wicked Rev. 20:11–15

5 Second Death for the wicked Rev. 20:14–15

💡 Important Doctrinal Points

✅ The “rest of the dead” (Rev. 20:5) never partake in eternal life — they live not again in the true, lasting sense. The translation is fine. The exegesis is not.

✅ The phrase “lived not again” in many English Bibles adds the word “again” unnecessarily. The Greek verb ἀνέζησαν (anézēsan) appears only once, and simply means “they lived” and the translation would accurately read they “lived not” because they were already consumed by eternal fire and no more.

✅ The Second Death is not symbolic — it is the total destruction of spirit (Matt. 10:28; Mal. 4:1–3). These experience the First Death as all men do in the physical flesh. However, spirits do not experience death except by the hand of Yahusha on the Day of Judgment. That is the Second Death.

✅ Only the righteous are raised to life and escape the second death (Rev. 20:6). No Second Resurrection is mentioned nor needed. There is never a group that rules and reigns first while another group of believers waits 1,000 years. It is simply a poor reading of the Greek based on a word inserted twice which is only there once and it fails the overall test of the DAY of Judgment which is a single one-time event in all of scripture. [See Continuation Below].

📖 Supportive Scriptures

Eternal life only in Messiah: 1 John 5:11–12 No life outside the Son

The wicked are destroyed: Psalm 37:10, 20 Cut off forever

Second Death = final judgment: Rev. 20:14 Lake of fire is the second death

Messiah's reign is eternal: Rev. 11:15; Daniel 7:14 Not limited to 1,000 years

📌 Conclusion

The First Resurrection is the blessed hope of the righteous.
The Second Death is the final end of the wicked at the same time.
These are not two resurrections, nor 2 events — but two eternally different outcomes. This all occurs on the same day in scripture.

📜 All Are Judged on the Same Day – Scriptural & Extra-Biblical Support

🕎 Canonical Scriptures (66-Book Canon)

📖 Matthew 25:31–46 – Sheep and Goats Judgment

“When the Son of Man shall come in His glory... before Him shall be gathered all nations... and He shall separate them...”

✅ All nations gathered, judged at once, separated into two groups. The wicked do not stand there for 1,000 years awaiting final judgment.

📖 John 5:28–29

“All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

✅ One resurrection, two outcomes — no 1,000-year separation.

📖 Hebrews 9:27

“It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.”

✅ Judgment happens after death, not 1,000 years later. Yes, Enoch and Elijah remain alive but will shed their physical bodies with the rest of believers meeting Messiah in the air (Enoch 90).

📖 Acts 17:31

“Because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness...”

✅ A specific day appointed for worldwide judgment. Not 1,000 years of separation.

📖 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10

“...when the Master Yahusha shall be revealed from heaven... taking vengeance... and to be glorified in His saints...”

✅ Same day: vengeance on the wicked, glory for the righteous. In fact, as Heaven comes to Earth on the Day of Judgment, there is no scenario of Yahusha coming down from Heaven after that.

📖 Revelation 20:11–15 – Great White Throne Judgment

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before Elohim... and they were judged...”

✅ All the dead appear together before the throne for judgment. Rev. 20 advances to tell of Satan’s demise only to return to the timeline to the Day of Judgment as he begins telling us about martyrs being restored to live forever. There is no separate judgment in scripture.

📚 Second Temple / Extra-Biblical Texts

These texts are not canonical for all traditions, but are respected ancient witnesses that reflect early Hebrew beliefs — especially helpful for understanding apocalyptic themes and the timing of judgment. We publish these books free in eBook with deep research testing them at thegodculture.org.

📖 2 Esdras (4 Ezra) 7:30–38

“The world shall be turned into the old silence seven days... after seven days, the world that is not yet awake shall be raised up... the day of judgment shall be revealed... the pit shall appear, and the opposite place of rest...”

✅ A unified judgment — resurrection and judgment take place on the same day, with both reward and punishment revealed. 2nd Esdras remained in the Bible Canon until the 1611 King James for some and still remains for others. It was directly quoted by Messiah especially as well as the Apostles numerous times. [See our publishing for details].

📖 Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) 90:20–27

“And judgment was held first over the stars (angels)... then over the shepherds (pastors), and then over all who had destroyed the earth... and judgment was executed upon all.”

✅ One massive scene of judgment — no time gaps. This is after Enoch says he will meet Yahusha in the air on this same day.

Also in Enoch 89–90, a single day is portrayed where the animals (nations) and shepherds (leaders) are judged together, and the House (Kingdom) is given to the Righteous One. Again, that is not a 1,000 Reign but an eternal one just as the rest of scripture has always defined.

📖 Book of Jubilees 23:30

“...and in that day the two monsters will be separated... and judgment will take place over all men.”

✅ A singular day of judgment for all humanity.

📖 Tobit 13:5

“He will judge the world and will have mercy on His people...”

✅ Judgment of the whole world, not in stages.

📚 Summary Table: Unified Judgment Day References

Matthew 25 v31–46. All nations gathered and judged at once

John 5 v28–29. One resurrection, two results

Acts 17 v31. One appointed day for all

Revelation 20 v11–15. All dead judged before the throne

2 Esdras 7 v30–38. After 7 days of silence, all rise for judgment

1 Enoch 90 v20–27. One sweeping judgment over all

Jubilees 23 v30. Judgment over all men on one day

Tobit 13 v5. Judgment of the world

🔥 Conclusion: There Is One Day of Judgment — Not Many

• There is one First Resurrection (for the righteous)

• There is one Day of Judgment (for all)

• There is no “second resurrection”

• There is a Second Death — for the ungodly, after judgment occurring at the same time

👉 This harmonizes Yahusha’s words, the prophets, apostolic writings, and respected Hebrew apocalyptic texts. This is the manner in which Biblical exegesis should be executed attempting to reconcile the scriptures rather than a sound bite out of context.