The following chart will outline the events occurring at the first and the second resurrections of Revelation 20 & 21:
FIRST RESURRECTION | SECOND RESURRECTION |
| 1. Second coming of Jesus for the saints (John 14:3). | 1. Third coming of Jesus with the saints (Rev. 21:2-5). |
| 2. Saints raised to life (1 Thess. 4:16). | 2. Holy city descends onto the mount of Olives, which becomes a great plain (Zech. 14:4, 9). |
| 3. Righteous given immortality (1 Cor. 15:53, 54). | 3. Wicked dead raised (Rev. 20:5, first part) |
| 4. All righteous (alive and dead) caught up into clouds (1 Thess. 4:17). | 4. Satan loosed (Rev. 20:7-8). |
| 5. Living wicked slain by the Lord’s presence (2 Thess. 2:8; Lu. 17:26-30). | 5. Satan deceives all nations. They surround the holy city (Rev. 20:8-9). |
| 6. Wicked remain in their graves (1 Thess. 4:16, last part). | 6. Wicked destroyed by fire (Rev. 20:9). |
| 7. Jesus takes righteous to heaven (Jn. 14:1-3; 17:24; 1 Thess. 4:16-18). | 7. New heavens and earth created (Rev. 21:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:10-14). |
| 8. Satan bound (Rev. 20:2-3). | 8. God’s people enjoy eternity with Jesus (Rev. 22:5). |
The first resurrection of the saints takes place at the second coming of Christ (Thessalonians 4:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53). The 1,000-year period begins at the second coming of Christ, when Jesus takes the righteous from this earth to heaven to live and reign with Him “a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).
At the close of the 1,000 years “the holy city, new Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:2) will down from heaven to the earth with all the saints (Zechariah 14:1, 4, 5) and the wicked dead of all ages will be raised to life (Revelation 20:5). They will surround the holy city to capture it (Revelation 20:9), and God’s fire will come down from heaven and devours them.
This fire will purify the earth and burns up all sin and sinners (2 Peter 3:10). Then, God will create a new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1) and gives it to the righteous, and “God… will dwell with them… and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
A closing message from BibleAsk:
Thank you for visiting BibleAsk – an online ministry dedicated to providing Bible based answers to your questions. If you enjoyed and agree with this answer, please like and share! If you don’t agree, please leave a comment below, and we’ll be sure to respond! If you have another question you would like to ask, please click here and someone from our team will personally answer it (don’t worry, your email address will never be shared). Check out our Bible Answers page to see just Bible verses answering thousands of questions. If you feel impressed to support this ministry, kindly visit our donate page to send a tax-deductible love gift to BibleAsk. Any donation size helps .
