"Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." (Gen. 2:1-3)
Resurrection is the time when the flesh of corruption is being transformed into the spirit of
incorruption. During this transformation, a Christian's earthly journey may come to an end. In
this case, the Christian falls asleep in the Lord. The activity of the sixth day ceases for that individual. When man enters the Lord's rest, the Lord can rest from the work associated with that
individual. This activity began when the Kingdom of Heaven was established, and is continuing
today.
Aside from the individual resurrections, there are two encompassing resurrections. One occurs at the time Christ returns; just before His thousand year reign.
"Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." (Rev. 20:6)
For the Christian, the seventh day of creation occurs upon entering the Lord's rest. This may take place prior to or during the first resurrection. As written in Genesis, the seventh day does not end with the expression "and the evening and the morning was the---day." The other six days ended with that expression. If the evening and the morning represent man's personal interaction with good and evil, then, during the seventh day, man does not have a personal interaction with good and evil. God's rest is not complete until the last enemy is put under His feet.
"For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet." (1 Cor. 15:25)
Following this, the second resurrection takes place. The other occurs at the end of the thousand
year reign, at the time of the great white throne judgment.
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,...And I saw the dead,...standing before God, and the books were opened...And the dead were judged according to their works,...And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:11-15)
Those found in the Book of Life were of the second resurrection. They are the sons of God, who
will His Kingdom.
The Saints
A particular group of people will reign with Christ during the thousand year period. This group consists of the saints who qualified to be in the Kingdom of Heaven.
"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." (Rev. 20:4)
Revelation 20:6 states that they shall rule as priests of God and of Christ and that they were part of the first resurrection. This group includes such saints as the apostle John, for he included himself as one of the kings and priests in his opening statement in Revelation 1.
"and He has made us kings and priests to His God and Father,..." (Rev. 1:6)
Among the saints are a group of people referred to as the bride of Christ. The bride consists of wise virgins as portrayed in the parable of the ten virgins. The five wise virgins represented those who took the five-fold ministry seriously and kept their lamps full by continuing to grow and flourish in the Lord.
"And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." (Rev. 19:8)
The marriage takes place just prior to the thousand year reign mentioned in Revelation 20.
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." (Rev. 19:7)
The One Hundred And Forty-Four Thousand
The only group referred to as virgins were the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
"Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads ....These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb." (Rev. 14:1,4)
The word "virgins" and the fact that they follow the Lamb wherever He goes indicates a possible
relationship to the bride of Christ.
The selection of the bride took place sometime after the opening of the sixth seal in Revelation 6, during which the one hundred and forty-four thousand servants were sealed.
"saying, 'Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:" (Rev. 7:3,4)
The timeframe of the redemption appears to be when Satan sets out to persecute the woman
mentioned in Revelation 12.
"Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent." (Rev. 12:13,14)
What function does the bride of Christ serve? The answer can be found in the description of the
tribes from which she was chosen. Of each of the tribes, twelve thousand were sealed (Revelation
7). The meaning of the names are as follows:
Judah -- praise.
Reuben -- behold a son
Gad -- fortune
Asher -- happy
Naphtali -- wrestling
Manassis -- causing forgetfulness
Simeon -- hearing
Levi -- joined
Issacher -- reward
Zebulon -- dwelling
Joseph -- may God add children
Benjamin -- son of the right hand
Using the meanings of the names (in the order as listed in Revelation 7), the following interpretation is given:
The bride of Christ are those who praise God. They shall bear a son (behold, a son). Their fortune in life is happiness. They will wrestle with their old way of living and try to forget the past. They shall hear the word of God and be joined to the Bridegroom. Their reward is to dwell with Him. God will add children to the Son of the right hand (Bridegroom).
The following verse is another description of the bride:
"Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars." (Rev. 12:1)
"Clothed with the sun" means that she is clothed with the attributes of God the Father. The moon being a type of Christ, means that she stands on the foundation of the Word of God. The twelve stars identifies her with the twelve tribes called out in Revelation 7.
She had a son who is referred to as the male child.
"And she bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and to His throne." (Rev. 12:5)
This is what the expression "behold, a son" refers to. Other children were added as expressed by
the meaning of Joseph (may God add children).
The Male Child
The birth of the male Child is analogous to the birth of Christ. At the time of birth, the marriage of the Lamb hasn't taken place. Yet, she bears a child. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit through Mary. Mary was not married at the time. In the same way, the Holy Spirit produces a child through the bride-to-be of Christ. The child's name is Faith. Rhema produces understanding. Faith comes by hearing the word (Rhema) of God. It is this understanding that
will rule all nations with a rod of iron. The faith conceived by the woman will turn people to
Christ and cause them to become sons of God. These are the children who are added and are the rest of the woman's offspring.
The "rod of iron" which the Child shall rule the nations with is the strength of faith. Faith will move mountains. Mountains are symbolic of world governments. Iron stands for the strength of a kingdom.
"And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile." (Dan. 2:42)
God uses the strength of faith to establish His everlasting Kingdom.
"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Dan. 2:44)
The woman fled into the wilderness (Revelation 12:6) where she has a place prepared by God. After which:
"And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17)
She remains in the wilderness for three and a half years. During her absence, the beast was given
authority to rule for three and a half years.
"And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months." (Rev. 13:5)
The woman is found joined with Christ in Revelation 14.
"Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads." (Rev. 14:1)
As mentioned above in the interpretation of the twelve tribes, they hear the word of God, and
they join and dwell with Him.
"...These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes...." (Rev. 14:4)
The verse continues on to say that these are the firstfruits to God, which means that there are
more to come (God shall add to the Son of the right hand).
Jerusalem And The Temple
Previously, a description of the one hundred and forty-four thousand was made by examining the meaning of the names. But, why the number "one hundred and forty-four thousand? The answer seems to be centered around the numbers twelve and one thousand. One thousand could be the one thousand year reign of Christ before He turns His Kingdom over to the Father. The number one thousand could also mean a multitude of people. This would be consistent with the multitudes of four thousand and five thousand fed by Christ.
As previously described, the twelve tribes represent the function of the bride of Christ. The other twelve represent the twelve apostles. Twelve times twelve (144) would then be apostles performing the function of the bride of Christ. The apostles would be the firstfruits who
experience the interpretation of the twelve tribes.
This would be in line with the description of the bride in Revelation 21.
"...Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife....and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem,...she had a great and high wall with twelve gates,...and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel...now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (Rev. 21:9,10,12,14)
In keeping with previous concepts of numbers, there are not just one hundred and forty-four thousand who become the bride. The bride consists of all those who qualify as wise virgins.
The temple was built on the foundation of the apostles.
"having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:20-22)
In Revelation 21, the bride is the city of Jerusalem, and the temple in the city of Jerusalem consists of the Father and the Son. In Ephesians 2, the apostles and prophets are part of the temple.
"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." (Rev. 21:22)
How is it that the bride is in the temple, yet also is the city? This concept is subtle and difficult to
understand.
In the story of Adam and Eve, Eve was made from Adam, and she became Adam's wife. Prophetically, Adam is a type of Christ. This would make Eve a type of the bride of Christ.
During the thousand year reign, the members of the bride reside in the body of Christ. They rule
and reign with Him during the thousand year period. At the end of the thousand years, the bride
is taken out of the temple to become the city of Jerusalem.
At Day's End
When the harvest is ready, the Lord wants laborers who have been fashioned in His image
to go out and reap the harvest.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;....(Mt. 28:19,20)
The one signpost that points to the time of the great harvest is the return of the Jews to Israel. Anti-semitism and other reasons are driving hundreds of thousands of Jews out of Russia and other countries. This event was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah.
"'Therefore, behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that they shall no longer say, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,' but, 'As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.' And they shall dwell in their own land.'" (Jer. 23:7,8)
As there are physical Jews ready to be harvested and returned to physical Israel, there are spiritual Jews ready to be harvested and brought into the body of Christ. It won't be long before the latter rain shall fall, and the harvest will be ready. Who is prepared to reap the harvest when it's ready? Are they those who became Christ's disciples and were fashioned into His image?
Prior to the birth of Christ, God's chosen people lived under the law, as represented by the Tabernacle of Moses. Following Christ's ascension, God's chosen people were allowed to live
under the law of liberty, as represented by the Tabernacle of David. During the thousand year
reign, God's chosen people will live under the reign of wisdom, as represented by the Temple of
Solomon. The wise virgins rule with Christ in the Temple of Solomon.
A great restoration movement will soon come upon the earth. The one hundred and forty-four thousand will be sealed. There will be great tribulation as foretold by the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Following the First Resurrection, those who qualify will reign with Christ as kings and priests during the thousand year reign. After which, comes the opportunity to drink of the river of eternal life.
"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life,...."(Rev. 22:14)
Copyright 1998 by Dana George Cottrell