The Millennium, Final Judgments, & Eternity, the third of three studies of The Revelation of Jesus Christ
by Paige Ramsey
The Millennial Reign of Christ – Lesson 4
Revelation 20:1-6
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is
the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: on 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.
“There are two events that must take place before the Kingdom of Christ begins:
1. Satan must be bound
2. The Tribulation Saints must be resurrected”[i]
Amillennialists believe that Satan was bound when Christ rose from the grave. If this is true, then the Kingdom of Christ began at that time and ended at approximately 1029 AD, when Satan was loosed. However, that was almost 1,000 years ago. The Scripture says Satan “will be loosed a little season.”Scripture refers to the
1,000 years over and over. Verse two in our text: bound him a thousand years; verse three: till the thousand years should be fulfilled; verse four: they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years; verse five: until the thousand years were finished; verse six: shall reign with him a thousand years.
Contrast the thousand years with how Scripture describes Satan’s time of deception lasting “a little season.” It doesn’t make sense that Satan would be loosed a full 1,000 years. Also, during the period that would have been the Kingdom of Christ in this senario, Christians were horribly persecuted by the world and the false church rose into power. This doesn’t sound like Christ was ruling with a rod of iron or that the Bride of Christ was ruling and reigning with Christ.
Some Amillennialists believe Satan is still bound today. This is very interesting. If this is true, then why does evil abound in the world today? Granted, men still have a depraved nature, and the earth is cursed, so perhaps they ascribe all evil to these channels. But then, why does James tell us to “Resist the devil and he will flee from you."[ii] Why did Peter say to Ananias, “why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost…? [iii] ”Why would Paul admonish us to beware of Satan, by name, ten different times in his instruction letters to the churches?[iv] Why would Jesus Christ Himself refer to Satan five times in His letters to the seven churches, [v] and name Pergamos as the place “where Satan dwells” (present tense)?[vi]
The only logical explanation I can see is that Satan’s binding is a future event – one more reason why I am a
futurist.
Satan’s Characteristics
Notice that Satan is called:
1. the dragon –speaking of his cruelty and power
2. the serpent– speaking of his cleverness, deception, disguise
3. the devil –speaking of our adversary, our enemy, seeking whom he might devour
4. Satan – the accuser and slanderer: Job 1:6-11
Satan is very prevalent in our world today, and manifests each one of these attributes.
My husband, Gene Ramsey, once a minister of music and education in Lufkin, Texas, went to visit one of the church members in the hospital in 1986. As he walked down the hall, a policeman who knew Gene told
him about a man they had arrested and brought to the hospital who really needed someone to counsel with him. Gene recognized the name, Larry (not his real name), as someone he once knew from high school. Gene got the number of Larry’s room and promised the patrolman he would visit him after visiting his church
member. Later, when visiting with Larry, who was obviously messed up because of drugs and not very talkative, Gene noticed a strange tattoo on Larry’s shoulder and asked about it. He said it was a symbol that he had sold his soul to Satan. Gene began to express his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, about which Larry
seemed quite cynical and said, “You ain’t seen what I seen. Satan has the real power,” to which Gene replied, “Satan has no power except what God allows. Jesus Christ died on the cross, went into hell, and took the keys of hell and death away from Satan.”
At this, Larry became really frightened, “Shhh! You shouldn’t say things like that! You got no idea what Satan can do! You’ll make him mad! He’ll come after you!”
“What kind of power do you think Satan has? Tell me about your experiences,” Gene prodded.
“I seen Satan. You know what Satan looks like? He’s beautiful! – filled with light and he’s huge and powerful! I been involved with a group in California. It was my job to capture children to sacrifice to Satan.” At this point, Larry – notably still influenced by drugs – began to cry. “What we did to those poor little children!” he sobbed. “I couldn’t take it no longer, so I left. If they ketch me, I’m dead. They lookin’ for me. You can’t just walk out of those groups. They don’t let you.”
Gene began to read out of God’s Word to show him how much more power Jesus Christ had, that Jesus died for him also and would save him; that Jesus would reclaim his soul, and forgive even the worst of sins.
Larry seemed to be really interested, but Gene knew he was still under intoxicating drugs, so he told Larry he would pray for him and leave his Bible on the stand next to the bed, and stay there until Larry went to sleep, then he would come back in the morning and they would talk some more. Gene came back at 7:00 a.m. the next morning, but Larry’s bed was empty. The nurses said no one knew where he went or how he got out. The Bible was also gone. A few months later, he heard that Larry had died. Gene hopes Larry came to know the Lord and is in heaven.[vii]
Satan is very active today, and is deceiving many people in many different ways. He has convinced some that he does not exist; some believe he is equally as powerful as God and should be feared; some, like Larry are convinced he is even more powerful than God.
Remember, Satan is very limited in his power today. He only has the power to do what God allows him to do. But when Satan is bound in the bottomless pit, he is gone – out of the way – can do nothing on this earth at all. He will not be able to be cruel or to deceive or beguile anyone, nor will he be able to devour a life, taking away all hope. Neither will he accuse or slander anyone during these one thousand years. That seems like total paradise to me!
The Bottomless Pit
Greek: Abussos = English: abyss or bottomless pit
Translated “the deep” in Luke 8:31 and Romans 10:7; Translated “bottomless pit” in Rev 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3
No one knows the location of the Bottomless Pit. It may be in outer space. Certainly, this would fulfill the meaning of “bottomless.” Obviously, it is a location where there is no gravity and there is no gravity in space. If God put Satan in space a particular distance from the earth so that it would take a thousand years for Satan to find his way back – that might fulfill this prophecy.
Another possibility is the center of the earth. One of the words the English translators used for the Hebrew word Sheol is pit, and Numbers 16:28-35 and Matthew 12:40 indicate that it is located in the center of the earth. There would be no gravity in the center of the earth, so one would be forever falling in a circular motion.
Cartoons and Hollywood imaginations depict hell as Satan’s kingdom – where Satan rules. This is completely false. Satan does not want to go to hell. At one time, this place, Sheol, was divided by a great gulf, as described in Luke 16:26, with Paradise (or Abraham’s Bosom) on one side, and Torment (Flames) on the other. I am not sure how this would look if we dissected the earth and could look into this place before Christ rose. Two depictions would be:
Of the second depiction, there could be another inner circle that would depict Tartaros, and even another that would be the bottomless pit. I tried to illustrate, but it seems lacking. Regardless of where it is located or how it actually might look, the Bottomless Pit is not a place Satan wants to be, and he will be completely confined – not able to do anything until he is set loose for a little while to deceive those who are not committed to Christ.
Revelation 17:8 gives us another look at the Bottomless Pit. The Anti-Christ will ascend out of the Bottomless Pit. So, this is a holding place for the Anti-Christ. Once the Anti-Christ comes out of the holding place, he, possessed by Satan, deceives the world, and sets up his reign. Then, when Jesus on a white horse defeats the Anti-Christ and throws him into the Lake of Fire, Jesus seizes Satan and locks him into this same holding
place where the Anti-Christ had been confined. For a refresher, review “The Beasts” – Lesson 8 in The Judgments on Earth Series, especially the sections entitled The Identity of the Anti-Christ and Prepared.
The Resurrections
The First Resurrection encompasses:
1. The Old Testament Saints (the first-fruits)
2. The New Testament Saints
3. The Church
4. The Tribulation Saints
Blessed and holy is he who has 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 First Resurrection does NOT include:
1. Those of mortality who lived and died during the Millennial Reign whether they are committed to Christ or
not.
2. All of those in the past, present, or future who are not committed to Christ.
Please be aware that we are speaking about a physical resurrection here. This is very important. Some people have the idea that there will only be a spiritual resurrection, but it is imperative to understand that our physical bodies will be raised and will “put on immortality.”
Actually, the Bible speaks of three types of resurrections:
1. A National Resurrection – Hosea 6:2
2. A Spiritual Resurrection – John 3:1-8
3. A Physical Resurrection
a. raised to life – Rev. 20:5; I Cor. 15 or
b. raised to damnation – Rev. 20:13; John 5:29
God will resurrect Israel as a nation. Already, just in the last 66 years, we’ve seen Israel begin to put on leaves
even as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:32 and Mark 13:28. In 1948, Israel was recognized once again as a nation after almost two thousand years of wandering among the other nations being scorned and shunned, having to continually move in hopes of finding a permanent home. Then, in 1967, in a miraculous war which we do not have time to discuss here, but is well worth your study, Israel received land of her own. I believe God will raise Israel into full bloom, and though the Anti-Christ will fool them into believing he is their
Messiah, 144,000 of them will preach the gospel truth and as a nation they will finally come to realize that their true Messiah is the One they crucified. This will probably be at least the majority of the peoples who will enter into the Kingdom of Christ to begin the one thousand years, where He will rule them with a rod of iron and we will rule and reign with Him. A National Resurrection.
God resurrects us spiritually so that we have the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us, and we become a Spiritual being. Jesus called this resurrection of spirit being “born again” when speaking with Nicodemus in John 3. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they immediately died spiritually. All their offspring (the entire human race) are born spiritually dead – dead in trespasses and sin. The payment God requires for sin is death – nothing else. But God loved us, and came to this earth in the form of man, born of woman, and died for our sins. So, the penalty is paid for all who will believe! When God resurrects our spirit, we can hear and understand spiritual things – we have life! Spiritual Resurrection.
Physical resurrection is the resurrection of the body. When the body is resurrected, it is transformed. 1 Corinthians 15 gives us the best description of physical resurrection.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of those who died. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
…
But some will say, “How are the dead raised up?” and “with what body do they come?” You fool, that which you sow does not live, unless it dies: And that which you sow, you don’t sow the body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God gives it a body as it has pleased Him, and to every seed its own body.
…
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
…
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.[viii]
The glorified body will be of the same material as our physical body, only transformed – resurrected by the power of God. The closest thing we have to compare what our glorified body will be like is the Resurrected Christ as He remained on the earth for 40 days after His resurrection. He could appear and disappear, indicating a super-speed of travel – perhaps travel with the speed of thought. He did not have any problem appearing in a closed room – walls or closed doors could not stop Him. He was physical. He could be touched by human hands and enjoyed eating a meal. These things tell us that we will also have a physical body, but one that is not confined by time or earthly barriers.
Those who have the privilege to be a part of the First Resurrection are blessed! Search your heart. Make certain of your salvation. Make certain you are trusting Christ for the payment of yur sins. Make sure you are born-again. You do not want to miss the First Resurrection. If you do, you will be a part of the Resurrection of the Dead - unto damnation.
We will explore more about these bodies and what life will be like during the One Thousand Year Reign of Christ in the next Lesson.
[i]Cozart, Dr. Dan W.; Sermon: The Binding of Satan, Part 1; 4/18/2010.
[ii]James 4:7
[iii]Acts 5:3
[iv]Rom. 16:20; 1 Cor. 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Thess. 2:18; 2 Thess. 2:9; 1 Tim. 1:20; 5:15
[v]Rev. 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9
[vi]Rev. 2:13
[vii]Ramsey, Paige, as told by Gene Ramsey; Spiritual Warfare – Lesson 3; ©2013.
[viii]1 Cor. 15:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:35-38; 1 Cor. 15:42-44; 1 Cor. 15:50-54
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is
the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: on 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.
“There are two events that must take place before the Kingdom of Christ begins:
1. Satan must be bound
2. The Tribulation Saints must be resurrected”[i]
Amillennialists believe that Satan was bound when Christ rose from the grave. If this is true, then the Kingdom of Christ began at that time and ended at approximately 1029 AD, when Satan was loosed. However, that was almost 1,000 years ago. The Scripture says Satan “will be loosed a little season.”Scripture refers to the
1,000 years over and over. Verse two in our text: bound him a thousand years; verse three: till the thousand years should be fulfilled; verse four: they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years; verse five: until the thousand years were finished; verse six: shall reign with him a thousand years.
Contrast the thousand years with how Scripture describes Satan’s time of deception lasting “a little season.” It doesn’t make sense that Satan would be loosed a full 1,000 years. Also, during the period that would have been the Kingdom of Christ in this senario, Christians were horribly persecuted by the world and the false church rose into power. This doesn’t sound like Christ was ruling with a rod of iron or that the Bride of Christ was ruling and reigning with Christ.
Some Amillennialists believe Satan is still bound today. This is very interesting. If this is true, then why does evil abound in the world today? Granted, men still have a depraved nature, and the earth is cursed, so perhaps they ascribe all evil to these channels. But then, why does James tell us to “Resist the devil and he will flee from you."[ii] Why did Peter say to Ananias, “why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost…? [iii] ”Why would Paul admonish us to beware of Satan, by name, ten different times in his instruction letters to the churches?[iv] Why would Jesus Christ Himself refer to Satan five times in His letters to the seven churches, [v] and name Pergamos as the place “where Satan dwells” (present tense)?[vi]
The only logical explanation I can see is that Satan’s binding is a future event – one more reason why I am a
futurist.
Satan’s Characteristics
Notice that Satan is called:
1. the dragon –speaking of his cruelty and power
2. the serpent– speaking of his cleverness, deception, disguise
3. the devil –speaking of our adversary, our enemy, seeking whom he might devour
4. Satan – the accuser and slanderer: Job 1:6-11
Satan is very prevalent in our world today, and manifests each one of these attributes.
My husband, Gene Ramsey, once a minister of music and education in Lufkin, Texas, went to visit one of the church members in the hospital in 1986. As he walked down the hall, a policeman who knew Gene told
him about a man they had arrested and brought to the hospital who really needed someone to counsel with him. Gene recognized the name, Larry (not his real name), as someone he once knew from high school. Gene got the number of Larry’s room and promised the patrolman he would visit him after visiting his church
member. Later, when visiting with Larry, who was obviously messed up because of drugs and not very talkative, Gene noticed a strange tattoo on Larry’s shoulder and asked about it. He said it was a symbol that he had sold his soul to Satan. Gene began to express his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, about which Larry
seemed quite cynical and said, “You ain’t seen what I seen. Satan has the real power,” to which Gene replied, “Satan has no power except what God allows. Jesus Christ died on the cross, went into hell, and took the keys of hell and death away from Satan.”
At this, Larry became really frightened, “Shhh! You shouldn’t say things like that! You got no idea what Satan can do! You’ll make him mad! He’ll come after you!”
“What kind of power do you think Satan has? Tell me about your experiences,” Gene prodded.
“I seen Satan. You know what Satan looks like? He’s beautiful! – filled with light and he’s huge and powerful! I been involved with a group in California. It was my job to capture children to sacrifice to Satan.” At this point, Larry – notably still influenced by drugs – began to cry. “What we did to those poor little children!” he sobbed. “I couldn’t take it no longer, so I left. If they ketch me, I’m dead. They lookin’ for me. You can’t just walk out of those groups. They don’t let you.”
Gene began to read out of God’s Word to show him how much more power Jesus Christ had, that Jesus died for him also and would save him; that Jesus would reclaim his soul, and forgive even the worst of sins.
Larry seemed to be really interested, but Gene knew he was still under intoxicating drugs, so he told Larry he would pray for him and leave his Bible on the stand next to the bed, and stay there until Larry went to sleep, then he would come back in the morning and they would talk some more. Gene came back at 7:00 a.m. the next morning, but Larry’s bed was empty. The nurses said no one knew where he went or how he got out. The Bible was also gone. A few months later, he heard that Larry had died. Gene hopes Larry came to know the Lord and is in heaven.[vii]
Satan is very active today, and is deceiving many people in many different ways. He has convinced some that he does not exist; some believe he is equally as powerful as God and should be feared; some, like Larry are convinced he is even more powerful than God.
Remember, Satan is very limited in his power today. He only has the power to do what God allows him to do. But when Satan is bound in the bottomless pit, he is gone – out of the way – can do nothing on this earth at all. He will not be able to be cruel or to deceive or beguile anyone, nor will he be able to devour a life, taking away all hope. Neither will he accuse or slander anyone during these one thousand years. That seems like total paradise to me!
The Bottomless Pit
Greek: Abussos = English: abyss or bottomless pit
Translated “the deep” in Luke 8:31 and Romans 10:7; Translated “bottomless pit” in Rev 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3
No one knows the location of the Bottomless Pit. It may be in outer space. Certainly, this would fulfill the meaning of “bottomless.” Obviously, it is a location where there is no gravity and there is no gravity in space. If God put Satan in space a particular distance from the earth so that it would take a thousand years for Satan to find his way back – that might fulfill this prophecy.
Another possibility is the center of the earth. One of the words the English translators used for the Hebrew word Sheol is pit, and Numbers 16:28-35 and Matthew 12:40 indicate that it is located in the center of the earth. There would be no gravity in the center of the earth, so one would be forever falling in a circular motion.
Cartoons and Hollywood imaginations depict hell as Satan’s kingdom – where Satan rules. This is completely false. Satan does not want to go to hell. At one time, this place, Sheol, was divided by a great gulf, as described in Luke 16:26, with Paradise (or Abraham’s Bosom) on one side, and Torment (Flames) on the other. I am not sure how this would look if we dissected the earth and could look into this place before Christ rose. Two depictions would be:
Of the second depiction, there could be another inner circle that would depict Tartaros, and even another that would be the bottomless pit. I tried to illustrate, but it seems lacking. Regardless of where it is located or how it actually might look, the Bottomless Pit is not a place Satan wants to be, and he will be completely confined – not able to do anything until he is set loose for a little while to deceive those who are not committed to Christ.
Revelation 17:8 gives us another look at the Bottomless Pit. The Anti-Christ will ascend out of the Bottomless Pit. So, this is a holding place for the Anti-Christ. Once the Anti-Christ comes out of the holding place, he, possessed by Satan, deceives the world, and sets up his reign. Then, when Jesus on a white horse defeats the Anti-Christ and throws him into the Lake of Fire, Jesus seizes Satan and locks him into this same holding
place where the Anti-Christ had been confined. For a refresher, review “The Beasts” – Lesson 8 in The Judgments on Earth Series, especially the sections entitled The Identity of the Anti-Christ and Prepared.
The Resurrections
The First Resurrection encompasses:
1. The Old Testament Saints (the first-fruits)
2. The New Testament Saints
3. The Church
4. The Tribulation Saints
Blessed and holy is he who has 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 First Resurrection does NOT include:
1. Those of mortality who lived and died during the Millennial Reign whether they are committed to Christ or
not.
2. All of those in the past, present, or future who are not committed to Christ.
Please be aware that we are speaking about a physical resurrection here. This is very important. Some people have the idea that there will only be a spiritual resurrection, but it is imperative to understand that our physical bodies will be raised and will “put on immortality.”
Actually, the Bible speaks of three types of resurrections:
1. A National Resurrection – Hosea 6:2
2. A Spiritual Resurrection – John 3:1-8
3. A Physical Resurrection
a. raised to life – Rev. 20:5; I Cor. 15 or
b. raised to damnation – Rev. 20:13; John 5:29
God will resurrect Israel as a nation. Already, just in the last 66 years, we’ve seen Israel begin to put on leaves
even as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:32 and Mark 13:28. In 1948, Israel was recognized once again as a nation after almost two thousand years of wandering among the other nations being scorned and shunned, having to continually move in hopes of finding a permanent home. Then, in 1967, in a miraculous war which we do not have time to discuss here, but is well worth your study, Israel received land of her own. I believe God will raise Israel into full bloom, and though the Anti-Christ will fool them into believing he is their
Messiah, 144,000 of them will preach the gospel truth and as a nation they will finally come to realize that their true Messiah is the One they crucified. This will probably be at least the majority of the peoples who will enter into the Kingdom of Christ to begin the one thousand years, where He will rule them with a rod of iron and we will rule and reign with Him. A National Resurrection.
God resurrects us spiritually so that we have the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us, and we become a Spiritual being. Jesus called this resurrection of spirit being “born again” when speaking with Nicodemus in John 3. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they immediately died spiritually. All their offspring (the entire human race) are born spiritually dead – dead in trespasses and sin. The payment God requires for sin is death – nothing else. But God loved us, and came to this earth in the form of man, born of woman, and died for our sins. So, the penalty is paid for all who will believe! When God resurrects our spirit, we can hear and understand spiritual things – we have life! Spiritual Resurrection.
Physical resurrection is the resurrection of the body. When the body is resurrected, it is transformed. 1 Corinthians 15 gives us the best description of physical resurrection.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of those who died. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
…
But some will say, “How are the dead raised up?” and “with what body do they come?” You fool, that which you sow does not live, unless it dies: And that which you sow, you don’t sow the body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God gives it a body as it has pleased Him, and to every seed its own body.
…
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
…
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.[viii]
The glorified body will be of the same material as our physical body, only transformed – resurrected by the power of God. The closest thing we have to compare what our glorified body will be like is the Resurrected Christ as He remained on the earth for 40 days after His resurrection. He could appear and disappear, indicating a super-speed of travel – perhaps travel with the speed of thought. He did not have any problem appearing in a closed room – walls or closed doors could not stop Him. He was physical. He could be touched by human hands and enjoyed eating a meal. These things tell us that we will also have a physical body, but one that is not confined by time or earthly barriers.
Those who have the privilege to be a part of the First Resurrection are blessed! Search your heart. Make certain of your salvation. Make certain you are trusting Christ for the payment of yur sins. Make sure you are born-again. You do not want to miss the First Resurrection. If you do, you will be a part of the Resurrection of the Dead - unto damnation.
We will explore more about these bodies and what life will be like during the One Thousand Year Reign of Christ in the next Lesson.
[i]Cozart, Dr. Dan W.; Sermon: The Binding of Satan, Part 1; 4/18/2010.
[ii]James 4:7
[iii]Acts 5:3
[iv]Rom. 16:20; 1 Cor. 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Thess. 2:18; 2 Thess. 2:9; 1 Tim. 1:20; 5:15
[v]Rev. 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9
[vi]Rev. 2:13
[vii]Ramsey, Paige, as told by Gene Ramsey; Spiritual Warfare – Lesson 3; ©2013.
[viii]1 Cor. 15:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:35-38; 1 Cor. 15:42-44; 1 Cor. 15:50-54