Revelation 20:5
New International Version
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

New Living Translation
This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)

English Standard Version
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

Berean Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection.

Berean Literal Bible
The rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years shall have been completed. This is the first resurrection.

King James Bible
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

New King James Version
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

New American Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

NASB 1995
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

NASB 1977
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

Legacy Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Amplified Bible
The rest of the dead [the non-believers] did not come to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

Christian Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

American Standard Version
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.

English Revised Version
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The rest of the dead did not live until the 1,000 years ended. This is the first time that people come back to life.

Good News Translation
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead.

International Standard Version
The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.

Majority Standard Bible
The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection.

NET Bible
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection.

New Heart English Bible
The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Weymouth New Testament
No one else who was dead rose to Life until the thousand years were at an end. This is the First Resurrection.

World English Bible
The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and the rest of the dead did not live again until the one thousand years may be completed; this [is] the first resurrection.

Berean Literal Bible
The rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years shall have been completed. This is the first resurrection.

Young's Literal Translation
and the rest of the dead did not live again till the thousand years may be finished; this is the first rising again.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the rest of the dead returned not again to life even till the thousand years be finished. This the first rising up.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The rest of the dead did not live, until the thousand years are completed. This is the First Resurrection.

New American Bible
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.

New Revised Standard Version
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
This is the first resurrection.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And this is the first resurrection.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
But the rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

Godbey New Testament
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were fulfilled. This is the first resurrection.

Haweis New Testament
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are completed. This is the first resurrection.

Mace New Testament
but the rest of the dead shall not live again until the thousand years are finished, this is the first resurrection.

Weymouth New Testament
No one else who was dead rose to Life until the thousand years were at an end. This is the First Resurrection.

Worrell New Testament
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.

Worsley New Testament
But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years be finished.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Satan Bound
4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! 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.…

Cross References
1 Corinthians 15:23-24
But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him. / Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.

John 5:28-29
Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice / and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

Matthew 25:31-32
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. / All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Acts 24:15
and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

Luke 14:14
and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Isaiah 26:19
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.

Ezekiel 37:12-14
Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. / Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. / I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”

Philippians 3:11
and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— / in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

John 6:39-40
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. / For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Matthew 22:31-32
But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: / ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Job 19:25-27
But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. / Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. / I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me!


Treasury of Scripture

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

the rest.

Revelation 20:8,9
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea…

Revelation 19:20,21
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone…

This.

Revelation 11:11,15
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them…

Ezekiel 37:2-14
And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry…

Romans 11:15
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

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Completed Dead End Ended Finished First Live Rest Resurrection Rising Rose Thousand
Revelation 20
1. Satan bound for a thousand years.
6. The first resurrection;
7. Satan let loose again.
8. Gog and Magog.
10. The demons cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.
11. The last and general resurrection.














The rest of the dead
This phrase refers to those who did not partake in the "first resurrection." In the context of Revelation, these are individuals who have not been resurrected to reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom. Theologically, this suggests a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous dead. The Greek word for "dead" here is "nekros," which implies those who are physically deceased but also spiritually separated from God. This separation underscores the importance of spiritual readiness and faithfulness in the Christian life.

did not come back to life
The phrase indicates a delay in resurrection for these individuals. The Greek word "anazō" is used here, meaning to live again or be revived. This suggests that there is a future hope of resurrection, but it is not immediate for "the rest of the dead." This delay serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of spiritual choices made in this life and the hope of eventual resurrection for all.

until the thousand years were complete
The "thousand years" refers to the millennial reign of Christ, a period of peace and righteousness on earth. The term "chilioi" in Greek signifies a literal or symbolic thousand-year period. This millennium is a time when Christ's authority is fully realized on earth, and it serves as a fulfillment of God's promises to His people. The completion of this period marks a transition in God's redemptive plan, emphasizing the temporality of earthly life and the eternal nature of God's kingdom.

This is the first resurrection
The "first resurrection" is a term that signifies the resurrection of the righteous who will reign with Christ during the millennium. The Greek word "prōtos" means first in time or rank, indicating the preeminence and blessedness of this resurrection. It is a reward for those who have remained faithful to Christ, highlighting the hope and assurance of eternal life for believers. This resurrection is a pivotal event in eschatological teachings, offering encouragement and motivation for Christians to persevere in their faith.

(5) But the rest of the dead lived not again . . .--Rather, The rest of the dead lived not (we must omit the word "again") until the thousand years be finished. This is the first resurrection. In those words we meet one of the keys to the controversy respecting the millennium. What is this resurrection? Is it the resurrection at which the saints shall assume the glorified bodies, and their perfect consummation and bliss? It has been argued that the word must be understood literally as of a bodily resurrection. It is further said that the contrasting words ("the rest of the dead lived not") necessitate this literal interpretation. But there is no reason for restricting the word Resurrection to a literal meaning. The sacred writers frequently use the idea figuratively. They speak of a resurrection which is spiritual; the dead in sin are summoned to rise from the dead that Christ might give them light (comp. Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 5:14); indeed, the figure often underlies the language and arguments of New Testament writers (John 5:24-25; Romans 6:5; 2Corinthians 5:15; Colossians 2:12). But do the words, "the rest of the dead lived not," force upon us so sharp a contrast that we must understand the first resurrection literally? Undoubtedly the words are in contrast. If the words "lived not" necessarily mean that the rest of the dead did not enjoy physical life on earth, then the living with Christ of the saints and the first resurrection must be understood as giving physical life on earth to the saints. But are we bound to thus understand literally the "lived" of Revelation 20:4 and the "lived not" of Revelation 20:5? There are two or three considerations which will be enough to show that they need not be understood thus. (1) The word "to live" is used about sixteen times in the Apocalypse. On nine of these it is applied to the eternal life of God the Father or God the Son; it is twice used in the passage before us (Revelation 20:4-5). Of the remaining five occasions where the word is used, it is four times employed in what can scarcely be other than a figurative sense (Revelation 3:1; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 13:14; Revelation 19:20--some might doubt the figurative use in this last passage), but only once is it employed in a sense which can fairly be defended as literal (Revelation 16:3). (2) There will be faithless people during the millennium--the nations to be deceived (Revelation 20:8). Are we then to picture saints with glorified resurrection bodies living on the earth, which at the same time is tenanted by men and women still in the natural body? (3) There is a resurrection, which surely is the second resurrection, described in Revelation 20:12-13 : this last is a general resurrection of the dead, small and great. There seems no adequate reason to affirm that this first resurrection, then, must be physical. Our notions of life and death are so circumscribed by the geography of earth, that we seldom give to the word "life" in our thoughts its true richness and fulness of meaning. We fail to remember that the faithful ones who live, because Christ lives, have the promise of the life that now is, as well as that which is to come; we forget that God is not God of the dead, but of the living. . . . Verse 5. - But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished; should be finished. Omit "but;" omit "again." It is important to notice the omission of "again;" the rest of the dead lived not until, etc. The best explanation of these words seems to be that the "rest of the dead" refers to those Old Testament saints and others (such as godly heathens) who were in the world before Christ's act of atonement - "the thousand years" (see on ver. 2, above) - had been accomplished. They could not be said to have lived, in the high sense in which St. John uses the word, not having known Christ; for "in him was life" (John 1:4; John 5:40, etc.). But by Christ's redeeming work, these were placed on a level with Christians (cf. Luke 7:28, "John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he;" also Hebrews 11:39, 40, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect"). This is the first resurrection. These words refer both to the reigning of those mentioned in ver. 4, and to the living of those in ver. 5 (vide supra). This "first resurrection" is the spiritual rising with Christ, which is a consequence of his redeeming work. It is to be noticed that St. John nowhere makes use of the phrase, "second resurrection," though he does use the words, "second death." Both the "first resurrection" and the "second death" are spiritual operations.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
The
Οἱ (Hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

rest
λοιποὶ (loipoi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3062: Left, left behind, the remainder, the rest, the others. Masculine plural of a derivative of leipo; remaining ones.

of the
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

dead
νεκρῶν (nekrōn)
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3498: (a) adj: dead, lifeless, subject to death, mortal, (b) noun: a dead body, a corpse. From an apparently primary nekus; dead.

{did} not
οὐκ (ouk)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

come back to life
ἔζησαν (ezēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live.

until
ἄχρι (achri)
Conjunction
Strong's 891: As far as, up to, until, during. Or achris akh'-rece; akin to akron; until or up to.

the
τὰ (ta)
Article - Nominative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

thousand
χίλια (chilia)
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural
Strong's 5507: A thousand. Plural of uncertain affinity; a thousand.

years
ἔτη (etē)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2094: A year. Apparently a primary word; a year.

were complete.
τελεσθῇ (telesthē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5055: (a) I end, finish, (b) I fulfill, accomplish, (c) I pay. From telos; to end, i.e. Complete, execute, conclude, discharge.

This [is]
αὕτη (hautē)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

the
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

first
πρώτη (prōtē)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4413: First, before, principal, most important. Contracted superlative of pro; foremost.

resurrection.
ἀνάστασις (anastasis)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 386: A rising again, resurrection. From anistemi; a standing up again, i.e. a resurrection from death (its author), or a recovery.


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NT Prophecy: Revelation 20:5 The rest of the dead didn't live (Rev. Re Apocalypse)
Revelation 20:4
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