Revelation 20:4 - “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.”

So far we have covered the first 3 resurrections: 2 from the past and 1 in the future.

1. The saints who came out of their graves when Christ died but showed themselves at the Resurrection of Christ 3 days later.

2. The Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

3. The glorious resurrection of all the saints at the Rapture.

The Tribulation Saints:

The next and the 4th resurrection will take place at the end of the tribulation period as Revelation 20:4 declares. This will be the resurrection of the Tribulation saints who will be killed for refusing to receive the mark of the beast. They will get saved, not because of their decision to reject the mark (the result of faith), but because of their faith in Christ Jesus and in believing what He says. It is the FAITH; that despite the threat of death they have the boldness to not worship the beast. The faith allowed them to endure unto the end.

The two witnesses:

There is another resurrection that will occur in the middle of the Tribulation, separated from the resurrection of the Tribulation saints. It is the resurrection of the two witnesses. This is another special resurrection to manifest the power of the Almighty God.

Revelation 11:7-12: “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. [8] And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,… where also our Lord was crucified. [9] And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. [10] And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. [11] 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. [12] And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

The identity of these two witnesses is still in question to most people today. Some believe it will be Enoch and Elijah and others, like myself consider Moses and Elijah as the two Witnesses of the Tribulation based on the description in Revelation 11:6. And they were the ones who were with Jesus Christ at the Transfiguration.

As the Two Witnesses, Moses and Elijah will be given supernatural powers and they will testify for 3 1/2 years until the Beast (Satan) from the bottomless pit wages a war against them and will kill them. They will display and parade their lifeless bodies on a public square for the whole world to see using all the media platforms; but that act to humiliate God will boomerang against them when in the middle of the celebration of their death, they will stand up and return to life. Then a great voice from heaven will be heard commanding them to come up and they will be both translated to heaven as the whole world witnesses the event.

The vision of Daniel:

Daniel 12:1-2 - “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. [2] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The vision of Daniel appears that there will be a general resurrection of both the just and the unjust during the Tribulation Period. Many take that stand because of the following phrases he used:

1. “…and there shall be a time of trouble…” - points to the Tribulation.

2. “…And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” - it seems to be a combined resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved.

Is this a proof that the Word of God has contradictions?

Daniel was an Old Testament prophet and the disclosure he received was not arranged chronologically. With additional prophecies about the last days and with more detailed revelations, we can now conclude that this resurrection coincides with the resurrection of the Tribulation saints to everlasting life. It is not a glorious resurrection for heaven. They will live again to be ushered into the Millennial Kingdom.

The resurrection of the unjust to “shame and everlasting contempt” is yet to occur after the Millennial kingdom. This is the last resurrection when all those who reject Christ will stand guilty before God at the White Throne Judgement unto eternal condemnation in the Lake of Fire.

Conclusion:

God has never allowed this world not to have a witness to declare His grace. From the beginning of time and when sin entered this world, His grace was revealed by choosing a family, a nation, prophets, and a gracious and loving Savior to stand as a witness of God’s compassion and grace.

When He takes all the saints at the Rapture, yes the work of the Holy Spirit will no longer be like He is in our time today. The Tribulation is the resumption of God’s dealing with His chosen people. Everyone who will be left behind is unsaved. But God is not willing that anyone He has chosen to perish He will send the Two Witnesses and the 12,000 missionaries from the 12 tribes of Israel, who will be saved and will spread the Gospel of the Kingdom to give God’s people an opportunity to be saved.

Some Gentiles (called the gleaning) will be saved as well. All the saved from all generations and dispensations; mortal and immortal; with physical and glorified body will enter the period of great rest for 1,000 years.