The Coming Resurrection
"The Tomb of Jesus", photo by T. Childers
THE purification of the world from evil will also, according to the Early Church Fathers, usher in an Era of Peace when Satan will be chained for a "thousand years." This will coincide also with aResurrection of the saints and martyrs, according to the Apostle John:
They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. (Rev 20:4-5)
Citing the written and oral tradition of the Church, St. Justin Martyr wrote:
I and every other orthodox Christian feel certain that there will be a resurrection of the flesh followed by a thousand years in a rebuilt, embellished, and enlarged city of Jerusalem, as was announced by the Prophets Ezekiel, Isaias and others… A man among us named John, one of Christ’s Apostles, received and foretold that the followers of Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterwards the universal and, in short, everlasting resurrection and judgment would take place. —St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Ch. 81, The Fathers of the Church, Christian Heritage
What exactly is this "resurrection of the flesh" that occurs beforethe "everlasting resurrection"?
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