{The rest of the dead} (hoi loipoi t(936e) nekr(936e)). "All
except the martyrs, both the righteous and the unrighteous"
(Beckwith). But some take this to mean only the wicked. {Lived
not until the thousand years should be finished} (ouk ez(8873)an
achri telesth(8869) ta chilia et(885c)). See verse  4  for the items
here. "To infer from this statement, as many expositors have
done, that the ez(8873)an of v.  4  must be understood of bodily
resuscitation, is to interpret apocalyptic prophecy by methods of
exegesis which are proper to ordinary narrative" (Swete). I
sympathize wholly with that comment and confess my own ignorance
therefore as to the meaning of the symbolism without any
predilections for post-millennialism or premillennialism. {This
is the first resurrection} (haut(8820)h(8820)anastasis h(8820)pr(9374)(885c)).
Scholars differ as to the genuineness of this phrase. Accepting
it as genuine, Swete applies it to "the return of the martyrs and
confessors to life at the beginning of the Thousand Years."
According to this view the first resurrection is a special
incident in the present life before the Parousia. It has no
parallel with  1Th 4:16 , where the dead in Christ are raised
before those living are changed. Some think that John here
pictures the "Regeneration" (palingenesia) of  Mt 19:28  and
the "Restoration" (apokatastasis) of  Ac 3:21 . No effort is
here made to solve this problem, save to call attention to the
general judgment out of the books in  20:12  and to the general
resurrection in  Joh 5:29  Ac 24:15 .