The way I tend to reason it. As Christ descends, the dead in Christ rise first, followed by the alive remaining on the earth being caught up with them as they are descending to the earth.
These together explain the armies seen with Christ in Revelation 19. Christ and His armies continue the descent to the earth until they are confronted with the beast and it's armies. The beast and the FP are cast alive into the LOF at the time. The remnant are slain, thus become part of the dead who do not live again until the thousand years expire first.
The Bible itself proves there is no literal, FUTURE, earthly millennium. The "evidence" is in the
apostolic eschatological doctrine that prohibits any view of the "millennium" that portrays it as a future, literal, earthly epoch. A simple examination of the NT epistles shows that there is no future historical "thousand-years" period. We know this with certainty, for the apostles explicitly identified the precise timing of the resurrection, the judgment, and the New Heaven/Earth --
they all occur at the coming of Jesus Christ, thus proving that there is no literal "thousand years" that separates these events out over time.
(1) The resurrection occurs at the coming of Christ (1 Cor 15:23)
(2) The judgment occurs at the coming of Christ (2 Tim 4:1; Rev 11:15-18)
(3) The "New Heavens/Earth" occurs at the coming of Christ -- i.e., the "thief's coming," the "day of the Lord" (2 Pet 3:10/1 Thess 5:2)
These key eschatological events all occur at the precice moment of the coming of Jesus Christ. THEREFORE,
as the apostles themselves understood, there is no literal, historic millennium separating them.
As you have posited, the popular millennialist maps separate these three eschatological events by a period of 1000 historic years--or, in some cases, 1007 years. The bible doesn't allow it. The bible proves there is no literal earthly "millennium." Once we understand the plain truth of this, we can turn our efforts to understanding
the apostolic teaching of the "thousand years" as a typological symbol--one of many in John's highly typological and symbolic vision.
What is it a Typological Symbol of?
The Thousand years is a typological reference to the length of the Davidic Monarchy, from David, the first King in the line, to Christ, the Final, and Completion/Restoration of the Line, which is a period of... wait for it......1000 years!
The "Thousand years" shows that Christ fulfilled the hopes of the Davidic Monarchy that Christ would fill David's office as King (
Luke 1:68-69;
Acts 2:30-36;
1 Timothy 1:17;
Mark 11:10; ) and restore the tabernacle of David (
Acts 15:16-17) so that all the gentile nations could join in to the true worship of Jehovah. The 1000 years shows a completed Monarchy instead of the fact that the Monarchy had fallen into ruin in the 500s BC via the Babylonian captivity.
David and Christ being the only 2 Kings in the line that matter, David the type, Christ the antitype, or fulfillment.
Christ fulfilled what all other kings in the line failed to do, thus bringing completion to, and fulfilling the purpose for, the Davidic monarchy, which was the "1000 year reign".
Again, the idea of a thousand years reign with Israel's Monarchy was an Old Testament hope -- one that was wished for but failed. The hopes of this glorious reign were laid out when Solomon took the throne after David. It was said that Israel would walk in the covenant blessings, and so much so that the Gentiles would come into the covenant (such as the Queen of Sheba's homage to Solomon). However, the "tabernacle of David" began to quickly crumble, and fell into total ruin by the time of the Babylonian exile. This all summarizes an OT type. Now, fast-forward to all the NT typology about Jesus being the TRUE "son of David" who was born as THE
MESSIANIC HEIR to David's throne for raising up the Monarchy. This is what
Revelation 20 is doing. It is using the Davidic Monarchy typology and applying it to Christ and the martyr-kings who reign in the Christic Monarchy, and it does so in exactly the same typological sense as other types we are more familiar with (Jesus is the "sacrifical lamb," etc). In
Revelation 20 we see Jesus and his tribulation-martyr-kings reign; they defeat satan; they bring in the gentiles; and they judge the world. These are all the things hoped for in the OT times, but fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the New Covenant Church. The Church has all dominion with Christ over heaven and earth, satan was defeated, the gentles are now in the covenant, and Christ and the Church are the judges of the whole world.
The first resurrection would have to be meaning when the dead in Christ rise first.
Well, You can't have a "First resurrection" that isn't
actually "First".
The First Resurrection is not something Jesus
does, it's something Jesus
IS.
"
I am the resurrection and the Life"
Jesus Christ is the First Resurrection, and on those that take part in it, the 2nd death has no power.
Jesus Christ was the first to rise out of the dead. Jesus was, literally, the "first resurrection." This fact, well attested by the writings of the New Testament, MUST form the basis for understanding
Revelation 20:5-6:
"This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power" (
Revelation 20:5-6)
The first resurrection was Jesus Christ:
Revelation 1:5
Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the
first-born out of the dead Acts 26:23
Christ should suffer and...
be the first that should rise from the dead
Colossians 1:18
He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead
1 Corinthians 15:20
Christ hath risen out of the dead--
the first-fruits of those sleeping he became
Jesus Christ was, plainly, the first resurrection. This fact forms the basis of St. John's depiction of the tribulation martyr saints becoming full partakers of the "first resurrection" in
Revelation 20--everything Christ received by his death and resurrection is granted to them.
Revelation 20:4-6, therefore, depicts the reality of Pauline theology concerning the identity Christ's followers had "in Him." Paul had taught that the saints were to become partakers of Christ's own reign and victory over death. Paul, with his detailed theology of our baptism into the very death and resurrection of Jesus (Rom 6:3-14), taught that the saints had co-resurrection and co-enthronement in the realized resurrection and enthronement of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 20:4-6 is a narrative depiction of the saints' realization of the glorious promise Paul held out for them in his teachings--the saints are depicted as having attained the goal for which they all strove. As Paul taught, their resurrection and reign was "in Christ," and their sufferings and martyrdoms were honored by God with the reward of partaking in Christ's own resurrection, enthronement, and reign. They realized the promise of Paul's teaching that the saints were truly to take part in the first resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Truly, on these the second death has no power (Rev 20:6).