Revelation 20:5 clearly states, "This is the first resurrection" because there is "no resurrection previous" supported by (1) The Acts 24:15 scriptural precedent of only one resurrection of the just, (2) The law of first mention—the resurrection at "the last day" (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54, 11:24) conforming to the first occurrence in Rev. 20:5, (3) The literal definition of the Greek word protos—first, "preceding all others." (4) The context of the word first as found 568 times in the Bible never found to mean anything but preceding all others, (5) Time itself; being what separates the first from the second.
What we teach about the resurrection is extremely important as the apostle Paul warned the church in 2Timothy 2:17-18, "Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some." "The" resurrection must precede the rapture and the first resurrection is exactly where Jesus says it is—"at the last day, at the last trumpet," fixed in time at Revelation 20:5.
