It is, besides, said of these chosen ones that they "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," but that "the rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years were finished." It would thus appear that a definite interval of long duration is interposed between the resurrection of the just and the unjust. It is also to be particularly noticed that the seer, speaking of what pertains to that interval of a thousand years during which the spirit of evil is "bound," says that he "saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them" (Rev. xx. 4). This must refer to the judgment undergone by those who have part in the _first_ resurrection, because the rest of the dead do not rise to be judged till the thousand years are ended. As to the elect being judged, the teaching of St. Paul is very explicit, where he says, identifying himself with the general company of the faithful, "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done through the body, according to what he hath done, whether good or bad" (2 Cor. v. 10. So also Rom. xiv. 10). It is not expressly said in the passage above quoted who they are who sat on thrones and had judgment given to them; but the information is supplied in Matt. xix. 28, where we read, "Jesus said to them [that is, as the context shows, to Peter and the other apostles], Verily I say to you, that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the {40} throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." A like revelation, addressed exclusively to the apostles, is given in Luke xxii. 28-80. "The twelve tribes of Israel" is the symbolic designation of the elect--those that are sealed (see Rev. vii. 3-8). It must now be taken into account that the experience and the deeds of _the present life_ alone determine whether any individual is or is not of the number of the elect. Those only who by the favour of God are justified in this life by works done through faith are reckoned among "the just" who partake of the first resurrection. But Scripture nowhere asserts that their spiritual state differs at their resurrection from what it was at the time of their death; rather, it negatives this assumption by describing their state in the interval as that of "_sleep_." Consequently, not being yet "made perfect," they have need to pass through the judgment just spoken of (compare 1 Cor. iii. 11-15), in order that by the completion of their _spiritual creation_ they might be made meet for immortality. To them, although there is judgment, there is no "_condemnation_," and, therefore, no "second death." Such, it seems to me, is the Scriptural doctrine of immortality, as far as regards _the elect_.