Q. Re: people killed for the faith during the tribulation. As they are not part of the church and won’t be in the New Jerusalem, where will they reside? Having been resurrected at the second coming I guess they will live in the millennial kingdom. But this means there will be a mixture of resurrected beings and natural birth beings (tribulation survivors) in the earthly kingdom. Is that correct?
A. The tribulation martyrs who appear in Heaven in Rev.7 are destined to serve God in His Temple (Rev. 7:15) but they are never called priests. There will be no temple in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22) however there will be one in Israel on Earth (Ezekiel 40-43).
The martyrs who will be executed for their faith during the Great Tribulation and resurrected at the time of the 2nd Coming (Rev. 20:4) will reign with Jesus but are never called Kings. I believe they will help administer His kingdom on Earth.
Rev. 21:27 says only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can enter the New Jerusalem. Only the Church meets this qualification and only the Church is called Kings and Priests.
Therefore it seems logical that people martyred for their faith during the end times judgments will live and serve the Lord on Earth. That is not a unique situation. The resurrected saints of Old Testament times will dwell in Israel alongside Jewish Tribulation survivors as well.
