This could mean nothing less than the taking away of the imperfections of the obedient and restoring them to a righteous condition.
[556]Following the glorification of the church and the making of the new covenant, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Barak, Jepthae, and the prophets (all of whom we term faithful worthies), the Lord has promised shall be brought forth from the tomb, being given a better resurrection.
(Hebrews 11) These shall be princes, rulers, or legal representatives of the Christ, in the earth; and through them the Lord will establish a righteous government in the earth.

(Psalm 45:16; Isaiah 32:1) And then "out of Zion [the Christ, invisible to men] shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem"-- the headquarters of Christ's visible representatives.
[557]"It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains [kingdoms], and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."-- Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4.
THE LIVING FIRST [558]St.Paul emphatically states that the Lord Jesus shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.

(2 Timothy 4:1) In this he is corroborated by St.Peter (1 Peter 4:5) The word _quick_ here means the living, those who have some measure of life; and the text is so rendered in the Weymouth translation.

When the new covenant is made and the Lord begins to deal with the people, it will be with the living first.