Revelation 20:4

‘And I saw thrones, and they sat on them and judgment was given to them, and I saw the persons of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as did not worship the beast or his image, and did not receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection, over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.'

‘I saw thrones.' The Bible does previously speak of a time when thrones were placed and sat on by those who participated in judgment, where nothing more is said of their participation, and that is in Daniel 7 where we read, ‘and I beheld until thrones were placed' (Daniel 7:9), and nothing more is said of their occupants. It could be that these were for the twenty four elders in Revelation 4:4, who did sit on thrones and represented the people of God before the One on the throne. But if so why are they not mentioned?

But the more likely explanation is that they were for the Ancient of Days, and for ‘the son of man' who approached to receive his/their kingdom. There the One on the throne is described as ‘the ancient of days' (the eternal One), and ‘the son of man' (who signifies both the true Israel and especially Israel's King, i.e. Israel receive kingship in the person of their king - Daniel 7:14; Daniel 7:27) approaches the Ancient of days to receive the kingdom. It is a time when judgment is being given (Daniel 7:10). The thrones are thus for the ‘son of man', i.e. the people of God and their king.

Just as the beasts previously described had represented both kings and their kingdoms, so this son of man represents the people of God and their messianic leader. He would receive the kingship and worldwide dominion (Daniel 7:14), and they would receive the kingship and worldwide dominion in him (Daniel 7:27). They too will judge with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:27).

That is why Jesus came into the world declaring Himself to be ‘the Son of Man'. Under such a heading He claimed the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10), and to reinterpret the law of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). As the Son of Man He would serve and give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). And as the Son of Man He would suffer and die (as the son of man in Daniel in the person of His people would also suffer and die - Daniel 7:25), and would rise again (Mark 8:31).

He was then carried up into Heaven and came into the presence of God where He was given ‘all authority in Heaven and earth' (Matthew 28:18), sitting in the place of supreme authority at God's right hand and being declared both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33). Thus the Son of Man received His kingdom and His dominion on His own behalf and on behalf of His people. And it is as the Son of Man that He will one day return to the earth in glory to exercise judgment (Mark 13:26).

So there is a distinction, and a considerable period, between His coming to the throne of God to receive His kingship, and His return to earth to exercise judgment. One happens at His resurrection, the other at a considerably later time.

However, as we have already stressed, the son of man in Daniel represents not only the King but also His people (just as the beasts represent kings and peoples). They too receive the kingdom, the dominion and the power. They share His throne.

Therefore the mention of the thrones, and those who sat on them, and the giving of judgment, refer to the time when the Son of Man comes to the throne to receive His kingship on behalf of His people, that is, to the time of His resurrection, when He is exalted at the right hand of God and made both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33; Ephesians 1:20).

This is indeed the first resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus, along with a number of Old Testament saints who are raised with Him (Matthew 27:52). But it is also the time when  all  His people are ‘raised with Him' to share His glory (Ephesians 1:19 to Ephesians 2:7). For there Paul clearly declares that all who are true Christians have been raised with Him and seated with Him on His throne, even while also being on earth. The throne is potentially ours and we can take our place there by faith. We have come with Him as the son of man to receive the kingdom.

‘They sat on them.' That is, all the true people of God. They would share with their Lord in the judgment of the world and even of angels. The content of ‘they' is now described.

‘Even the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as had not worshipped the beast --- and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.' The description includes all God's true people (it is ‘such as had not worshipped the beast'), but with special emphasis on the martyrs. They are all described as enjoying a great blessing ‘They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years'. It does not particularise when they reigned, or where they reigned, only that they did so through the period when Satan was bound, which as we have seen earlier dates initially from the time of His defeat when Jesus was here on earth.

‘Those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus' describes who they are, not when they reigned. Now it is commonplace with some to assume that this must refer to the period after their resurrection at the end of the age, but this is by no means necessary. Indeed on this interpretation this passage has no place for the raptured people of God. But that would be to overlook the glorious and wonderful truth that we have just drawn attention to, and that is that, in the eyes of the Apostles, Christians were  raised from the dead and began to live and reign with Christ as soon as they became Christians . And they no doubt continue to do so in the after-life.

These martyrs, and those who refuse to wear the mark of the beast, began their reign the moment they became Christians, a fact which continued on through their martyrdom, at which point they reigned with Him in Heaven. This is in direct contrast to what had happened to Satan. They were crowned in Christ, he was bound by Christ.

Jesus spoke of this first resurrection and the second resurrection in John 5:25. In John 5:25 He says, “in very truth I tell you, the hour is coming and  now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” Here is the first resurrection when the spiritually dead hear the voice of the Son of God and respond, receiving new life pictured in the form of a resurrection. That this is the picture comes out by comparison with John 5:28. “The hour comes in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done ill to the resurrection of judgment.” The reception of new life, eternal life, is pictured in terms of the resurrection, and will later finally result in a physical resurrection, the second resurrection.

Paul also declares that we have been buried with Him in baptism ‘wherein you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead' (Colossians 2:12). Indeed he says that we have been “raised together with Christ” and should therefore “seek those things which are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God”, a position which true Christians share with Him (Colossians 3:1).

More emphatically, in Ephesians 1:20 to Ephesians 2:6 Paul describes Christ's effective work when he declares that He was ‘raised from the dead and made to sit in Heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, dominion and power, with all things in subjection under His feet'. Then he adds, “And you --- ” (no verb in the Greek), which means - ‘and you also were, in Him, raised from the dead and made to sit in heavenly places, far above all rule, authority dominion and power, with all things in subjection under your feet'.

If this seems too much it is confirmed in Revelation 2:4, “But God Who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved) and has raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. Thus Paul sees us as living and reigning with Him even now.

So in Paul's eyes  we have already partaken of the First Resurrection  along with Jesus Christ. This he continually stresses. As he says in 2 Corinthians 5:5, because of this we have been given the foretaste and guarantee (an earnest) of the Spirit, until the day we experience it in bodily form. It is through His resurrection life that, having been reconciled to God, we are saved (Romans 5:10), so that “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). That is why we should be “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:10). Thus we should be “giving thanks to the Father Who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us (past tense) into the Kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:12), which means that we are seated above with Him (Colossians 3:1).

The Bible therefore constantly describes Christians as  already  ‘raised' with Him, and as already reigning with Him. It also tells us that as He took His place in Heaven, and judgment was given to Him, so it was also given to us, a judgment we exercise ‘in Him' in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and will exercise in the future at the final resurrection. So the First Resurrection, not otherwise specifically so-called in Scripture, is that which we share with Christ. And that is what is pictured here.

But, it may be asked, what of those who have died, and especially those who have been martyred. Have they lost this privilege? John is concerned to encourage God's people in the face of coming persecution and emphasises that they also continue to reign with Him. Death does not rob them of this glorious privilege. The ‘souls' of the martyrs (which might be seen as suggesting that there has been to this point no literal resurrection) are also seen as sharing His reign (Revelation 20:4. Compare the use in Revelation 6:9). It began when they became Christians and it continues on after their martyrdom. And this is in contrast with ‘the rest of the dead', for the world is still dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).

This incidentally also shows that the passage is confirming that in their rest and their ‘sleep' before the resurrection (it is their bodies which sleep), the people of God are conscious of and enjoying the presence of Christ, and are also reigning with Him. That is why Paul could say, ‘to me to live is Christ and to die is gain' (Philippians 1:21).

When the final bodily resurrection is mentioned in Scripture it is always in such a way as to suggest that the resurrection of both righteous and unrighteous takes place at the same time (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28). But here from Paul we have learned of a different kind of resurrection which precedes the general resurrection, a pre-resurrection, a ‘first resurrection' along with the One Who first rose. This is the situation John has in mind here.

‘And the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were finished'. The general resurrection will not take place until the end of this period, until Christ's second coming. Then all will be raised physically to face God's final judgment.

“And they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). The Bible tells us that we are already a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9), and that through His blood we have been made kings and priests unto God and His Father (Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10). Note the past tense. It is already true. Thus we and the martyrs, together with all who have died free from the mark of the beast, are priests of God and reign with Him at this present time, and will do so ‘for a thousand years', that is for an unknown length of time until the end.

“We reign (or shall reign) on the earth” (Revelation 5:10) stresses that, in spite of appearances, because we are such kings and priests we will triumph over all obstacles, however powerful they may seem, and currently demonstrate Christ's sovereignty, and this is again asserted here. We reign on earth and after death we reign in Heaven. Nothing, not even death and martyrdom, can prevent it. Man's violence cannot take away the Christian's privileged position for it is inviolate.

‘And they lived and reigned with him a thousand years'. As in Revelation 20:3 the period of ‘a thousand years' indicates that unknown period between Christ's first and second coming. It is also a round number and can be seen as indicating an ‘ideal' period of time. Adam, because of his sin, died ‘seventy' years short of a thousand years. He failed to achieve the ideal. Even Methuselah could not achieve the thousand. For a thousand years indicated life to the full. It was the equivalent to the New Testament idea of eternal life. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes sees ‘a thousand years' as indicating an ideal length of life (Ecclesiastes 6:6), and even speaks of two thousand years. We can compare the usage in the words, ‘the cattle on a thousand hills' (Psalms 50:10). This did not mean that God only owned the cattle on a thousand hills. The thousand hills indicated all hills. Thus it is not to be taken literally but as meaning ‘the perfect time that God has planned'.

It is therefore quite clear from careful comparison with Scripture that this vision described in Revelation 20:4 reveals the present state of Christian believers ‘in Christ' and not some future ‘millennium'.