Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 20:6

Revelation 20:6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In chap. Revelation 19:9 all believers were pronounced ‘blessed,' and the word ‘holy' denotes the consecration that is given not to a few only but to all the saints of God (chaps. Revelation 18:20; Revelation 19:8): besides which, we are immediately told, they ‘shall be priests of God and of the Christ' The whole description leads directly to the view that all Christians have part in the reign of the thousand years, whatever it may mean.

Over these the second death hath no power. We have spoken of the ‘first resurrection' as a state, not an act. It is even more clear that the same thing must be said of the ‘second death.' The Seer has indeed himself distinctly explained it when he says, in Revelation 20:14, ‘This is the second death, even the lake of fire' (comp. also Revelation 2:11). It is more than the death of the body, more even than the death of the body (could we suppose such a thing) twice repeated. It is the death of the whole man, body and soul together, the ‘eternal punishment' denounced by our Lord against those who refuse to imitate His example, and to imbibe His spirit (Matthew 25:46). As again bearing on our exposition of Revelation 20:4, it may be well to notice that escaping the ‘second death' is spoken of in chap. Revelation 2:11 as the privilege not of those alone who are in a special sense martyrs, but of all believers.

But they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. These words again mention privileges (1) that are common to all believers, and (2) that continue not for a thousand years merely, but for ever. All believers are ‘priests' (chap. Revelation 1:6); all sit upon Christ's ‘throne' (chap. Revelation 3:21).

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 20:6

Old Testament

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