“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,
and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his
image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6).”
As we begin our
exposition of Revelation 20:4-6, we recall that a period of “a thousand years”
was described in 20:1-3. Although it is possible to interpret the “thousand
years” of 20:4-6 as being distinct from the millennium mentioned in verses 1-3,
there are no compelling reasons within the context of the passage to do so. The
majority of exegetes, if not all expositors today, agree that the “thousand
years” in 20:4-6 is the same millennium described in 20:1-3. Hoeksema concurs,
“It is evident that “a thousand years” refers to the same period during
the whole new dispensation as that in which the devil is bound with respect to
Gog and Magog.”[1]
This “thousand
years” period spans the entire New Testament era, from the First Advent of
Christ to just before the Second Coming of our Savior.
The first three
verses of Revelation 20 describe a scene on earth, whereby the abyss is the spiritual
realm in which the devil and his minions operate. But where is the location of
the scene in 20:4-6? When we read verse 4, we notice that there are thrones
mentioned in John’s vision. The term “throne” is doubtlessly symbolical, and it
is unlikely that in 20:4, John is referring to literal sets of chair for people
to sit upon. “There can be little doubt that the portrayal of beings sitting on
“thrones” is not intended to express the literal idea of people sitting on
actual pieces of furniture and ruling from there. This is, rather, a figurative
way of saying that they reign over a kingdom.”[2]
The imagery of souls sitting upon thrones signifies the reign of these souls.
Where is the
domain of this reign? The location of the thrones will assist us in determining
the exact locale of John’s vision. G. K. Beale elucidates that the word
“throne” usually refers to a heavenly scene. He writes,
“The heavenly location of the thrones in 20:4 is apparent from the
observation that forty-two of the forty-six occurrences of “throne(s)” (θρόνος) elsewhere in the book clearly locate the thrones in
heaven. The remaining three uses refer either to Satan’s or the beast’s throne,
which is likewise not earthly but located in a spiritual dimension. The
“thrones” in Dan. 7:9 also appear to be in heaven (cf. Dan. 7:10-13).”[3]
E. Müller adds
that, since the thrones of the enemies of God are located on Earth elsewhere in
the Book of Revelation, it is very likely that these thrones of the saints are
located in Heaven.[4]
The Souls
Within the context
of verse 4, John sees in his vision “the souls of them that were beheaded.”
Premillennialists interpret this phrase as describing resurrected saints in
glorified bodies, who are seated upon thrones and reigning with Christ in the
earthly millennium.[5]
They argue that
the expression - “the souls of them that were beheaded” - is a figure of speech
called synecdoche, by which a part is
put for the whole. For example, we say that there are a hundred sails, meaning
a hundred ships. Occasionally, the Scripture does use the word “souls” to
represent persons. “Thus all the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt
But there are
serious problems with this premillennial interpretation. Hoeksema argues, “The
first objection is that whenever synecdoche is employed, whether in our daily
language, in secular literature, or in Holy Writ, uniformly a numeral is used
in connection with it.”[7]
This is very clear when we peruse the examples provided above (i.e. Gen. 46:27;
1 Pet. 3:20; Acts 2:41, 27:37). Eight souls, and not simply “souls,” were saved
on Noah’s ark. There were two hundred threescore and sixteen souls with Paul
aboard the ship. Scripture always uses a numerical qualifier to accompany the
word “souls” whenever it is used as a synecdoche.
The word “soul” (ψυχή), therefore, is not used as a synecdoche in 20:4, and
does not refer to living bodies. Beale explains that,
“Though “soul” (ψυχή)
can be a substitute for “living body” (8:9; 12:11; 16:3; cf. 18:13), here its
combination with “beheaded” is best suited to indicate a distinction between
soul and body, as the almost identical combination “soul of those who were
slain” clearly indicates. If such a distinction of soul and body is not held,
an awkward picture emerges: “bodies of beheaded people.’”[8]
Consequently,
based upon word usage and context, “soul” does not refer to physically living
saints sitting upon thrones. Besides, “the noncorporeal sense of “soul” is
suggested further by its close connection with thrones that are in heaven, not
on earth.”[9]
Understood
collectively, the thrones and the expression “the souls of them that were
beheaded” likely describe a heavenly scene, and not an earthly millennium. This
fact alone is devastating to the premillennial interpretation of Revelation
20:4-6, which requires this passage to describe the millennial reign of saints
on earth.
The Saints
In his vision, John
saw “the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived
and reigned with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4).” Who exactly are these
souls? In order for us to understand verse 4 fully, as well as the identity of
these souls who reigned with Christ, we must look at the immediate context of
this passage, particularly verses 5-6. It is written in verse 5 that “the rest
of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished,” and that
the “rest of the dead” will participate in the “second death (Rev. 20:6,
14-15).” It is evident that the “rest of the dead” are unbelievers who shall be
“cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15)” at the final judgment of Christ.
Therefore, John is
clearly describing the souls of saints in verse 4. According to verse 6, those
that participate in the “first resurrection” shall not be harmed by the “second
death.” By implication and simple deduction, the “souls” mentioned in verse 4
should encompass all the saints, that is, the Church invisible.[10]
Stephen Smalley
notes that “the prophet-seer does not specify the identity of those who are
‘seated on thrones’; nor are the subjects in any part of this scene mentioned
by name. But their character and activity make it plain that John is referring
broadly to the faithful saints of God. They are the ones who are involved in
judgement, and suffer for Christ, and who worship Him rather than the beast;
these are also priests of God, who rise and reign with Christ for a thousand
years and more.”[11]
Smalley proceeds
to argue that “they are ‘souls’ (τὰς
ψυχὰς, tas psychas) who had been
martyred for their Christian testimony, and existed therefore in that spiritual
state which obtains between death and the final resurrection (verse 4a); and, second, they are faithful
witnesses who have testified loyally to Christ, and continue to do so, without
being called to seal their faithfulness with martyrdom (verse 4b; cf. 13.11-12).”[12]
Beale concurs that
the souls in 20:4 refer to the souls of saints who have died, “some through
martyrdom and others of natural causes, though maintaining their faith to the
end (cf. 14:13: “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord”).”[13]
He adds that “it is possible that only literal martyrs are spoken of in 20:4,
but, if so, they might be portrayed as representative figures for the whole of
the church.”[14] The
case, therefore, is strong that the “souls” described in 20:4 represent or
refer specifically to the souls of the saints.
Charles Alexander
emphasizes the fact that the true Church is a suffering Church. Indeed, it can
rightly be called a martyr Church. He writes:
“But the Church as a whole is a martyr Church. Some in recent times
have yielded up their lives to cruel death, in faithfulness to Christ, but most
of the Lord’s people have been permitted throughout the ages to end their days
in peace. Yet what is common to all true believers is that they bear their
witness in a world which is hostile to Christ and at enmity with God.”[15]
The martyr Church
- the souls of the faithful - will be protected from the “second death (Rev.
20:6, 14-15).” They will reign with Christ for a thousand years in their
intermediate state, before the final resurrection of the bodies.
The Reign
It is described in
both verses 4 and 6 that the disembodied souls of the saints shall reign with
Christ for a thousand years. This reigning with Christ reinforces the point
that the vision is not located on earth, but in heaven where Christ is.
Hendricksen elaborates further,
“The thousand year reign also occurs where Jesus lives, for we read
‘And they lived and reigned with Christ. . . .’ The question is, where,
according to the Apocalypse, is the place from which the exalted Mediator rules
the universe? Where does Jesus live? Clearly, it is in heaven. It is in heaven
that the Lamb is represented as taking the scroll out of the hand of Him that
sat on the throne (Rev. 5). Revelation 12 clearly states that Christ was
‘caught up to God and to his throne. . . Therefore, rejoice O heavens, and ye
that dwell therein’. We may safely say, therefore, that the thousand year reign
takes place in heaven.”[16]
According to
Premillennialism, this reign lasts for a millennium on earth, and spans the
entire period during which Satan is bound. It, however, does not last “for ever
and ever (Rev. 22:5).” The amillennialist contends that, if these souls are to
be physically resurrected at Christ’s Parousia
and to be given glorified bodies as Premillennialists claim, they will reign
not only for a thousand years, but
for all eternity (Rev. 22:5) from the New Jerusalem. In the new, heavenly Jerusalem
Revelation 20:4,
therefore, describes the reign of souls in their intermediate state with
Christ, and not the reign of resurrected saints during the alleged Davidic Kingdom
References
Note concerning abbreviated references: Please refer to previous posts for more details of repeated references
Note concerning abbreviated references: Please refer to previous posts for more details of repeated references
[1] Hoeksema, Reformed Dogmatics, 560.
[2] Beale, The
Book of Revelation, 995-996.
[3] Ibid., 999.
[4] See E. Müller, “Microstructural Analysis of
Revelation 20,” Andrews University
[5] For example, see Stephen Khoo, The Book of Revelation (Singapore Australia
[6] Hoeksema, Reformed Dogmatics, 561.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Beale, The
Book of Revelation, 998.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Cf. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 999-1000. Beale writes, “Of course, if only
literal martyrs are the focus in v 4, then “the rest of the dead” in v 5
includes believing together with unbelieving dead who are to be resurrected
subsequently. The problem with this is that v 6 says that those partaking of
the first resurrection of v 4 will not be hurt by the “second death,” and
20:14-15 does not limit the promise only to martyrs or a segment of believers
but applies it to all of God’s people who trust him throughout their lives.” See
Beale, The Book of Revelation, 999.
[11] Stephen S. Smalley, The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the
Apocalypse (Downers Grove ,
IL
[12] Ibid., 506.
[13] Beale, The
Book of Revelation, 999.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Alexander, Revelation Spiritually Understood, 503.
[16] Hendricksen, More Than Conquerors, 192.
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