{20:1} And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. {20:2} And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, {20:3} And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. {20:4} 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. {20:5} But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. {20:6} 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. {20:7} And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Revelation 20:1-7 clarifies a common misconception.The misconception is that we will be with Jesus in heaven from the point of His return onward. This is not so. When Jesus comes again there is still a chapter of history remaining for us on this earth. God’s plan for this earth still includes a literal reign of Jesus Christ, for a 1000 years, here on this very same earth. After Jesus’ second coming, there is a 1000 year interlude before this earth is destroyed and the New heavens and New earth become our residence. Only then does our life in our eternal dwelling place, the New Jerusalem, commence. ‘Heaven’ will wait until God’s final plans for this earth are fulfilled.
Jesus returns to earth physically and reigns over this world for 1000 years, to conclude the final millennium of history, the Sabbath Millennium.
How will this knowledge of a literal millennium impact us? How do we benefit by knowing this in advance? That God’s plan for our lives includes another chapter here on this earth? Are we certain that we are included in the Millennial Kingdom experience? Will we be witness to Christ’s rulership here on earth? It sounds like a fantasy. However, as we will discover, the Old Testament contains so much prophecy on the Messiah’s literal reign here on earth that its abundance is impossible to ignore. We will also examine these Old Testament millennial prophesies in detail in Appendix E and post 2.6.
The next question is who? Who of us will have part of the millennial kingdom of Christ? Is this experience for Israel only, or perhaps for a future generation only, or are we included? And if indeed we are included, do all of us, or just some, accompany Christ as He re-enters human history? Will we be alongside Him as He comes back, in glory, to establish His millennial reign?
A straightforward literal reading of Rev 20 leaves one with the impression that there are two groups of saints present to reign with Christ during the millennium:
Rev 20:4: “Then I saw the souls of those who (1:) had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
and
(2:) Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
The good news is that Rev 20 declares that every believer in Christ will experience the Millennium.
It is clearly spelled out that the category (1) martyrs will reign with Christ for a thousand years. In addition to (1), the remainder, the survivors of the beasts reign and those who have passed before, all who have been saved by Jesus and thus have part of the first resurrection are in category (2).
How do we know that you will have part in the first resurrection?
We can know that we, as believers, will have part of the first resurrection according to 1Co 15:51:“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” and 1Thess 4:15-17;“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up (i.e. raptured) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
Hence you will, whether dead in Christ or alive at His coming, receive your resurrection body at the rapture and will be ruling with Christ in His kingdom. We will have our new supernaturally changed bodies. We will all have an exciting kingdom purpose. We will finally be able to utilize our gifts and talents to the full, for the purpose that they were given. We will brim with joy as we operate in that sweet spot for which we were created!
A sobering note though: this passage refers to Jesus’ second coming. If you have been deceived into believing that this passage refers to a pre-tribulation rapture, you are in danger. Have you checked for yourself whether the ‘current/popular’ rapture teaching is scriptural? By simply accepting the teaching of others without checking it yourself may cause you to be like one of the foolish virgins in Matt 25. They were caught by surprise and found themselves unprepared for the dark night preceding the bridegroom’s arrival. Read more on this in section 4.1.
The beheaded saints, the Martyrs.
Let’s return to the passage with a specific promise, those for the martyrs. Let’s look again at those who pass into the millennium for certain, namely the beheaded saints. The prospect of the persecutions and beheadings mentioned in Revelation are scary.
But there is also encouragement. Especially so for those who avoid the mark of the beast during the last 3.5 years.During this time we, our family members and friends will be persecuted and many of us arrested and executed. We will be hunted down. But imagine the comfort for those who see their family members put to death. There is no clearer and more specific prophecy and promise for those who are to be beheaded. A great honor awaits: to rule and reign with Christ. There is no doubt about Rev 20:4
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
Clear as crystal, no interpretation needed. What a promise!
Also reigning with Christ is David, and the judges of the twelve tribes of Israel. Who would these judges be? It may well be the disciples judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus Christ told His disciples, “… Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).
One more comment about the resurrection of the saints. 1Thes 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Note there is no doubt about the timing of this trumpet. It is the trumpet call of Matthew 24:31…” and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”. The dead shall be raised with the trumpet call of Matthew 24:31 at to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is the first great resurrection prior to the start of the millennium. Note there is only a first resurrection and a second resurrection mentioned in Revelation, and the second one seems only to focus on those not found in the book of life. Read about the second resurrection, after the millennium, in Rev 20:12
“{20:12} And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
It follows that those who are not part of the first resurrection will be the ones to face the second resurrection. The first resurrection is for the ‘dead in Christ’ and the saints still alive. The second resurrection is for the unrepentant of all ages, and all of those deceased during the millennium, who will be judged by their works, as written in the Book of Life.
Apart from Christ no man can be saved, certainly not by our works. Being judged by our works has no good outcome. Let this thought spur us on to share the good news of salvation through faith in Christ, His work and death on our behalf, He who loves us and gave Himself for us. (Gal 2:20) Also refer to post 6.0 “Assessing our spiritual condition” which explains God’s promise on how you can be 100% confident about being there in the Millennium, reigning with Jesus and serving Him.