Revelation 20:4-6 Reigning with Christ

John begins the vision, “Then I saw thrones” (v. 4). This raises the question: Where are these thrones located? According to the premillennial view, these thrones are on earth, since the thousand years sees faithful Christians as reigning with Christ on earth. This claim is problematic, since of the forty-seven times that the word throne is used in Revelation, the thrones are almost always in heaven. The only exceptions are three occasions when the throne of Satan or the beast is mentioned on earth (2:13; 13:2; 16:10), and the references to God’s throne after He has come down to reign in the new heaven and new earth (22:1, 3). On every other occasion, especially when the Lamb or the angelic representatives of the church are enthroned, the scene is in heaven. Moreover, Jesus earlier gave a promise that is fulfilled in this scene, locating it in heaven (3:21).

The argument is made by premillennialists that the thrones have come to earth because of Christ’s earthly millennial reign after His return. But the text states that John saw “the souls of those who had been beheaded” seated on the thrones (v. 4). This verse clearly connects with an earlier vision of the souls of martyrs in heaven, who are described in nearly identical terms (6:9). Revelation 20:4 explains that these souls had been “beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God.” These are evidently the same persons. Moreover, verse 5 contrasts these souls with “the rest of the dead,” making it clear that John is seeing a vision of the saints in glory, those believers who have died are translated into the presence of Christ in heaven.

The thousand years we studied in Revelation 20:1-3, giving the amillennial answer that John describes as the entirety of the church age. The millennium – the number one thousand symbolizing a lengthy and perfect duration of time – began with Christ’s ascension to His throne and will conclude with His return to usher in the new heaven and new earth. During this present millennial age, Christ is reigning in heaven, and since these souls are reigning with Him, the location can be only in heaven.

This means that Revelation 20:4-6 provides a heavenly counterpart to the events taking place on earth in verses 1-3. It describes what is known as the intermediate state: the state of believers’ souls after death and before Christ’s return and the resurrection of the body. John’s vision shows these souls seated on thrones above during the gospel age. When Jesus returns, these spirits will be rejoined to their bodies to reign with Christ not merely for a thousand years – “they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5).

So who is seated on these thrones? At the least, these are the souls of martyrs who suffered death for their faith in Christ (v. 4). Some premillennial scholars argue that this vision shows martyrs of the faith receiving the special reward of reigning with Christ on earth during the thousand years. Dispensational writers give a number of opinions, including the view that it is not martyrs but the saints who fought with Christ before His return (Rev. 19:14) who now exercise judgment with Him on earth. There can be no doubt however, that John sees a vision of martyrs reigning with Christ on thrones above. The question is asked of the entire church that boldly suffers for the gospel, a church typified by those who lost their lives for Christ: Have these believers lost everything by remaining loyal to Jesus? John reveals that all who remained faithful in their testimony “came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (v. 4).

We have seen that the vision of verses 4-6 describes thrones in heaven on which the souls of faithful Christians are seated during the intermediate state between their death on earth and the return of Jesus from heaven. Next John says that the saints “reign with Christ,” and called this reward “the first resurrection” (vv. 4-6). The premillennial view of history sees the statement that these souls “came to life” as requiring a physical resurrection. Premillennialists therefore teach that when Jesus returns, believers who died have their souls restored to their bodies in order to reign with Christ on earth. Only later, after the thousand years, are the bodies of unbelievers resurrected in order to stand in the final judgment.

The amillennial view, which teaches that the thousand years symbolically refers to the present church age, has a number of compelling responses to this argument. The first response is to note not only that the Bible nowhere else speaks of a thousand-year interval between the physical resurrection of believers and unbelievers, but also that the Bible positively rules out such doctrine. An example is Jesus’ teaching about His return to earth and the immediate judgment, for which all persons stand before Him in their resurrected bodies (Matt. 25:31-32). Not only is there no thousand-year interval between Christ’s return and the final judgment, but all persons – godly and ungodly – are resurrected at the same time for this event. In John 5:28-29, Jesus similarly placed the physical resurrection of all persons in a single event. By separating the return of Christ and the final judgment by a thousand years, and likewise separating the resurrection of believers and unbelievers by the millennium, the premillennial view contradicts these plain statements and must therefore be rejected.

How then, do Christians reign with Christ in heaven after their death? John answers: “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” (v. 6). The main point is that believers reign with Christ as priests who serve in God’s presence. John has emphasized this calling from the very beginning of Revelation, saying in the benediction of 1:6 that Christ freed us from sin by His blood to be “a kingdom, priests to his God the Father.” This indicates that believers in heaven have immediate access to the presence of God and enjoy the unimaginable blessing of perfect spiritual worship before the face of divine glory. Christians who die receive a glorious advance in their redemptive experience, reigning with Christ as priests above.

In verse 4, John also said that these enthroned souls “were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.” The manner in which the saints exercise judgment is not specified, but at a minimum they have the pleasure of approving and taking part with Christ in His judgment of sin. This emphasis reflects Revelation’s deep concern for God’s justice on behalf of His persecuted church, including many of John’s original readers, who would be martyred for their faith.

How do believers reign with Christ, as priests who sit on thrones to judge? John exclaims that they reign in blessing and holiness: “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!” (v. 6). Having been exhorted throughout Revelation to overcome by faith, the saints above are now seen to have overcome, entering the blessing of spiritual communion with God. Their bodies were destroyed on earth, but the souls reign with Christ in heaven. They are the holy ones whom God has set apart as His treasured possession forever and blessed to dwell before His glorious face.

John clinches the believers’ hope of life after death in verse 6: “Over such the second death has no power.” Christians suffer physical death, just as unbelievers do. The souls of believers are raised into heaven, awaiting the resurrection of their bodies, but with no fear of any further experience of death. How different is the fate of those who reject Christ! In death their souls do not go to heaven but to hell, and the resurrection of their bodies leads to the second death, which appears later in this chapter as eternal death in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 15). To believe in Christ is to experience the first resurrection but never the second death. But to reject Jesus is to be denied the first resurrection and be condemned to the second and final death.

Revelation 20:4-6 Study Questions:

For what period of time will Satan be bound and the faithful martyrs reign with Christ (vv. 2, 4)?

Why do those who share in the first resurrection become priests of God (v. 6)?

If we are already reigning with Christ, how do we serve as priests of God and Christ to those around us?