Revelation 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.
When the abomination of desolation (a statue image of the beast-king) is set up (Daniel 12:11), it triggers the beginning of the great tribulation.
Revelation 20:4
- And I saw thrones, and they set upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them which were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither has received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
First, you need to realize that John does "NOT" say he saw the martyrs, nor does he say that he saw their bodies or the persons, or he saw souls (which could be illustrating people). He is very specific! Be careful. He saw the souls "
OF" those who were beheaded for the witness of God.
The souls of them, nothing more! Again, this is the Spiritual picture that the Lord is giving us. First the Messenger of the Covenant comes from heaven and binds Satan so that the New Covenant Church can be built, and
then John sees the souls of those martyred raised up to reign with Christ on thrones. In other words,
they are made kings and Priests unto God after Christ binds Satan. If you look at verse 5 you'll see that this (
the souls of these martyrs up on thrones) is called
The First Resurrection. It's now a simple matter of Biblical deduction to discover exactly when and what was "The First Resurrection?" Selah!
These Souls were raised up to reign with Christ
because of the work at the cross and Christ's resurrection thereafter. Christ is the "First" Resurrection. Those who have part in the first resurrection are all the True Believers who have part in Christ's First Resurrection. They are the First Resurrection (
the second being at Christ's return). Those who have died in Christ have gone to be with the Lord, having been raised with Christ to reign. That's the First Resurrection these martyrs have part in, which precludes the second death.
Study scripture carefully leaning upon it's Words alone (
Sola Scriptura) and the Holy spirit will guide you into truth. Accept the words of men and of Church traditions and you set yourself up for a great fall by building upon unsound foundation. Souls of those who are beheaded for Christ's sake do not rise up out of the earth to reign literally in Jerusalem. The Saints upon their death immediately go to Heaven to Reign with Christ! The teaching that this chapter says souls are literally reigning on earth in Jerusalem, is untenable. But it's repeated so often that those who do not carefully compare Theologians words with the scriptures, have actually told me that this was explicitly written there. i.e., they heard it so much that they really think that this verse actually says that. In Reality John says (
the Word of God says) that he saw souls "of" the martyred, reigning! He saw the souls of those killed (Beheaded). Not Souls (which could be people), and not Martyrs, but the "Souls, of the martyrs!" And since when does souls of the dead Martyrs reign on the earth? Why would a soul apart from his body, be reigning in a literal city in the middle east? These souls reign in the Jerusalem from above, not in an earthly nation, Holy City, or Holy Temple. A Spiritual Holy Nation, the Jerusalem from above (Gal. 4:26).
But isn't it typical that Pretribulation Rapture or Anytime Rapture Theorists are the ones insisting we have to take this verse absolutely literally for what it says. But when it says the Souls of the martyrs who die for Christ's sake, go to reign with Christ, they now curiously don't see that as literal souls of dead people. They amazingly see this as literal earthly people reigning with Christ on earth. Here they curiously don't want to take it literally as souls of the dead, as it literally states. And so they RE-interpret (privately interpret) this to mean literal people reigning on earth with Christ. He who hath eyes to see, let him see that this is obviously not what the verse "literally" says.
So much for the alleged literal interpretation of it. So let us take a careful verse by verse look at what Revelation chapter 20 really says. And discern what it really means by a careful biblical reasoned comparison of scripture with scripture, symbolism with symbolism, Word with Word. Let us in humble submission let God's Word interpret God's Word. It is the only way to really understand what the book of revelation means..
