Revelation 20:4-6 reveals that Christ as the Establisher of the kingdom will reign with the overcoming saints. Because the overcomers bring in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Lord will reign for a thousand years, and the overcomers will also reign with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4 says, “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them.” The word they refers to the overcomers. They are now sitting upon thrones, and authority to judge has been given to them. To have the authority to judge means to have the kingdom (cf. Dan. 7:10, 18, 22). Therefore, this verse in Revelation 20 indicates that the overcomers have received and are enjoying the kingdom.
Verse 4 also says, “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Those who have been “beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God” are the martyrs throughout the church age, as mentioned in 6:9. Undoubtedly, Peter, Paul, James, Stephen, and the many others slain throughout the centuries will be included in this group. These saints, martyred for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, will be resurrected to be co-kings of Christ.
The martyrs in the great tribulation are those who do not worship the beast or his image and do not receive the mark on their forehead or on their hand. After the rapture of the overcomers, many saints will be martyred because they refuse to worship Antichrist or receive his mark. These martyred saints will also be resurrected to be co-kings in the millennial kingdom. In principle, these co-kings must also include the raptured living overcomers. If those in the man-child will be among the co-kings, then certainly those making up the firstfruits will be also.
In both Matthew 25:21 and 23 the Lord said, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” These verses refer to the enjoyment of the overcomers in the millennial kingdom. To the diligent servant the Lord will say, “Well done! Come into the joy of your Lord. I have some things I want you to rule over.” This will be the enjoyment of the overcoming believers in the millennial kingdom.
Many mistakenly believe that no matter what kind of Christian they are after being saved, they will suddenly be a king when the Lord Jesus comes back. This is unfounded. Everyone who intends to be a king must be disciplined. If the Lord Jesus came today and put us on thrones as kings, we ourselves might tell Him that we are not qualified. God’s intention is not merely to save us initially but to save us to be priests and kings. One born into a royal family needs much training and discipline to become a proper king. Many Christians are poor, having only been saved but never having loved the Lord or agreed to hand themselves over to Him to be disciplined and trained. How can they be His co-kings? Those in Revelation 20 who live and reign with Christ are not merely the saved ones. After being saved, they passed through certain kinds of experiences which made them adequate and prepared to be kings.
The overcomers become qualified to reign with Christ by the humanity of Jesus being worked into them. Christ who is the unique proper man dwells in our spirit as the Spirit of Jesus. Such a One with all the proper human virtues is in us to be our humanity. When we have His humanity, we will put Satan to shame and be the kingdom of God.
The overcomers who will reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom will enjoy the best resurrection. Revelation 20:6 speaks of “the first resurrection.” The Greek word translated “first” is the same word translated “best” in Luke 15:22, where the father says in relation to the returned prodigal, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him.” Hence, the first resurrection in Revelation 20:6 may actually be translated “the best resurrection.” The overcomers will enjoy this resurrection.
The first resurrection is also the “ex-resurrection,” that is, the extraordinary resurrection for which the apostle Paul sought (Phil. 3:11). The Greek word may be translated “the out-resurrection.” This means that it is the resurrection set apart from the common resurrection, the resurrection with honor, comparable to graduation with honors. This resurrection is a resurrection of kingship as a reward to the overcomers that they may reign as co-kings with Christ in the millennial kingdom. Hence, “blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:6). Not only the resurrected overcomers, such as the man-child in 12:5 and the later martyrs in 15:2, but also the raptured living ones, such as the firstfruits in 14:1-5, have part in this resurrection.
Many hold an erroneous view that only believers will be resurrected and that unbelievers will not be resurrected. According to the Bible, however, the unbelievers will also be resurrected. John 5:29 speaks of “the resurrection of life” and “the resurrection of judgment.” The resurrection of life is the resurrection of the saved believers before the millennium, and the resurrection of judgment is the resurrection of the unsaved after the millennium. The dead believers will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life at the coming back of the Lord Jesus. Hence, their resurrection is called the resurrection of life. But all the dead unbelievers will be resurrected after the thousand years to be judged at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Hence, their resurrection is called the resurrection of judgment.
The first resurrection will also be the resurrection of reward. Luke 14:14 says, “You will be blessed, because they do not have anything with which to repay you; for it will be repaid to you in the resurrection of the righteous.” This resurrection is a resurrection with a reward.
Revelation 20:6 says, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.” This must be the highest blessing—to inherit the kingdom manifested on earth and even to be the kings within it. Concerning those who participate in the first resurrection, verse 6 continues, “Over these the second death has no authority.” This is difficult to understand. The lake of fire is called the second death (v. 14). We have seen that Satan is useful in the hand of God. Likewise, death is also somewhat useful to Him. All negative situations are related to death. All weakness—physical, mental, and spiritual—belongs to death. Weakness is a visiting card of death. When death is about to visit a person, it does not come directly. Instead, it first comes in the form of weakness. Weakness is followed by sickness, and sickness is followed by death. Thus, both weakness and sickness belong to death. Moreover, all the troubles and hardships that we face in life also belong to death. When the overcomers enter into the upper section of the millennium to be the co-kings of Christ, they will have no weakness, no sickness, no trouble, and no hardship. In other words, they will no longer be bothered by death.
The death before resurrection is the first death, and the death after resurrection is the second death. The second death, the lake of fire, refers to the death after resurrection. In the first death the spirit and soul leave the body, the body is buried, and the spirit and soul go to Hades; the spirit and soul of the believer go to the section of comfort in Hades, and the spirit and soul of the unbeliever go to the section of torment. The Lord Jesus will determine who among the dead will be resurrected before the millennium and who will be left in the tomb for another thousand years to be resurrected after the millennium. After the unbelievers are resurrected, they will be judged at the great white throne (vv. 11-15). Then the dead unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire, the second death. This means that even after their resurrection, they will still suffer the second death.
We should not believe, as many Christians do, that after our resurrection everything will necessarily be all right. After our resurrection we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). If there is no possibility that we might still have a problem, why then will we be judged after the resurrection? When we are standing before the judgment seat of Christ, we will be fearful and trembling, wondering what the Lord Jesus will say concerning us. Yes, we are saved, and we are saved for eternity. With this there is no problem. We do not believe that a saved person can be lost again. John 10:28 and 29 indicate that once we have received eternal life, we can never perish. However, in 1 Corinthians 3:15 Paul says, “If anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Although we are saved, we may still suffer loss; that is, we may still have a problem. We should not think that after we have been resurrected and raptured, we will immediately go to heaven. No, we must first be examined. We should not expect to go directly into the millennial kingdom to be a co-king of Christ. We must first stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 14:12 says that, as we stand before this judgment seat, “each one of us will give an account concerning himself to God.” Although we may criticize others today, as we stand before the judgment seat, we will have to criticize ourselves. The judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will determine whether we will receive the reward to enter into His kingdom or receive some punishment. That punishment will be something related to the second death, just as weakness, sickness, trouble, and hardship are related to the first death.
Today God uses weakness, sickness, trouble, and hardship to discipline us and to chastise us so that we may grow in life. If we die in our immaturity, we should not think that we will suddenly become mature after our resurrection. No, we will be resurrected and raptured in an immature condition. If we die in immaturity, we will also be resurrected in immaturity. Take graduation from school as an example. If you leave school before you graduate and return some time later, you will still have to complete your schoolwork. You will have to continue your studies until you have finished your course for graduation.
We need to grow and mature quickly. We should not delay this process. We must fear the prospect of dying in immaturity. If we die in our immaturity, after our resurrection we will stand in immaturity before the Lord’s judgment seat. Be assured that this situation will not be pleasant. Everyone in this situation will be dealt with by something related to the second death. This means that even after a believer’s resurrection, he may still be touched by something of the second death; that is, the second death may still have some authority over him. Only the overcomers, those who participate in the best resurrection, will not be subject to anything of the second death. They will have graduated from all weakness, sickness, trouble, hardship, and suffering. This is the proper understanding of Revelation 20:6.
Although we are saved for eternity, we still need to grow, mature, and be perfected so that we may be among the co-kings of Christ. If we do not mature, we will suffer loss. If we suffer loss before the resurrection, our loss will belong to the first death. But if we suffer loss after the resurrection, our loss will be related to the second death. Although we may be resurrected believers, we will still be under the authority of the second death, and something of the second death will trouble us. If we are still fleshly and love the world, at the judgment seat of Christ we will need to suffer something in order to mature, and we will need something of the second death to work on us. This is the pure, enlightening, and sobering truth. We need to be enlightened, sobered, and made serious, and we should aspire to be the overcomers who participate in the best resurrection and over whom the second death has no authority.
Verse 6 also says that the overcomers “will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” The overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium (2:26-27; 12:5). As priests they will bring man in his need to God and minister God to man, and as kings they will bring God in His authority to man and represent God to shepherd man. This is a reward to them. The believers who are defeated in this age will forfeit this reward. However, after being dealt with by the Lord in the millennium, they will participate in the service of God and in the kingship in the new heaven and the new earth for eternity (22:3, 5).
Today the proper Christians bring man and man’s need to God and Christ, and they also minister God and Christ to man. Also, they bring God’s authority to man and represent God to man. As we share in the upper section of the millennium, we will be both priests and kings. We will meet the need of both God and man, bringing man to God and God to man. Through our priesthood and kingship both God and man will be fully satisfied. We will be a priestly and kingly people, a people far beyond anything of the second death. The overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium. In this realm, there will be no weakness, no sickness, no trouble, and no hardship. Christ’s kingdom will be for His reigning with His overcomers. How wonderful this will be!