Interpretations of Revelation 20 abound. This chapter of the Bible may be the most widely and intensely debated passage of Scripture. It is from the reference to “one thousand years” that the notion of a Millennium comes from and with it the various millennial positions: premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism, in all their various forms.
Due to the conflicting interpretations of this chapter in Revelation, one ought to approach it with humility and grace for other Christian brothers and sisters who hold to another interpretation. As I lay out a proposal for what I think is a biblical interpretation of Revelation 20:4-6, I ask for grace from you, dear reader. We may disagree on this point of theology but we can agree on much more. The doctrine of eschatology is not of peripheral concern, it is important. But the unity of the Spirit covers a multitude of theological variance.
The text in question for our purposes now is Revelation 20:4-6, which reads, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 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.”
If we needed any more reason to be humble and gracious in our approach to interpreting this passage, Craig R. Koester points out that “the passage is short but in many ways ambiguous”¹. The truth is, Revelation 20:4-6 is just not as clearly cut out as some interpreters would like to present it as.
Premillennialism’s Interpretation
The most common interpretation of this “thousand year reign” in the American church today is premillennialism’s insistence on an earthly and “literal” (i.e. physical) reign of Christ and His saints upon His second coming. This is supported by the vision’s place in the book, following chapter 19 which many interpreters agree portrays Christ’s second coming. However, there is good reason to not read Revelation as progressing chronologically but rather read it as a cycle of visions that parallel each other. When read in this way, Revelation 20 does not follow chronologically behind chapter 19 but instead introduces a new cycle of visions that culminate with the New Heavens and Earth in Revelation 21 and 22.
Although the arguments for such a cyclical reading of Revelation are behind the scope of this article, one example directly relevant to chapters 19 and 20 can suffice. G.K. Beale argues that Revelation 16:14, 19:19, and 20:8 all refer to the same war against the saints by the forces of evil. Furthermore, he points out that in all these cases, the Greek article is used thus designating this as “the war”². If the war in these three verses is the same war then we are not dealing with a strict chronological account. Instead, we are dealing with “recapitulation” where the final war against the saints is seen in multiple visions, from multiple perspectives.
If this is true, which I believe it is, then the Millennium does not follow Christ’s second coming, but actually precedes it. Another reason to read Revelation 20:4-6 as referring to a non-physical kingdom is the presence of “thrones”. Up until now in the book of Revelation, thrones have only appeared in John’s visions of heaven (with the exception of Satan’s throne in Pergamum, see Rev. 2:13). Even in the case of Satan’s throne in Pergamum, this was not a literal physical throne but a spiritual reality. To say that Satan’s throne was in Pergamum was a reference to the demonic stronghold that existed in that city. So it is not “obvious” that the thrones in Revelation 20 are physical thrones on earth. It is more likely that they are heavenly thrones as this has been the normative way the word has been used in the book up to this point.
While there are a number of arguments for and against the premillennial understanding of these thousand years of victory, we don’t have space in this article to do a deep dive. Instead, we will move on to examine the alternative interpretations that exist. For those who deny that the Bible teaches a future earthly Millennium, often labeled “amillennialists”, there are two common viewpoints on the nature of the “first resurrection” in Revelation 20:5-6. This question of the nature of the first resurrection is where we will focus.
Premillennialists (of all varieties) take the “first resurrection” as a literal physical resurrection of saints at the end of the age, separating this from the “general resurrection” of the unsaved at the end of the Millennium. However, many passages speak of the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked and appear to set them side by side, not separated by one thousand years (Dan. 12:2, Matt. 13:30, 49).
The “Intermediate State” View
As mentioned above, two main interpretations of the “first resurrection” have been promoted by amillennialists. On one hand, some have interpreted the “first resurrection” as a reference to a believer’s physical death where their soul goes to Christ’s presence in heaven, enters the “intermediate state”, and awaits the reunion with a resurrected physical body when Christ returns to earth at the end of the age.
For example, G.K. Beale writes, “it is reasonable to interpret the ascent of the soul at the time of death into the Lord’s presence as a form of spiritual resurrection, in anticipation of the physical resurrection and consummation of eternal life, which will occur at the Lord’s return.”³
Essentially, this interpretation proposes that the first resurrection happens when faithful believers die and “come to life” in the intermediate state (the state of the soul between physical death and physical resurrection). It is now that they receive the “crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Even in death, a believer is only passing into more glorious life on a spiritual level while they await the physical resurrection of their body.
The Regeneration View
Other amillennialists choose to interpret the “first resurrection” as the spiritual resurrection that believers experience when they are regenerated by the Spirit immediately preceding their conversion. There are a number of strong biblical arguments for this view.
The New Testament often uses the language of “resurrection” or “coming to life” to refer to regeneration. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Eph. 2:4-6). Here we see the notion of believers being “made alive” and the notion of believers being raised and seated with Christ which is also strikingly found in Revelation 20:4.
Romans 6:4 reads, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” We know from verse 11 of that chapter that Paul expects the church to walk in that “newness of life” now, not after their bodily resurrection at the end of the age.
Colossians 3:1-3 reads, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Where is the Christian’s life? It is in heaven, with Christ. They have already been “raised with Christ” in a spiritual sense as they share in His resurrection through faithful union with Him.
Two passages in the gospel of John also point to a spiritual resurrection preceding the final eschatological bodily resurrection.
In John 5:24-25, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Jesus is here speaking of spiritual resurrection, the regeneration of the heart. This hour for the raising of dead souls is now here. That Jesus is not speaking of the bodily resurrection is clear when we read on a verses later: “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29) In these verses Christ is referencing the final bodily resurrection. But He contrasts this with the inaugurated spiritual resurrection in verses 24 and 25.
Before raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus tells Martha in John 11:25-26 that He is “the resurrection and the life”. He continues: “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” We ought not take this “literally” since even believers still face physical death. So Jesus is not saying that those who believe in Him will “never die” physically but rather that they enter eternal life upon believing. Death then is just a small moment in a long eternity of life which starts at the believer’s conversion.
The “regeneration” view of the first resurrection in Revelation 20:4-6 proposes then that the first resurrection is a reference to the believer’s regeneration, a spiritual resurrection. Their participation in the first resurrection keeps them safe from the “second death” which is defined in Revelation 20:10 as eternal torment in hell. In other words, the first resurrection and the second death are both “spiritual”.
A Modified “Regeneration” View
The regeneration view appears to have the most Scriptural backing out of the views expressed so far. It correctly views the “first resurrection” as a spiritual resurrection, contrary to the affirmation of premillennialism and it has more biblical weight across the whole counsel of God than the “intermediate state” view.
However, a third view may be developed when we view the first resurrection through the lens of redemptive history and the doctrine of union with Christ.
Some interpreters take the first resurrection in Revelation 20:5 as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One commentator writes, “What does John mean by “this is the first resurrection”? I believe the best explanation is that the first resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the second resurrection is the general resurrection of the dead at the end of all human history…His resurrection was a resurrection that others were to participate in. When we are converted, by faith we are made partakers of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.”⁴
This interpretation allows us to modify the strong “regeneration” interpretation above by clarifying that the first resurrection is Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead which we share in union with Him. This makes great sense when we realize that many of the passages quoted above, in support of the regeneration view, are “union with Christ” passages. We were made “alive together with Christ“. God “raised us up with him“. “We were buried therefore with him“. We “have been raised with Christ“. Christ Himself proclaims that He is “the resurrection and the life”.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this passage is notoriously challenging to interpret and we should approach our study of it with humility, grace, and a commitment to rigorous biblical exegesis. Despite the common interpretation that the first resurrection in Revelation 20:4-6 is a bodily resurrection of saints at the second coming of Christ, I believe it is more accurate to view the first resurrection as Christ’s resurrection from the grave and our union with Him in that resurrection as those who are “in Him” by faith. This “partaking” in Christ’s resurrection is inaugurated in our life at regeneration when our souls are made alive by the Spirit’s power.
We can conclude with the promise of blessing for those who are united to Christ in His death and resurrection: “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.” (Rev. 20:6)
Footnotes
¹ Craig R. Koester, Revelation & the End of All Things, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), p. 180.
² G.K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015), pp. 423-424.
³ Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, p. 443.
⁴ Douglas Wilson, When the Man Comes Around, (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2019), p. 233. Emphasis is Wilson’s.