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Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

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The Millennial Reign

And then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom judgment [that is, the authority to act as judges] was given. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had refused to worship the beast or his image, and had not accepted his mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.(A) The rest of the dead [the non-believers] did not come to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. [a]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) and holy is the person who takes part in the first resurrection; over these the second death [which is eternal separation from God, the lake of fire] has no power or authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and they will reign with Him a thousand years.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:6 This is the fifth of the seven promised blessings. See note 1:3.

4-6 I saw thrones. Those put in charge of judgment sat on the thrones. I also saw the souls of those beheaded because of their witness to Jesus and the Word of God, who refused to worship either the Beast or his image, refused to take his mark on forehead or hand—they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years! The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were up. This is the first resurrection—and those involved most blessed, most holy. No second death for them! They’re priests of God and Christ; they’ll reign with him a thousand years.

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Then I saw (A)thrones, and (B)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw (C)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those (D)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. (E)They came to life and (F)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. (G)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such (H)the second death has no power, but they will be (I)priests of God and of Christ, and they (J)will reign with him for a thousand years.

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I saw thrones(A) on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.(B) And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded(C) because of their testimony about Jesus(D) and because of the word of God.(E) They[a] had not worshiped the beast(F) or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.(G) They came to life and reigned(H) with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.(I) Blessed(J) and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death(K) has no power over them, but they will be priests(L) of God and of Christ and will reign with him(M) for a thousand years.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:4 Or God; I also saw those who