Joe said:<br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]What about your exposition of Rev. 20:1-6?</font><hr></blockquote><p><br><br>Exposition of Rev. 20:1-6<br><br>I am not a Bible teacher or a theologian. Actually, I don't have an exposition of Rev. 20:1-6. When I am not certan what a bible verse means, I go to someone who is usually right and let them explain it to me.<br><br>Here is what John F. Walvoord has to say on these verses. He is one of those who is usually right.<br><br>Rev. 20:4<br>...John recorded that he saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. In addition he saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their standing true to the Lord and His Word in the Great Tribulation. The fact that John could see them implies that they had received intermediate bodies in heaven and were awaiting their resurrection.<br><br>A distinction should be made between what John saw and what he received as revelation. Though he could see the souls, he was informed that they had been beheaded because they had refused to worship the beast or his image and would not receive his mark. What John saw was not all the souls in heaven but a particular generation of martyred dead who had been contemporaneous with the world ruler the beast out of the sea (13:1) If the church were raptured prior to this event, as premillennarians teach, it would make sense to single out these martyred dead for resurrection. But if the church were not raptured, it would be most unusual to ignore all the martyrs of preceeding generations, the church as a whole, and to specify this relatively small group.<br><br>John apparently was not told the identity of the individuals seated on the thrones. They evidently do not include the martyred dead themselves. Christ had predicted (Luke 22:29-30) that the 12 diciples would "eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel." As the disciples are also a part of the church, the body of Christ, it would be natural for them to sit on these thrones.<br><br>According to the Scriptures, a series of judgements is related to Christ's return. The beast and the false prophet will be cast into the fiery lake (Rev. 19:20), Satan will be cast into the Abyss (20:1-3), and then the martyred dead of the Great Tribulation will be judged and rewarded (v. 4). In addition, Isreal will be judged (Ezek. 20:33-38), and the Gentiles will be judged (matt. 25:31-46). These judgements preceed and lead up to the millennial kingdom.<br><br>John stated that these martyred dead came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Their coming to life suggests that they will be given resurrection bodies. In addition to receiving the visual revelation, John was informed as to the meaning and character of the judgement that was here taking place.<br><br>I will do verses 5 and 6 on another post. I think verses 1-3 are pretty self-explainitory.
