Will only the saints out of the tribulation reign a 1000 years?

Question: Will only the Saints out of the tribulation reign a 1000 years? Secondly, how does the millennium fit into the timing of Revelation?

Revelation 20:1-4

And I saw an angel come DOWN from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satin, and bound him a THOUSAND years,3) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the NATIONS no more, till the THOUSAND years should be fullfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

First let us note that this is happening on earth. The bottomless pit is definitely not in heaven as the angel has come down from heaven. The NATIONS that the Devil has been deceiving is on earth. Twice the period of time of a THOUSAND years is used at this point and will be used a total of six times in this context dealing with millineum. Note: Satin must be loosed a little season after the 1000 years. This would make no sense if the 1000 years was symbolic only.

Rev.20:4

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgement 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.4) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the THOUSAND years were finished. This is the first resurrection.5) Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a THOUSAND years.7) And when the THOUSAND years are expired, Satin shall be loosed out of prison.

Notice how many times the THOUSAND years is used (6 times) and each time it is referred to as being fulfilled, finished, expired or as an adverb. None of these multiple examples in this context indicate a symbolic meaning. So answering the timing of the millennium first we see a literal 1000 years starting at Jesus' 2nd coming and lasting until the great white throne judgement of Rev. 20:11-15. This ushers in the end of death and the eternal kingdom of Rev. 21. Now the first question: Is only the beheaded of the tribulation period allowed to serve as priest during this millennium?

Revelation 1:5-6

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the Kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,6) And hath made us Kings and priest unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Conclusion: All saved become priest and Kings with Jesus whether they are martyred or not. Many Christians have been martyred through the ages, some beheaded like the apostle Paul and some slain as depicted in Rev.6:9-11, but to conclude the beheaded as a separate catagory for reigning during the millennial kingdom does not fit with the volume of the book. Remember Jesus was not beheaded and he will be King.

Introduction

Before addressing the question itself I will state my position on the subject of millennialism:

Whether the Millennium of Rev 20:1-6 must be literal or can be symbolic is determined by the combination of:

• the total number of the elect, and
• the time elapsed between Jesus' First and Second Comings.

Because if the total number of the elect is very large, as implied by the size of New Jerusalem in Rev 21:16 (using the Egyptian stadium, each side is 12000 x 0.1575 = 1890 km long), and the time between Jesus' Resurrection and his Parousia is short, then it is necessary for many of the elect to come to exist that the Parousia be followed by a literal Millennium during which the earth is populated by an aristocracy of resurrected saints in glorified bodies - and therefore not able to sin, die or procreate - ruling with Christ (physically or spiritually present) over a majority of people in mortal bodies who will procreate and die after long lives. The symbology is clear considering the geometric connotation of numbers, which was important for the ancient: a cubic time (10 x 10 x 10) for populating a cubic city.

Thus, whereas for Christians of the II and III centuries like St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyon and St. Hippolytus, who thought that the time between Jesus' Resurrection and his Parousia would be of a few centuries (Hippolytus, the one who expected a Parousia farthest in time, expected it for 500), it was logical to understand the Millennium literally, for us, who know that said time is of at least 2000 years, it is logical to understand the Millennium symbolically. In both cases "logical" means "consistent with a large total number of the elect" [1].

The composition of the earth's population during the Millennium

I will divide the original question into 2:

Q1. Are the faithful who had part in the first resurrection (Rev 20:4-6) in a state of glorified body?

Q2. If the answer to Q1 is "Yes": Does that set of faithful include A) only the faithful killed in martyrdom during the tribulation or B) all the faithful who remained such until the end of the tribulation, i.e. both those who were martyred during the tribulation and those who got to the Parousia alive?

A1. Interpreting the first resurrection in a bodily sense (which is debatable as we will see in paragraph "First of all ..." of A2), from Rev 20:6 it can be inferred that the answer is "Yes" in two ways:

1. First and foremost because they cannot sin ("over these the second death has no power").

2. Secondly because they will live 1000 years, which excludes the state of mortal body deprived of the preternatural gift of immortality, in which man does not get to live one day (Gen 2:17), which evidently, from lifespans in the Bible, of which the maximum is 969 years (Methuselah), refers to a day for God, i.e. 1000 years (Psalm 90:4). This way by itself does not establish with certitude that those faithful are in a state of glorified body, because they could be in the original pre-fall state, enjoying the preternatural gift of immortatility. Rather, it confirms the conclusion obtained via way 1.

A2. The basis of this answer is Rev 20:4 minus the first sentence:

"and the souls of those who have been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the word of God, and who did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they lived (ezēsan) and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

First of all, the aorist ezēsan in that text does not necessarily, or even more probably, have an inchoative sense [2]. Therefore the more probable interpretation is that those souls went on living spiritually the participation of the divine life (zōē, from which ezēsan comes), not that they came back to bodily life. Nevertheless, given that we are assuming the (pre-)millennialist interpretation, we will interpret ezēsan in a sense at once inchoative and bodily in a glorified state.

That said, it is not clear whether "those who have been beheaded" includes the second part of the set of faithful, i.e. "and who did not...".

If it includes it, i.e. if the answer is A), then the faithful who got alive to the end of the tribulation, i.e. to the Parousia, comprise the population of the earth in state of mortal body at the beginning of the Millennium, who will procreate and die at the end of long lives (around 120 years?) and so on their descendants, until at the end of the Millennium many from the last generations will rebel and the Final Judgment will come.

But ezēsan, always interpreted in a sense at once inchoative and bodily in a glorified state, can be understood further as comprising two cases:

• that of dead faithful who come back to life in a state of glorified body, and

• that of living faithful in a state of mortal body whose body is changed into a glorified state without going through death.

That this understanding is correct is clear from 1 Cor 15:51-52, where St. Paul states that both cases will occur simultaneously at the Parousia, in a passage in which he, retorically, places himself in the second case:

"Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed;"

This is consistent with Jesus eschatological Discourse, in which it is clear that his Parousia will happen when some faithful are still alive.

Therefore the answer is B): the set of faithful who enter the Millennium in a state of glorified body includes all the faithful who remained such until the end of the tribulation, i.e. both

• those who were martyred during the tribulation, and

• those who got to the Parousia alive.

Complementary answer

I addressed the topic of the remaining part of the earth's population at the beginning of the Millennium, i.e. those who enter the Millennium in a state of mortal body, in another answer [3].

Note and reference

[1] Note that St. Jerome and St. Augustine, the first Fathers of the Western Church who held a symbolic Millennium, thought that the number of the elect was small.

[2] Jensen, Aaron Michael. "Bounded States, Negation Scope, and the Millennial Reign of the Saints (Revelation 20:4–5)". Novum Testamentum 62.1 (2019): 79-98. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685365-12341654

[3] https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/a/103634/15789

Answer

All the saints, right from the “righteous Abel” (Mat 23:35 and Heb 11:4) to the last saint who comes out of the Great Tribulation will reign a 1000 years with Lord Jesus Christ during the Millennium and beyond.

Explanation

Revelation agrees with this.

Revelation 20:4 fills in details of who will be raised in the first resurrection:

• First group of saints:

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them. And judgment was given to them”

These are the Old Testament saints right from righteous Abel onwards.

We can be sure of this as Prophet Daniel also describes the same eschatological events in the following verses:

“I was looking until the thrones were cast down….. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever…. And judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom…. And the kingdom and rulership, and the greatness of the kingdom under all the heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him” (Dan 7:9, 18, 22 and 27).

[So, it is clear that this is not a new information given only in the book of Revelation]

• Second group of saints:

“and the souls of the ones having been beheaded because of the witness of Jesus, and because of the Word of God”

These are the Apostles and New Testament saints through the Middle Ages.

• Third group of saints:

“and who had not worshiped the beast nor its image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand”.

These are the saints who perished in the Great Tribulation.

“And they lived (after resurrection) and reigned with Christ a thousand years”.

This is what Jesus also said:

“There will be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth when you may see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being cast outside; and they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 13:28-29).

If this is not sufficient as evidence, let us go to Hebrews chapter 11 (the faith chapter).

Here, the inspired author starts discussion with the faith of Abel (verse 4), Enoch (verse 5), Noah (verse 7) and continues with Abraham (verse 8) and other Patriarchs, Moses (verse 23) etc., and says:

“What a record all of these have won by their faith! Yet they did not receive what God had promised, because God had decided on an even better plan for us. His purpose was that only in company with us would they be made perfect” (Heb 11:39-40; GNB).

It is crystal clear that the First Resurrection includes all the Old Testament and New Testament saints together at the same time!

Conclusion

So, Revelation is totally in agreement with Daniel, Jesus Christ and the Apostles.

The 1000 year reign is for Christians beheaded during Rev 13- it says in Rev 20. It is not on earth it is in heaven.

The prophecies of the second coming are all set in first century associated with the destruction of the temple. To get to the point- Jesus came back around 70 AD with all the angels at the right hand of the father like a thief in the night, all the OT Israelites rose from the dead, the righteous ones got raptured same with some of the predestined elect remnant aka the lost sheep of the house of Israel which was the 144 000 in Rev 7. All remnant Israel was saved via belief in Jesus by 70AD. Rev 1-12 happened 70 AD Rev 13-22 is future. The final judgement in Rev 20, and all the people from Jesus onwards raising from the dead in Rev 20 is still future. New Jerusalem is still future. The great tribulation was Christians fleeing Jerusalem before 70 AD (flight to Pella). Man of sin, abomination of desolation, daily sacrifice stopping all happened around 70 AD. All NT prophecy happened 70 AD except Rev 13-22. Rev 13 is modern country Israel of satan, and the mark of the beast is the hexagram. Christians are Jews due to being spiritually circumcized via faith in Jesus, and are the Israel of God not the synagogue of satan Rev 2 9 3 9 Romans 2 28 29 Galatians 6 16 Galatians 3 29. OT kingdom of Israel was restored when the new covenant church the spiritual temple the Israel of God was born in a day on Pentecost when 3000 Judeans were regathered into one place, and believed in Jesus fulling multiple prophecies from the OT.

No. The book of Revelation is not about the end of all time, nor is it about an earthly kingdom. Rev. 20:4 does not say that Christ's reign would be on earth. That is a false assumption. The martyrs were martyrs because they had been killed for their belief in Christ. That means they were dead. Christ had ascended into heaven at the right hand of our Father. Therefore the dead in Christ, the martyrs were reigning in heaven with Christ.

The thousand years is a symbol of God's appointed time. It is the perfect number 10 raised to the third power. It means complete or perfection.

Excerpt from my post A Day is AS a Thousand Years:

God’s judgments were always at God’s appointed times.

“5 And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land.” (Ex. 9:5, KJV)

“15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.” (2 Sam. 24:15, KJV)

“19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” (Dan. 8:19, KJV)

“27 And both of these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.“ (Dan. 11:27, KJV)

“3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Hab. 2:3, KJV) ....

Christ told the people in the first century AD that all the law and the prophets were until John (Matt. 11:13), meaning that the time for the fulfillment of the prophesies had come to that generation, the same generation when John appeared to them.

The words “a thousand” are a metaphor God used in His prophesy for His perfectly completed and appointed time.

“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years [the appointed time], 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years [the appointed time] should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years [the appointed time]. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years [the appointed time] were finished. This is the first resurrection. … but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years [the appointed time]. 7 And when the thousand years [the appointed time] are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, (Rev. 20:2-7, KJV)

These symbolic "thousand years" were not literal.

The idea that Christ would leave His position at the right hand of the Father to come back down to reign over an earthly kingdom violates scripture. He stated that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), that it came without observation and was within us (Luke 17:20-21). He could not be a High Priest on earth as He was not of the tribe of Levi. His reign is after the order of Melchizedek as an everlasting reign. It was not after the tribe of Levi. (Heb. 7-8)

Remember His prayer in the garden where He asked YHVH to let His disciples be where He was so they could witness His glory (John 17:24). All those first century Christians who died in that tribulation of the persecution under Nero and the Sanhedrin, scribes and Pharisees were taken into heaven at their death to be with Christ - reign with Christ - so that they could witness His second coming and His judgment over the unbelieving Jews who had crucified Him.

All those righteous souls who had died and were still waiting in the grave (Hades / Sheol) were released from that prison after the temple was destroyed in AD 70 (Matt. 25:31ff) and then gathered into heaven. Since then, every believing soul that remains faithful unto death, that dies in the Lord is taken up one by one and gathered into heaven (Rev. 14:13).

Please read the posts at ShreddingTheVeil.org for:

Daniel and the End Times

The Resurrection in Three Parts

Testing the Spirits - Part II: The End

Testing the Spirits - Part III: Daniel's Lot

The Gathering of the Elect

Signs...The Time of His Coming

We are not waiting for Christ to come back to the earth. He fulfilled all of the prophecies for the establishment of His everlasting kingdom over all the earth in that same generation in which He was crucified in AD 30-31 and in the His coming in judgment against those who crucified Him and persecuted His saints in AD 70.

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. (Matt. 24:34, RSV)

And, that generation in which Christ spoke those words to His disciples was that generation of the first century AD. Christ did it all, and kept His promises.