Revelation 20 part 2

Let us now look at the rule of the saints with Christ. Verse 4a says, “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 world 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…” We will examine two details of this verse: the condition of souls and the position of the thrones.

John Walvoord says, “The fact that John could see them implies that they had received intermediate bodies in heaven and were awaiting their resurrections.”³

Leon Morris says, “In that he speaks of souls only and not of bodies (contrast 1 Cor. 15) it may be that he is thinking of a temporary state.”⁴

Simon Kistemaker says, “Next, let us consider the topic of souls of martyrs. John is descriptive and precise in his wording, for he is not writing the expression souls as a synonym for persons; he refers to souls without bodies. He describes martyrs beheaded by Roman executioners.”⁵

Often it is the Premillennialist that accuses the Amillennialist/Postmillennialist for not taking the Bible literally. However, here it is the Premillennialist who is using the literal language as figurative. In verse four, John clearly states that he saw souls. Nowhere are we told that he sees bodies. Yet, Walvoord interprets this verse not according to what John literally says but according to what Walvoord believes John must have meant. There are other times in Scripture when we see the spirits of dead believers like the prophet Samuel in I Kings 28 and at the transfiguration with Moses and Elijah in Matthew 17. Walvoord is developing a new doctrine here: intermediate bodies from death till our new resurrected bodies.

I believe Morris and Kistemaker are correct by taking John at face value, John saw souls before the throne of God. There is absolutely no supporting Scriptural evidence for the people of God being given temporary “intermediate” bodies before the resurrection. The original readers were facing a horrible time of persecution. Almost every Christian knew someone who had been jailed, beaten and/or killed for the name of Christ. Our Lord, in His graciousness, is pulling back the curtain so they (and we) can understand the fate of those who have gone on before us. They stand with our Lord reigning with Him. Encouragement indeed!

According to Premillennialism, the events in chapter 20 are a chronological continuation from the events in chapter 19. The Amillennial/Postmillennial interpretation is that chapter 20 begins a new vision and, therefore, is a separate unit from chapter 19. It is for this reason that the Premillennialist believes that the thrones described in this vision are on earth.

In his book The Millennial Kingdom, Walvoord, talking about Revelation 19:11-21 and the second coming of Christ says, “Further confirmation of the geographical return of Christ is found in the book of Revelation where He comes to judge the armies gathered in Palestine in rebellion against Him (Rev. 19:11-21). The geographical nature of Christ’s return serves to confirm His coming as a specific future prophetic event.”⁶ In The Bible Knowledge Commentary, he says, “The approach taken in this commentary is that the events in Chapter 20 follow chronologically the events in chapter 19.”⁷

When talking about the reign of Christ, C. I. Scofield says,

Not in Heaven. It is not a question of the reigning of God in heaven. His throne is in the heavens, and it has never been shaken and never can be; but here we have the promise that in David’s great Son there shall be one who will reign and execute judgment and justice in the earth….Was there any fulfillment of this promise then? Do you not see that the fulfillment of this prediction imperatively requires the return of David’s Son to this earth?⁸

The Amillennial/Postmillennialist believes that the thrones are in Heaven because throughout the book we are told the thrones of God and those that rule with Him are in Heaven. In his commentary on Revelation, Leon Morris says, “John saw thrones (cf. Dan. 7:9). He does not say where they were. Those who see a literal millennium usually place them on earth (cf.v.I). But John does not say this. He uses ‘throne’ forty-seven times in all, and except for Satan’s throne (2:13) and that of the beast (13:2; 16:10) all appear to be in heaven.”⁹

John is giving us a picture of Heaven. In a book where the throne room of God is always seen in Heaven and with the additional description of the “souls” of the martyrs standing before it, the clearest interpretation is that we are being given a picture of Heaven.