Revelation: Chapter 20-Question 1

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 Read Chapter 20Chapter 20:  Satan is imprisoned and some saints begin to reign:

In Chapter 19, the marriage of the Lamb (Jesus) was announced and the bride of Christ was given the white linen (the righteous acts of the saints) to wear.  Jesus comes riding on a white horse, prepared to defeat and rule the nations and is followed by the armies of heaven.  Satan's beast and the false prophet are seized and thrown into the lake of fire.  An angel of God summon birds to assemble for the great supper of God, and they feast on the flesh of the kings, commanders and all men who had gathered with the beast and prophet to war against the Lamb.

Let's continue with Chapter 20:

New American Standard Version of the BibleAnd I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and 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 completed. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:1-6 (NAS)

John saw another angel in his vision coming down from heaven.  This angel laid hold of the Devil and Satan (the dragon or old serpent) and bound him for a period of time. 

Then John saw thrones, upon which sat the souls of certain people.  The people were described as follows:

  1. The souls of the people that had been beheaded.

  2. They had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God.

  3. They had not worshipped the beast, or his image.

  4. They had not received the mark of the beast on their forehead or hand.

  5. These souls now lived (they had "come to life").

Question:

According to Revelation 20:4, after these souls came to life, who did they reign with?

They Reigned Alone Reigned With Christ Reigned With Satan


Other Translations - Revelation 20:1-4:

Easy-to-Read Version of the BibleI saw an angel coming down out of heaven. The angel had the key to the bottomless pit. The angel also held a large chain in his hand. 2The angel grabbed the giant snake (that old serpent). The giant snake is the devil (or Satan). The angel tied him [with the chain] for 1,000 years. 3The angel threw the snake into the bottomless pit and closed it. The angel locked it over the snake. The angel did this so that the snake could not trick the people of the earth until the 1,000 years were ended. After 1,000 years the snake must be made free for a short time.  4Then I saw some thrones and people sitting on them. These were the people who had been given the power to judge. And I saw the souls of those people who had been killed because [they were faithful to] the truth of Jesus and the message from God. Those people did not worship the animal or his idol. They did not receive the mark of the animal on their foreheads or on their hands. Those people became alive again and ruled with Christ for 1,000 years.  5(The other dead people did not live again until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first raising of the dead.  6Blessed (happy) and holy are those people who share in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over those people. Those people will be priests for God and for Christ. They will rule with him for 1,000 years. (NAS)

American Standard Version of the BibleAnd I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3and cast him into the abyss, and shut (it), and sealed (it) over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time. 4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and (I saw) the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (ASV)

King James Version of the BibleAnd I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And 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 fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment 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. 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed 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. (KJV)

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