Revelation 20:4
4 And [kai] I saw [eido] thrones, [thronos] and [kai] they sat [kathizo] upon [epi] them, [autos] and [kai] judgment [krima] was given [didomi] unto them: [autos] and [kai] I saw the souls [psuche] of them that were beheaded [pelekizo] for [dia] the witness [marturia] of Jesus, [Iesous] and [kai] for [dia] the word [logos] of God, [theos] and [kai] which [hostis] had [proskuneo] not [ou] worshipped [proskuneo] the beast, [therion] neither [oute] his [autos] image, [eikon] [kai] neither [ou] had received [lambano] his mark [charagma] upon [epi] their [autos] foreheads, [metopon] or [kai] in [epi] their [autos] hands; [cheir] and [kai] they lived [zao] and [kai] reigned [basileuo] with [meta] Christ [Christos] a thousand [chilioi] years. [etos] KJV-Interlinear
4 And 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. NASB
Since long ago, those who have believed in the Savior, have been promised that they will share in the ruling of the nations when Gods kingdom comes into being.
From Dan. 7:27 to Matt. 19:28, Old Testament believers have received this promise of ruling the nations.
New Testament believers have also received this promise, 1 Cor. 6:2, 2 Tim. 2:12, Rev. 2:26, 3:21, 5:10, and this reign is in a physical sense not in some sort of spiritual sense. This requires a resurrection since these promises have spanned for many, many centuries.
However, here, the category of people is specific - those believers who have been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and have not bowed to the beast, or his image, or received his mark on their forehead or hand, and that alone limits this group of people to those who have lived and died during the Tribulation.
At the end of the Tribulation, when the anti-christ and his false prophet and Satan and all of the wicked have been destroyed or removed from the planet, then there will be a resurrection of the Tribulation believers.
Along with the Old Testament believers, who will also be resurrected for their long sleep, so to speak, during history, 1 Cor 15:24, Rev 20:4, Job 19:25-26, Isa 26:19, Dan 12:2, then this third segment of the First Resurrection of believers, will occur at the end of the Tribulation, and immediately prior to the beginning of the Millennium.
There are two resurrections in history, believers and then unbelievers. Believers are the first to be resurrected, and unbelievers will be the last to be resurrected.
Believers are resurrected in four waves – Christ first (three days after the Cross), Church Age believers second (at the Rapture), Old Testament and Tribulation believers (at the end of the Tribulation), and then the last group will be the Millennial believers (at the end of the Millennium).
Unbelievers will be resurrected at the end of history (at the end of the Millennium), after all others have been resurrected. Then they will receive their final condemnation, at the Great White Throne, and then sent to the Lake of Fire.
Believers, all having been resurrected, will witness the destruction of this universe and creation of the next universe, just as the angels witnessed the original creation of the current universe, long ago. Then eternity begins.
Meanwhile, at the end of the tribulation, believers will finally receive their promise to reign with Christ, and to reign with Him for the 1000 year kingdom as stated here.
And they lived, is an expression for the regaining of life in a new form. One has to have been dead before they can regain their life. And being beheaded is an expression for death, needless to say.
Thrones, symbolize both judicial and executive authority given to resurrected believers for the purpose of ruling the Millennial kingdom as populations grow and as people begin to repopulate the world during the Millennium.
Judgment, ‘krima,’ given to the people who sit on the thrones, refers to the adjudication of disputes as in a court of law. Where there are people, there will be disputes of one sort or another, and someone has to sit in between the parties and help settle the matters.
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