This passage, like so much of Revelation, describes what the apostle John saw in his vision. What he saw in his vision was symbolic of some reality. For example, he was a vision of the New Jerusalem which he described in great detail. It was four-square, had twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve foundations inscribed inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles. There was a river flowing through the city whose source was the throne of God and the Lamb. The tree of life was on each side of the river with leaves for the healing of the nations. There is much more, but what does it all mean?Zoe wrote:Maybe you could expound your understanding of Rev. 20:4-6?
Before the vision was shown to John, an angel announced to him, ""Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." Rev 21:9.
The City that John saw represented the Bride of Christ!
Now, I will attempt to explain the verses you mentioned:
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
No one can literally see "souls" unless "human beings" are meant. But living human beings cannot be meant here, for these people had died.
So John sees a vision of their "souls", which seems to be a kind of pre-view of the resurrection of these persons who had been slain for their testiimony. In his vision, these people "came to life" (or "lived") and reigned with Christ a thousand years. My belief, (being pre-millenial) is that when Christ returns he will actually set up an earthly rule for a thousand years, and the "overcomers" whom John mentions, will reign and rule with him.
5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
The "rest of the dead" are those who are not privileged to share in the first resurrection. They will be raised to life after the thousand years. Perhaps most of them will need to be corrected in the Lake of Fire. But it would seem that some of them will not. For we read:
Revelation 20:15 and if any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This seems to imply that some of their names were written in the book of life.
6 Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years.
The overcomers, the blessed and holy ones who share in the first resurrection will not be subject to the second death (defined as "the Lake of Fire" in Rev 20:14). In other words, they will not require correction in the Lake of Fire. They are the ones who will reign with Christ for the thousand-year period (which is called "the Millenium").