In Rev. 20, John sees “the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God.” Then he adds more detail: “who had not worshiped the beast or his image.” So he is referring to people in the tribulation period during the reign of the antichrist figure.
Now note carefully the beginning of verse 4: “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them.” It seems he saw thrones and people who sat on them. Who are these people? We are not told. “Then” or “And” he saw the souls of those who had been beheaded. “They” seem to be the first-named group that are distinct from and coming before “Then,” who are the beheaded group.
Is the first group those from BEFORE the tribulation period who lost their lives this way, or the believers over time who had died as born again, faithful, as meek, as hungering and thirsting for righteousness? We are not told. So it could be a group that is in addition to the beheaded group.
Or perhaps after they assumed their thrones, John recognized them as the people who were beheaded, the same people he saw earlier from Rev. 6:9-11, those who were under the altar waiting for vengeance on those who shed their blood. The English text isn’t clear, but seems to allow both interpretations. I’m not knowledgeable about the Greek.
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