Rev 20:6 Blessed 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.

Revelation 20 is one of the most misinterpreted passages in the whole Bible. Premillennialists build their erroneous doctrine about a thousand-year of Christ on this earth based on this passage. Premillennialism is the view that Christ’s second coming will occur prior to His millennial kingdom, and that the millennial kingdom is a literal 1000-year reign of Christ on earth.

The Premillennialists are wrong! Christ said His kingdom is not of this world? (John 18:36). Premillennialists worship a god that is not omniscient. Why do I day that? It is because premillennialists assert that Christ came to this earth for the purpose of setting up His kingdom. He was, however, surprisingly rejected by the Jews. Hence, He postponed the kingdom plans and set up the church instead—as sort of an emergency measure, or a Plan B. When He returns, He allegedly will raise only the righteous dead, restore national Israel, sit upon David’s literal throne in Jerusalem, and then reign for a span of one thousand years—after which comes the resurrection of the wicked and the judgment.

The Premillennialists worship an inferior god. Their god is not the God we read in the Bible. Our God knows the future. Our God does not need a Plan B in case the Plan A failed. The truth is, Christ’s rejection was plainly foretold by the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah had prophetically written: “He is despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:1). John, writing to his readers, said: “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom” (Revelation 1:9). How could John and the early Christians be in the kingdom if it has not been established? Paul said Christians are already in the kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13).

Read verse 4 carefully. It did not say Christ begins His reign. It says the souls of the martyred saints reigned with Christ for a thousand years. It was a scene of the souls of the martyrs living and reigning with Christ. Who will reign with Christ for a thousand years? Notice the pronoun “THEY”? It’s not “WE” but “THEY”, referring to the martyred saints. It is not the reign of Christ for a thousand years but the martyred saints reigning with Him for a thousand years.

The thousand years is just a figure of speech implying a very long time. In Deuteronomy 7:9, God is said to keep His covenant to a thousand generations. God does not count a literal thousand generations then quit remembering His covenant.

Our focus should be on the victory of the saints. It is the same victory we shall have when we overcome the trials as them. And verse 6 introduces us the fifth beatitude in this book: “Blessed 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.”

The first resurrection is the resurrection of the souls of the martyred saints whom John saw earlier under the altar (Revelation 6:9) but are now in the throne of God (v.4). These precious souls who had been faithful unto death are now receiving their crown of life (Revelation 2:10). The second death, which is the eternal death in the lake of fire, shall not hurt them.

The victory of the martyred saints is our victory. Revelation 20 is telling us that the devil will be defeated; he can never win. And he will be cast into the lake of fire that will burn eternally. And, for those who persevere to the end, eternal life.

Let us fight to win; we can overcome the world. All it takes is our faith (1 John 5:4). Do you have faith?