Revelation 20 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

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hand. And they lived, and they reigned with the Christ a thousand years.
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Compare Revelation 13:16, 17; 14:9, 11; 16:2, and 19:20, all of which mention the
“mark” which is the name of the beast or the number of his name, either on the hand or forehead;
the martyrs who reign during the thousand years are those who have not received the
mark of the beast on either their foreheads or their hands.
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Aune translates by “they came to life” (p. 1071). In spite of the fact that they have
been put to death by beheading, that is not their final end; they come back to life, e;zhsan "they
lived (again)"! Evil powers may do their utmost against the faithful set-apart people of God;
but even when they die, God gives them new life! For this verb za,w, zao ("to live") in
Revelation, see
1:18, zw/n eivmi, literally, “living I am,” “I became dead, and look--I am living into the ages of
the ages!"
2:8, o]j evge,neto nekro.j kai. e;zhsen, “the One Who became dead and lived."
3:1, "You have a name that zh/|j, ‘you live,’ but you are dead!"
4:9, 10, God is the One Who zw/nti “is living into the ages of the ages."
7:2, qeo,j zw/ntoj, “(the) living God."
10:6, "he swore by the One Who is living into the ages of the ages,” same as 4:9, 10.
13:14, "who has the sword-injury, and e;zhsen, he lived."
15:7, same as in 4:9, 10.
19:20, zw/ntej, “living, the two were cast into the lake of fire."
20:4, here, æçóáí, "they lived and reigned with the Christ for a thousand years."
20:5, "the rest of the dead people ouvk e;zhsan, did not live until the thousand years should be
completed."
This description of the dead coming to life is not something new for the Jewish Bible.
See, for example, such passages as the following: Deuteronomy 32:39 (God puts to death,
but also brings to life); 1 Samuel 2:6 (YHWH kills, and restores to life--ku,rioj qanatoi/ kai.
zwogonei/ kata,gei eivj a[|dou kai. avna,gei, “Lord kills and makes alive; He leads down into
hades, and leads up”); 1 Kings 17:22 (a dead boy is restored to life); 2 Kings 5:7 (Israel’s
king denies any ability to restore life to the dead); 8:1, 5, 5, 5 (all referring to the story in 2
Kings 4, saying that the dead boy had been brought back to life); 13:21 (a dead man, thrown
into Elisha’s tomb, comes back to life); Hosea 6:2 (YHWH has punished severely, but He will
restore to life); Isaiah 26:14, 19 (death comes, but the promise to Israel is that “your dead will
live, their bodies will rise”); 38:16 (YHWH restored Hezekiah’s health, and let him live); Ezekiel
37:3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14 (Israel’s dry bones will live again; promise of national restoration from
Babylonian captivity);
Psalm 71:20 (“You will restore my life again, from the depths of the earth You will again
bring me up”); 85:7; 119:25, 37, 40, 50, 88, 93, 107, 149, 154, 156 (YHWH’s word imparts
life); 143:11, and Ecclesiastes 7:12 (wisdom imparts life).
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