The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 426

a sul>ordination of the 11CCOndary to the 24); "We have pallSed from death unto primary eff'ect is really what is intended t.o We " (1 John iii. H). be eon,eyed (s,•e Milligan, quoted above). Ver. 5.-,--llut the reat of the dead li1'e4ut Ver. 4.-And I IJ&W thrones, and they sat again nntil the thouan4 years were lnuhed ; 11pe them, and Jndgmm 'Wlll given unto ,lwuld lm finiili«J. Omit "bui: " omit fhem. This deacribes the position of Chris- "again." It ia important to notice the tia.1111 in this life. They 1it upon thrones ; omiaeion of "agal.n ; " the Rd of the fkad that. I.a, they reign with Obrist. Judgment li"6d not until, etc. The belt ,exp!anation is given unto them: that is, by their oon- of theae worda seems to be that the " rest of duo\ in the world the world is judged and the dead,; refera to those Old Teatament condemned. St. John continually tbll8 de- aaints and others (such as godly hea.thtns) 80n"bes the Christian's position; and such a , who were in the world before Chriafs act picture is speoially applicable for his pur- of atonement-" the thousand years. N (see pose here, whfoh is to portray the glory of on ver. 2, abon)--had been acoomplished. the Christian calling, and the certa.int_y of They could not be said to have litlfld, in the the Christian's hope. The redeemed have high sense in which St. John UB88 the been made kings, and reign (l'h, v. 10). So word, not having known Christ: for "in also St. Paul says we are •• blessed with all him was life,. (John i.¼; v, 40, etc.). But spiritual blessings in heavenly places in by Christ's redeeming work, these were Christ_" {Eph. i. 3). And I saw the aoula placed on a level with Christiane (cC. Luke of them tlia.t were beheaded for the witne11 vii. 28, "John the Baptist: but he that is of J Hlll, and for the Word of God, and which least in the kingdom of God is greater than had not worshipped the beast, neither his he; " also Heb, xi. 39, 40, " And these all, image, neither had received his mark upon having obtained a good report through faith, their foreheads, or in their hands, This received not the promise: God haviog pro- is a special reference to the martyrs made vided 110me belt.er thing for us, that they with the object mentioned above, viz. that without us should not be made perfect "). of encouraging Christians in their warfare. This is the :8rat reaurrection. These worda The class here described forms part of the refer both to the reigning of those mentioned whole body of Christiana alluded to in the in ver. 4, and to the living of those in ver. :d.rat pan of the verse (of. cl!. vi. 10; i. 9; 5 (vide wpra). Thie "fil'st rcsnrrootion" xii. 17; xix. 10; also eh. xiii.; xv. 2). In is the spiritual rising with Cl ,ri,t, which is the Mino way the 8!ltda referr.-d to in <'h. a consequence of his redeeming work. It ia vi. 9 are those existing during the period to be noticed that St. John nowhere makea of this world, which we have here under- use of the phrase, "second resurrection," ftood , to be denoted indirectly by the though he does use the words, "seoonddeath;" " thousand years." And they lind and Botli the " first resurrection" and the reigned with Christ a thousand years. " second death" are spiritual operations. " The thou88,nd Jear&" adopted in the Ver. 6.-llleued and holy is he that haih Textus Receptus, 1s fonnd in B and others, part in the first reaurreotion: on 1uch the but omitted in DC, A, and others. •• They second death hath no pawer, but they•~ be lived and reigned with Chriat" in oom- priest& of God and of Christ, and shall reign ple~ and perfect assurance, as in ver. 2, with him a thousand :,ears ; 911Br #,he,e the And for the rel!l()il given in ver. 2, viz. that ,ecotid death hath no aullwriiy. The first - Satan was bonnd completely. This living words describe the state of those who have and Teigning must not be limited to the part in the spiritual res11rreotion with ('<-riod ,after the death of the martyrs Christ (see on ver. 5). The second clause (thongh it is doubtleu true in this sense gives to the oppl'el!lled Christian the culmi- also), not\ttthsta.nding the fact that St. nating reason fOl' patience and perseverance. John ~ them here after their death. Ii The " E&OOnd death " is tte spiritual death i8 as though he would say," You Christians of the lake of fire (ver. 14). Prieiu of God, Bit upon thrones and reign with Christ ; etc. ( cf. eh. i 6; v. 10). .d. thouond yron ; yea, even those who suffered shameful deaths in complete and everlaating security (see on shared this perfect safety and exaltation, ver. 2, et seq.). We may in this plaoe briefly though ·to the eyes of the world they were indfoate aome of the other inttrpretations 10 afflicted and degraded." 7Mu lifled is which have been. given to thi11 reign of the d&;Cribed in ver. 5 as the "first resurrection." sainta for a tho1JBand years, or, as it is ge- Thi■ can only be referred to that firllt nerally lltyled, ihe millennium. (1) The ii wakening --from sin to the glorious life literal in~retation of a future reign on llf _the gospel, which St. John elsewhere earth of Chnat with his aaints for a thoueand desoribes in a similar manner. "He that years. According to this view, there Is to heareth my Word ••• hath everlasting life, be a first resurrection of the dead (either and shall not come into condemnation'; but of the qoly dead or of all the delld), then la paued from death unto life" (John v. the period of a thoUB&nd yeara, during which 8B. :n:. 1-lG.J THK :BEVBLATION OJ!' BT. IOBlf TBB DIVIHB. (73