[And] after that he must be loosed a little season.—To see who are in heart harmony with the Lord's will, and who are governed by other motives. As evil will be bound by the prompt infliction of punishment upon the would-be evil-doer, so we may presume it will be loosed by allowing evil deeds to go temporarily unpunished.—Rev. 20:8.
20:4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them.—The thrones of present earthly kingdoms.—Z. '82-3-6.
And judgment was given unto them.—Judicial sentence was passed upon them as unfit to longer continue. (Z. '82-3-6.) This word is rendered condemnation in Luke 23:40; Jas. 3:1; Jude 4.
And I saw the souls.—Persons, beings.—Z. '82-3-6.
Of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus.—“All constituting the Kingdom class are here referred to as beheaded. The Apostle gives us the key, saying. ‘The Head of every man is Christ; the head of the woman is the man; and the Head of Christ is God.’ (1 Cor. 11:3.) As a woman who becomes a wife accepts her husband as the head of the family (loses her name, her individuality, to become his bride), so the Church accepts Christ as her Head, and each member of the Church thus comes into relationship with the Lord as a member of His Body. It is required of every one who would be counted in as a member of the true Church, that he should be not only beheaded (lose his self-will), but that he shall be united to the true Head of the Church and recognize himself as a member of the true Body of Christ—‘the Church of the living God, whose names are written in Heaven.’ ”—Z. '01-227; Rev. 1:9; 19:10.
And for the word of God.—On account of the Word of God and by means of it. We are “Begotten by the Word of Truth,” and to live in fullest harmony with its every precept, at any cost to the flesh, is the distinguishing peculiarity of the overcoming Church of God. “Only now are Bible students beginning to emerge from under the great cloud of false doctrine which for fifteen hundred years has misrepresented God and the Bible, putting darkness for light. Only now can Bible study be prosecuted in its true spirit, without the fear of man, which brings a snare. Only now is there general education, which permits of Bible study in this true sense. Only now have we the convenient [pg 304] Bible, cheap and in every home. Only now have we more leisure and opportunity for Bible study. Only now have we good light by which to study.”—Z. '13-366.
[And which] IF ANY THEREFORE had not worshipped the beast, neither his image.—See Rev. 13:13-18.
Neither had received his mark upon their [foreheads, or in their hands] FOREHEAD AND ON THEIR HAND.—In years to come millions will be surprised to know that they had these marks of assent and service to Satan's empire. “The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a programme of anarchy. It does not inspire wars and strife, but peace and security. It does not set the mother against her daughter and the father against his son, but promotes the fraternal spirit whereby the race is regarded as one great Brotherhood. It does not seek to drag down and degrade the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. To use a popular phrase, it appeals to ‘the best, all that is good within us.’ It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that the absence of Christ will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to make men so satisfied with this life that they shall be totally indifferent to the life hereafter. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, mercy, charity and benevolence, teaching men to live for the good of others and to be kind to all. For those who observe its conditions and obey its commands, it promises the development of certain inherent occult powers, the solution of the more recondite problems of man's constitution and the accumulation of esoteric knowledge which is withheld from the multitude. In short, it declares that all who will eat of the forbidden fruit shall ‘be as gods.’ The gospel of Satan is one of works. The Devil's Delusion is that we can be saved by our own works, and justified by our own deeds. Whereas God tells us, ‘By grace are ye saved through faith, ... not of works, lest any man should boast.’ And again, ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.’—Eph. 2:8, 9; Tit. 3:5.”—Z. '16-42.
[And] they BOTH lived and reigned with Christ.—See Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10.
A thousand years.—“The loss of this hope by our forefathers led on to all the grievous errors from which we are now seeking to escape. Do we not still pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven?’ The Messiah's coming Kingdom is the key to the world's blessing by Restitution back to human perfection in a world-wide Eden.”—Pastor Russell. Observe how many times this period is mentioned in Rev. 20:2-7.