The verse in question is Revelation 20:4, but to set up the time frame
we shall begin at verse 1
Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Revelation 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations
no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after
that he must be loosed a little season.
So, obviously this is at the beginning of the millenium, after the tribulation is over and after Christ has returned.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
This is the verse I want to explore. Lets find out who these people are, who were beheaded, and when exactly they suffered this death.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God
Lets look into the word beheaded
3990
3990 pelekizo {pel-ek-id'-zo}
from a derivative of 4141 (meaning an axe);; v
AV - behead 1; 1
1) to cut off with an axe, to behead
Now, this means basically to cut someones head off, but lets go to the
root word
4141
4141 plesso {place'-so}
apparently another form of 4111 (through the idea of flattening out);; v
AV - smite 1; 1
1) to strike, smite
This means more to simply smite to death, or to kill.
Now, there is another greek word that is normally used to describe the
head being cut from the body.
Matthew 14:10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
Mark 6:16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
Mark 6:27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded
his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
Luke 9:9 And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this,
of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.
607
607 apokephalizo {ap-ok-ef-al-id'-zo}
from 575 and 2776;; v
AV - behead 4; 4
1) to cut off the head, behead, decapitate
This is the word that would be used to literally describe the head actually
being severed from the body. The other word would be used more as a figure
of speech to say someone had died, not neccesarily by decapitation.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment
was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God
3141
3141 marturia {mar-too-ree'-ah}
from 3144; TDNT - 4:474,564; n f
AV - witness 15, testimony 14, record 7, report 1; 37
1) a testifying
1a) the office committed to the prophets of testifying
concerning
future events
2) what one testifies, testimony, i.e. before a judge
Sound familiar?
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:
be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Matthew 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to
the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Matthew 10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings
for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
3142
3142 marturion {mar-too'-ree-on}
from a presumed derivative of 3144; TDNT - 4:474,564; n n
AV - testimony 15, witness 4, to be testified 1; 20
1) testimony
Almost the same exact word, but both originate from the same root word, 3144!
3144
3144 martus {mar'-toos}
of uncertain affinity; TDNT - 4:474,564; n m
AV - witness 29, martyr 3, record 2; 34
1) a witness
1a) in a legal sense
1b) an historical sense
1b1) one who is a spectator
of anything, e.g. of a contest
1c) in an ethical sense
1c1) those who after
his example have proved the strength and
genuineness of their faith in Christ by undergoing a
violent death
Matthew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought
how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour
what ye shall speak.
Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your
Father which speaketh in you.
Matthew 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death,
and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their
parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's
sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Did you catch the word martyr? Violent death?
Also note that the manuscripts do not say "endureth to the end shall be saved"
the words to the end are translated from a single word meaning this
3778
3778 houtos {hoo'-tos} including nominative masculine plural
houtoi {hoo'-toy}, nominative feminine
singular haute {how'-tay}
and nominative feminine plural hautai
{how'-tahee}
from the article 3588 and 846;; pron
AV - this 157, these 59, he 31, the same 28, this man 25, she
12,
they 10, misc 33; 355
1) this
It therefore should read
Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth this shall be saved.
He that endures this death for Christ's sake shall be saved, and so
they shall!
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God
These are those who the spirit of the Father shall speak through! And they shall be martyred.
But how can we know these are not simply those who through times past have been killed for simply being christians? Because these are a certain group of people that die only after the beast rises and takes over the world, and this is the same beast that marks its people. Those events and that beast only exist in the end times.
Revelation 20: and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Those who were beheaded/killed for the testifying they did in Christs
name did not take the mark of the beast. This mark is only available after
the beast comes, so that excludes any christians who have died prior to
the end times. These who have been killed are killed after the beast rises!
After the beast marks all the people of the world. These died during the
tribulation, not before or after but during. In fact, they are killed after
they give their testimonies, in which the HS speaks through them.
Revelation 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty
and two months.
Revelation 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,
and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations.
Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,
whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.
This also is speaking of times after the beast rises and this reference to the Saints isn't speaking of the two prophets that are killed by the AC. The two prophets are not referred to as the Saints. To learn more of these two individuals go to this study:
https://www.angelfire.com/wa/warriorwarrior/twowitnesses.html
Jn:16:2:
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time
cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God
service. (KJV)