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The Second Death Has No Power
Revelation 20:2–10 follows the old serpent from binding to brief release and final defeat. After the thousand years Satan deceives the nations again, gathers them in a Gog-and-Magog rebellion, and is consumed by divine judgment. The Devil is then cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet already are, bringing the serpent’s biblical storyline to its irreversible end.
Revelation 20:4–6 shows thrones and those who reign with Christ, giving special attention to faithful witnesses who refused the beast and its mark. They share in the first resurrection and are called blessed and holy; the second death has no power over them. The passage joins resurrection, priestly identity, and reigning with Christ while leaving some chronological questions debated among interpreters.
Revelation 20:6 declares those who share in the first resurrection blessed and holy because the second death has no power over them. They are priests of God and Christ and reign with Him. The promise gathers themes introduced in the letters to the churches: overcoming, priestly service, freedom from the second death, and participation in Christ’s rule.
The promise that the conqueror will not be hurt by the second death is fulfilled when Revelation says the second death has no power over those in the first resurrection.
Revelation’s promise that the risen saints will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign continues the kingdom-and-priesthood vocation first announced to Israel at Sinai. The later vision joins priestly service and royal rule in an explicitly Christ-centered eschatological setting.
Peter calls believers a royal priesthood; Revelation 20:6 completes the same Exodus-shaped vocation by portraying the blessed resurrected saints as priests of God and of Christ who reign with him.
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