<p>20:4 <i>Then I saw thrones- </i>Saints sitting on thrones is Dan. 7:22; the throne of the beast is cast down, and judgment thrones given to the faithful.</p><p><i>And seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed</i>- &ldquo;And judgement was given unto them&quot; (AV). This is Dan. 7:22: &ldquo;And judgement was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom&rdquo;. This is clearly at the start of the Kingdom, at Christ's return, when the beast enemy of Israel is destroyed. This would also be the time of Ps. 122:5-8: &ldquo;For there (in Jerusalem) are set thrones of judgement, the thrones of the house of David ... Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. For my brothers and companions&rsquo; sakes, I will now say, Peace be within you&rdquo;.</p><p><i>Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years- </i>The jihadist State will be a strictly religious entity, keen to take the predictions and commands of the Koran and Hadith as literally as possible. Their crucifixions of their enemies are in strict obedience to passages like Sura 5.36: &ldquo;The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified&hellip; Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom&rdquo;. And the jihadists likewise are careful to obey the commands to behead enemies: &ldquo;When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely; then bind the prisoners tightly,&rdquo; (Sura 47). The UK <i>Daily Mail </i>reported of ISIS: &ldquo;They lined the streets with the decapitated heads of police and soldiers&rdquo;.&nbsp;Beheading is now a well-known method used by the jihadists, popularized by their videos of beheading Western hostages. We note that it is the fate of those who do not worship the beast or accept his mark in Rev. 20:4. Apologists claim that the Koran doesn&rsquo;t support these beheadings; but it does. &nbsp;<i>Sura</i> 8:12 says that beheading can be used in order to psychologically terrify the non-Moslems: &quot;I will cast dread into the hearts of the unbelievers. Strike off their heads, then, and strike off all of their fingertips<i>&rdquo;. Sura</i> 47:3 is similar: &quot;When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads&rdquo;. Beheading is justified in some of the hadith on the basis that Muhammad ordered the beheading of 700 Jews in Medina for allegedly plotting against him. It is therefore to be used specifically against God&rsquo;s people. Until recently, it seemed impossible that such a method of death would be literally used- but it is now becoming known worldwide that it is indeed being practiced and gloried in within the entity that is taking over the land promised to Abraham. It must be noted that Islam is the only major world religion today that legitimizes beheadings.</p><p>Rev. 20:4 says that there will be a special blessing for those who were beheaded for the sake of Jesus, and this involved them in not worshipping the beast or receiving his mark. The short term fulfilment of this was in the beast as the Roman empire. But the Roman Empire only beheaded <i>citizens</i> (e.g. Paul); non-citizens were killed in other ways, e.g. by crucifixion, throwing to wild beasts. Mentioning beheading was therefore purposeful. The text could more easily have said &lsquo;martyred&rsquo; or &lsquo;killed&rsquo;. The blessing in view, in the first century application, was therefore particularly for Roman citizens who refused to accept the faith of their own empire, for the sake of Christ. The climax of all Bible prophecy, however, is not in history; it is in the literal coming of Christ to earth. In the last days, therefore, Rev. 20:4 must have its final and ultimate fulfilment. But the incipient fulfilment in the days of Rome guides us towards understanding that final fulfilment. I suggest therefore that this class of latter day martyrs refers specifically to those who are citizens within the area controlled by the latter day entity known as the beast. Those who do not submit to its rulership will be beheaded. And we are already seeing that happening in the area, with roads lined with heads. And we see the jihadists forcing Christians and Yezidis to convert to Islam, or to face the sword- quite literally, in beheading. They stated themselves in July 2014: &ldquo;We offer them three choices: Islam; the <i>dhimma</i> contract&mdash;involving payment of <i>jizya</i>; if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword&rdquo;. The blessing of Rev. 20:4 is for those who endure this for the sake of Christ and witnessing His word in Christ to them. &quot;The word of God&quot; refers to the preaching of the word; the word is designed by its very nature to be preached.</p><p>It could be that it is those who perished during the tribulation who now sit on thrones of judgment to judge those who persecuted them, some of whom died during the tribulation, but are now raised to face judgment and the second death.</p>