20:6 second death. The second death must be a bodily death, imposed after the second resurrection on all those who still are spiritually dead in their sins and trespasses (note Ephesians 2:1; Revelation 20:13-14).

20:6 priests of God. The resurrected saints will be both kings and priests (Revelation 1:6), exercising both judicial rule (I Corinthians 6:2) and religious ministries in relation to the growing human populations on earth. They may be ministering to those who had died or been raptured while still “babes in Christ,” either infants physically or spiritually. These somehow must be brought to full maturity in Christ, both physically and spiritually, and the already-matured saints could conceivably be participants in their further growth.