20:4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

AND I SAW

  1. THRONES, and
  2. And I saw
  3. SOULS of those
    • who had been BEHEADED
      • because of the testimony of JESUS and
      • because of THE WORD OF GOD,
        and those
    • who had not worshiped the BEAST or his IMAGE, and had not received the MARK upon their forehead and upon their hand;

These people have a special place in the heavenly kingdom (Revelation 6:9-11). They were/are 100% totally committed to Jesus Christ even to death. Oh, that we may learn from their example!

and they came to LIFE and REIGNED WITH CHRIST for a THOUSAND YEARS.

The promise to the "overcomers" at Smyrna (Revelation 2:10) is finally fulfilled.

When we consider that the SOUL most likely is a thought (neural) process, that is, a decision consciously made in our minds. Then the SOULS, that were severed from the body (BEHEADED) are reunited with the BODY, where LIFE is. You may have a different view of where the SOUL of a person is, but that explanation needs to fit within the context of this verse. Most interesting to this author is that John SAW the SOULS. That means SOULS have form and are visible. We truly have a lot to learn about the spiritual/soul side of man.

An aside: much can be said about the relationships between body parts and sensory receptors (neurons?). Many times in scripture the sensory physical is refered to as "the heart". Mount Sinai Medical literature indicates that DNA within the zygote encodes both the bodily and the sensory functions.

What is not described is how neural processes control belief, impressions, and intentions (soul or spiritual functions). We all answer at some time during our physical life: 1. Who am I? 2. Why am I here? and 3. Where am I going (eternally)? See Romans 8:26-39 and Hebrews 4).