I would suggest the following reading of Rev. 20:4
"And I saw thrones, and they (all believers) sat upon them, and verdict was rendered about them:
and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded (all who have died in Christ) for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and I saw such (all who still are alive in Christ) as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they had eternal life and reigned with Christ a thousand years"P>I would suggest this reading for two reasons. First - the descriptive phrases "for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God - such as worshipped not the beast nor recieved his mark - are found elsewhere in the book of revelation. These phrases can be used interchangeably for both are marks of faith. In Rev. 1:9 John says he was on Patmos "for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Rev. 6:9 uses these two phrases for the souls under the altar, which is undoubtedly why they are used again in Rev. 20:4.
The phrases about worshipping the beast and receiving his mark are used primarily in reference to those living who follow the beast and his image. The refusal to do so is the mark of the believer living in the midst of this pressure or tribulation. See Rev. 14:9-12.
In the second place this reading closely parallels two other NT texts. First Romans 14:8,9 and secondly I Thess 5:9,10 "For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that,whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Rev. 20:4-6 is about the eternal security of all who belong to Christ by faith. Cf Romans 8:31-39. In the troubled times of the early church that was certainly a message they needed to hear. No matter what, in the final analysis, Christ and all who belonged to him, not satan and his followers, were truly victorious.