Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 20:13

"And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." — Revelation 20:13 (ASV)

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. This refers to all who had been buried in the depths of the oceans. This total number will be great.

If we include all who were swept away by the flood, all who have perished by shipwreck, all who have been killed in naval battles and buried in the sea, all who have been swept away by inundations of the ocean, and all who have peacefully died at sea (such as sailors, or those engaged in commerce or acts of benevolence), the total number will be immense—a number so vast that it was fitting to give them special attention in the account of the general resurrection and the last judgment.

And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. This means that all the dead came from all regions where they were scattered—on the land and in the ocean, in this world and in the invisible world. "Death and hell" are personified here and are represented as having dominion over the dead and as now delivering up, or surrendering, those who were held under them. On the meaning of the words used here, see Barnes on Revelation 1:18; see also Barnes on Revelation 6:8.

Compare: See Barnes on Matthew 10:23; See Barnes on Job 10:21; See Barnes on Job 10:22; and See Barnes on Isaiah 14:9.

This entire representation is inconsistent with the supposition that a large portion of the dead had already been raised at the beginning of the millennial period and had been permitted to reign with Christ in their glorified bodies.

And they were judged. All these were judged—the righteous and the wicked; those buried at sea and those buried on the land; the small and the great; the dead, in whatever world they may have been.