Today we will be dealing with the most
controversial and most debated passage in all of Revelation. The passage itself is pretty straightforward,
but what this passage means has been debated for the last 2,000 years of church
history. However, for all that is not
clear in this passage, the central truths contained here are very clear. Satan is once and for all defeated. God’s people are resurrected, rewarded, and
reign with Christ. In Revelation 20:1-10, John recorded a
vision of the millennium to give God’s people hope. Whatever your millennial position, the
central truths of this millennial vision are a source of great hope for God’s
people. My prayer today is that we would
find indescribable hope in the certainty of Satan’s defeat and the certainty of
the resurrection and reward of God’s people.
[20:1] Then
I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the
bottomless pit and a great chain. [2] And he seized the dragon, that
ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years, [3] and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him,
so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years
were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
[4] Then
I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was
committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the
testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those 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.
[5] The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years
were ended. This is the first resurrection. [6] Blessed and holy is the
one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no
power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with
him for a thousand years.
[7] And
when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison
[8] and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners
of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like
the sand of the sea. [9] And they marched up over the broad plain of the
earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came
down from heaven and consumed them, [10] and the devil who had deceived
them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false
prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation
20:1-10 ESV)
I.
Walking Through
This passage describes something called the millennium. “Millennium”
is the Latin word for a thousand years.
This passage mentions a millennium
six times (2,3,4,5,6,7). Historically,
there have been 3 views as to what this millennium means. First, there is the premillennial position. Premillennialism teaches that when Jesus
returns, Satan will literally be bound for a long period of time (possibly a
literal 1,000 years) and believers will be resurrected and reign with Christ on
earth during this golden age. This
millennium will end in a final rebellion by Satan, the final judgment, and then
God will bring about the new creation. Secondly,
Postmillennialism also teaches that a
golden age will take place upon the earth, but that the preaching of the gospel
to the nations will bring it about and that Jesus will return after this
millennium is over. Finally, Amillennialism teaches that Satan was “bound” in a sense with Jesus’ first
coming and can no longer deceive the nations now to keep them from hearing the
gospel. Amillennialism doesn’t teach
that there won’t be a millennium; it teaches that we’re in this millennium
now. According to this view, the final
battle described here is the same as the battle of Armegeddon (16:12-16,
19:11-21). After this the final judgment
will take place and God will then bring about the new creation. Sometimes people mention a fourth view, pan-millennialism, which simply says
that it will all pan out in the end! The
more I study this subject; I’m tempted to just side with the fourth
option!
Currently, I hold a premillennial view of this
passage and how things are going to transpire when Jesus returns. I’ll share reasons for that as we make our
way through this text, but I will also point out items that support an
amillennial view where they appear as well.
I do believe that the development of chapter’s 17-20 seems to be
sequential. In other words, in these
chapters, God progressively deals with every major enemy: Babylon the Great
(17-19:5), the Beast & the False Prophet (19:11-21), Satan (20:1-10), and
Death & Hades (20:11-15). This progression
would argue for a premillennial interpretation of this chapter. During this millennium, basically two things
happen:
a. Satan
Bound (20:1-3)
John sees an angel come down from heaven with “the key to the bottomless pit and a great
chain” and bind Satan for a thousand years.
This is probably the same angel from Revelation 9:1ff. Notice
how powerful the language is here. This
angel “seized” the dragon (the
ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan), “bound him for a thousand years,” and “threw him into” the pit.
The pit is then “shut” and “sealed.” Satan’s incarceration results in him not being
able to “deceive the nations any longer,
until the thousand years were ended.” This language clearly reveals the limits of
Satan’s power. We certainly err when we underestimate the devil, but we likewise
err when we overestimate him. He is not God’s equal. He is not God’s opposite. He is God’s subordinate. God doesn’t even deal with him directly when it is time to for him to
be bound and thrown into the lake of fire.
Also, he doesn’t escape, he is “released”
as part of the sovereign plan of God (he “must”
be released).
This language also seems to support a
premillennial position. It is not
compatible with Satan’s activity in Revelation
12-14 or the rest of the New Testament (2
Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2, 2 Tim. 2:26, 1 Peter 5:8). Also, I think 1,000 years is probably not a
literal time period but is more likely symbolic for a long period of time. It seems inconsistent to demand a literal
thousand years and yet take other elements of this vision symbolically.
b.
God’s People are Resurrected and Rewarded (20:4-6)
John then sees “thrones”
and a group seated on thrones “to whom
authority to judge was committed.” I’m
not 100% sure who this group is. It
could be referring to believers, but it could also be referring to some other group. John also sees the souls of the martyrs, “those who had been beheaded for the
testimony of Jesus and for the word of God” and “those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not
received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.” Remember that those who did not take the mark
of the beast were slain (13:15).
I take this reference to the martyrs to be
symbolic for the whole people of God.
The martyrs are but one many pictures of God’s people in Revelation
(6:9-11: the martyrs under the altar, 7:1-8, 14:1-5: the 144,000, 7:9-17: the
great multiethnic multitude, 11:1-2: the temple, 11:3-13: the two witnesses,
12:1-17: the woman & her offspring, 19:7-8: the bride of the Lamb). I take all of these groups to be various
“snap-shots” of God’s people, highlighting some truth about what it means to be
God’s people. For this reason, I think
John is not talking about only martyrs
here, but all of God’s people being raised.
During this millennium, the martyrs “came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years,” presumably the same thousand years that Satan is being
bound. This coming to life seems to communicate a resurrection. That is how
this terminology is used elsewhere in Revelation (2:8, 13:14). Also, this
event (the coming to life of the martyrs) is specifically called “the first resurrection” (5). The “rest
of the dead” will not come to life (be resurrected) until the thousand
years are ended. This second resurrection is a resurrection to
judgment in 20:11-15. The phrase, “the dead,” seems to refer to anyone who
has died in Revelation (1:5, 11:18,
14:13, 20:5,12, 13). Believers make
up part of “the dead” that are raised
during this thousand years.
The fifth of seven beatitudes is pronounced upon
those who share in the first resurrection.
They are “Blessed and holy”
for three reasons. First, the “second death” (20:14: the lake of fire) has “no
power” over them (6a). Those who
conquered in Smyrna were promised protection from the second death (2:11).
Second, they will be “priests of
God and of Christ” (6b). This is how
all believers have been described in Revelation (1:6, 5:10). Finally, they
will reign with Christ for a thousand years (6c). Again, this is something that has already
been promised to the conquerors in Revelation (2:26-27, 3:21). Daniel
prophesied about this time when the saints would reign alongside the Son of
Man: [27] And the kingdom and the
dominion and the greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole heaven shall
be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ (Daniel 7:27)
c.
Satan Defeated (20:7-10)
Once the “thousand
years” have ended, Satan will be “released
from his prison” to “the nations that
are at the four corners of the earth” once more. Remember that this is something that “must” happen (3). He deceives them to “gather…for battle” in great numbers, “like the sand of the sea.”
They march over the earth and surround “the camp of the saints and the beloved city,” but they are not
successful. Fire from heaven comes down
and consumes them. Like the battle of Armageddon, this army is
suddenly and completely consumed. These
forces identified as “God and Magog”
here, a clear allusion to the final battle with the enemies of God’s people in Ezekiel 38-39. Now this is one portion of this passage that
could favor an amillennial view. Both
the battle of Armageddon in Revelation
19:11-21 and this battle here allude to the same Old Testament passage (Ezekiel
38-39), meaning that they could be referring to the same battle. However, it could also be due to the fact
that history is repeating itself at this point, as the nations gather again to
war against God’s people and lose.
Either way, at this point, the devil “who had deceived them” will be thrown
into the lake of fire and sulfur, “where
the beast and the false prophet were.” Together,
they will all be “tormented day and night
forever and ever.” The fact that the
false prophet and the beast are already in the lake of fire from 19:11-21 seems to further support a
premillennial view.
At this point, some people pose a legitimate question:
why release Satan to deceive the nations
once more? If a premillennial
understanding of this passage is correct, some even go a step further and ask
why we should have this millennial kingdom anyway. Why not just go ahead and be done with Satan
and usher in the new creation when Jesus returns?
Let’s consider a few reasons. The first reason for all of this would simply
be because it is the sovereign plan of God (3).
Second, this final release of Satan clearly demonstrates the depravity of the human heart and the necessity of the final judgment (after a
millennium of peace, man still proves himself to be a rebel at heart). “Apparently
a thousand years of confinement does not alter Satan’s plans, nor does a
thousand years of freedom from the influence of wickedness change people’s
basic tendency to rebel against their creator.”[1]
A third reason for this millennial kingdom would also be because a millennial
kingdom demonstrates the better rule of Christ and the faithfulness of God in
keeping His promise to His Son and His people.
God has promised His Son and His people a kingdom over which they will
rule with a rod of iron. He has promised
His people that if the suffer for Him, that they will also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). Here God is keeping those promises.
II.
Stepping Back
As I said earlier, for all that is not clear in
this passage, a few things are certain. It is those certainties that are meant to
give unspeakable hope to the people of God.
We are first meant to find hope
in the certainty of Satan’s defeat (1-3, 7-10). I hope it is encouraging to realize that the
fate of our greatest enemy is certain!
This is an epic event. We’ve been
looking forward to the end of Satan since it was promised in Genesis 3:15. It is interesting that Satan entered the
story of the Bible and deceived the first man and woman in the 3rd
chapter of the Bible, and here he is exiting the story of the Bible after
deceiving the world in the 3rd chapter from the end.
Meditate upon this reality and find hope. There is coming a day when the deceiver, the accuser of the
brothers, the tempter, the liar, the murderer, the one who comes to steal, kill
and destroy is vanquished forever! His
fate is not in question, and neither is yours!
“The God of peace will soon crush
Satan under your feet.” (Romans
16:20 ESV)
Second, find
hope in the certainty of the resurrection and reward of God’s people (4-6).
In this passage, both resurrection (coming to life) and reward (reigning with Christ) are
seen. This resurrection is a flip side
to the vindication of God’s people. Not
only does God avenge the blood of His people, but He also rewards them with an
extended time period upon this earth to reign with their Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. James Hamilton says, “If you are a believer, 20:4-6 is describing
your future. Satan is gone from the
scene. Christ is reigning on earth. You will be raised from the dead to sin no
more. No satanic deception. No satanic temptation. In the presence of Christ you will do justice
and serve as a priest to God. This is
what you were made to do. You were
created to enjoy God as King in God’s land in free obedience to God’s law. Uncontaminated. Undefiled.
Unsullied. No devil prowling
about like a roaring lion. Freedom. Joy.
Righteousness.”[2]When
you compare the time periods given for how long the beast rules with how long
God’s people reign with Christ, there is no comparison. So whether you are weary with trials or
temptations, take heart brothers and sisters!
Hold the hope of the kingdom to come before you and remember that it is
worth it.
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