The Millennium of Revelation 20

Now that the beast and the false prophet have been defeated, John sees another vision which starts in chapter John sees an angel bind up.
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Grant Osborne, in Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament , notes that verses in chapter 20 emphasize the vindication of the saints:. That vindication took place in stages, from the storm theophany of 6: But it is finalized in Also populating the earth during the Millennium are those who were aligned with the beast before his demise and their descendants.

They will live in their natural bodies under the rule of Christ and his resurrected saints during the Millennium. After the Millennium ends, Satan will be released from prison one last time, and he will deceive the people of the earth not the resurrected saints. A leader called Gog, from a land called Magog, will gather a massive army and march on the city of Jerusalem, the city where Jesus lives and rules.

REVELATION – Verse by Verse – Chapter 20:1-15 – The Millennium Kingdom

Before they can enter the city, God rains down fire on them, and they are all killed. Gog and Magog are biblical names for the nations who are rebellious against God and hostile to his people. In Revelation, both words represent the hostile nations. Chapters 36—37 picture the salvation of Israel, restored to their land and blessed with the messianic salvation see However, the blessing of the messianic kingdom is not the end. The kingdom is disturbed by an eschatological war led by Gog from Magog chapters 38—39 ; and only after the divine victory do we have a picture of the eternal new order, which in Ezekiel is described in terms of a rebuilt temple in the new Jerusalem chapters 40— This structure of a temporal messianic kingdom followed by the eternal kingdom in the new age is the same as that in Revelation.

Why allow Satan to deceive the world again? In the present instance, even after Christ himself has reigned over men during the millennium, when the deceiver is set free from his prison, he finds the hearts of men still responsive to his seductions. This makes it plain that the ultimate root of sin is not poverty or inadequate social conditions or an unfortunate environment; it is the rebelliousness of the human heart.

The millennium and the subsequent rebellion of men will prove that men cannot blame their sinfulness on their environment or unfortunate circumstances; in the final judgment, the decrees of God will be shown to be just and righteous. They will not experience Satan or be deceived in any way by him. All they will experience is the benign rule of Jesus himself.

Yet after fourteen lifetimes of enforced good according to the text, i. The purpose is to prove the power of total depravity and demonstrate once and for all the necessity of eternal punishment. The millennium is the judicial evidence that will convict the earth-dwellers and prove that their eternal sin demands eternal punishment. In other words, John has told us the fate of the beast, the false prophet, and Satan himself. But what will happen to the people who, throughout human history, rejected God while they were alive, but are now deceased?

The entire physical universe ceases to exist. All the unrighteous dead are resurrected and join the already resurrected believers. The third section is in chapters 8—11 describing the seven trumpets of judgment, and it ends with the reference to final judgment in The fourth section, chapters 12—14, contains the vision of the woman giving birth while the dragon waits to devour the child and a description of the dragon and two beasts. The fifth section in chapters 15—16 describe the seven bowls of wrath and ends also with a reference to final judgment in The sixth section, chapters 17—19, describes the fall of Babylon and the beasts and ends with a reference to the End Time in The seventh section in chapters 20—22 tells the doom of the dragon, Satan, and final judgment is depicted in Are there six endings?

Or is it more reasonable to see it as multiple accounts from different angles of the same time frame? If true, it poses a big problem for the Premil chronological interpretation and is probably one of the strongest arguments for an Amil interpretation. Revelation 20 is the only text in the Bible which explicitly mentions this thousand-year reign of Christ. Hoekema argues that 1 Corinthians So where is this millennial gap in a plain reading of these texts? Dispensationalists and some premillennialists assert that the number one thousand in Revelation 20 should be interpreted literally.

Also considering the structure of recapitulation discussed earlier, this gives a context for interpreting what is happening in this seventh parallel vision. The book is full of symbolic numbers and it is likely that this number also should be viewed similarly. The number ten signifies completeness and a thousand is ten to the third power.

"The truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself."

For a thousand is the cube of ten. We will next take a look at the text itself of Revelation 20 and explore an Amil reading. After that he must be released for a little while. One of the main things we see in this passage is the binding of Satan so that he cannot deceive the nations Some object that in Matthew it is in reference to casting out demons.

However, if we follow on in Matthew, this is evidence of the presence of the Kingdom Matt This binding of Satan does not mean that all satanic operations cease during the millennial age, as many opponents of Amil mistakenly assume. Also, Satan no longer has authority over the realm of the dead— since Jesus now holds the keys cf. Satan still rages against the Kingdom in a limited but sinister fashion, however his ultimate power to deceive the nations is bound by the truth of the gospel.

He is like a chained savage animal who can still do great damage to anything in his reach. We can see this quite plainly in Revelation in each of the cycles of recapitulation where there is obviously the presence of demonic forces and evil in what is the current age. However, in Revelation, the area of Satanic power is closely controlled by God. Demons can only come out of the pit when an angel with a key opens it 9: If we look at the sealing of Christians in Revelation 7: In the same way, the sealing of Satan here prevents him from inflicting spiritual harm on the saints.

Where do these people come from? Many premillennarians have purported various answers, however I do not find them satisfactory.

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This is the gospel dispensation when Satan is bound, and the gospel will go to the ends of the earth until the thousand years are over Acts Thrones, first resurrection and reigning with Christ This is the first resurrection. So, what was described of the thousand years in verses was on earth, and now verses shifts focus to heaven. This is, rather, a figurative way of saying that they reign over a kingdom. This reigning goes together with judging, as seen when Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew Also, there is a connection earlier in Revelation 3: They are distinguished from these other people who have also died—there are two classes of deceased.

The vision here concerns the souls of Christian martyrs specifically—they are the ones who have overcome and now sit on the thrones. Premil contends that the first resurrection is a resurrection to eternal life while the second resurrection will be a resurrection to damnation. However, even in a Premil interpretation of this passage, nothing is said of the latter group here. Therefore, even according to Premil, this passage speaks about only risen believers reigning with Christ during the millennium which is a very different kind of earthly millennial reign than what most premillennialists teach.

He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. So, there is a contrast of a spiritual resurrection and a bodily one. He is distinguishing two resurrections of different kinds , not two subsequent resurrections of the same kind. It is something that passes away and is replaced by something new of a different kind—fallen creation gives way to redeemed heaven and earth.

Also, to further this argument, the first death is a loss of physical life whereas the second death is of a different kind than a physical sense—a spiritual death. Who are the people still on earth who revolt against Christ during the millennium This presence of evil in the millennial age is a serious problem faced by Premil. Supposedly, according to Premil, there is a fall of glorified saints or their offspring after the resurrection and judgment. However, I think it is more logical that instead of insisting that the resurrection in Revelation Why should believers, who have been enjoying heavenly glory during the intermediate state, be raised from the dead in order to return to an earth where sin and death still reign?

Would this not be an anti-climax? Furthermore, looking at Once the binding of Satan In conclusion, biblical prophecy surrounding eschatology can be misused in a number of ways. While some treat it as a game, playing with symbols and numbers to fit their own predictions or using it as a weapon, fighting those who do not see the future exactly the way they do, its purpose is to comfort and encourage believers. While it is interesting to debate these varying positions, we must remember also to be charitable and show grace—keeping in mind that this is a secondary issue which we should not divide the body over.

Although I have argued strongly, and used some rhetoric and humour, Premil, Postmil, and Amil are all rooted in conservative convictions. Each group should show love and respect for their fellow believers who may differ from them on this issue. We do not know the exact time of his return, and as a result must live as if it could happen any moment.

This article has considered briefly the historical development of eschatological views, the methodology of interpretation, the structure of recapitulation in Revelation and the testimony of Scripture itself, while looking at some of the objections. So, while I can respect the position of other views, I find the amillennial view to be most compelling, both for its realistic outlook and interpretation of Scripture.

It interprets the millennium as concurrent with this age and anything but a golden era in which lions and lambs play together. Instead, it is marked by conflict, martyrdom, and revolt against God. Revelation 20 depicts the church militant, not the church triumphant. However, despite the amillennial nomenclature, there is a real millennium.

Revelation 20 Commentary - The Millennium - leondumoulin.nl

It is now, the age in which Christ rules—Jesus is already King and the Kingdom has come—and it is a present reality and not a future hope. Christian Literature Company, The Book of Revelation: Grand Rapids, MI; Eerdmans, The Return of Jesus in Early Christianity. The Gospel according to John. The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology.

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Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, vol. Sorting Out Evangelical Options. An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. The Bible and the Future. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. The Revelation of St. Oxford University Press, Marvin, What Does the Future Hold? Exploring Various Views on the End Times.

A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times , Expanded Edition. The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. The History of the Christian Church. Clair, Millenarian Movements in Historical Context. John Knox Press, Riddlebarger, A Case for Amillennialism , Clair, Millenarian Movements in Historical Context , According to McGrath Christian Theology , , Tertullian saw the millennium as a time when the righteous would be compensated for their suffering for the faith before final entrance into heaven itself.

Also, Daley The Hope of the Early Church , 10 observes that the eschatological themes in 1 Clement are presented as being in continuity with creation and expecting a culmination of the orderly process of creation, rather than a sudden crisis.


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See also Origen, Contra Celsum , 7. See also Carroll et al. Origen saw the Premil view as Jewish literalism in his De Principiis 2. Some posit however that Augustine was post-millennial. Gentry marshals a list of figures from church history who were supposedly postmillennial. Many suggest that the term amillennialism is somewhat misleading since it might imply a denial of the millennium altogether. For more on this see Hoekema, The Bible and the Future , The term itself was not used until the turn of the twentieth century, and it is believed that Abraham Kuyper may have been the first to use it.

For more info on this see Riddlebarger, A Case for Amillennialism , 39—