Christ’s Millennial Kingdom
Revelation 20:1-6
Christ’s
Millennial Kingdom
Scripture Reading and Insights
Revelation 20:1-3
I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain (20:1): The bottomless pit serves as the place of imprisonment of demonic spirits (Luke 8:31; 2 Peter 2:4).He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, andbound him for a thousand years (20:2): “Dragon” is an apt metaphor that points to the ferocity and cruelty of this evil spirit being. “Serpent” is apparently an allusion to Satan’s first appearance in the Garden of Eden, where he deceived Eve (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14).“Devil” (see Matthew 4:1) carries the ideas of “adversary” and “slanderer.”The devil was and is the adversary of Christ; he is the adversary of all who follow Christ. The word “Satan” also carries the idea of “adversary.”The devil—along with all demonic spirits—will be bound in the bottomless pit for 1000 years during Christ’s millennial kingdom. (“Millennium” comes from two Latin words—mille, which means “thousand,” and annum, which means “year.”) This quarantine will effectively remove a powerful destructive and deceptive force in all areas of human life and thought during Christ’skingdom.Christ’s millennial kingdom will be wondrous. During this time, righteousness will flourish (Isaiah 11:3-5), peace will be universal (Isaiah 2:4),and the fruitfulness and productivity of the earth will be greatly increased (Isaiah35:1-2).The millennial kingdom is one of those doctrines that Christians seemingly love to debate.
There are three primary theological views—premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism (see “Major Themes” below). I hold to premillennialism, the view that following the second coming, Christ will institute a kingdom of perfect peace and righteousness on earth that will last1000 years. This view is based on a literal interpretation of prophecy. The imprisonment of Satan and his host of fallen angels will greatly change the religious landscape during the millennial kingdom. Gone will be their deception, their destructive influence, their temptations to sin and rebel against God, their continued stance against the purposes of God, and the guilt they inflict on the consciences of Christians. Threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer (20:3): After the angel casts Satan into the bottomless pit, he seals it to prevent escape. He thereby ensures that Satan will be unable to deceive people during Christ’s millennial kingdom. After that he must be released for a little while (20:3): Satan is released after the millennial kingdom to allow him one last attempt to lead some of earth’s people astray. But who are these people? Scripture reveals that only believers enter into the millennial kingdom in their mortal bodies (for example, Matthew 25:34), but some of their descendants will not be believers. These are the people Satan will seek to gather against God in one final rebellion. Christ will quickly and decisively crush this rebellion. Following the millennial kingdom, the great white throne judgment—which is the judgment of the wicked—will take place, and the lake of fire will be populated (Revelation20:11-15). Those who participate in Satan’s rebellion will be among the inhabitants of the lake of fire. (More on this in the next chapter.)
I saw thrones (20:4): Many have wondered who occupies these thrones because we are not told. There are two popular views. One is that they are the 12 disciples. Luke 22:30 refers to the disciples sitting “on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” The other popular view is that they represent the church. First Corinthians 6:2 tells us that the saints will judge the world. As well, 2Timothy 2:12 affirms, “If we endure, we will also reign with him.” Both these views are viable.I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God (20:4): The souls who had been beheaded are the martyrs of the tribulation period (see Revelation 6:9; 18:24; 19:2).They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years (20:4): The idea of reigning with Christ is confirmed throughout the book of Revelation.
The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were ended(20:5): This refers to the resurrection of the
wicked dead, who will be raised to face Christ at the great white throne
judgment following the millennial kingdom(discussed in verses 11-15). This will
be a somber event. This is the first resurrection (20:5): We can easily get
confused by this verse, so some explanation is in order.The original Hebrew and
Greek manuscripts of the Bible did not have chapter and verse numbers. People
inserted these later to make for easier navigation in the Bible. In the great
majority of cases, the chapter and verse divisions are very helpful. In a very
few instances, such as Revelation 20:5, they can be misleading. Bible
expositors are in essential agreement that the last part of verse 5—“This is
the first resurrection”—fits into the flow of verses 4 and 6.
But the first half of verse 5 is a
parenthetical truth. The resurrection of the wicked dead is not a part of the first
resurrection. Rather, the first resurrection involves the resurrection of the
righteous, as other verses on the first resurrection make clear. Scripture
mentions two types of resurrections. The first is appropriately called the
“first resurrection,” as in this verse. This is also called the “resurrection
of life” (John 5:29), the “resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14), and the
“better life” (Hebrews 11:35).The second resurrection is the last resurrection
(Revelation 20:5a,11-15). It is appropriately called the resurrection of
judgment (John 5:29; see also Daniel12:2; Acts 24:15).To be even more specific,
the term “the first resurrection” refers to all the resurrections of the
righteous even though they are widely separated in time. There is one
resurrection of the righteous at the rapture (before the tribulation—1
Thessalonians 4:13-17), another during the tribulation (the two
witnesses—Revelation 11:3,11), another at the end of the tribulation (the
martyred dead—Revelation 20:4-5), and apparently another at the end of the
1000-year millennial kingdom (not recorded in Scripture).
They all are “first” in the sense of
being before the second (final) resurrection, in which the wicked dead are
raised. Accordingly, the term “first resurrection” applies to all the
resurrections of the saints regardless of when they occur, including the
resurrection of Christ Himself(the “first fruits”—see 1 Corinthians 15:23).The
second resurrection, or last resurrection, is an awful spectacle. All the
unsaved of all time will be resurrected at the end of Christ’s millennial
kingdom, judged at the great white throne judgment, and then cast alive into
the lake office (Revelation 20:11-15). People will be given resurrection bodies
that will last forever, but these bodies will be subject to pain and suffering.
They will exist eternally in the lake of fire. Blessed and holy is the one who
shares in the first resurrection! (20:6):Those who share in the first
resurrection are blessed because they will have unfettered access to the
presence of God forever. They will dwell with God (and Christ) face to face.
Can there be any higher privilege and blessing than for the creature to dwell
face to face with his Creator? Those who share in the first resurrection are
also called holy because they are set apart from all sin. In the glorified
state, the sin nature is obliterated, for “we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).
Christ “will transform our lowly body to belike his glorious body” (Philippians
3:21).
Over such the second death has no
power (20:6):
The first death is physical death—that is, the separation of the spirit or soul
from the body (for example, see Genesis 35:18). Virtually all people—except
those Christians alive on earth when the rapture occurs—will experience the
first death (1 Corinthians 15:50-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).The “second
death,” which is for unbelievers only, entails eternal separation from God in
the lake of fire, or eternal hell. “Their portion will be in the lakethat burns
with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). Thelake of
fire will be populated immediately following the great white throne judgment, which
is the judgment of the wicked dead (Revelation 20:11-15).They will
be priests of God and of Christ (20:6): Priests do not need gobetweensto relate
to God. Priests have direct access to God. Those who participate in the first
resurrection (that’s you and me) will have direct access to God forever and
ever.
Major
Themes
1. Premillennialism.
This view teaches that following the second coming, Christ will institute a kingdom of perfect peace and righteousness on earth that will last for 1000 years. After this reign of true peace, the eternal state begins (Revelation 20:1-7; see also Isaiah 65:17-25; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Zechariah 8:1-17). I subscribe to this view because it takes a literal approach, recognizing that Old Testament prophecies of Christ’s first coming were also literally fulfilled
2.
The Old Testament basis for the millennial kingdom—Psalm 2:6-9; Isaiah65:18-23;
Jeremiah 31:12-14,31-37; Ezekiel 34:25-29; 37:1-13; 40–48; Daniel 2:35;
7:13-14; Joel 2:21-27; Amos 9:13-14; Micah 4:1-7;Zephaniah 3:9-20.The work of
Satan—Genesis
3:1-5; John 8:44; Acts 5:3; 1 Corinthians 7:5;2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Timothy
3:6; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:10.
3. Life Lesson
Satan is on a leash. Our passage graphically illustrates that God puts boundaries around Satan and his host of fallen angels. Satan is not free to do anything he wants to you. All Satan’s activities havedivinely imposed parameters beyond which he cannot go (see this in Job 1:12 and 2:6). We ought all to be thankful for this protective ministry of God (compare with Psalm 91:1-12).2. Our wondrous resurrection bodies. In 1 Corinthians 15:42-43 the apostle Paul describes the resurrection: “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” Our present bodies will wear out, but our resurrection bodies will be glorious, never again subject to aging, decay, death, or burial. How awesome!
Questions for Reflection and
Discussion
5.
1.
Do you worry about attacks from the devil and demons? We should definitely have
a healthy respect for the powers of darkness (2Corinthians 2:11), resist them
(James 4:7), and wear our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). But let’s keep
our eyes focused on Jesus(Hebrews 12:2).
6.
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