"THE TIME OF THE END"
The 1000 Year Reign (Millennium)
INTRODUCTION
1. Ideas regarding Christ's second coming are closely related to one's
view of the millennium...
a. A 1000 year reign
b. Mentioned in just one passage of Scripture - Re 20:4
2. Briefly described, these views are...
a. Pre-millennial - Jesus to return before He reigns a literal 1000
years on the earth
b. Post-millennial - Jesus to return after He reigns a literal or
figurative 1000 years from heaven
c. A-millennial - There is no literal 1000 reign; Jesus reigns now
and can return at any time
3. The premillennial view is very popular today...
a. Especially the dispensational version of premillennialism
b. Expressed often in books, movies, television, etc.
[But does Rev 20:4 teach a literal 1000 reign of Christ on the earth?
Is the premillennial interpretation of that passage consistent with that
taught elsewhere in the Scriptures? Let's first examine...]
I. THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT
A. THE BINDING OF DECEPTIVE SATAN...
1. Just prior, the victory over the beast and false prophet are
described - Re 19:19-20
2. Then Satan is bound with a chain and cast into a bottomless pit
for 1000 years - Re 20:1-3
3. He is unable to deceive the nations like he did previously
- cf. Re 12:9; 13:14
4. Afterward he is released to once more deceive the nations for a
short time - Re 20:7-9a
5. But then Satan also is defeated once and for all - Re 20:9b-10
-- The 1000 year binding of Satan relates to his ability to
deceive the nations
B. THE REIGN OF RESURRECTED SOULS...
1. John sees thrones and resurrected souls reigning with Christ
- Re 20:4-6
2. The souls are those beheaded for their witness, who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, nor received the mark on
their foreheads - cf. Re 12:11; 13:12-17; 14:9-11
3. They are blessed to experience a "first resurrection", serving
as priests and reigning with Christ for "a thousand years"
4. A scene similar to one described earlier - cf. Re 15:2-4
-- Twice it is mentioned that such souls reign with Christ a 1000
years
C. OBSERVATIONS...
1. The focus of this passage is not on the reign of Christ per se,
but rather:
a. The binding of deceptive Satan
b. The reign of resurrected souls
2. Note carefully what is not said about the reign of resurrected
souls
a. Nothing is said about them reigning on earth
b. They could just as easily be reigning with Christ in heaven!
3. The number 1000 is often used figuratively in Scripture
a. Israelites were to keep the covenant for 1000 generations
- Deut 7:9
b. Is it literal when God says that the cattle on 1000 hills
are His? - Ps 50:10
c. God will remember His word for 1000 generations (but no
more?) - Ps 105:8
4. If the 1000 year reign is to be taken literally, then why not
also:
a. The great chain - can a spiritual being like Satan be bound
by a literal chain?
b. The dragon and serpent - are we to understand Satan to be a
literal dragon?
c. The beheaded souls - are only those beheaded worthy to be
with Christ during a literal reign on the earth?
-- No one consistently interprets this passage literally; everyone
interpret some element figuratively
[Before we offer an explanation of the passage, let's take into
consideration...]
II. THE REMOTE CONTEXT
A. THE BOOK OF REVELATION...
1. As a whole, it is a revelation by means of signs or visions
- Re 1:1 (cf. "signified")
2. Consider the visions of Christ:
a. Does He literally have a two-edged sword out of His mouth?
- Re 1:16; 19:15
b. Is He literally a slain lamb, having seven horns and seven
eyes? - Re 5:6
3. Consider other elements in visions throughout the book:
a. Will a great star literally fall from heaven to the earth,
without destroying it? - Re 8:10
b. Will the terrible locusts be literal (Hal Lindsey said they
represent helicopters)? - Re 9:3
c. Will the beast of the sea be literal (most say he will be a
world ruler)? - Re 13:1-2
d. Will the 144,000 be literal men who are virgins (JWs say the
number is literal, but the description of only virgin men is
not)? - Re 14:1-5
4. Note also to whom the book is written, and what is said about
the timing of its events
a. Written to seven churches in Asia - Re 1:4
b. About "things which must shortly take place" - Re 1:1
c. About things for which "the time is near" - Re 1:3
d. About "things which must shortly take place" - Re 22:6
e. About things not to be sealed, "for the time is at hand"
- Re 22:10
-- The book of Revelation is filled with symbols and figurative
language, written mostly to encourage the early Christians
about things they were to soon face - cf. Re 2:10
B. THE REST OF THE NEW TESTAMENT...
1. There is no mention of a 1000 year reign of Christ on the
earth!
2. Christ is reigning now from heaven
a. He has all authority in heaven and on earth - Mt 28:18
b. He is Lord of all - Ac 2:36; 10:36
c. He is Lord of the living and the dead - Ro 14:9
d. He is head over all things - Ep 1:20-22
e. Angels, authorities, and powers have been made subject to
Him - 1Pe 3:22
f. He is truly the ruler over the kings of the earth - Re 1:5
3. His kingdom (reign) was always intended to be spiritual, not
physical
a. He resisted when people tried to make Him an earthly king
- Jn 6:15
b. He said that His kingdom was not of this world - Jn 18:36
c. His kingdom was not to come with observation, but to be
within you - Lk 17:20-21
d. His apostles taught that kingdom was spiritual in nature
- Ro 14:17
4. His coming again is not to establish His kingdom, but to
deliver it to God
a. When Christ comes and the dead are raised, that is the end
- 1Co 15:22-24
b. He will deliver the kingdom to God, when He has put to an
end all rule, authority and power - 1Co 15:24
c. He reigns now, and must do so until all enemies are put
under His feet - 1Co 15:25
d. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death, which will
occur when the body is raised from the dead - 1Co 15:26,
51-54
-- The NT (including Revelation) teaches that Christ is reigning
now from heaven!
C. OBSERVATIONS...
1. The idea that the 1000 year reign of Rev 20 is something that
begins at least 2000 years after the book is written is
contrary to the very words of the book itself - cf. Re 1:1,3;
22:6,10
2. The idea that Christ's kingdom has not yet been established,
that it is to be a physical kingdom where Christ reigns from
Jerusalem, is not taught in Rev 20, and is contrary to the
clear teaching elsewhere in the NT concerning His kingdom and
the events of His second coming - cf. 1Co 15:20-28
3. Like most of Revelation, chapter 20 is figurative, and must be
handled carefully
a. It was written to comfort Christians of the first century
A.D.
b. It provided hope to those who faced great tribulation when
Satan deceived nations (like the Roman empire) to persecute
Christians - cf. Re 2:10
c. Despite such efforts, Satan's power was limited, and He
himself would be restrained for a long period of time (1000
years, figuratively speaking) - cf. Re 20:3
1) Notice, it is only his ability to deceive whole nations
that is limited
2) His ability to deceive individual people remains unabated
d. During that time when Satan's influence was weakened, those
who suffered dearly would be privileged to join Christ in
His kingly reign - cf. Re 20:4-6; note also Re 2:26-27
e. It is reasonable to assume that this reign is in heaven
- cf. Re 3:21; 7:9-17; 15:2-4
f. Of course, the passage does suggest a short period of
tribulation when Satan is released where he can deceive the
nations again, but which will be terminated by the power of
Christ's coming and the final judgment - cf. Re 20:7-15
-- Thus a literal 1000 year reign of Christ on earth is simply not
taught in the NT
CONCLUSION
1. The same can be said about other elements of dispensational
premillennialism...
a. The idea of special and secret rapture of just Christians
b. The concept of several resurrections rather than just one
-- Which we shall examine in the next lesson
2. What can be said about Revelation 20...?
a. It is a figurative passage in a book that is highly symbolic
b. No one interprets the passage entirely literally; everyone
spiritualizes some portion of the book
c. The passage should be interpreted in the context of the book
overall and the rest of the NT
d. It provided hope to those who experienced the terrible tribulation
of the first three centuries
e. It should encourage us never to despair when facing tribulation
for the cause of Christ today
We can take heart, knowing that even now Jesus is "ruler over the kings
of the earth" and we are also reigning with Him...! - cf. Re 1:5-6; Ep
2:4-7
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Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2009
