The Millennium: Revelation 20

As we have discussed previously, the view of Revelation I am giving to you is not popular. At least on the broad scale. Most people that I encounter have bought into more of a premillennial/dispensationlist view on the book of Revelation. This comes from a way of viewing Revelation in a more literal way for one but also from basing how you read the book around this question of the millennium.

The millennium is the thousand year reign of Christ mentioned only in Revelation 20:4-6. It’s a brief passage mentioning Christ’ reign and there has been much theology built around just this simple passage.

Before we dive into the contents of Revelation 20 I want to first give you a quick breakdown of the 3 popular views on the millennium so that you can get a grasp on the theological world we are playing with here. (Note: this is not an exhaustive breakdown just a boiler point view to get you started)

Final Judgement

In the next 3 visions out of the total seven we are working through, we are presented with four scenes depicting this last judgement that will occur.

1. v.1-3: Satan Being Locked Up
2. v.4-6 The Millennial Reign of Jesus
3. v.7-10 The Judgement of Satan
4. v.11-15 The Judgement at the Great White Throne

Satan is Locked Up

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand.  He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.  He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.(Revelation 20:1-3 CSB)

We live in an odd time I feel like today. We have that sweet ole grandmother theology that Satan rules the world and he rules Hell with his giant pitchfork. Yet, what John is offering us here in this scene is a contrary view. Satan is not ruling, rather he has been locked up. His power is taken away. He has been contained for what we are told is a thousand years.

The Thousand Year Reign

Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.(Revelation 20:4-6 CSB)

John sees a vision of people seated on the thrones and his description of them is that they have been beheaded because they were willing to die in Jesus’ name. We would call these people who die because of their faith “martyrs.”

The main way Rome would choose to execute people in this day was by the method of beheading. You would be stripped naked(which is dishonoring), whipped and usually the beheading would be done with an axe yet there was also accounts this would be done with a sword by the time that Revelation is being written.

As we have noted previously, the letter of Revelation is written to seven churches who would understand persecution. These are people who know in a very real sense what it would be like to be hunted down for their faith and specifically to be hunted down because your faith put you in opposition to Rome’s way of worship.

Revelation is a letter written to an oppressed people, people on the margins. This passage about how those who have physically lost their life because of the message of Jesus would be reigning with Jesus is the sound of encouragement. It is good news. It’s the news that their lives were not wasted on some random coo-coo message from a Jewish rabbi; but rather their lives would be honored by sitting next to the King of Kings on the throne.

Satan is Judged

 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison  and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea.  They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.(Revelation 20:7-10 CSB)

Here we see a pattern that revelation is sorta following though not perfectly.

This pattern comes from Ezekiel 36-48. In Ezekiel 37 we see this scene of a resurrection and Kingdom being established. From Ezekiel 38-39 we have the invasion of Gog where Israel is attacked. In Ezekiel 40-48 we then have a vision of a a new temple and new city.

Like Ezekiel, here we just seen this resurrection take place and now are seeing all the nations from the four corners of the earth come together as a representation of Gog and Magog(Gog ruled Magog) as they gather for battle against God’s people.

But it’s important to note, God did not build an army to fight Gog’s army. Rather Jesus army stands behind Him as He defeats the enemies with the sword in his mouth(19:15). In this perspective, the enemies are consumed by fire from the skies that “consumes them.” The devil(the dragon) is “thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

The enemies have been defeated. Justice has been served.

Throne of Judgement

Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works.  Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.(Revelation 20:11-15 CSB)

In Jewish tradition there was talk about a final day of judgment where people stand before the throne. We see this imagery in Daniel 7:9-10 which says:

“As I kept watching, thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was white like snow,
and the hair of his head like whitest wool.
His throne was flaming fire;
its wheels were blazing fire.
 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from his presence.
Thousands upon thousands served him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was convened,
and the books were opened.

This final day of judgement is a day where the book of life is opened and people are judged according to what they have done. Those who are not mentioned in the book of life will be judged differently. They are those unrepentant humans who flee from God’s presence as He sits on the throne. There is no more time to “make things right”.

The dead that we see coming form the seas are those who were not given a proper burial. They were tossed in the sea, which in Gentile thought meant they could not enter into Hades(the realm of the dead). Here though we see those dead who were not buried properly still joining alongside those who found their way to the realm of the dead. All of these who have not been resurrected will remain in this realm as this realm is “thrown into the lake of fire.” This is the second death or final death.

Summary

Jesus has won the victory, and those of us who have lost our lives for the message of Jesus need not worry about whether their life was wasted on a meaningless message. Instead they can hold their head up high knowing the message they died for has them seated on thrones next to the King. For the rest of us we must ask what are we living our lives for?

This is not a works based message but a question of “where will your life end up?”

Will you be next to the King in His victory or will you be tossed with the rest of the dead into the Lake of Fire?