We puny, stupid creatures are standing with one foot in heaven, and that gives us authority over all the power of the devil, plus a whole lot more, besides. We are called to focus on the spiritual reality that has already begun. Though we may look marginalized and defeated, we are, in fact, gloriously victorious. The one who is responsible for so much of our pain and misery has already been defeated.

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Revelation #39  Revelation 20:1-10.  THE MILLENIUM

As we come to Revelation chapter 20, I’m reminded of a quote from a wise, well-respected, Bible commentator:

This brings us to one of the most difficult parts of the entire book. There have been endless disputes, some of them very bitter, over the way to understand this chapter. Evangelicals have divided from one another and sometimes have been quite intolerant of views other than those of their own group. It is necessary to approach the chapter with humility and charity. (Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentary on Revelation)

Many years ago, someone left the church that I was pastoring at the time because they didn’t like the way I interpreted this next section of Revelation. I hope and pray that none of you will stop reading the sermon notes because of this chapter. Truly, I do not believe that this is worth dividing over. I have my own opinions, of course, but I hold them loosely, knowing that I could very easily be wrong. And, when we take a step back, this passage is almost unique in Scripture. What I mean is, there is nowhere else in Scripture that talks about a one thousand year block of time in which the devil is bound, and some of Christ’s followers reign with him for thousand years, to be followed by a brief period of releasing the devil, after which he is finally defeated. What this means to me, is that this is not a major biblical doctrine. I can say with absolute confidence that people who interpret this differently from each other will still be together with Jesus in heaven.

Please bear with me while I share something else. This may seem like a rabbit trail, but I think it will help us as we approach this text, and also the whole of Revelation. In the scholarly discipline of theology, we have something called “systematic theology.” In systematic theology, scholars study a particular subject. They investigate all of the various Bible passages that relate to that subject, and they also usually study what other theologians have written about it. Then, they gather the information about that subject into one clear series of statements. Systematic theology can be very useful. If, for example, you wanted to know how it is that the death of Jesus results in the forgiveness of sins, a systematic theology of the atonement is very helpful. Instead of having to comb through the Bible, and find everywhere it talks about that subject, systematic theologians have organized it and presented it all in one place. It is a useful scholarly discipline, and even somewhat useful to interested non-scholars.

Now, this is very important, because the vast majority of people use the book of Revelation to build a systematic theology of the end times (“end times” theology is technically called “eschatology”). In addition, Revelation chapter 20 – our text for today – is typically used as a very important point in building up that systematic eschatology.

That is not necessarily wrong, but we should never lose sight of the main purpose of the scripture. You see, systematic theology has some very big drawbacks. The biggest one is that that way of thinking tends to lead us away from the primary purpose of the Bible, and the primary means of achieving that purpose. The purpose of the Bible is to show us Jesus, and to bring us closer to him. The way that purpose is achieved is to read the Bible the way it was originally written: book by book. We read so that the text reveals Jesus to us, and so that we are drawn closer to him. What we are doing here – the ministry of Clear Bible – is to learn the Scriptures better, so that we know Jesus better. In a way, I don’t even care where Revelation chapter 20 fits in a systematic eschatology. It was not originally written in order to tell us how to build a scheme for the end times. It was written to help us know Jesus better, and encourage us to trust him. All scripture is there to reveal Jesus, to call us to repent and trust him more, and trust him more fully in all areas of our lives. Only when we understand that are we ready to look at the text.

Remember, I don’t believe that Revelation is a strict chronological account, nor do a large number of better scholars than I. Revelation describes, in various ways, the coming of the kingdom from the time of Jesus’ incarnation until it is fully present to all people not only spiritually, but also physically. This second-to-last section of Revelation is giving us seven different pictures of the ultimate victory of Jesus.

In the past part, we learned that those who reject the graciousness of God given to us in Jesus Christ are standing in the way of the full coming of the kingdom of God. People who do not want have Jesus as king cannot be in a place where Jesus is fully and completely king. They must be removed, before the full kingdom of God can be manifested. One part of the ultimate victory of Jesus is the removal of those who absolutely refuse to have him as king. That is what we studied last time.

Another part of the victory Jesus – the part we are looking at today – is that the originator of the rebellion against God, that is, Satan himself, must also be defeated and removed.

In the first part of this book of Revelation, Jesus dictated letters to seven churches, which also stand for all Christians at all times. To each of the seven churches Jesus promises certain things to those who overcome, are faithful, who repent, who are victorious. Revelation chapter 20 is beginning to describe in more detail the rewards that were promised in Revelation chapter 2 and 3. For instance, in the letter to Smyrna Jesus says:

“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor will never be harmed by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11).

In our text here it says:

“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 the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.” (Revelation 20:6)

One of the big concerns of the book of Revelation is that good Christian people are being persecuted, imprisoned, and some, even deceived, and it seemed like God was absent; it seemed like He wasn’t doing anything. This text says “I am going to do something. I have a master plan, and the end result will be that you share in my victory, and justice will be served upon your enemies.”

Now, I suppose we must deal with this business of the thousand year reign. What, exactly does this mean? Once again, I hold my interpretation humbly and loosely, but, for what it’s worth, I’ll give it you. The picture we have is that Satan is bound for a definitive period of time – the perfect amount of time to give every human being a chance to repent. By the way, until recently, very few Christians throughout history thought this was a literal one-thousand years – not even those who were living before 1000 AD. After that, Satan will be released for a short time, and then defeated utterly. I believe that this passage is a word-picture, describing how Jesus defeated Satan through his death and resurrection, and how we who trust him are already, in a spiritual sense, united with Him in his victory. The time when Satan is released for a while is the time when some of these terrible things described in Revelation will happen. Then will come the final, ultimate victory. If I am right, then “the rest of the dead” refers to those who refuse to receive Jesus as their Lord and savior.

I have several biblical reasons for looking at it this way. First, Jesus himself, and his apostles after him, viewed what he did on the cross as a victory over the devil that resulted in the devil being severely limited in his ability to act in this world.

³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. (Jesus, in John 12:31)

¹⁴ Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death — that is, the Devil — ¹⁵ and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

²⁴ When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
²⁵ Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁸ If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ²⁹ How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. (Matthew 12:24-29)

In this parable, most Bible teachers believe Jesus was referring to himself as the stronger man, who binds the devil.

Second, the New Testament often describes the process of salvation as moving from death to life, and also pictures us reigning with Christ, in some spiritual sense, even before we enter the New Heavens and the New Earth. I want to start with a couple passages that show two of three concepts covered in Revelation 20 – that on the cross, Jesus defeated the devil; that at the same time he also brought us from death to life:

. ¹³ He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. ¹⁴ We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him. Colossians 1:12-14

¹³ And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. ¹⁴ He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him. Colossians 2:13-15

When the New Testament speaks of “rulers and authorities” in this way, it usually means, “spiritual powers of evil.” So, this passage teaches that by the cross, Jesus defeated Satan and his demons, and delivered those who trust him from death to life. A few more, talking about “the first resurrection;” being transferred from death to life:

⁴ Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. ¹⁵ And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

But, what about reigning with him? Do Christians really reign with Jesus before the end times? The apostles certainly thought so. There is a mystery here – meaning we are dealing with a  truth that is beyond our ability to fully understand. But the Holy Spirit, through the New Testament, teaches that in some sense, even before the end, we are seated in heaven with Jesus, reigning with him:

⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6)

​¹ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Jesus taught that his kingdom has already begun, and we are a part of it:

²⁰ Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, ²¹ nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

He also taught that He has shared his kingly authority with us:

¹⁸ I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18

¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

He even specifies that he has given believers for all time authority specifically over the devil:

¹⁷ The Seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”
¹⁸ He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash. ¹⁹ Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you. ²⁰ However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)

He doesn’t mean snakes and scorpions literally, and he makes it clear that our authority is “over all the power of the enemy.”

Finally, Revelation 20:6 says that they will be priests of God most high. The New Testament certainly teaches us that this is something that happens when we become Christians. Peter writes to Christians everywhere:

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

John himself, earlier in Revelation, says that all believers in Jesus have been made priests of God:

To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father — the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6)

Because the New Testament speaks of coming to Jesus as a change from being dead in our sins, to being alive in Christ; and also because it speaks of the cross as a victory over the devil and his demons; and because it says that somehow, spiritually, we are already with Christ in the heavenly places; and because it says that we share his authority over the devil, I think this 1000 year reign is a picture of the church between the time when God sent the Holy Spirit (shortly after the resurrection of Jesus) and the time of the end. By the way, I am not alone in this. There are many theologians who believe the same thing, including many who lived before 1,000 AD, and therefore might be forgiven for thinking that 1,000 was a literal number. The great Saint Augustine of Hippo (living in the 400’s), wrote:

During the “thousand years” when the devil is bound, the saints also reign for a “thousand years” and, doubtless, the two periods are identical and mean the span between Christ’s first and second coming.

Andrew of Caesarea, another early church bishop who also lived before the year 1,000, agrees, and he also advocates humility regarding the interpretation of these verses:

It is in no way good to understand the “thousand years” as referring to a thousand years as such…

Therefore, the “thousand years” are the time from the incarnation of the Lord until the arrival of the antichrist. Whether the matter is as we have interpreted it, or the thousand years are one hundred times ten, as some believe, or the thousand years are less than this, this is known to God alone, who knows how long his patience is beneficial to us, and he determines the continuance of the present life.

After the 1000 years, we have the great battle between good and evil. A lot of people make a big deal of Gog and Magog. God doesn’t. In fact, there is no battle at all. The powers of evil approach threateningly, and, while God’s people don’t lift a finger, the powers of evil are all destroyed by fire.                                                                                                                                                                                                           Let me offer a few brief lines for you consider as you apply this text to your life. First, I think many Christians don’t realize just how amazing our salvation is. Jesus doesn’t just give us a “barely passed.” Instead, he makes us rulers in his kingdom. We puny, stupid creatures are standing with one foot in heaven, and that gives us authority over all the power of the devil, plus a whole lot more, besides. Remember that: even in your darkest times, if you belong to Jesus, you are standing with one foot already in heaven.

Second, I think this text is telling us that to focus on the spiritual reality that has already begun. Though we may look marginalized and defeated, we are, in fact, gloriously victorious. The one who is responsible for so much of our pain and misery has already been defeated. He’s a bit like a mean dog on a chain – as long we pay attention, and don’t walk into his range, he can’t touch us. He will be released again only for a short while to accomplish God’s purpose for the end times. Then, it is lights out on him, forever.

Le the Spirit speak to you, today.