Around the world, Christians disagree over many issues. One of the issues include Revelation 20.
The millennium is just the Latin word for '1000'. Revelation 20 is the only text in the book of Revelation we can see the word 'millennium'.
a. Revelation 20
Rev 20:2 - Here is where we see the word 'a thousand' for the first time in the book of Revelation.
This is the picture presented in Revelation 20. At the beginning of the 1000 years, Satan would be bound and thrown into a pit for 1000 years (20:2-3). Christians, "those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands" are resurrected and reign with Christ for 1000 years. This is the first resurrection (20:5). The second death has no power over them, they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years (20:6). The rest of the dead, likely referring to non-Christians, did not come to life until the thousand years were ended (20:5).
At the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released, and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea (20:8), but is almost immediately defeated (20:9), and then thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where they will be tormented day and night forever (20:10). There is then the picture of judgment day - Death, Hades and all whose names were not written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire (20:11-15).
However, they are 3 views of this regarding Revelation 20, differing based on when Christ returns and other aspects of the vision.
b. Pre-millenialism
In this view, Christ returns before the 1000 years. The 1000 years are not yet here. This view is substantiated by 19:11-21, which describes Jesus' 2nd coming, occurring just before Revelation 20. This view sees Christians reigning on earth with Jesus after he establishes his absolute rule on earth. Satan is bound absolutely. Christians will meet Jesus in the air when he returns (1 Thess 4:16-17), known as the 'Rapture'. Before the 1000 years, society gets worse and worse till a period of great tribulation occurs, a period of great persecution of Christians, just before Christ returns. Once the 1000 years are up, Satan will be released, but almost immediately defeated and thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur.
c. Post-millennialism
Jesus will come after the 1000 years. We could be living before the 1000 years, or during the 1000 years. Satan is not bound absolutely. There is improvement in society - Christianity is spreading and medical science and technology is improving. This view was especially prevalent during the time of the British Empire when many missionaries were being sent out, and many new cures for diseases were being discovered.
d. A-milllennialism
This view doesn't believe that the 1000 years is to be taken literally. The 1000 years is symbolic of the time between the 1st coming of Jesus and the 2nd coming of Jesus. He is bound in the sense that Satan can no longer blind people from the gospel. The saints are taken to reign, as written in passages like Ephesians 2:6 "and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus", Colossians 3:1 "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" - for those who believe in Christ, they are raised with Christ, reigning at the right hand of God.
Which view is right?
2. Millennium in context
The people who come up with these views may have a lot of vested interests in these views. Their whole belief system hinge very heavily on the interpretation of Revelation 20.
We must read in context. We must be careful not to let our prejudices and prior knowledge dictate what the passage says. What does the passage really say?
a. Vision sequence
The sequence of visions is based on the order of John's visions (19:11, 20:1). The sequence is not necessarily the chronological order of history or the future.
There is a battle in 19:17-21 - this makes pre-millennialism unlikely since there is a battle when Jesus first returns - who is left for Satan to gather for the final battle in 20:8?
Furthermore, in Ezekiel 39, we read "I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured (Ezekiel 39:1-4).
In Revelation 19:17-18, we read also of birds being called to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. In Revelation 20:8, the nations that are gathered include Gog and Magog (nations of the east during the time of Ezekiel).
The 2 visions of a battle in Revelation 19:11-21 and in Revelation 20 are the same. Just like action replays, they are different views of the same event.
b. The final battle (16:14-16, 17:12-14, 19:11-21, 20:7-10)
In the context of the final battle, Jesus comes, and then there is the final battle. That is all we can be sure of. There is a thousand years, then there is the final battle. It is hard to know the exact relationship between the second coming of Jesus and the thousand years.
c. The 1000 years
i. Satan bound
What about the 1000 years in which Satan is bound? Satan is bound very well (Rev 20:1-3). Pre-millennialists believe Satan is bound absolutely, but only after Jesus returns, so society deteriorates till Jesus returns. Post-millennialists believe that Satan is not bound absolutely in the 1000 years which we are in, so society improves.
But is our world really getting better? After the 2 great wars in the 20th century, coupled with genocides, large scale natural disasters that still occur (e.g. 2004 tsunami), few people actually agree with the pre-millennial view.
The a-millennial view talks about the overlap of the ages, the 1000 years between the first coming of Jesus and His second coming. The world is not getting worse, nor is it getting better. It has always been like that since Genesis 3.
ii. saints reign
However, the a-millennialists may be reading too much into Christians reigning with Christ, by saying that all Christians are reigning with Christ as in Ephesians 2:6 and Colossians 3:1. In 20:4 we read, "Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."
It alludes to Rev 6:9-11. "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
The white robe symbolises victory. In the 1000 years, the Christians are reigning in victory, but yet they are told to wait for the full number of Christians to be killed for the sake of Christ.
In Philippians 1:18-24 the Apostle Paul talks about being hardpressed between staying alive and getting out of prison, or being slain and be with Christ. His "desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" There may be an intermediate state for Christians after they die - that they are conscious to some extent that they are with Jesus, though not yet having received a new physical resurrected body when Jesus returns.
It seems that these Christians are in a period of delay, waiting for the final judgment.
d. The final judgment
There is not too much controversy about the final judgment.
There is a great white throne (20:11), which is similar to the picture in Daniel 7:9-10.
"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. "I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire."
It is a courtroom scene, judgment day.
There is a lake of fire, where Satan and the beasts go. It is awful. They are tormented day and night forever and ever (20:10).
But it is not only Satan and the beasts who are thrown into the lake of fire. Those who are not written in the Book of Life will also be thrown into the lake of fire (20:15).
e. The rest of the Bible
The rest of the Bible pushes us towards the a-millennial view. The world is not getting better or worse. It has always been like this. Revelation 19 coming before Revelation 20 does not necessarily mean Jesus returns before the 1000 years.
3. Distracted by the Millennium?
However, we can believe any of the above views and still be Christian. It is about arguing about the timeframe of when Jesus returns. It can be very distracting, and can cause Christians to not befriend other Christians.
We Christians need to work out what are the common things we believe in.
a. Pan-millennialism
Good godly Christians can believe different views of millennialism - we shouldn't worry about it too much! It will all 'pan' out in the end! These things do not matter in the end. There are some things we should fight for theologically, such as whether Jesus rose from the dead physically, or whether Jesus died on the cross. But we shouldn't hold too tightly to something we might be wrong in!
b. Cosmic battle
We must look at the whole picture. What does Revelation 20 teach us?
i. Dragon - beast (B1) - false prophet (B2) - prostitute
There is a cosmic battle. On one side is Satan, the serpent from of old. With him there is beast 1 from the land, anti-God governments, beast 2 from the sea, anti-God religious teachings of men, and Babylon, the great prostitute, the system of this world which encourages man to find security in materialism and in luxury apart from God. It is like the account of Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, where man wants to make a name for himself.
It is a very old battle. It has been going on since Genesis 3. The serpent of old, against God and mankind.
Revelation 12 describes when the serpent fell, when he was defeated. He was defeated by the blood of the Lamb, by the death of Jesus! It is the death of Jesus that is the key turning point. He knows his time is short, his end is near, and sends out beast 1 and beast 2.
ii. Jesus
In Revelation 19:11-21, Jesus comes. On the other side is Jesus. He is not a tiny little baby Jesus, nor is he weak Jesus on a donkey. In Revelation 19, Jesus is the grown man Jesus. The man who is called Faithful and True. He is riding in on a white war horse with an army behind him. It is like Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. He has a sword coming out of his mouth - the word of God, the testimony of Jesus, about how he will judge the world. It will prove to be faithful and true. The word will call upon the birds to attack his enemies.
In this final battle, who wins?
In Rev 20:9, before Satan and his armies can do anything, it is all over. Fire comes down from heaven and consumes them.
There is such a big build up to the battle, but it is over in a flash!
c. Justice at last
4 times we are told, the final battle is total. It is very quick. It involves the whole world.
i. mop up
Jesus comes to fix up the mess. A lot of people pray for the mess of the world to be fixed up. Jesus will fix it up properly.
ii. deserved fire
Satan deserves the fire that will come to him. This is the significance of the 1000 years. Satan is bound for a thousand years, so that he will not deceive the world (20:3). Yet, when he is released, the first thing he does is to deceive the world and call for the final battle.
With his last breath, he still wants to come up against Jesus and His people. He deserves his punishment.
iii. martyrs vindicated
Those on the side of Jesus, who died for the sake of the gospel, will be vindicated. They will be seen to be on the right side. The persecutors who think they are the losers will come to see that they are in fact on the losing side.
d. All accountable
The mop up is total. Everybody has to give an account (20:12-13). "The small and the great... each one of them" - every single person has to face the judgment of God.
A lot of people ask, "why doesn't God fix up the mess?" It always almost refers to the mess on the other side of the world, or the mess that some people around them who are making life difficult for them.
But when God comes to fix up the mess, he comes to fix us up individually. If we are not for God, we will be fixed up. We will be judged.
e. Criteria for judgment
The judgment is awful. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Some people think hell is annihilation, that is, the people who are judged won't know about it. They will just disappear. But that is not what the text is saying.
Hell is living under God's wrath for eternity.
Everyone will be judged according to what they had done. God knows everything we've done. When the books are open, every wicked thought and deed will be exposed. What hope is there for any of us?
There is a book of life. Everyone whose name is in the book of life won't be thrown into the lake of fire. How do we get into the book of life?
It is by being forgiven by the blood of Jesus (19:13). It is by being on Jesus' side.
4. The Real Issues
a. Who wins?
Jesus and those who are with him are those who win. Yet, a lot of Christians have been killed in the past 2000 years for the sake of the gospel. Even for those of us not in those countries which persecute Christians, Christians are often seen as 'losers'. But the point in Revelation 20 is that Christians are winners.
b. Name in the Book of Life?
Are our names written in the Book of Life? Are we entrusting our lives over to Jesus?
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