Revelation Chapter 20. Vision 7. The Millennium and after.

VISION 7: - REVELATION 17:1- 22:5: - SEVEN LAST VISIONS.

REVELATION 20.

Vision (iv) - 20:1-6: - THE MILLENNIUM.

A) INTRODUCTION.

Schools of Thought.

A Variety of Interpretations have been given to this chapter, but basically they fall into four main groups:

(A) The Literal Interpretation, also known as the Premillennial School.
This was followed by Early Church Fathers such as Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian.

Within this view are three subgroups:
(i) The Historical School.
Revelation 6-19 are largely historical - they are interpreted symbolically relating to the struggles of Christianity with pagan Rome and then with Islam. H.Grattan Guinness teaches this view. Revelation ch 20-22 are then held to be future and are to be interpreted rather literally.

(ii) The Soteriological View.
The Millennium is part of God's Soteriological programme. The Political aspects of the kingdom and Israel are unimportant. Ladd follows this view.

(iii) The Political View.
The Millennium is part of God's prophetic programme. The Kingdom is Political during this time and Israel finds some prominence.
Dispensational writers and others hold to this view.

Outline of Events according to this interpretation:

(1) At the Second Coming, on the Day of the Lord, Satan is bound and cast into the Bottomless Pit. This confinement lasts for 1000 years.

(2) At the Second Coming the Saints are raised to life again. This is called the First Resurrection.

(3) Also at this time is the judgement of the Nations known as the Judgement of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25).

(4) The 1000 year period, called the Millennium, is a period in which Christ reigns with the Church on earth. Apparently it is a period of perfect social order, without need, and without the deceptions of Satan.

(5) After this 1000 year Satan is released and leads a rebellion against God.

(6) God judges this rebellion.

(7) The non Christian dead are raised to life, this is the Second Resurrection, and the Great White Throne judgement takes place.

(8) God then creates a new heavens and earth.

(B) The Amillennial View.

This teaches that the idea of the resurrection is spiritual. In other words it is new birth. The Millennium then began with the first coming of Christ and is not literal. This view was held by Augustine.

Hence there is no Millennium, hence the name Amillennialism. There is no literal reign of Christ on earth. The Millennium is therefore the Eternal state.

(C) The Historical View.

The Millennium began with the revival of the Church when the Church became the state religion of Rome under Constantine. This view was put forward by Grotius.

(D) Postmillennialism.

The preaching of the Gospel will eventually result in world wide conversion. The Church then rules the World. Such will last for 1000 years after which Christ comes. This view was largely held by liberal scholars in the 19th Century who saw things in a rather evolutionary light. Mankind was getting "better and better" and the gospel was just a part of this.
With the Two world wars this view has largely been rejected.

It is the view of this writer that there will be a literal Millennium, and that it is inaugurated by the Second Coming of Christ.

Why a Millennium?

On the surface there seems to be no reason for it. The Kingdom has come, why have this sort of "intermediate kingdom" and then have another period of rebellion? Was John obliged to put it in because it was traditional apocalyptic? It does not seem to have been too traditional – the idea of a set period of time for the rule of the Messiah before the rule of God was only found in the intertestament literature so could have been ruled out as being heretical. The fact that John includes the idea strongly points to the fact that he saw it in his vision. If that is so then the idea of a Millennium is a Divine Revelation and needs to be treated with all seriousness.

Caird (p250): "John must have included it because it was indispensable to his scheme".

John does not seem to have been bound to traditional apocalyptic in anything else where it didn't suit him.

The reason for the Millennium is in the nature of sin and Man's rebellion.
It is often argued that sin is the result of the environment. Hence if there was a perfect environment man would not sin.
This argument forgets that the Garden of Eden was such a perfect place. However to overcome that objection God gives this period of 1000 years. During this time there is no external source of sin - Satan is bound, the environment is perfected. During this time men live on earth in a perfect environment under the rule of Christ. Yet it is clear:
(a) That there is still rebellion going on - Christ has to rule "with a rod of iron".
(b) But more amazing at the end of this period when Satan is released men knowingly and willingly flock to his side to rebel against God.
These two factors show clearly that men will sin - even if there is no external or environmental factors to incite them to it.
Hence the last possible objection to the judgement of God is annulled. Man's inner sinfulness is plainly revealed for all to see.

B) EXEGESIS.

REV 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.

20:1. "key to the bottomless pit"
C/f 9:2, the Fifth Trumpet.
There Satan had the key and he was releasing Demonic hoards on the earth. These hoards had been bound since the flood. Now the situation is changed again. The key is now in the hands of an angel, possibly Michael (12:7-10), who binds Satan and his forces and casts him into the bottomless pit. This suggests some limiting of his activities on earth for this 1000 year period.

The Bottomless Pit is not Hell - that is to come later. Rather it is traditionally considered to be the "road" to Hades.

"chain"
= the word of God.
Isaiah 24:21f; Enoch 10:4ff; Prayer Manasseh 3.
The symbol of the chain is again drawn from Astrology. The Sea monster, Cetus – symbolising Satan - is shown there chained to Pisces, the Fishes – symbolising the People of God, indicating that this victory is to some degree brought about through the activity of the Church. This chain is called "the Band" and is a decan of Pisces.

REV 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

"1000 years".
This is the only reference to such a period in the Bible, and there is nothing like it is Apocalyptic Literature. The OT implies that the kingdom is eternal:
Daniel 2:44; 7:13,14,27.
If we view the number as being symbolic we may not be limited to a definite period.
1000 = 10x10x10.
10 = completion in time.
1000 = indefiniteness, a time long enough not to be measurable.
Some interpreters feel this is the correct view, hence they see the 1000 years to be symbolic of Eternity.

The Problem I feel with this interpretation is twofold:
(i) John clearly seems to have in mind a set period of time, after which certain historical events will take place. This could not be so if Eternity was what he had in view.
(ii) Even though all the numbers in Revelation have a symbolic significance most still seem to retain their literal meaning. The Seven seals, trumpets, bowls, etc - though nicely symbolic, also are counted out - numbers one to seven. Hence though the 1000 years could be symbolic we should probably consider the symbol to be more about the MEANING CONTENT of the period, rather than the LENGTH of the period.

The literal interpretation of the length should thus be retained. After all, if a definite, measurable period with defined events starting and finishing it is meant then its length can be stated definitely. And if so, why not 1000 years? And we have here two events that are the terminal points of the Millennium - the binding of Satan and the loosing of Satan.

Other Jewish writings give other lengths of time.
2 Esdras 7:18ff talks of a 400 year period.
2 Enoch 32,39; San 97:6; Apoc Elijah; 1 Enoch 33:1-2.

The name "millennium" comes from the Latin for a thousand.

The root of the idea is probably found in the Epistle of Barnabus 15, where Genesis 2:2 and Psalm 90:4 are connected giving a 7000 , or 7 days of 1000 years, period of human history. The seventh of these days was to be a sabbath. This was to be succeeded by a new World on the 8th day.

Caird (p250) gives other Jewish parallels. There seems to have been quite a debate in Jewish circles about how many millenniums man's history was going to last. In some writings there was an intermediate period between the Messiah's coming and the perfect state, but in other writings there was not.

REV 20:3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

"so that he might deceive the nations no more"
It appears that there will be at this time still a quite large world population not destroyed at Armageddon. This group would be susceptible to Satan's deceits if he was free to do so. Matthew 25 (the sheep and the goats) also indicates that there will be some who are not Christian believers who will "enter into the kingdom".

The Christians, or Overcomers, are above these attacks. They rule over the masses.

What is not clear is whether or not any of these belonging to the "nations" actually have the opportunity to repent and come to faith in Christ in this period. One would think so, "knowing the grace of God, not wishing that any should perish". However it is not said so, and the following description of the course of events after the Millennium seems to indicate that most, if not all, rebel against God when Satan is given that opportunity to test them again.

It would seem, however, that these continue to live a normal life - they presumably would have children, work, and so on, while all the time living alongside the resurrected and redeemed saints.

Caird (p251) points out that the idea of the saints "reigning with Christ" only has meaning if there are actually some citizens of the kingdom to rule over. The Battle of Armageddon is clearly the end of a phase of human history, but is not the end of human history totally. The nations as a whole survive it.

"the nations"
Psalm 2; Matthew 25:31-46.
In the kingdom the distinctive differences between peoples on the earth are recognised and affirmed. The kingdom is not one great big melting pot where everyone is the same.

"after that he must be loosed for a while".
There is a sense of obligation here. He "must" be let loose, presumably to test those who live on the earth and the offspring they have had during this time. As offspring of Adam they have to be allowed the same choice as everyone else as to whether they will accept the redemption paid on their behalf.
Clearly then this "bottomless pit" is not Satan's final judgement.

A popular theory that Satan was bound at the Cross does not seem to have any support in Scripture. There is no evidence that Satan is bound today - defeated - Yes, but not bound.

Isaiah 24:21,22.
Here Satan is bound and there is an implied gap between the time of binding and the time of punishing.
The Book of Enoch has a similar picture.

REV 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

"thrones and seated on them were those to whom judgement had been committed".

Daniel 7:9, 26. "thrones"
God is on the throne, but who are the others?
(i) The heavenly court of the 24 elders (Revelation 4,5).
(ii) Christ and the Church (22:5; 3:21; 2:26; 5:9,10).
(iii) The Apostles (Luke 22:29-30).
(iv) The Church (1 Corinthians 6:2).
As the Greek word "krino" means both "judge" and "rule" it is probable that John is referring here to the ruling Church of the Millennium. Ancient kings both ruled and judged, there is very little difference between the two. This then is not a reference to the Great White throne judgement (v 11,12).
John clearly follows Daniel in seeing more than one throne. Those on the thrones must therefore be those to whom the right to judge and rule has been given. In Daniel this is the "saints of the Most High". This is not the last judgement in view here; rather it is a judgement, or ruling, that goes on in the course of history. As in Daniel the kingdom is being taken away from one force (the Beast) and being given to another.

"Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded"
Is this a second group?
The Greek grammar is irregular and could imply this, but John is often irregular as Greek was to him a second language. Also the statement "they came to life again" governs both clauses, thus implying only one group is really in mind, described in two ways.

"beheaded"
Greek = papelekimenon = killed with an axe, "axed".
It came to mean execution by any means.
The kingdom is won by suffering - firstly that if Christ, then that of his followers (Kiddle).

"judgement"
What of?
(i) Nations - Matthew 25:31-46.
(ii) Israel - Ezekiel 20:33-58.
(iii) The Tribulation Saints - ( v4 ).
(iv) OT Saints?
Caird (p253) - this is not the full judgement of individuals, rather is only the judgement of empires.

"came to life again"
Does this imply that only the Tribulation Saints are to be raised? No - the Spirit of Antichrist is always at work, and we are always resisting his mark. Therefore all who accept Christ are included. This is confirmed by the fact that they "reign with Christ", which is a promise to the whole Church.

Greek = ezesan.
Two possible meanings:
(i) Bodily resurrection.
John 11:25; Romans 14:9; Revelation 1:8, 2:8,,13:14.

(ii) Entrance to Spiritual life.
John 5:25.
Here C/f v5 "the rest of the dead" - implies that bodily resurrection is meant.
Again we see here the influence of Daniel.
There is an obvious parallelism with Daniel 7:9,10,22.

REV 20:5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

"the rest of the dead...over"
A second resurrection is implied which includes all non-Christians.

"this is the first resurrection"
Refers back to the resurrection of v4. It implies a second is to follow at least.

REV 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

"Blessed..."
The fifth of the seven beatitudes of Revelation.
Clearly the first resurrection is before the Millennium.

"the second death"
C/f v14 = the Lake of Fire.

"priests of God"
The means by which Christ's regal activity is mediated and diffused throughout the world is through his body of priests. The work of the Gospel goes on in the Millennium.
For the Character of Christ's reign on earth see Isaiah 2;2-4, 11:4-9; Psalms 72; Ezekiel 20:34-38.

"1000 years".
This picture of the kingdom is amazing for what it OMITS. The apocalyptic prophets of the OT age waxed eloquent about the perfection of this coming age. John has none of this, only a reference to the reign of God's people.
The perfection of the future seems to be retained by John for the Eternal Age.

Vision (v) - 20:7-15: - SATAN'S DEMISE.

This passage suggests the reason for the Millennium. Even after 1000 years, i.e. 25 generations, of living in a perfect society Satan can still find a response in men’s hearts. This proves that sin is not caused by poverty in the environment, but is rooted in man's rebellious hearts. The idea that men will serve God in a perfect situation is false. At the first chance man has he rebels against God even in the ideal situation.
This happens even though by this stage Hell is already created out of the ruins of Babylon, and is present on earth for all to see if they want to.
Romans 3:19 "all mouths will be stopped". Men cannot blame God for their rebellion now, so God's decrees are shown to be just and righteous.

REV 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison

"and when"
Greek = "whenever", the tense is indefinite, indicating that the time is unsure thus supporting a symbolic interpretation of "1000".

REV 20:8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth- Gog and Magog- to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

"the four corners of the earth, that is Gog and Magog"
Gog and Magog used to be localized in the north, but are now a symbol for rebellious people world-wide.

Why did John use this symbol here?
Gog is being used here like a true myth, applicable to many historical situations. In other words, anyone who Gog's cap fits can wear it!
Gog and Magog are symbols of great spiritual truth. The invasion here has nothing to do with Israel's rebellion or punishment for her sins, but still Gog comes.
Ezekiel 38:11,14.
Gog comes when Israel is living in peace and security. This shows the nature of Gog. It symbolizes the resistance of evil and how it will attempt to destroy all that is good.
However this is not the same battle described in Ezekiel 38,39, rather it is 1000 years later. John has simply reused the symbol in another way. Here they have become a symbol for "all people who are in rebellion against God".

REV 20:9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

The object of their attack though is still Jerusalem, i.e. God's people.

"Camp of God's people"
"camp" - a military word - a military base.
Used in LXX for the camp of Israel in the Wilderness.
Even in the Millennium we are a sojourning period, the time of our permanent residence has not yet come.

"city"?
Has the New Jerusalem come down from heaven already? Charles rearranges the book to make it so. C/f 22:2 21:24-27 "the nations" - what are they doing there if this is the eternal state? Charles remixes the context to make sense of it.
However "the city coming down" is not something that happens just once in history. The "city" of God's people is always coming down. it is a permanent spiritual fact, not a far off eschatological event. Just as the "beast" arises continuously throughout history from the abyss, so the city of God continually comes down from heaven. Their respective origins show their natures. Where we find despotic tyranny we find the beast. Where we find the people of God we find the city.
In God's eyes the city is completed, and so is described as such, but our vision is earthly - we only see it in part.

"fire come down from heaven and consumed them"
Ezekiel 38:22.
No actual battle occurs on the human plane - the destruction is immediate and complete.
Note that Christ does not destroy them with the word of his mouth here, as he did in 19:21. Rather he destroys them with fire, as in Ezekiel 38.

REV 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Again, as with Armageddon, the emphasis is not on the destruction of the host but on the power behind them.

"lake of fire"
Matthew 25:41.
This is not annihilation, but is a continuing existence in torment. There is a real existence though all of its experiences are negative.
Possibly the lake of fire is created out of the destruction of Babylon, and so is already in existence by this time.

REV 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

"a great white throne".
God is seated on it. Throughout Revelation only God is seen on the throne.
This is the final judgement, so God now presides as the Ultimate Judge. Before him nothing is hidden and the creation is "rolled back" so that all is revealed.
The throne stands alone - there is no one to qualify its verdict or mediate for the accused.

"white"
Signifying the glory and majesty of God. (c/f 2 Esdras 7:39ff).

"from his presence earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them".

Revelation 6:12f.
Earth was created for man to inhabit, but sin has marred it. It too must now be judged as it is fallen. Then a new order can come in.

REV 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

"the dead"
I.e the spiritually dead but now physically resurrected. (v5).

"and the books were opened"
The record books containing the evidence of our deeds and thoughts so that we can be judged. we must receive judgement for the deeds done in the body. Is this book the individual conscience of each person? There seems to be clinical evidence that everything we do is indelibly recorded in our memory.
Enoch 90:20; 4 Esdras 6:20; Apoc Baruch 24:1.
However in Revelation no one is SAVED by the works recorded therein. If a man's name is not found in the "book of Life", then he goes to Hell. Presumably the degree of punishment in Hell is in some way determined by what is contained in the other books, but it is not said so. We may infer this from the fact that the rewards for Christians are to be different depending on our works in this life. It seems logical that it can work the other way also.

"book of life"
All who believe in Christ have their names entered in there.
Exodus 32:32-33; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 21:27.

"by what they had done".
That judgement is according to works is a NT doctrine.
John 5:22,30; 8:16; 12:47f; Romans 14:10; Matthew 10:32f; 6:4; 18:35; 7:22; 25:31-46.
This implies a variation in judgement even though all are "lost" in Hell.
The book of life contains those justified by faith in Christ. The other books simply confirm that the judgement is just.

"every man"
Implies the judgement is undertaken individually. This is not the assigning of a large corporate group to a common end. Time is taken so that every man knows he was personally and fairly judged.

REV 20:13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

"sea... Hades"
Hades was considered to be the universal grave into which all the dead went at burial. Those dying at sea had no access to Hades, but both the sea and Hades are seen to be demonic.

Ladd (p 269, 270) points out that the devil and his angels are spiritual beings, not physical, so it is hard to imagine how a literal fire could torment them.

Clearly this is symbolic, intended to convey the intense suffering of those who are consigned to Hell. We often use the symbol of "fire" to mean things which are not literal fire, e.g. we talk of a fever "burning us up", and the effects of a bad conscience can be likened to "a fire burning inside".

We should therefore not be too restrictive in our understanding of this. Rather we are to see the picture of intense suffering, mental, spiritual, emotional and, where applicable to the particular inhabitant of Hell, physical.

REV 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

"death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire".
Clearly indicating that Hades is not Hell. Rather it is a prior state of existence for the dead before the resurrection and judgement. One cannot throw one thing into another thing if the two are the same thing, thus Hades is not Hell (the “lake of fire”).

REV 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.