21/06/2025
In Search of the Lord's Way- Bible Prophecy and the Kingdom of Christ
I. "THE THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF REVELATION 20" Text: Rev. 20:1-8
As I was reading from Revelation 20 a while ago, you probably noticed the frequent mention of "a thousand years," six times, in fact, in those eight verses. In verse 2 Satan is bound a thousand years. In verse 3 Satan would be loosed at the end of the thousand years. In verse 4 John "saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and," he said, "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Verse 5 mentions the rest of the dead "who lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Verse 6 reveals a blessing on those who have had part in the first resurrection. "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." And finally in verse 7 it's said, "...when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." Only in verse 6, however, is there a mention of a thousand-year reign of Christ. And, there's no other mention of it in all the Scriptures. But from that one mention of reigning with Christ a thousand years, many doctrines and fantasies have risen. There are those who believe that this verse teaches, when Christ returns He will set up a kingdom and reign universally from Jerusalem for a thousand years over a kingdom of peace and plenty.
Hence, they are called "Premillennialists." They constitute a great part of the membership of most evangelical churches –in many, an overwhelming majority. There are others who are called "Post-millennialists" because they believe Jesus will not come until the end of the thousand-year utopian period. Then there are the "Amillennialists" who don't believe the Bible teaches such a thousand-year reign at all. So millennialism is a doctrine which focuses primarily on the establishment of Christ's kingdom and His universal reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Premillennialism is a very popular teaching right now as we approach the beginning of a new millennium in the year 2001. But what we're hearing so much today is a mixture of dispensationalism and premillennialism. Briefly stated, dispensationalism is the idea that about 4000 BC God created the heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh day. And since the Scripture says one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day with the Lord (II Peter 3:8), we are living in the last days of the sixth millennium and the year 2001 will usher in the seventh, which will be the thousand-year reign of Christ of which we read in Revelation 20.
Today we're looking at the one passage in all the Bible that is at the very heart of premillennial teaching. As we approach the passage for its meaning, we must remember that Revelation is a book of signs and symbols. This is apocalyptic language and is not to be interpreted literally. The very opening sentence in the book says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." We must also remember that any passage must be interpreted in its context. To lift a passage out of what comes before and after it, to interpret it any other way than in harmony with the message and purpose of the entire book in which it appears, to make it mean something the author never intended it to mean when it was written, is a gross perversion of Scripture. The apostle Peter speaks of those who so "wrest" (twist) the Scriptures as being unlearned and unstable and they do such to their own destruction (II Pet. 3:16). So, you and I don't want to do that, do we now?.
The third principle of biblical interpretation we must observe with this passage (as with all others) is that controversial and difficult passages must always be interpreted in harmony with all plain and simple teachings elsewhere. God never contradicts Himself. Now, John was exiled on Patmos "for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:9) --that is, for preaching Christ. He knew the disciples in the area of the seven churches (and others) were also suffering intense persecutions. The message which he received of the Lord, which he wrote them in this book was to (1) tell them God was conscious of the intensity of their persecutions, but that things would even get worse, (2) to exhort and encourage them to be faithful unto death, regardless of what comes, and (3) they would win because of Christ. Where does this passage fit into that overall message of Revelation? It's the last of course. It isn't hard to figure that out from the very fact it appears toward the end of the book. But, it's a promise of victory. In apocalyptic language, those of them who endure will live and reign with Christ a thousand years. The question is; does this passage teach that Christ is coming back to the earth, set up a kingdom of peace and prosperity, and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years, and these saints will rule with Him? Well, let's see.
Verse one says, "I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand." Note the symbolism: (1) a key, (2) a chain, (3) a bottomless pit.
Verse two says, "And [the angel] laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." More symbols: (1) the dragon, (2) the old serpent, (3) a binding of Satan --the inference is with the symbolic chain of verse one, (4) a thousand years.
Now verse three, "And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." The symbolism? (1) A casting of Satan into (2) the bottomless pit and (3) a figurative shutting him up till (4) the end of the symbolic thousand years.
Verse four: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, nor in their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." The obvious symbols in that verse are: (1) thrones, (2) the beast, (3) marks in their foreheads, or hands and (4) a thousand-year reign.
Verse five continues, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. There are only two symbols in that short verse: (1) the end of the thousand years and (2) a resurrection.
From just a reading of the passage, we've learned that a thousand-year reign of Christ is symbolic. It would be the height of absurdity to pick that one thing out of all those symbols and say it is literal -all else is symbolism. The real truth of the matter is it symbolizes victory for the ones persecuted for Christ. That harmonizes with other verses in Revelation. For example, Revelation 2:7 says, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:10 says, ". . .Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:11 says, ". . .He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Others are Revelation 2:17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21. Please notice some things not mentioned that are so vital to the premillennial theory: (1) Christ's second coming, nothing is said about it in this passage, (2) the establishment of a kingdom, (3) an earthly kingdom (4) Christ sitting on David's throne, or (5) the Jews' return to Palestine.
It's clear from reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that the purpose of Christ's earthly ministry was first to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and to establish a kingdom over which He would reign as King. So, immediately after His baptism of John in the Jordan, and His confrontation with Satan, He returned to Galilee and preached in the synagogues the good news of the kingdom that it was then "at hand" (Matt. 4:17). When He had preached so in Nazareth and in Capernaum, the people wanted Him to stay there longer. But He refused saying, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also; for therefore am I sent" (Luke 4:43). And He said, ". . .there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27). So His kingdom or reign was imminent at that time --during their lifetime.
The establishment of His kingdom was such an obvious part of His ministry that even Pilate asked Him, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" (Matt. 27:11). The question was prompted by the accusation of those who had brought Him there (John 18:28,40), a charge they knew He wouldn't deny. Jesus' answer was simply, "Thou sayest," meaning "Yea, it is so." Jesus then went to the cross. He was crucified, buried, raised from the dead, then appeared to His chosen apostles and said, "All power (authority) hath been given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18). Can you tell me how much more power Jesus would have if, indeed, He should come again and establish some kind of universal earthly reign? It's just a thought.
Premillennialism says that in order to fulfill the prophecies, Christ will return to earth to be seated on the literal throne of David in Jerusalem. Truly, Isaiah says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever." (Isa. 9:6-7). But on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached that Christ had fulfilled those prophecies. Being inspired of the Holy Spirit, he said, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit (Christ was raised up for this purpose --to sit) on his (David's) throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in (hades), neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:29-36). When a New Testament writer or preacher says an Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled, it's fulfilled, my friend. So Christ has already fulfilled those prophecies and now, as we speak sits on the throne of David ruling over His universal kingdom of which there is no end. I hope you were profited from that program.
One of the basic rules of biblical interpretation is to interpret the passage under consideration in the light of its context, the verses before it and after it. In light of that, it's interesting to observe that every time the kingdom is mentioned in the book of Revelation, a first century document, it's mentioned as presently in existence. For example: Revelation 1:4-6 says, "John to the seven churches that are in Asia... To him who loves us and washed us from our sins by his blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to God." Just as surely as Christians are now priests --a royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9), the church is presently the kingdom of Christ. The same is true of Revelation 5:9, 10. // Revelation 11:15 and 12:10 show the triumph of the kingdom of God over the kingdoms of the world because of the blood of the Lamb and the testimony of Christ. They point back to the cross and the resurrection of Christ, at which time all authority was given to him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:33-36). " Christ is (present tense) King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14; 19:16). But Christ's kingdom or reign for symbolically a thousand years, meaning an indefinitely long period of time, is not a political entity. He made that clear to Pilate. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36). The Holy Spirit says "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." It's because of its spiritual nature that many people don't see or recognize its existence today. My friend, are you a Christian? If you've really accepted Christ as "Lord," then that's what He is. If you haven't received His kingdom, you haven't accepted Him as Lord. I pray you will confess Him so today. And turning from your sins in repentance, will you then arise and be baptized into His death and wash away your sins in His precious blood (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5)?
Amen
