The Millennial Reign and Judgement

vv. 1-3) 1000 years of bondage

[1] Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

John see an angel coming down from heaven (anonymous angel). Having already been tossed from his heavenly abode, Satan has become a problem for the earth (Ch. 12). Now the angel who descends from heaven to the earth to deal with Satan has the key to the Abyss and has in his hand a great chain.

The Abyss is in some way distinct from the lake of fire, which will be the ultimate destination for the pesky dragon. The Abyss seems to be a part of the netherworld and not a very savory place but certainly not as catastrophic as the lake of fire.

The angel having been give the keys and chain apprehend Satan and confine him. Prisoners in antiquity as now were bound with chains.

“The final importance of Satan is perhaps indicated in the fact that it is not the Father who deals with him, nor the Christ, but only an unnamed angel.”–Morris

This is a rather dramatic declaration that Satan is not God’s opposite or equal; and that God could easily stop Satan’s activity at any time. Yet God allows Satan to continue, because even in his evil, he indirectly serves the purposes of God.

Satan is a tool.

[2] He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

[3] and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. but after these things he must be released for a little while.

Look at what is happening in these two verses: “Laid hold of… bound him… cast him… shut him up… set a seal on him:

For such a powerful created being, Satan has no real power comparatively to God. Satan tried to imprison Jesus in a tomb, but couldn’t. Here, God has no problem restraining Satan, and this incarceration is not for punishment, but restraint. By implication, Satan’s demonic armies are also restrained imprisoned.

There are several questions we should probably address:

Is this a literal transaction?

Yep. The battle is literal; the taking of the beast and the False Prophet is literal; the slaying of the kings and their armies is literal; Satan is literal; and his binding must be equally literal.

What kind of chain can hold the devil?

No idea, and I understand where this question comes from… how can a spiritual being be bound with a physical chain. God can fashion a chain for this purpose. We know that right now there are demonic spirits who are imprisoned and chained:

Jude 6 NKJV

6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

What I truly find fascinating is the elaborate measure taken to insure his custody are most easily understood as implying the complete cessation of his influence on earth (rather than a curbing of his actives).

Now people have wrongly interpreted these verse to mean that Satan’s binding takes place on a personal level, that Satan’s work can be restrained in the life of the individual. But this view doesn’t take the text seriously. If God did want to tell us of the total inactivity of Satan, how could He have said it any stronger?

However, I do think that this does show us that there is no human being who simply “binds” Satan with their prayers. This is a work done on divine initiative.

“One very important detail is to notice that the conquest of Satan and his powers does not come by any human effort.”–Barnhouse

That he should deceive the nations no more:

I believe that this exposes us to the devils main mode of attack is revealed. Satan from the very beginning is a deceiver, so the most potent defense and weapon against him is the truth of God’s Word.

If Jesus felt the need to use scripture to counter Satan’s lies… shouldn’t we?

Luke 4:1–13 NKJV

1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ 11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Since Satan’s work of deception continues today, we know that he is not bound in the way that this passage describes. We know that Satan was not bound at the finished work of Jesus on the cross, at the resurrection, or at the founding of the church. We know this because Peter said that Satan was free to walk about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Family even today Satan continues to effectively deceive.

“People not only make falsehoods, speak falsehoods, print falsehoods, and believe falsehoods; but they eat them, and drink them, and wear them, and act them, and live them, and make them one of the great elements of their being.”–Seiss

1000 years:

This thousand-year period is often known as the Millennium. Through Christ history, there has been many different ways of understanding the Millennium.

The Bible speaks powerfully to other aspects of the Millennial earth. Tragically, the church throughout history has often ignored or denied the promise of the Millennium reign of Christ. The earth church until Augustine almost universally believed in an earthly, historical reign of Jesus, initiated by His return. Tyconius was the first to influentially champion a spiritualized interpretation, saying that the Millennium is now (Amillennialism view) and must be understood as a spiritual reign of Jesus, not a literal one. His view was adopted by Augustine, the RCC and most Reformation theologians.

Growing out of amillennialism is the doctrine of postmillennialism, saying the millennium will happen in this age, before Jesus return—But that the church will bring it to pass. Yet I believe the clear teaching of the Bible isn’t amillennialism or postmillennialism, but premillennialism or mid-millennialism.

There is no need to say that Satan is only bound in a spiritual sense, and Jesus only rules in a spiritual sense. When we consider the rest of Scripture, the earthly reign of Christ and His people on this earth is plainly taught in the OT and NT. In the OT, we see it is Ps 72; Is 2:2-4, Is 11:4-9, Jer 23:5-6, and many more.

In the NT we see it in Luke 1:32-33; Matt 5:18; Luke 19:12-27, among other passages.

d. Till the thousand years were finished: Some of what we know of the Millennium from other passages of Scripture.

i. During the Millennium, Israel will be the superpower of the world, the leading nation in all the earth, and the center of Israel will be the mountain of the LORD’s house — the temple mount, which will be the “capital” of the government of the Messiah. All nations shall flow to the “capital” of Jesus’ government (Isaiah 2:1-3, Ezekiel 17:22-24).

ii. During the Millennium, the citizens of earth will acknowledge and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. It will be a time of perfectly administrated enforced righteousness on this earth (Isaiah 2:1-5).

iii. During the Millennium, there will be no more war. There will still be conflicts between nations and individuals, but they will be justly and decisively resolved by the Messiah and those who reign with Him (Isaiah 2:1-5). It isn’t the reign of the Messiah itself that will change the heart of man. Citizens of earth will still need to trust in Jesus and in His work on their behalf for their personal salvation during the millennium. But war and armed conflict will not be tolerated.

iv. During the Millennium, the way animals relate to each other and to humans will be transformed. A little child will be safe and able to lead a wolf or a leopard or a young lion or a bear. Even the danger of predators like cobras and vipers will be gone. In Genesis 9:2-3, the LORD gave Noah, and all mankind after him, the permission to eat meat. At the same time, the LORD put the dread of man in animals so they would not be effortless prey for humans. Now, in the reign of the Messiah, that is reversed. For this reason, many think that in the reign of the Messiah (the Millennium) humans will return to being vegetarians, as it seems they were before Genesis 9:2-3 (Isaiah 11:6-9).

v. During the Millennium, King David will have a prominent place in the millennial earth, ruling over Israel (Isaiah 55:3-5, Jeremiah 30:4-11, Ezekiel 34:23-31, Ezekiel 37:21-28, Hosea 3:5).

vi. During the Millennium, there will be blessing and security for national Israel (Amos 9:11-15).

vii. The Millennium will be a time of purity and devotion to God (Zechariah 13:1-9).

viii. During the Millennium, there will be a rebuilt temple and restored temple service on the earth as a memorial of God’s work in the past. (Ezekiel 40-48, Ezekiel 37:26-28, Amos 9:11, Ezekiel 20:39-44).

ix. During the Millennium, saints in their resurrected state will be given responsibility in the Millennial Earth according to their faithful service (Luke 19:11-27, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 2:26-28; 3:12,22, 1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

e. Thousand years: Is it a literal 1,000 years? We should take a number literally unless there is clear reason or evidence to do otherwise. We should take this thousand years literally, because God has an important work to accomplish during the Millennium.

i. The Millennium is important because it will demonstrate Jesus’ victory and worthiness to rule the nations.

ii. The Millennium is important because it will reveal the depths of man’s rebellious nature in a perfect environment. Some people seem to believe that man is basically good, and deep down he really wants God’s righteous rule. Many believe that man is really innocent, and corrupted only by a bad environment. The Millennium will answer these questions before the great judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

iii. The Millennium is important because it will display the eternal depravity of Satan, who continues his evil as soon as he is released from his incarceration.

iv. The Millennium is important because it will show the invulnerability of the city of God and God’s new order.

v. “Let us rejoice that Scripture is so clear and so explicit upon this great doctrine of the future triumph of Christ over the whole world … We believe that the Jews will be converted, and that they will be restored to their own land. We believe that Jerusalem will be the central metropolis of Christ’s kingdom; we also believe that all the nations shall walk in the light of the glorious city which shall be built at Jerusalem. We expect that the glory which shall have its center there, shall spread over the whole world, covering it as with a sea of holiness, happiness, and delight. For this we look with joyful expectation.” (Spurgeon)

Benediction:

Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

vv. 4-6) 1000 year reign

[4] And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not recieved his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

[5] But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

[6] Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priest of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Benediction:

vv. 7-10) The final battle

[7] Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison

[8] and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

[9] They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

[10] The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Benediction:

vv. 11-15) The Great White Throne Judgment

[11] Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

[12] And I saw the dead, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

[13] The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

[14] Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

[15] And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Benediction: