Revelation 20

The Millennial reign of Christ is a time of satan’s binding, the saints reigning, and conclude with God’s consuming fire.

At the close of chapter nineteen we read that upon Jesus second coming the beast which is the antichrist and the kings of the earth with their armies will make war against Christ the rider on the white horse. The false prophet and beast will both be thrown into the lake of fire. In addition to this says Revelation 19:21 “21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”

It seems to me that this is a slaying of all who oppose Christ and His people. So I take this to mean that the only inhabitants on the earth at the beginning of chapter twenty are believers. Chapter twenty contains what I beleive to be the literal historical millennial reign of Christ. We long for a time like this when all will be well in the world so it will seem, a time of peace and prosperity,… and we might assume that it will all be wonderful from this point forward…. But in the beauty of this text is the reality of the degree of which mankind is sinfully depraved.

We will see today THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST IS A TIME OF SATANS BINDING, THE SAINTS REIGNING, AND CONCLUDE WITH GOD’S CONSUMING FIRE.

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Illustration: I am the youngest male cousin on my fathers side of the family. I have four older male cousins and being the youngest had some perks. When we would get together for family gatherings we’d often [lay hide and seek… One of the perks to being the smallest was my tall cousin would pick me up while we were playing on and put me on the edge of the rood of my grandmothers house. I could see all that was going on below and know I was hidden, kept from being tagged, and safe until the other team gave up. It was a vantage point that gave me great confidence and security. I think this text is similar in that regard. As we look down at our Bibles we should do so with great confidence and security that what will take place below and here on the earth is revealed to us that we might find ultimate joy in Christ and His work.

Satan is bound in that he is restrained from the full scope of his deception. (1-3)

Explanation: The coming down of the angel to earth to seize and capture the dragon I believe to be a literal restraining of satanic power. The seizing of the dragon is the seizing of satan himself of which he is bound, thrown into the pit, and sealed. This expression is John’s way of telling us that as Christ millennial reign is inaugurated and satan will not have the full sway and power that He possesses now. It will be a time of his binding and prosperous peace similar I think but not exactly like to what we see in the garden of eden… this is clearly where John wants our mind to go. Did you catch who it is that is bound? Look at verse two.

Revelation 20:2 “2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,”

Satan is described in a fourfold way… the dragon first appears in chapter twelve, but the ancient serpent long before… He is crafty slithering into the garden with questions for the conscience… Did God really say? He is the devil… that word literally meaning slanderer. It denotes who he is and what he does… on the basis of lies he accuses maliciously. He slanders the name of Christ and maligns all who walk with Christ. He is satan the adversary. He is Christ adversary and yours in Christ. His gaze is that of a lion seeking to devour and decimate. This fourfold description serves almost as a formal indictment upon the father of lies. Every thing he is and represents is accounted for in His binding.

It seems to me that the language of verse three leads to the conclusion that this will be a literal binding of sorts and what commentators often describe as a curtailing of his activities on the earth. I believe it prevents what George Eldon Ladd describes as satan’s active aggression upon believers. He is prohibited from roaming the earth. The period of time of which this takes place both His binding and Christ rule on earth is a thousand years. We must discern to the best of our ability whether this number is literal or figurative. I believe we can conclude that this time period is a future and literal period of time of which may or may not be an actual 1,000 years. I would reconcile it this way. The 144,000 who are sealed by God in chapters seven and fourteen seem to me a figurative number representing actual people, so the thousand years is a figurative number representing an actual period of historical time. So I believe we should take this literally but not assume it will be only limited to Day one through 356,000. The binding or curtailing of Satan’s activities will in essence provide a time for believers to flourish under Christ rule and reign.

Illustration: Some of us have planted gardens, we break the ground, fur the rows, plant the seed, water and fertilize, and wait. Long before the produce arrives weeds begin to grow. If you choose to do nothing with the weeds they will overtake the garden and prohibit the plants from producing as they should because they steal the necessary nutrients from the soil. They in essence rob the plant of its rightful purpose. This is what Satan has been up to in your life. He intends on robbing you of your God designed purpose to worship Jesus in fullness and produce fruits of righteousness… There is coming a day when Jesus will reign with us by removing all hinderances and through the power of His work bring about a flourishing in our lives which is unimaginable now.

Application: So with this thought in mind lets intentionally make efforts to bind satan even now as we look forward to the time in which he will be bound by our Lord. How is it that we can do this you ask? Notice that the angel in verse two seizes the dragon. One way we can accomplish this is by what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5–6 “5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” Let us as God’s people bind satan from His work in our lives by deliberately and consciously destroy the arguments of satan in our world and in our own heads by taking every deceptive thought captive by the word of God so that with unashamed motive and actions we might obey Christ.

Transitional Sentence: Satan will be bound from the full scope of his deception and the saints will reign with Christ on the earth.

The Saints reigning has more to do with resurrection and the one of whom they reign with than activities involved in ruling. (4-6)

Explanation: In verses four through six john sees thrones, souls, and a resurrection of the dead. We must ask ourselves who are these that John sees and to what degree can we discern what the millennial kingdom of Christ will be like.

Thrones and Judges: We must ask what other texts describe believers reigning with Christ.

Revelation 2:26 “26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,”

Revelation 5:9–10 “9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.””

Daniel 7:9 “9 “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.”

Daniel 7:27 “27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’”

Matthew 19:28 “28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

1 Corinthians 6:2 “2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?”

There are Old Covenant passages which speak of Israel ruling, and New Covenant Passages which speak of the apostles and church reigning and ruling. So will Israel, the apostles, or saints reign and rule? Yes

It seems to me that this ruling, reigning, judging has more to do with the association with Christ than it does to highlight an activity given to the saints, yet we cannot dismiss the fact that if this millennial reign is a literal period then some administration of sorts is given, the details of which we cannot know. The thrones and judging has more to do with reigning with Christ than anything else. This is the conclusion of John’s thought there in verse six. and they will reign with Christ for a thousand years…. Who is they? It is none other than those resurrected from the dead in verse four.

While emphasis is given in verse five to the souls and lives of the martyrs the results remain the same as ours… resurrection and reigning with Christ.

We are told by John that blessed and Holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. I believe all believers who have died will be resurrected to meet the Lord in the air as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4 and descend to the earth to reign with Him in a glorified state as is the case for Jesus appearance post resurrection and prior to His ascension. We shall forever be with the Lord.

Revelation 20:6 “6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”

It seems to me that the resurrected are all believers for all time who have died with emphasis in the text given to the specific martyrs who die during the great tribulation.

All seems to be well, there is social, political, and religious peace during this reign. Those opposing Christ and His rule who have persecuted the saints have been done away with in Chapter 19. There are only believers inhabiting the earth at this point historically. Is it like heaven in that no sin is present? No. Sin remains although the accuser and manipulator is bound. So who are these sinners? The only way I believe to reconcile this uncertainty is to say that believers who are alive upon Christ return will not yet receive a glorified body. They will continue in the natural state with all the experiences that are included within it such as the experience of having children and even experiencing death.

Every view of the end times has areas of uncertainty and this is a primary one for the pre millennialist position, however we are not without an example of this in that Christ resurrected and was in a glorified state… appearing to the apostles and over 500 people prior to his ascension to heaven. So it seems best for me to see this millennial reign of Christ to have both natural and glorified people present…. those inhabiting the earth upon Christ return…. and the dead in Christ raised upon His return dwelling together in a time of peace.

illustration: During the Crimean war there was a battle fought known as the battle of Inkerman in 1854. The story is told of a soldier who was struck down in combat near his tent but able to crawl. It is believed that he crawled back to his tent, opened his bible to John eleven and with a blood dripping down his fingers he traced and by virtue of his own blood loss underlined John 11:25–26 “25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?””

Application: May we never forget the blessed hope that is ours in Christ. Who came fulfilling every office, prophet, priest and kings, and through whom our penalty was paid and should we die in Him our resurrection is secured…. so that we might serve as priests of our God in His coming kingdom.

Sadly not all who hear the gospel will trust Jesus to save them in this life and not all who walk with and see Christ in the Millennium will trust Jesus.

Transitional Sentence: Satan will be bound, the saved saints will reign with Christ, but sin will still stain those born during this time and where sin exists so does every vile practice…. the chief of which is to think more highly of yourself in pride and defy the living God revealed in Christ.

The release of Satan and subsequent surrounding of the saints proves man’s depravity and yet displays God’s power to keep His promise. (7-10)

Some of these children born during the millennial reign will be unregenerate rebels against God and Jesus even with Him being present. This truth reveals the great depravity of the Human condition and nature. In a seemingly and somewhat utopian society the nature of mans being is still corrupted.

You can change the environment, the songs that are sung, the lights that are on or off, the aesthetics, the curriculum, the clothes that are worn, but it is the very nature of man that is corrupted which necessitates the activity of God to forgive, pardon, redeem, atone, and awaken by resurrection power the conscience and desires of men for the the things of God.

We sin because we are sinners at heart. We don’t need Satans influence to corrupt us, our very nature is stained. See the weight of this reality in verses seven through ten.

The environment, social order and interaction, and structure ensures for peace prosperity and yet there are still rebels to the worship of the true God. The majority of our problem as sinners is we don’t see the problem. We don’t think we are as wretched as we are because we live among those to whom God has given over to debased thinking and behaving. So we think more highly of ourselves, than we should. We theologically profess there is no good in us, yet simultaneously with our motive and action attempt to impress God and others. The nature of our being is corrupted and demands that our primary need is not for our environment to change, but our very identity.

See it here in God and Magog… historic rivals to God’s people…. and a spiritual identity of those who oppose Christ and His kingdom and children at the conclusion of the millennium. Their number is like the number of the sea. Its not a few stragglers… its a large portion of the entirely known world. The first chance they get to rise up in defiance to fight God and attempt to destroy His kingdom they take it. Satan is released organizes the rebels and they surround the saints who have gathered together in some city of which could be Jerusalem…. I think thats a plausible possibility.

This is not a battle though…. Fire from heaven falls and consumes every adversary to the kingdom of God both spiritual and human. On the broad plain in verse nine is the arrival of those who have taken the broad path that leads to destruction. It is the path that many walk. It is not a few stragglers, its the largest part of the known world now. Multitudes of people who defy God openly and willingly, and yet some numbered among them who are spiritually unaware and have not heard. They are dead in sin and damned without God. They are waiting for us to tell them of the goodness of God’s grace in the work of Christ. For it was not to long ago that you and I were walking the same broad path to the far country to squander our fathers providence. So let us go to them while there is time. Let us endeavor to be bold witnesses for our Lord while we are able. Let us commit this day to put to death apathy for our friends, neighbors, co workers, and relatives who are walking the broad path. Let us acknowledge that we are surrounded by evil demonic forces that are of no match to the resurrection power inside of us in the Holy Spirit.

Not only are we surrounded by evil…. we are surrounded by witnesses.

Hebrews 12:1–2 “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Let us bind Satan by consciously and deliberately filling our head with truth in scripture.

Let us live now as a priesthood of believers of God with consecrated lives of obedience.

Let us look to Jesus and love one another so that we might go with Gospel urgency to the lost, and finish well with minds set on eternity.