Identifying the Millennium, Part 1

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 18

Revelation 20:1-6

Finally we come to Revelation 20, possibly the most abused chapter in the whole Bible. It’s the chapter—the only chapter in the whole Bible—where we hear of a “millennial” reign, that is, a 1,000 year reign, of anyone. The word “millennium” simply means “a thousand year period.” What does this thousand year period refer to? Let’s take a closer look at the text.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan,

Not that we need to identify the angel in these verses, because it can just be a symbol of God’s action. But this particular angel or “messenger” who came down from heaven fits well with the Lord Jesus Himself. He “came down from heaven” when He was incarnate as a man. He uses that phrase about Himself in John 3. This angel has the key to the bottomless pit, just like, back in chapter 1, the Lord Jesus said, “I have the keys of Hades and of death.” The dragon is expressly identified for us as the “serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan.”

It’s what comes next that has caused so much confusion. …and bound him for a thousand years; 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.

Let’s start with the chain. What is the chain with which the angel binds the devil? If you remember, Jesus once used similar language about the devil after casting out a demon: How can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. There Jesus compares the devil to a strong man, and Himself to a stronger man who has come in and bound the devil, allowing Jesus to pull people out of the devil’s control. Jesus was already doing this during His time on earth, culminating in His death on the cross and His ascension into heaven. That fits well with what it says here, that the devil is bound “so that he should not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were finished.” He isn’t completely powerless during this time. He isn’t completely restricted. But prior to Jesus’ coming, the nations, that is, the Gentiles, had been so deceived by the devil that practically none of them believed in the true God. Practically all the Gentiles were in the devil’s kingdom. But after Christ came, the Gospel went out and the devil wasn’t able to keep the thousands and the millions of Gentiles from being rescued out of his kingdom and brought into the Holy Christian Church. So the chain that binds the devil during the thousand years would be the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.

The devil is bound for a thousand years, with the preaching of the Gospel continuing in the world, that whole time. Since 1,000 is 10x10x10, that number of completeness that we’ve seen throughout the book, and since these numbers are mostly symbolic anyway, the safest conclusion is that the 1,000 years aren’t a literal number of years, but the full amount of time from Christ’s ascension until the Last Day, or at least, until shortly before the Last Day. In other words, the 1,000 years is the entire New Testament period.

But after these things he must be released for a little while. It’s hard to tell if that releasing of the devil happens toward the end of the 1,000 years or right after the 1,000 years, but in the end, it doesn’t change the interpretation. Toward the end of the world, the devil has to be released for a little while, or for a short time. He has to be released to deceive the nations once again. In other words, false doctrines will proliferate, the nations will be deceived and led astray, while the preaching of the true Gospel will be so diminished in the world that it will be difficult if not impossible to find.

Jesus spoke of the same thing in the Gospels: Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold… Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect… And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. It seems clear that John’s vision is referring to the same thing Jesus was talking about. A little while at the end, a time of tribulation that is shortened, because the deceptions of the devil and the resulting tribulations will be so bad that even the elect will barely survive.

We certainly seem to be in such times. False doctrine has always been around, but it’s ramped up considerably over the last several decades. The deception has captivated the nations, like putting men under a spell. But that’s also a punishment from God, because, as Paul says in 2 Thess., people are allowed to be deceived, because they didn’t love the truth.

Let’s look at a few more verses about the thousand years:

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 received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

John sees thrones and someone sitting on them, and judging, serving as priests of God, and reigning with Christ for a thousand years. They are 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. Remember, by John’s time, Christians were already starting to be persecuted and executed by the Roman Empire. St. Paul is said to have been beheaded in Rome, along with many other faithful Christians who wouldn’t worship the false gods of the Roman Empire. All the Christians saw with their eyes was death. But John is given a vision of the reality they couldn’t see. Those who had died in the faith hadn’t really died at all. Their souls lived! They reigned! They served as priests of God throughout the whole 1,000 years, throughout the whole New Testament period. As Jesus said in the Gospel of John, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And he who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

The “first resurrection” is the same one Jesus referred to back in John 5. We recently heard those words on the Sunday when we considered the raising of the young man of Nain, if you remember. It’s the one Jesus does here and now through His Word as He brings people from spiritual death to spiritual life. The “second death,” that is, eternal death in hell, has no power over those who have already been raised to spiritual life through faith in Christ.

Now, there’s more to say on these verses and on the thousand years, but I think that’s enough for tonight. We’ll pick it up here next week. For tonight, remember this: The thousand years mentioned in this chapter of Revelation represent the New Testament period. The chaining of the devil symbolized that he would be hindered for much of this New Testament period from deceiving the nations; many would come to believe in Christ Jesus. Those who come to believe take part in the first resurrection, and even after they die, even if they die a cruel death at the hands of the wicked, they aren’t dead at all. They’re reigning with Christ right now and serving as priests of God in heaven. Let these symbols and pictures fill you with hope and comfort and encouragement! Amen.