My Take on the Millennium Debate

The first entry in this series can be found here.
The previous entry can be found here.

Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:8-9 ‭HCSB‬‬ (emphasis added)

The only two New Testament passages that refer to “one thousand years” are 2 Peter 3:8 and Revelation 20:1-10 (and there are 8 occurrences of the phrase between these two passages). Interestingly enough, the only Old Testament reference to “one thousand years” is Psalm 90:4 (LXX 89:4), which was likely Peter’s source.¹

This is an important point to make, because there is no more debated question about the book of Revelation and the Christian discussion of the “end times” than, “When is the millennium of Revelation 20?” The three main options (though there is some variation within each) are the following:

• Premillennialism — Jesus Christ will return to earth before (pre-) the millennium begins
• Amillennialism — There is no millennium on earth (a-) and it is to be understood of Christians reigning in heaven with Christ after death
• Postmillennialism — Jesus Christ will return to earth after (post-) the millennium ends

This whole debate is primarily based on Revelation 20:1-10 and the six mentions of “1,000 years” throughout these verses (while other texts certainly speak to the debate, it takes its name from the repeated references to “1,000 years”).

However, as it relates to the question of when the millennium takes place, we must pay attention to John’s distinction between “death” and “life” in this text (much like we saw in Revelation 19:20-21).

John continues his Revelation of Jesus Christ by explaining once and for all the end of human history:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the 1,000 years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.

Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.

When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. They came up over the surface of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The Devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation‬ ‭20:1-15 ‭HCSB‬‬

In order to properly organize this discussion, the text will be organized between Living (20:4, 5b-6) and Dead (20:5a, 7-10). However, before looking at those categories, we will look 20:1-3 to introduce the text and then 20:11-15 to better understand the distinction being drawn.

What is the millennium? (20:1-3)

The text begins by describing an angel who descends to tie up Satan for 1,000 years. I submit that this text should be understood in light of Matthew 12:28-30, where Jesus said:

If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.

The main point here is verse 29 (tying up the strong man), but the surrounding verses will prove helpful as well. It is worth noting that “ties up” in Matthew 12:29 and “bound” in Revelation 20:2 are both the Greek word δέω, so it is within the realm of likelihood that these passages are meant to be understood together.

But you might object, “Revelation 20 says an angel binds Satan. Why mention Jesus?”

Technically, Matthew 12:28-30 doesn’t say that Jesus is the one who would bind the strong man. It says that he is driving out demons by God’s Spirit, but in verse 30 he talks about others who share in his work. Luke 10:17 has disciples rejoicing that the demons submit to them, and Jesus replies in verse 18 that he watched Satan fall from heaven. This means that the preaching of the gospel is what binds Satan. Satan has been bound since Jesus came on the scene in Mark 1:14-15,

Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”

Angels are literally messengers, so anyone preaching the gospel could be referred to as an angel, whether Jesus or his people. Thus, Satan has been bound since Jesus came on the scene, even if Satan’s final chain was fastened at the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus’ whole life is the gospel, and the resurrection was the ultimate proclamation of the gospel.

What does Jesus say about the driving out of demons? He says it means that “the kingdom of God has come to you” (Matthew 12:28). Satan is bound by the preaching of the gospel, and the kingdom of God expands through the preaching of the gospel. The millennium is now!

The millennium must be understood as the present day preaching of the gospel, as the nations are converted to Christ (no longer being deceived by Satan), as we saw in Revelation 19:11-21. We will look at this in more detail below, but for now we must ask:

If we are presently in the millennium, why are the nations still so deceived?

The nations are deceived because a human person’s default nature is opposed to God. As such, every human being will grow up opposed to God unless the preaching of the gospel confronts, convicts, and converts their hearts. The binding of Satan does not negate original sin, and the preaching of the gospel must continue to go forth, certain of victory.

You might call my perspective amillennialism, but I believe at least two things set it apart from the amillennial position.

• Amillennialism doesn’t emphasize that the Church is the Kingdom of God on earth.
• Amillennialism typically believes that evil will seemingly triumph over the Church (cf. Revelation 11:8-9).

My postmillennial view, on the other hand, emphasizes that Christ is presently reigning by His Spirit through his saints (the Church) on earth, and that the Church will be victorious in converting the world (this is the only view that can hold out hope for a worldwide conversion of the Jewish people; cf. Romans 11:25-26). A continued exposition of Revelation 20:4-15 will confirm this understanding.

The distinction defined (20:11-15)

To return to Luke 10 for a moment, it is interesting what Jesus tells his followers. They were excited that the demons were submitting to them, but Jesus says (10:20),

“Don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

And this leads directly to Revelation 20:11-15. We have here the final judgment, after the 1,000 years are complete. We also have two references to “the book of life” (20:12, 15).

All of the dead are judged according to their works. If they are not written in the book of life, they are thrown into the lake of fire. Thus we see the distinction. The book of life contains the names of those who are resurrected by Christ during the 1,000 years, whereas if someone’s name is not written in this book, then they are not resurrected for the 1,000 years (cf. 20:5a). The dead who are resurrected in the first resurrection are those who were killed by the Word of God in Revelation 19:21.

This will help us distinguish between the characters in Revelation 20:4-10.

Living (20:4, 5b-6)

The first group is the living. They come to life (after their fleshly rebellion is killed by the gospel) and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. Since the millennium is not a literal 1,000 years, this does not mean that every individual Christian enjoys the full 1,000 years before Christ returns.

This is the first resurrection. Those who enjoy the first resurrection need never fear the lake of fire (cf. 20:14). And Christians — those resurrected by Christ in the first resurrection (cf. John 11:25) — serve as priests of God. This is clearly happening now, and we should note what Revelation has already said about priests:

To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 1:5-6 HCSB (emphasis added)

They sang a new song:

You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because You were slaughtered,
and You redeemed people
for God by Your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
You made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth.

Revelation 5:9-10 HCSB (emphasis added)

We should always allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, and when the very book we are investigating has already defined something, we should make sure to pay attention to it. Neither of these texts say that Christians “will be priests.” The verbs are past tense. We already are priests. The millennium is now!

We can expand this understanding by looking at another New Testament text that teaches the same thing:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for His possession,
so that you may proclaim the praises
of the One who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9 ‭HCSB‬‬ (emphases added)

This text ties it all together. The purpose of priests is to proclaim God’s praises, ultimately so that God’s Kingdom would expand. This is what is occurring during the millennium. And as we saw in Revelation 19:11-21, this proclamation will ultimately be successful.

However, even though the gospel will ultimately convert the world, there are many people throughout history–and at the present time–who have not yet been conquered by the gospel. It is to this group that we turn.

Dead (20:5a, 7-10)

While the living are resurrected immediately, the text is clear that there are some who are not immediately resurrected. These are those whose names were not written in the book of life.

Satan is chained until the 1,000 years are over (20:3b). The rest of the dead do not come to life until the 1,000 years are over (20:5a). This leads to a discussion of Revelation 20:7-10 — what happens after Satan is released. It also explains who the rebellious ones are after the gospel has been victorious, because if the gospel is victorious, Romans 8:38-39 explains that no one can steal people away from God. A Christian can’t be re-deceived and rebel against God.

According to Revelation 20:7-10, Satan gathers the resurrected unbelievers (for whom it is impossible to ever become believers; Hebrews 9:27; Sirach 41:4) and leads them to rebel against God. It specifically says they gather together against “the encampment of the saints, the beloved city” (20:7), which we will discuss more over the next few posts. This rebellion will fail, fire will consume the rebellious, and Satan will end up joining the beast and false prophet in the lake of fire.

Therefore, I beg you to place your faith in Christ today! Don’t wait another day. The consequences of refusing to trust Christ are not worth it. He offers confidence in life and in death. He died on the cross to free you from the fear of death and hell.

All opposed to God will end up in the lake of fire. One day all will believe. Let today be the day that you join God’s side. Don’t persist in rebellion. Humble yourself, and take part in the first resurrection today!

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!

Revelation 20:6

In this with you.

Thanks for reading.

The next entry can be found here.

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Notes

1. For the purpose of complete transparency, Ecclesiastes 6:6 also refers to 1,000 years, but the context makes it clear that it was not Peter’s source and is not really related to the millennium debate. When the LXX is added to the discussion, Sirach 41:4 also mentions “one thousand years,” which will be discussed above. ↩︎