The One-Thousand Year Reign of Christ

(Revelation 20:1-10)

Take your Bibles and open up to the book of Revelation, chapter number 20.

This morning we are picking back up in our series Understanding The Book Of
Revelation. We have been away a couple of weeks and we are coming back into
this book in the home stretch. After this mornings message, we have just four
more messages from this wonderful book.

Chapter 20 teaches us about what Bible scholars call the millennium. The word
millennium comes from a phrase that occurs no less than 6 times in this passage.
Six times we read the phrase a thousand years. This is where we get the word
millennium. It is a Latin word that means one thousand years. See it there in
verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Reading the Bible in a commonsensical straightforward
manner, the phrase one thousand years refers to a literal one thousand year reign
of Jesus Christ upon the earth. Indeed, every time we read a number applied to the
word year or years in the Bible it is always understood in a literal way.

I say this because there are three main views scholars hold about the millennium:
premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. The first view is the view I
hold: premillennialism. The prefix, pre, means before. So premillennialism
holds that Jesus Christ will literally return before the millennium. He will return and
then reign with the saints upon the earth for a period of one thousand years. It is
the view that believes the Bible is talking about a future, literal, one thousand year
reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth. Thats premillennialism.

The second main view is called postmillennialism. The word post, of course,
means after. So the postmillennialist believes Jesus Christ will return after a
period of one thousand years. So the millennial reign is either already occurring in
some sense, or will occur in some sense, and then Jesus Christ will return.
Postmillennialism was particularly popular in our country during times of relative
peace, when it appeared we were experiencing a time of unusual peace and
spiritual blessing, the time of the Great Awakenings of revivalism, during the 18th
and 19th centuries, for example. World War I, World War II, and succeeding wars
have significantly dampened the optimistic viewpoints of postmillennials of old.

The third view is called amillennialism. The prefix a negates what follows so an
amillennialist believes in no millennium. The person who holds to amillennialism is
a person who does not believe in a literal one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ
upon the earth. The amillennialist believes that the millennium is a spiritual kind of
reign that has nothing to do with a future literal reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth.

Now it is not the purpose of this message to deal with all of the strengths and
weaknesses of each position. Much of this has to do with how we deal with the
prophecies about Israel in the Old Testament and there are good people who have
argued various positions over time. And wherever you talk about premillennialism,
postmillennialism, and amillennialism there will nearly always surface some wise
guy who says he holds the view of pan-millennialism. He says, I believe its all
going to pan out in the end! Well, that may get a laugh or two, but its not really
a very biblically responsible position.

The reason I am premillennial is because I believe in interpreting the Bible in a

literal, straightforward manner when contexts suggests no obvious reason to
interpret it otherwise. There are occasions where it seems clear that we are not to
interpret the Bible in a literal way. For example, when Isaiah 55:12 says that all the
trees shall clap their hands, he does not mean for us to picture trees literally
clapping their hands. The prophet is speaking figuratively. When Jesus says inJohn
10:9 I am the door, He does not mean that He is literally a slab of wood with a
knob on it. He is not speaking literally, but figuratively. But where there is no plain
reason to interpret the Bible any other way than in a literal, straightforward manner,
then we are to interpret the Bible in a literal, straightforward manner.

We have been reading a chronological sequence of events in Revelation. Chapters

4-19 have taught us about the coming time of Tribulation upon the earth. At the
end of chapter 19 we have the return of Jesus Christ following the Tribulation. What
we read in chapter 20 is Johns telling us what happens next. Its pretty clear. He
begins in verse one Then I saw. So were merely reading through the Bible in a
plain straightforward manner, allowing the Bible to speak for itself. Now John is
recording all of this in his vision. Listen to what he sees as I read the passage.
Please stand in honor of the reading of Gods Holy Word.

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

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.

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
received 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 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with Him a thousand years.

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.

**Pray.

Introduction:

Can you predict the future? Pat Robertson believes he can. You may have seen in
the news last week where the evangelical broadcaster made a prediction on
Tuesday. He said that God told him there would be a massive terrorist attack in the
United States sometime after September of this year. He claims that God speaks
directly to him about these future events. But the big problem with all of this is that
Robertson is not always right about his predictions. Just last May, for example, the
broadcaster said that storms and possibly even a tsunami would crash into
Americas coastline sometime in the fall. It didnt happen.

How does Robertson respond to questions about the times his predictions dont
come true? He says, I have a relatively good track record. Sometimes I
miss. Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/02/robertson.predictions.ap/index.html

A relatively good track record? Sometimes I miss?! By his own admissions,

Robertson reveals that he is at odds with what the Scriptures teach about true
prophecies from God. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 if a person claims to
be speaking for God about a certain future event and that future event does not
come to pass that that person is a false prophet who has spoken presumptuously.
Now Ill leave to Pat Robertson how to explain himself out of that one, but heres the
deal: the God we serve is not a God who has merely a relatively good track
record. The God we serve, the God Who tells us about future events, is the God
Who is absolutely positively right every single solitary time, without exception.

In our passage this morning, God tells us precisely what will happen before, during,
and after the one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth. Were going
to look at that this morning.

I. Before: Satan is Restricted in Power (1-3)

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

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

Before the one thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth Satan is restricted in
power. John sees this in his vision. He sees this angel coming down and the angel
has a huge chain in his hand. What does he do with that chain? The Bile says he
lays hold of the devil and binds him with the chain. For how long? For a thousand
years. For a millennium. Presently, the devil goes about the earth, as Peter puts it
in 1 Peter 5:8, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But the time will
come when Satan is restricted in power. He is bound with a chain. Then what
happens? What does the angel do next? Continue reading in verse 3:

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.
Satan is cast into the bottomless pit, the abyss, the temporary abode of the fallen
angels and demons for a period of one thousand years. Now after the one thousand
years, but Bible says he must be released for a little while. Well read about that in
a moment.

What I want you to see here is something we have seen time and again throughout
the book of Revelation: God is in absolute control of everything, including Satan.
We see here that God will restrict Satans power during the millennial reign. God is
in control. In fact, as weve noted before, Satan really has no power at all, because
whatever power he has he has because God has allowed him to have it.

Now we would be here all day if we wanted to speculate as to why God will bind the
devil and then release him for a short time instead of just doing away with him at
once. We may as well speculate as to why God allows the devil to exist at all. At
the end of the day we remember Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong
unto the LORD our God. He knows what He is doing and thats good enough for
me. I dont worry about the devil because I know he is under the control of God.
The answer to dealing with the devil is not to get into a shouting match with him.
The answer is to go to God.

James 4:7-8 reminds us that the phrase Resist the devil and he will flee from you
is sandwiched beautifully between two other phrases: Submit to God and Draw
near to God. The answer to defeating the devils temptations and trials is to
submit to God and draw near to God. Go to God! The devil doesnt want to be
where God is.

Before the millennial reign of Christ upon the earth, Satan is restricted in power.
Number two:

II. During: Saints Reign in Peace (4-6)

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
received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned
with Christ for a thousand years.

John describes two categories of Christians in verse 4. He sees Christians in general

from throughout the ages and Christians who died as martyrs during the
Tribulation. He sees Christians from every age sitting on thrones, having the
authority to judge. And John also sees reigning with them the souls of those who
had been beheaded for their witness and for the word of God. These are Christians
who died during the time of Tribulation. They are specifically the ones whom John
says had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark
(666) on their foreheads or on their hands. What happened after they died? They
lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The word lived there literally means came to life. It is a word that refers to a
resurrection. The Christians John sees already sitting on thrones and the Christians
who have died a martyrs death during the Tribulation both came to life in what
John calls the first resurrection at the end of verse 5. This is the period of time
when Christians will rise to meet the Lord in the air. It is the time of the rapture.
When will all Christians rise to meet the Lord? They will rise to meet the Lord in the
air immediately after the Tribulation period.

Jesus Himself says in Matthew 24:29-31, Immediately after the tribulation of those
days . . . the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of
the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other.

The trumpet sounding indicates that this resurrection, this rising up into the air to
meet the Lord, coincides with Pauls teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the
Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Thats what
John is talking about here in Revelation 20. This is the first resurrection. Then Paul
says in verse 17: Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

So the Bible seems to teach rather clearly that the rising up into the air, or the
rapture, occurs immediately after the Tribulation. John calls this rapture the first
resurrection in verse 5. If Christians were already raptured we would expect that
John would refer to this resurrection as the second resurrection in verse 5, but he
does not. He calls it the first resurrection.

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

The rest of the dead are those who are not believers. They have no part in the
first resurrection. They do not rise until the thousand years are over. And when
they do rise, they are going to rise for judgment. Well read more about that next
time, Lord willing, in verses 11-15. All who have died without Christ, all the rest of
the dead will rise for judgment and every unbeliever will be finally cast into the
lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). Thats why John says in verse six:

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 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with Him a thousand years.

Blessed are those who have a part in the first resurrection. Why? Over such the
second death has no power. That is, the unbelievers will rise for judgment. That
judgment is called the second death. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will not
face the second death. We will die only once. We die a physical death but we are
then with our Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Christians will reign with Christ. The
Bible says they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a
thousand years. During the millennium, saints reign in peace.
We dont have time to talk about all the Old Testament prophecies about Israel that
await fulfillment. There are many prophecies about Israel that will be fulfilled during
the millennial reign of Christ upon the earth. You can read them later inIsaiah 11:1-
11 and Isaiah 65:17-25, for example, where we read of a future time that Israel will
be restored to her land and there will be a time of peace and prosperity upon the
earth. It is a time, the prophet says when the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the
leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion will lie down
together, and a little child will lead them. It is a time of incredible peace upon the
earth, a utopian Christian theocracy.

The coming one thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth is a time for which we
should pray. Jesus taught us this in Matthew 6:10: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven.

When we trust Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive a foretaste of the kingdom.
There is one sense in which the reign of Christ occurs now. Jesus said in Luke
17:21,The kingdom of God is within you. The kingdom is now. But the kingdom
is also not yet. Again, Matthew 6:10, Jesus says, pray: Your kingdom come, Your
will be done, (where?)on earth as it is in heaven.

Before the millennium, Satan is restricted in power; during the millennium saints
reign with Christ, thirdly:

III. After: Sinful Rebels are Punished (7-10)

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.
After the millennium, Satan is released and he picks up right where he left off one
thousand years earlier: he works as the great deceiver. He goes out to deceive the
nations which are in the four corners of the earth. The background for God and
Magog is found in Ezekiel 38-39. Here it refers to the enemies of God who gather
together from all the nations, from the four corners of the earth.

9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints
and the beloved city.

Now this is an amazing thing. We might ask, How can Satan succeed in deceiving
people of the nations when there has just been this one thousand year reign of
peace? Well, remember: while Satan was restricted in power during the millennial
reign, the presence of sin and the influence of sin remain in the hearts of rebellious
people during the millennium. There are two types of people during the millennium:
those with glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; Philippians 3:20-21) and those
without glorified bodies. Those without glorified bodies will be able to have
children. 1000 years allows for a lot of time for people to live outwardly submissive
to the reign of Christ, yet seethe inwardly in rebellion against the Son of God. But
what happens to this sinful rebellion? Like the battle of Armageddon, it is practically
over before it begins:

And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

Then what happens?

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.
After the millennium, sinful rebels are punished. The devil is 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.

Conclusion:

Before the millennium, Satan is restricted in power. During the millennium, saints
reign in peace. After the millennium, sinful rebels are punished. This millennial
reign, this one thousand year reign is coming and we yearn for that day. We look
forward to that day.

We may ask what part our observance of the Lords Supper has to do with this
passage in Revelation about the Lords reign on earth. Did you know that
participating in the Lords Supper you are looking forward to the Lords second
coming?

1 Corinthians 11:26: Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are
[proclaiming, or] announcing the Lords death until he comes again. (NLT).

This morning as you partake of the Supper, remember that you are both looking
backward and you are looking forward. You are looking backward to Calvary,
remembering what Jesus did for you on the cross. And you are looking forward,
anticipating His glorious second coming when He will come to reign with the saints
upon the earth for a thousand years.

Invitation:
The burning lake of fire is not only the final destination of the devil, the beast, and
the false prophet, but it is also the final destination of every unbeliever. John goes
on to say in the last verse of chapter 20, verse 15: anyone who was not found
written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Turn to Christ. Trust Him
alone to save you from your sins.