Revelation 20 part 1

The Meaning of 1000 Years in Revelation 20

I find it interesting that the book of the Bible that has been the most neglected in church history is also the most controversial. Perhaps the reasons are not all that disconnected. Such is the case with the book of Revelation, an apocalyptic writing with strange symbols and metaphors. Many have swayed from never reading it while others make it the focal point of their ministry.
There are four hermeneutical approaches used when interpreting Revelation. They are the preterist, the historical, the futurist and the idealist views. The preterist believes that most of the book of Revelation was fulfilled by AD 70. The book was written for the encouragement of the original readers and edification for future believers. Conservative advocates of this interpretation have a high view of Scripture and believe that all that is left to be fulfilled is the second coming, judgment and a new heavens and new earth. Those of liberal persuasion see this as any other apocalyptic writing from that time period.
Proponents of the historical view believe that the book of Revelation corresponds with historical events throughout history until the second coming of Christ. Using this view allows the reader to interpret the symbolic meaning of the prophecy to correspond to the current events of his own time. For example, ‘the beast’ is seen as the current manifestation of the worldly power that is persecuting the people of God at that time.
The futurist believes that the book of Revelation speaks of future events starting with Revelation 4:1 till the end of the book. They believe that these events will be literally fulfilled just before the return of Christ, so that the book will have the greatest meaning to that generation of Christians. They seek to incorporate a consistently literal hermeneutic throughout the book.
The final view of interpretation is the idealist. The idealist believes that the book of Revelation is a symbolic illustration to the work of God in the world from the first advent of Christ to the second. They see the structure of the book as seven concurrent visions. This book is God pulling back the curtain so that Christians might see beyond their suffering and be encouraged by the King that rules all.
Two of these views, the futurist and the idealist are the most commonly used today and have lead to four primary systems of Eschatology. They are: Amillennialism, Postmillennialism, Historic Premillennialism and Dispensational Premillennialism. Since the Amillennial and Postmillennial positions agree with each other regarding the interpretation of the thousand years in Revelation 20, we will treat them as one system for our purposes here. The same will hold true for the two premillennial positions.
If it is true that the book of Revelation has been neglected, it is also true that Revelation 20 has been the least neglected. From an Amillennial/Postmillennial perspective, the 20th chapter of Revelation begins the seventh and final vision of the book and describes the time period between the first advent of Christ and His second coming in judgment. The Premillennial position is that this is the beginning of a literal 1000 year kingdom where Christ will rule from David’s throne on earth after which is the final judgment.
The question between these positions hinges on the interpretation of the use of the term 1000 years. Is it a literal 1000 years, or is it a figurative term referring to a long period of time? We will look at four key areas so as to ascertain the interpretation of the term. The four key areas are, the binding and loosing of Satan (verses 1-3, 7-10), the rule of the saints with Christ, (verse 4a), the comparison of death and resurrection (verses 4b-6, 11-15) and finally, how the term 1000 is used elsewhere in Scripture.
The passage begins like this: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” (Rev. 20:1-3) In order to interpret this passage, we must ask ourselves some questions. Who is the dragon? How is he bound? For how long will this binding last?
The passage itself tells us that the dragon is “that ancient serpent,” Satan. The reference to “that ancient serpent” and reminds us of the Garden of Eden when Satan possessed a snake to deceive Eve. In this passage, the Angel that was sent by God grabs hold of Satan and binds him with a great chain. A crucial question to ask would be if this is a literal binding or a metaphorical binding. A Premillennialist would say this is a literal binding and will last for 1000 years. An Amillennial/Postmillennialist would say that the binding is real but is not with a literal chain and that it will last for a long period of time. How can a spiritual being be bound with a literal physical chain? Is the chain made from iron or bronze? You cannot bind a spiritual being with a physical chain. It is impossible. The answer to this can be found in Matthew 12:25-29,
‘Knowing their thoughts,’ he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.’
According to Jesus, the binding of Satan is the power of the Gospel in His kingdom as it assails the gates of Hell. It is the result of the fulfillment of Genesis 3:5 where we are told that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the seed of the serpent. Support for this can be found in Luke 10 where Jesus sends his disciples out to tell all who would listen to the message of the kingdom. In verses seventeen and eighteen, the disciples come back to Jesus to tell Him of their experience in preaching. “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ and he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’” In Revelation 20, Satan is thrown out of Heaven. Satan, the strong man, is said to be bound by Christ and thrown out of Heaven. This happened at the first advent of Christ not at the second. More importantly, it happened as a result of the Gospel being preached.
Earlier in Revelation 12:7-12, this event is spoken of.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death, therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’
Dwight Pentecost gives us the Premillennial Dispensational interpretation of these verses.
Satan as the god of this age (II Cor. 4:4), has carried on his work to defeat the purpose and program of God. The millennial age is to be the age in which divine righteousness is to be displayed (Isa. 11:5; 32:1; Jer. 23:6; Dan. 9:24). It is also to be God’s final test of fallen humanity under the most ideal circumstances. All outward sources of temptation must be removed so that man will demonstrate what he is apart from satanic influence. So that there can be the full manifestation of righteousness and test of humanity apart from external temptation, Satan must be removed from the sphere. Therefore, at the second advent he will be bound and removed from the scene for the entirety of that millennial period.1
What the passage tells us, is that Satan is no longer allowed to deceive the nations. It does not say that he has been removed entirely. He is limited; he is not eliminated. Look at the great world powers before Christ’s coming: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece. When Satan is given free rein to deceive the nations these are the types of nations that you get. Look at the world power at the time of Christ, Rome. The standard operating procedure for Rome was to conquer a land, incorporate the people into the empire and assimilate the conquered country’s gods into the Pantheon. Rome was the collective storehouse of the world’s false religions. This is what you get when Satan is free to deceive the nations. Within three hundred years after Christ, the Emperor is a self-proclaimed Christian and the gospel has gone to every corner of the Empire. That is what you get when Satan is restrained from deceiving the nations. It is true that this world is filled with Satan’s activities, but even our sin-filled world of today is nothing compared to Rome or Babylon. Simon Kistemaker says, “Satan and his fallen angels are ‘bound as to a rope, which can be more or less lengthened.’ They can try to free themselves, but it is impossible for them to be released. John intended not a literal binding but a figurative restraint whereby Satan is unable to perform his wickedness as he did prior to his restriction.” 2 All believe that this restraining must come to an end. For the Amillennialist/Postmillennialist, the loosing will happen just before the end of the age. For the Premillennialist, it will happen at the end of the earthly kingdom rule of Christ.