Revelation 20:1-10

“Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. He seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.) Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Now when the thousand years are finished, 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 bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.”

— ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭10‬‬

This passage seems to be the key lens by which someone understands Revelation, though starting at the beginning and taking the book as a whole may be the better starting point. Nevertheless here are bullet point arguments for each of the main views:

Premillennialism:

No indication in 20:1-10 that “1000” should be taken any way but literally. In fact, author says “little while,” so he knows how to speak of indefinite time periods

19:11-21:18 gives no indication of a break in sequence. Recapitulation is unlikely in this case, since it doesn’t appear we have traveled back in time

Some strands of 2nd Temple Judaism expected an intermediate Messianic kingdom. Other early Christian interpreters understood this passage as teaching premillennialism (Justin Martyr, Papias, Tertullian)

Binding of Satan seems like stronger language than what we see today

Resurrection in 20:4 seems to be literal, not spiritual

An earthly kingdom for the millennium allows for several OT prophecies to be fulfilled in a more “literal” way

Postmillennialism:

Many arguments for this overlap with amillennialism, so look there for more support. This view is the least supported by scholars today. They focus on the millennium only being mentioned in one book, and it happens to be the book filled with the most symbols and imagery. The main difference between post and a-mils is the progressive nature of the kingdom’s building. 

Amillennialism: 

Symbolic nature of Revelation. Yes, John saw visions, but we have to understand what the vision represented. The specific things that John saw had referents, and then those referents are symbolic of a person, time, or entity in reality.

We have more clear passages that discuss the return of Christ. Those take precedence.

Recapitulation is appropriate since the general flow of thought between Rev 19 and 20 are similar. (All nations gathering before Christ for battle)

1:18; 3:7-8 support other NT passages (cf Matt 12:29; Mark 3:27; John 12:31-33; Col 2:11-15; Heb 2:14) where Satan is limited and cannot hinder the mission of Jesus

20:1-10 parallels 12:7-11 and mutually interpret one another

Scripture only references one resurrection, so we need to reinterpret first and second so there aren’t two bodily resurrections. Resurrection and “living” and physical/spiritual life are used interchangeably in other passages (Rom 6; John 5:24-29)

As mentioned elsewhere, “Then I saw” is repeated throughout this section (19:11-21:18), but it’s also in other places earlier in the book where events are not necessarily in sequence. This doesn’t prove any eschatological position, but it’s important to remember John is putting visions in order, not always events. (Events could be in order, but the visions could be repeating the same event).

This may be a bit silly, but to prove the point, “Then I saw” is used twice in this passage, v. 1 and 4. Anybody can clearly see that John is talking about the same 1000 years. There are not two separate 1000 years, one with Satan bound and one with saints’ ruling. So we have to interpret this phrase as giving two visions talking about same time period (this is obviously small scale, but it works on much larger, too)

One simply must ask how are the following things true now, and how are they not yet fulfilled: Satan bound (see previous verses listed), Satan unable to deceive nations (Eph 2:1-4; Col 1:13), Witnesses reigning with Jesus (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 5:10; 6:9-11).

I love the description of Satan in the passage, it combines all his titles throughout Scripture. Our greatest enemy—finally cast down. 

Currently, I have no problem with seeing a spiritual resurrection and a final physical resurrection. I agree that seeing Satan as bound is difficult, but it depends on what John was envisioning. The death and resurrection of Jesus bound the strong man, even if we don’t see the full effects of that, yet.

For premillennials, once Satan is released, he deceives enough people to have one final battle. Where did these people come from, since everyone was destroyed in the last battle? It’s been 1000 years, which is enough time for rebellious offspring to arise from faithful followers of Jesus. My question to this is how are these people so vulnerable to Satan’s attacks, and what happened to Jesus’ rod of iron? We go from saints’ ruling with Jesus, to multitudes willing to overthrow the entire kingdom. I know humans, so sounds definitely possible, but if Jesus is ruling, I hope that’s not likely.

Everyone gets a throne who did not worship the beast or receive his mark. So many conspiracy theories on the mark of the beast. One thing I’m pretty sure—it won’t be taken by accident. Don’t be afraid of the mark. Revelation makes it simple that the world is divided between God’s kingdom and Satan’s counterfeit kingdom. God seals His people and Satan uses the mark of the beast. Any marking in the ancient world showed ownership. We can debate what/who the beast is, but as long as we are worshipping Jesus, probably don’t need to worry about microchips.

The prophecies against Gog and Magog come in Ezekiel 38-39. They were planning on attacking Israel, and God promised to defend His people. John equates “saints” with “beloved city,” so Jerusalem is a final fulfillment of the prophecy. 

Amillennialism simply says Satan will be allowed at the end to begin his deception of people in full force. It’s his favorite activity and has been since the beginning. Whatever is referenced in v. 3 is referenced here. 

God’s people will be surrounded by their enemies, and He will deliver them. It doesn’t really matter whether everyone is scorched or not. 

Devil and false prophets and beast (we can argue over who those are later) thrown into lake of fire. Lots of views on this place or state of being, too. For now, I do think it’s a real place. Where—I don’t know. The physical characteristics of the place don’t really matter. Lake and fire are obviously oxymoronic, just like darkness and fire, but we hear and read (even in biblical passages) all sorts of descriptions. Some of that is informed from pagan imagery throughout history. Some of it is fear based. Some of it is well intentioned and solid biblical teaching, but we need to still be careful of initial contexts. All of my conclusions land heaviest on the emotional/psychological/spiritual separation from God more than physical. Not being able to fulfill the one purpose for which we were made will be absolute torment.

Thousands of books on this topic/book, but I like to read it as a whole. Not focus on topics or particular visions/symbols. It’s a fascinating apocalyptic letter, and it is remarkably encouraging.