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.

Revelation 1:9-20

“I, John, your brother and the one who shares with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day when I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, and when I did so, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt around his chest. His head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His face shone like the sun shining at full strength. When I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, and the one who lives! I was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

— ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭20‬‬

Some debate about authorship of Revelation, whether another “older saint” named John or the son of Zebedee (apostle). At this point, I still think it was the apostle. Never heard convincing arguments otherwise. There’s enough evidence that he lived to be an old saint, living in Ephesus, then faced persecution. Perhaps there will be another post on book backgrounds someday. Tradition says John was boiled in hot oil, rescued by angels, and then exiled on Patmos. (How much of this is true, I have no idea).

Interesting that John introduces his sharing in persecution, the kingdom, and endurance with his readers. Those themes are all through Revelation and may give insight into the book’s interpretation. If John is a participant in these things, then there at least must be an intended meaning and fulfillment for the original audience. I’m just spitballing here.

“In the Spirit” is similar to prophets of old. This is vision language. I don’t know if trance is the right word, but he’s being influenced by the Spirit to see things that he would not otherwise. This is happening on Sunday, the Lord’s Day.

7 major churches of Asia Minor. This places the book within historical context. Something to be said about genre of the book. It is a letter in some sense. It has a purpose. There’s a blessing for those who read and “obey” it. May be odd to think about Revelation, but the specific letters of chapters 2-3 are for specific audiences with needs, sins, discouragements, frustrations.

This is also a prophecy, where some foretelling is disclosed. There is instruction to repent. There is revelation of God’s message and character and plan. 

But the overwhelming genre is apocalypse. It finds parallel in Ezekiel and many intertestamental books (1 Enoch and others). We have to study those to find out how this genre operates. And we cannot understand Revelation without knowing the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel and Daniel. The metaphors, symbols, and phrasing is essential for knowing this book.

Case in point: I saw one like the son of man—Daniel 7. And the description of him is very similar to Daniel 7. I’m not going to explain all the metaphors here, but usually in Revelation, white means purity, fire means judgment or something that purifies. Waters could be a source of judgment or rescue. Two-edged sword is most likely truth. 

Side note: Comparing this passage with Rev 11 is a good exercise in interpreting images/language in the book. Yes, I have become much more amillennial in my views the more I’ve studied, but I always present all options and respect the passages that support other positions. But when I read the two prophets’ account one time, who died and were raised, who the whole earth saw, and fire came out of their mouth, etc. I was forced to rethink what John may have seen/envisioned specifically for his audience. If Jesus didn’t have a real sword coming out of His mouth, why do we assume the prophets have real fire coming out of their mouth?

John falls down as a dead man in worship, and Jesus’ self-description is significant. He holds the keys of death and Hades/the grave. This vision will resurface in the letters to the churches. John will describe Jesus to them in ways that are appropriate for their specific situation.

V 19: Things you see, things that are, things that will be: I’ve heard for years that this is the structure of Revelation: See (ch 1), things that are (2-3), will be (4-22). Problem is that the visions are not so neatly divided. Not to mention that John sees visions all the way through. Some visions (ch 12) cover things in the past. Some visions are of heaven, and that must be timeless (ch 4).

This verse has no less than 7 major views, which I won’t get into here. 1:11 also has the phrase “what you see,” which I prefer to understand as all the visions of the book, not just the initial one of chapter one. Since both current and future events are covered in chapters 2-22, I think this phrase “what you see” explains or summarizes what’s included in the visions (both current and future things). Dividing them nicely and neatly into chapters isn’t wise or possible. For scholarly support, see Caird and Aune (though they disagree on minor points. Beale is similar to this as well, though he sees the phrase “at the last days” in Dan 2:28-29, 45 as the same as “after these things” in Rev 1:1; 4:1; 22:6. This is possible and other themes in surroundings contexts of Daniel and Revelation add support, but this is not a slam dunk.

Another important note is that the phrase “And/Then I saw” does imply progression, but not necessarily chronology. It simply gives sequence of vision, not sequence of time. John is arranging his book for a reason. We assume that his visions are arranged parallel to the sequence of events. This may be faulty.

Many have noticed a repetition of events (recapitulation). Of course, this is debated, but say the large number from all races, tribes, and nations by the throne is seen in heaven. In the next chapter God seals 144,000 on earth. I’m not going to discuss numbers now, but these chapters may be saying the same thing in different ways. There’s a battle in heaven and then a battle on earth in Ch 12. This repetition of cycles is a bit drawn out if one wants to see the three cycles of 7 judgments. And then the two battles at the end may be the same battle from different angles. I’m not saying this is true. I’m not saying I fully agree with it. 

It’s always nice when John does some interpretation for us. 7 stars are angels and and 7 lamp stands are the churches. Scary part is in ch 2-3 when Jesus promises to extinguish the lamps if they don’t repent. But are these real angels? The pastors of the churches?  I give credit to Greg Beale for his conclusion that these are angelic representatives. See other passages in Revelation, where an angel takes responsibility for the spiritual benefit of John (Rev 19:10; 22:9) and texts in Daniel, where God’s people are represented in heaven by angels (Cf Dan 10:20-21; 12:1; 7:27; 8:10, 24). Why? 

Per Beale, 217-218, John is reminding the churches not only of their heavenly representation but their true existence in heaven. Their home is not with these earth dwellers, though earth and heaven will become one (see Rev 22.). They have heavenly help and protection in the temptations not to conform to Babylon.

This passage is just as significant as Rev 20 for the interpretation of the whole book. Seeing Jesus as central and not being distracted by the “fun, weird” symbolism will help us endure, face any persecution we may with strength and peace, and contribute to the kingdom for God’s glory. Then we can offer worship to Jesus as He is worthy.