It is just 10 little verses, but the amount of discussion surrounding these 10 verses has gone on and on and on (and will keep going until Jesus returns!). Revelation 20:1-10 is describing God’s ultimate and final victory over Satan. As John wrote this vision down, he was probably so excited to share such encouraging news to the persecuted church. Of course, we people have a way of mucking up God’s word. Instead of the encouragement it was meant to be, it has turned into major theological views that divide the church today. Classic, right? I am speaking about the time period mentioned of 1,000 years, or as we Bible nerds like to call it, the Millennium. Not as infamous as number in chapter 13 of Revelation (666), but has seen its own share of commentary.
We will see that the main views on this passage begin with our discussion from the last post on literal and figurative fulfillments. However, throwing in an additional monkey wrench, one has to decide whether this passage is in chronological order from chapter 19, or part of the cyclical structure of Revelation. One main view (premillennial dispensationalism) views this passage as being both chronological and literal. Most scholars agree that Revelation 19 is the 2nd coming of Christ, so the literal view believes that after Jesus return, He will reign on Earth for 1,000 before final judgment and our journey to the New Jerusalem (heaven). The second main view (called amillennialism) is that the 1,000 year reign does not chronologically follow chapter 19, but instead follows the cyclical pattern in revelation and goes back to the church age. The 1,000 years are meant to be taken figurative and is the same time period as the church age.
Umm, could these two views be more different? Let us deal with the foundational issues. First, is there a cyclical pattern within Revelation, or is it chronological? In other words, do we see events happening in order leading up to the return of Jesus? I am still quite shocked when I read a commentary on Revelation which doesn’t mention the cyclical structure of the book. For example, how can one miss how many times the world seems to end? (Rev. 6:12-17, 11:15-19, 14:14-20, 16:1-21, 17:14, 19:17-21). Especially telling is the repetition from 6:14, “The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” and 16:20, “And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.” If we are to take this chronologically, then God must destroy the world, then recreate it just so He can destroy it again. I haven’t heard that interpretation even though people insist ALL of Revelation is in chronological order.
Second, are numbers used mostly figuratively (or symbolically) or literally in Revelation? One can’t read Revelation without seeing the importance of numbers, especially the number 7 (7 churches, lampstands, stars, seals, trumpets, bowls, etc…) Seven is the divine number, often meaning “fulfillment/completion). 12 or multiples of 12 are also found throughout the book (24, 144,000). Of course, there are 7 literal churches John is writing to, but overall apocalyptic literature (which is the genre of Revelation) is characterized by it’s heavy usage of symbolic numbers. Just because a number is used symbolically, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have literal value.
None of our evidence so far necessitates one view or another, but it may help us decide what is more likely based on the context of the book. In the next post, we will go through this passage verse by verse. Until then, we need to face some facts. No where else in the Bible does it mention this 1,000 year time period. We won’t get any help from there. Jewish tradition doesn’t have anything about a 1,000 year period in eschatology (they mention a 2,000 year one, does that count?). Strike two. Old Testament predictions don’t seem to indicate a time between Jesus return and final judgment (not that most of the Jews understood there would be thousands of years between the first and the second coming). Looks like we will just have to use our powers of inductive study on Revelation alone.
Until then, ask yourself some questions: what would be the purpose of a 1,000 year literal reign on Earth? when Jesus comes back, do all people get resurrected bodies or just the ones alive? who would rebel after 1,000 years? if the 1,000 years are the church age, how can we say that Satan is bound and in the pit? why does it seem that only the Christian martyrs get resurrected and get to reign with Jesus? what ever happened to parachute pants? how can we be that stupid to pay Starbucks $4 for a cup of coffee? am I the only one on the planet who didn’t think the show Seinfeld was funny?
The Bible Nerd 