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". . . it is not difficult to see why the early church understood John to be teaching a millennium in Revelation 20. Three arguments support this interpretation: (1) the teaching of two resurrections, (2) the binding of Satan, and (3) the ruling of the saints with Christ."683
20:4 John saw a new scene. The purpose of the thrones that John saw was twofold: ruling and judging (cf. Dan. 7:9-10, 22; Matt. 19:28). Those sitting on them are probably the faithful saints who have returned with Christ to the earth (19:7-8, 14, 19; cf. 2:26-28; 3:12, 21).684They receive authority from God to take charge of the earth, the beast's domain, under Christ's rule.
John also saw the souls of some people not yet resurrected. These are quite clearly Tribulation martyrs who died because they held steadfastly to the testimony that Jesus bore and the word of God (cf. 6:9; 12:17; 18:24; 19:2).685They refused to take the mark of the beast or to worship his image and had died for their faith (13:15). John saw them come back to life, that is, they experienced bodily resurrection (cf. v. 5; 1:18, 2:8; 13:14; John 11:25; Acts 1:3; 9:41). Moreover these martyrs will reign with Christ on earth during the Millennium (cf. 5:10). The name "Christ"(Anointed One) looks back to Psalm 2:2 here, as it does wherever it occurs in Revelation (11:15; 12:10; 20:6), tying this reign to Old Testament expectations of God's kingdom on earth.
"They who were once judged by earth's courts to be worthy of death are now the judges of the earth under Christ."686
Many amillennialists believe this reign of Christ refers to His spiritual reign over the hearts of His people or the triumph of the martyrs in a symbolic sense. There are four good reasons why Jesus Christ's reign will be a physical, earthly reign rather than a spiritual, heavenly one. First, Christ will be on earth after He returns (19:11-16). Second, at the end of His reign the saints, who reign with Him, will still be on the earth (v. 9). Third, God promised the saints an earthly reign (5:10). Fourth, the Old Testament Messianic prophecies anticipated an earthly kingdom (e.g., 2 Sam. 7:10-16; Ps. 2:8; Isa. 65:17-66:24; Dan. 7:27; et al.).
20:5 The "rest of the dead"evidently refers to the wicked who are physically dead whom God will raise at the end of the Millennium (v. 12).
The "first"resurrection refers to the first of the two resurrections John spoke of in the context (vv. 4-6, 12). This includes the resurrection of the Tribulation martyrs at the second coming of Christ (v. 4) and other believers resurrected at the same time (i.e., Old Testament saints; Dan. 12:2; John 5:28; cf. 1 Cor. 15:23). The second resurrection in this passage is the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the Millennium (vv. 12-13).687Other names for this "first"resurrection are the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14; Acts 24:15), the resurrection from among the dead (Luke 20:34-36), the resurrection of life (John 5:29), and the resurrection to everlasting life (Dan. 12:2). This verse clearly opposes the view that there is only one resurrection at the end of history.
The "first"resurrection cannot be first in temporal sequence since God has already resurrected Jesus Christ (Matt. 27:52-53). Furthermore, Christians will have experienced resurrection by this time (1 Thess. 4:16). Various groups of the righteous will experience resurrection at various times. However, God will raise all the wicked at one time, namely, at the end of the Millennium (vv. 12-13).
The times when God will raise the righteous are as follows. First, He raised Jesus Christ who is the Firstfruits of those who sleep (1 Cor. 15:23). Second, He raised some saints near Jerusalem shortly after Jesus' resurrection (Matt. 27:52-53), though this was probably a temporary resuscitation like that of Lazarus. Third, He will raise Christians at the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Fourth, He will raise the two witnesses during the Great Tribulation (11:3, 11). Fifth, He will raise the Tribulation martyrs at the beginning of the Millennium (vv. 4-5). Sixth, He will raise the Old Testament saints, probably at the same time (Isa. 26:19-21; Ezek. 37:12-14; Dan. 12:2-4). Seventh, He will apparently raise the saints who die during the Millennium (cf. vv. 12-13). The idea that the resurrection of believers takes place in stages also finds support in 1 Corinthians 15:23.688
Amillennialists usually take the first resurrection as a reference to spiritual regeneration. They believe the second resurrection describes a general resurrection of all the dead at the end of time. This view is inconsistent in that it takes "resurrection"figuratively in one case but literally in the other.
"If, in a passage where two resurrectionsare mentioned . . . the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritualrising with Christ, while the second means literalrising from the grave;--then there is an end of all significance in language, and Scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to any thing."689
20:6 Revelation's fifth beatitude reveals that those who participate in the first resurrection are blessed and holy. The "second death"is spiritual death beyond physical death (cf. v. 14; 2:11; 21:8). It involves death of the soul (whole person) as well as the body (Matt. 10:28). Specifically the first resurrection involves deliverance from the lake of fire. Those who participate in the first resurrection are also blessed because they will be priests of God and Christ, and they will reign with Christ for 1, 000 years. Priests have unlimited access to and intimate fellowship with God. Exactly how they will reign remains to be seen, though the extent of their authority under Christ seems connected with their previous faithfulness (cf. Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27).
Note that many of the promises to the overcomers in the letters to the seven churches find their fulfillment in the Millennium (cf. 2:11 with 20:6; 2:26-27 with 20:4; 3:5 with 20:12, 15; and 3:21 with 20:4). This seems to indicate that the rewards Christians receive from the Lord at the judgment seat will also involve serving under Him in the Millennium (cf. Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27) and beyond (22:3, 5).
The phrase "a thousand years"occurs six times in this chapter (vv. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Since God revealed that events will occur both before and after Christ's thousand-year reign, we should undoubtedly interpret this number literally (cf. 11:2, 3; 12:6; 13:5; 20:3). John specifically located this reign yet future in this verse. This is a strong argument against interpreting it simply as Jesus Christ's present reign in human hearts or His reign throughout eternity, as many amillennialists do.
John gave us no information here regarding what life will be like on earth during the Millennium, but many Old Testament passages provide this revelation.690The main point here seems to be that the Millennium will follow Jesus Christ's second coming, the main event in the Book of Revelation.
There are three major schools of interpretation that deal with millennial prophecies. Amillennialists interpret the Millennium figuratively and believe it does not correspond to any specific era. Some of them teach that it refers to Jesus Christ's rule in the hearts of His people presently living on earth.691Others teach it refers to Christ's rule over His people in heaven throughout eternity. Postmillennialists hold that Christ will return after the Millennium. Some of them believe we should interpret the thousand-year reign of Christ figuratively as referring to the present age in which we live. Others believe it is a literal thousand-year period yet future. Premillennialists take the revelation in these passages more literally as a description of events that will proceed chronologically in order. We believe the Second Coming will precede a literal earthly millennial reign of Jesus Christ.692
Berkouwer articulated the view of many amillennialists regarding this pericope.
"This vision is not a narrative account of a future earthly reign of peace at all, but is the apocalyptic unveiling of the reality of salvation in Christ as a backdrop to the reality of the suffering and martyrdom that still continue as long as the dominion of Christ remains hidden."693
Postmillennialism has not been very popular since the first World War. Since then it has become increasingly clear to most people that the world is not getting better and better but worse and worse. While there has been progress in many areas of life, it seems clear that worldwide peace and the other millennial conditions that the prophets described will never come without divine intervention that will change the course of history. Postmillennialism teaches that world peace and all millennial conditions will precede the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Among premillennialists there are two main groups. "Historic premillennialists"believe that God will fulfill His promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; et al.) through the spiritualseed of Abraham, namely, believers whom the Old Testament writers called Israel and the New Testament writers called the church. "Dispensational premillennialists"believe that God will fulfill His promises to Abraham through the physicalseed of Abraham, namely, the Jewish people whom the writers of both testaments referred to as Israel.
Jesus Christ's earthly reign will be the fulfillment of many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the reign of a completely faithful descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:10-16; et al.). God promised David that one of his descendants would reign over the Israelites forever, that His kingdom would have no end. Most dispensationalists have believed that this reign will begin after Jesus Christ returns to earth at His second coming, and it will continue through the Millennium and on into eternity forever. We believe that since David's kingdom was an earthly kingdom and since David and his successors ruled on the earth, the coming fulfillment of Davidic kingdom promises will take place on the earth. Progressive dispensationalists, on the other hand, believe that Jesus' rule as David's successor began when He ascended into heaven following His resurrection and that it will move to earth at the second coming and will continue throughout eternity. They view the promised Davidic kingdom as having heavenly (already) and earthly (not yet) stages.694
