Revelation 20:2: Bound for a Thousand Years?

The setting is the end of the great period of persecution and the judgment of God. The war with the forces of evil has been fought and won by the rider on the white horse who is called "Faithful and True." Then comes the scene of which Revelation 20:2 is a part. What does it mean that the devil is bound for a thousand years? Why put him in prison rather than destroy him, and why for a mere thousand years? What does this time period have to do with "the millennium," and what does that term signify anyway?

This verse is another of those places in Revelation in which there appear to be two levels of conflict. In Revelation 12 we saw that there was a conflict in heaven between Michael and the dragon (Satan) and a parallel conflict on earth between the dragon and the saints. Here there is a conflict on earth in the physical realm between the exalted Christ, returning visibly as king, and the pseudo-Christ, "the beast," and his "unholy spirit," the "false prophet" (Rev 19:19-20). Both enemies have been summarily dealt with (they are tossed into the lake of fire, or hell) and their army has been destroyed by a word from Christ. All of that happens on a very physical level. But there is still the matter of the devil who inspired and embodied himself in "the beast" (Rev 13:1). Now we shift to the spiritual plane (although not to heaven, for the dragon was cast out of heaven in Rev 12).

In this prophecy Satan is taken captive by an angel, bound with a chain for one thousand years, tossed into the Abyss, the prison of evil spirits, and locked and sealed in. At the end of this period he is again released, again foments a rebellion among human beings on earth (although now in the tribes outside the Roman Empire), and in the end not only loses his army, but is himself tossed into the lake of fire, where he will remain forever (Rev 20:7-10).

"The millennium," then, refers to this thousand-year Satan-free period during which at least the martyrs are resurrected and reign with Christ on earth (Rev 20:4-6). The question that remains is how to interpret this information. There are three fundamentally different positions on the millennium. The first, the postmillennial view, interprets this passage as a look back on history. It sees the millennium as the period at the end of history that ushers in the reign of Christ. At times this is viewed as a spiritual rule of Christ through the triumph of the gospel and at times as a literal period of one thousand years characterized by the triumph of kingdom values at the end of time. The point is that the physical return of Christ comes at the end of the millennium.

The second, the amillennial view, does not really believe in no millennium (which is what "amillennial" should mean etymologically), but in a spiritual millennium. The binding of Satan has been accomplished during the lifetime of Jesus (see Mt 12:29; Lk 10:18; Jn 12:31; Col 2:15). During the age of the church Christ reigns in heaven and the power of Satan is limited in that he cannot stop the spread of the gospel. The first resurrection is the spiritual resurrection of the person's soul coming to life upon conversion. Therefore the millennial period (the thousand years being symbolic of a long time) overlaps the church age, the rebellion in Revelation 20:7-10 being essentially the same as that in Revelation 19:19-21.

The third position, the premillennial view, argues that the text should be taken at face value to indicate an actual period of time, during which Christ reigns and Satan is unable to deceive the nations. This fits with both the New Testament concept that Satan is alive and active on earth during the present age (see Lk 22:3; Acts 5:3; 2 Cor 4:3-4; 11:14; Eph 2:2; 1 Thess 2:18; 2 Tim 2:26; 1 Pet 5:8) and a common idea found in Jewish apocalyptic. For example, the pseudepigraphical book 2 Enoch mentions the idea that there are seven thousand-year periods to world history, the last being a thousand-year sabbath when God returns (2 Enoch 32:2--33:2). A similar idea is found in a passage in the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97b) and in the early Christian Epistle of Barnabas (Barnabas 15). Other Jewish works reveal a belief in a shorter millennium (four hundred years or even just forty years) or mention no millennium. In the rest of the New Testament only one other passage (1 Cor 15:23-28) may indicate two stages in the overcoming of evil, but of course the interpretation of this passage is also disputed. At the same time, no New Testament passage excludes this view.

In John's view the millennium consists of several elements. First, Satan is bound so that he cannot deceive the nations (Rev 20:3). Second, the martyrs are resurrected and reign with Christ (Rev 20:4-7). This means that the armies destroyed in Revelation 19:21 are in fact armies, not all the people alive. The population of the earth not destroyed in the final series of judgments remains alive and is ruled by Christ and his martyrs. Third, the end of the period is marked by the release of the devil and his renewed deception of the nations, specifically Gog and Magog, which Ezekiel 38--39 locates in the far north (Asia Minor or beyond) and the Jewish historian Josephus identifies with the Scythians, a tribe outside the Roman Empire (Antiquities 1.6.1). All of the identifications appear to indicate that the nations outside of the Empire (now ruled by Christ) gather against the rightful King. Fourth, the rebellion is ended by the destruction of the opposing armies, the consignment of the devil to the lake of fire, the resurrection of all of the dead, and the final judgment (Rev 20:8-15). This is the end of the history of the earth, for the next chapter takes up the topic of the new heaven and new earth.

One might wonder why there should be a millennium. Several reasons can be given. First, it is a reward for the martyrs (or perhaps the martyrs and those who did not worship the beast, but Rev 13:15 seems to indicate that these would all be martyrs). In their faithfulness they lost their lives. Now they are rewarded with a long life, reigning with Christ. Second, it demonstrates the victory of Christ. That he holds power for a thousand years will vindicate the rule God has given him and which now is hidden in heaven. His triumph is complete. Third, it vindicates the righteous rule of God, redeeming history. Is it possible that God could not rule this earth any better than human beings (and Satan)? The millennium points to the idea that God can rule righteously and justly from within history. He does not have to simply end history. Presumably this would be when people would experience the just rulership that the world has been rejecting (and yet longing for) since the Fall.

We might further question why the antichrist and false prophet would be destroyed and Satan preserved. It is clearly not out of any love for or mercy toward Satan! The fact is that when the embodiments of satanic power have been exposed and lost their power, God has no more use for them. Their future on earth has come to an end. On the other hand, God appears to have a use for Satan, but not in the immediate future. He is used for the final probation of human beings after God has demonstrated his just rule. Thus Satan is not kept out of hell for his own sake, but is reserved for God's own good purposes (although in his own mind he surely rejects this idea). Even to the end God remains in control, including in control of Satan.

As we saw above, the millennium is symbolic for many people. But in calling it symbolic (or in calling it literal, my own preference) we must be careful to preserve the values that John expresses. The reign of Satan is doomed. He will be (or has been) chained. Christ will reign; his victory on the cross will be consummated. His martyrs will be rewarded. And rebellion against God will meet its end. These are the essence of the millennial teaching that must be preserved by any view. The test of a view is whether it best explains the data of Scripture and whether it preserves the values that John is trying to teach.