16

The Coming Earthly
Kingdom of the
Lord Jesus Christ

(Revelation 20:1–10)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and 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 completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (20:1–10)

Imagine a world dominated by righteousness and goodness, a world where there is no injustice, where no court ever renders an unjust verdict, and where everyone is treated fairly. Imagine a world where what is true, right, and noble marks every aspect of life, including interpersonal relations, commerce, education, and government. Imagine a world where there is complete, total, enforced, and permanent peace, where joy abounds and good health prevails, so much so that people live for hundreds of years. Imagine a world where the curse is removed, where the environment is restored to the pristine purity of the Garden of Eden, where peace reigns even in the animal kingdom, so that “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them” (Isa. 11:6). Imagine a world ruled by a perfect, glorious Ruler, who instantly and firmly deals with sin.

Humanly speaking, that description may seem far-fetched, a utopian fantasy that could never be reality. Yet it accurately describes conditions during the future earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. The restored and radically reconstructed earth of the millennial kingdom will constitute paradise regained. The thousand-year reign of the Savior over the earth is the divinely planned and promised culmination of all of redemptive history and the realization of the hope of all the saints of all the ages.

The millennial kingdom is called by many names in Scripture. In Matthew 19:28 Jesus calls it “the regeneration.” Acts 3:19 describes the kingdom as “times of refreshing,” while verse 21 of that chapter calls it “the period of restoration of all things.” The apostle Paul refers to it in Ephesians 1:10 as “an administration suitable to the fullness of the times.”

The Bible’s teaching on the kingdom is not confined to the New Testament. The kingdom is an important theme throughout Scripture; it is the goal toward which all of redemptive history progresses. In the words of John Bright, “The Bible is one book. Had we to give that book a title, we might with justice call it ‘The Book of the Coming Kingdom of God’” (The Kingdom of God [Nashville: Abingdon, 1953], 197; italics in original). Among the many Old Testament passages that speak of the earthly kingdom are Deuteronomy 30:1–5; 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Psalm 2:6–12; Isaiah 2:2–4; 11:1–10; 12:1–6; 24:23; 32:15–20; 35:1–2; 60:10–18; 65:20–22; Jeremiah 3:14–18; 23:5–6; 30:3; 31:35–40; 33:14–18; Ezekiel 34:23–24; 36:16–38; 37:15–28; Daniel 2:44–45; Hosea 3:4–5; Joel 3:18–21; Amos 9:11–15; Micah 4:1–8; Zephaniah 3:14–20; and Zechariah 14:9–11.

God’s kingdom may be broadly defined as the sphere in which He reigns. In its universal, eternal sense, God’s kingdom encompasses everything that exists, because God is the sovereign ruler over all of His creation. David declared that truth in Psalm 103:19: “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” Historically, God has mediated His rule on earth through His people, first through Adam and Eve, then Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the judges of Israel (including Samuel), and the kings of Israel and Judah. In the present era, God mediates His rule politically through human governments (Rom. 13:1–7) and spiritually through the church (Acts 20:25; Rom. 14:17; Col. 1:13). In the millennial kingdom, the political and religious elements of God’s temporal, earthly rule will be reunited in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Taking the text of Revelation 20 (and the numerous other biblical passages that speak of the earthly kingdom) at face value leads to a premillennial view of eschatology. That is, Christ will return, and then establish a literal kingdom on earth, which will last for a thousand years. There are two other major views of the Millennium in addition to pre-millennialism: postmillennialism and amillennialism.

Postmillennialism is in some ways the opposite of premillennialism. Premillennialism teaches that Christ will return before the Millennium; postmillennialism teaches that He will return at the end of the Millennium. Premillennialism teaches that the period immediately before Christ’s return will be the worst in human history; postmillennialism teaches that before His return will come the best period in history, so that Christ will return at the end of a long golden age of peace and harmony. (Most postmillennialists deny that the Millennium will last for one thousand actual years; they arbitrarily view that number as symbolic of a long period of time.) “The millennium to which the postmillennialist looks forward is thus a golden age of prosperity during this present dispensation, that is, during the Church Age” (Loraine Boettner, “Postmillennialism,” in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views Robert G. Clouse, ed. [Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity, 1977], 117). That golden age, according to postmillennialism, will result from the spread of the gospel throughout the world and the conversion of a majority of the human race to Christianity. Thus “Christ will return to a truly Christianized world” (Boettner, “Postmillennialism,” 118). The millennial kingdom, according to postmillennialists, will be established by the church, not by the personal intervention of Jesus Christ. Nor will Christ reign personally on earth during the Millennium, but rather through His church.

In keeping with the generally optimistic views of those eras, postmillennialism flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The impact of the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the rapid pace of scientific discovery, and Darwin’s theory of evolution convinced many that society was progressing inevitably toward a utopia. That optimistic view was in harmony with postmillennialism, which also teaches that the world is going to get better and better (though by different means). But the numbing horror of the First World War, the moral decadence of the Roaring Twenties, the hard times of the Great Depression, the madness of the Nazi’s slaughter of the Jews, and the worldwide catastrophe of the Second World War brought an end to the naive optimism that had prevailed before World War I. Postmillennialism accordingly also declined in popularity. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of postmillennialism in such movements as Liberation Theology, Kingdom Theology, and Theonomy.

The name “amillennialism” is somewhat misleading, since it implies that amillennialists do not believe in a millennium. While it is true that they reject the concept of an earthly millennium, and especially one that is actually a Millennium (one thousand years in duration), amillennialists do believe in a kingdom. They believe the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah’s kingdom are being fulfilled now, either by the saints reigning with Christ in heaven, or (spiritually, not literally) by the church on earth. (Amillennialists would also apply some of those Old Testament prophecies to the eternal state.) Far from disbelieving in the Millennium, amillennialists believe we are in it now: “As far as the thousand years of Revelation 20 are concerned, we are in the millennium now” (Anthony A. Hoekema, “Amillennialism,” in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Clouse, 181).

There is absolutely no exegetical reason or source for this conclusion and no warrant for abandoning the historical, grammatical hermeneutic when interpreting prophecy. Such is purely an arbitrary act on the part of the interpreter, based on his presuppositions. Furthermore, there is no reason to deny a literal one thousand years as the duration of the kingdom of Christ on earth. Robert L. Thomas writes:

It is highly doubtful that any symbolic number would be repeated six times in a text, as one thousand is here.

For the first century and a half after the close of the New Testament era, the church was largely premillennial. Among the church fathers of that period who believed in a literal thousand-year earthly Millennium were Papias (a disciple of the apostle John), Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and the author of the Epistle of Barnabas. That premillennial consensus was challenged by the members of the Alexandrian school (most notably Origen), who advocated an allegorical approach to interpreting Scripture. The famous church historian Eusebius also rejected a literal, earthly Millennium, as did the noted Bible scholar Jerome. But it was the influence of Augustine, the greatest theologian of the early church, that ensured that amillennialism would dominate the church for centuries. Amillennialism was the view of the Reformers, and today most scholars in the Reformed tradition are amillennialists.

At the heart of the debate over millennial views is the issue of hermeneutics. All sides in the debate agree that interpreting Old Testament prophecy literally leads naturally to premillennialism. Amillennialist Floyd E. Hamilton candidly acknowledges that truth: “Now we must frankly admit that a literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures” (The Basis of Millennial Faith [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1942], 38). Postmillennialist Loraine Boettner agrees with Hamilton’s assessment: “It is generally agreed that if the prophecies are taken literally, they do foretell a restoration of the nation of Israel in the land of Palestine with the Jews having a prominent place in that kingdom and ruling over the other nations” (“A Postmillennial Response [to Dispensational Premillennialism],” in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Clouse,95).

In light of the above admissions, the question that naturally arises is “Why not take the Old Testament prophecies of the Millennium literally?” Those who reject a literal interpretation argue that the New Testament appears to interpret some Old Testament prophecies nonliterally. But in most cases, the New Testament is not interpreting those prophecies, but merely applying principles found in them. In fact, scores of Old Testament prophecies relating to Christ’s first coming were literally fulfilled.

There are several compelling reasons for interpreting Old Testament prophecies literally.

First, if the literal sense of a passage is rejected, who is to determine what the nonliteral or spiritual sense is, since the normal rules of interpretation do not apply? Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.,poses the dilemma:

Second, adopting a nonliteral view of the Old Testament kingdom prophecies raises some disturbing questions: What did those prophecies mean to those to whom they were addressed? If prophecies seemingly addressed to Israel really apply to the church (which did not exist at that time), did God give revelation that failed to reveal? And if those prophecies were meant to apply symbolically to the church, why were they addressed to Israel? What meaning could such prophecies have in their historical settings? Ironically, many who spiritualize Old Testament prophecies reject the futurist interpretation of Revelation because it allegedly robs the book of its meaning for those to whom it was written. Yet they do the very same thing with the Old Testament kingdom prophecies.

Third, spiritualizing those prophecies leads to some glaring inconsistencies. It is inconsistent to argue that the cursings they pronounce apply literally to Israel, while the blessings they promise apply symbolically and spiritually to the church. An example of inconsistency in the spiritualizing method of interpreting prophecy comes from the angel Gabriel’s words to Mary in Luke 1:31–33: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” If, as all conservative scholars agree, Jesus was literally conceived in Mary’s womb, literally named “Jesus,” literally became great, was literally “the Son of the Most High,” will He not also literally reign on David’s throne over Israel? Can the same passage be interpreted both literally and nonliterally? Further, both amillennialists and postmillennialists interpret some prophetic events literally, such as Christ’s second coming, the Great White Throne judgment, and the new heavens and the new earth. Why not interpret the millennial kingdom literally? Finally, amillennialists and postmillennialists interpret the nonprophetic portions of Scripture according to the literal, historical, grammatical, and contextual method of hermeneutics; why adopt a different method for interpreting prophecy? Such an adoption is utterly arbitrary.

Though not an exhaustive description of the earthly kingdom, this text caps off all the biblical revelation about the Millennium by revealing four essential truths about it: the removal of Satan, the reign of the saints, the return of Satan, and the revolt of society.

THE REMOVAL OF SATAN

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. (20:1–3)

The first matter for the King’s attention as He sets up His kingdom is the confinement of the chief rebel. The removal of “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), “the prince of the power of the air … the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), will dramatically change the world. By this time, God will have destroyed all human rebels. Those who survived the Tribulation judgments will have been executed at Armageddon (19:11–21) or the goat judgment (Matt. 25:4146). The ringleaders of the worldwide rebellion, the beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet, will have been thrown into the lake of fire (19:20). The final step in preparation for the kingdom will be the removal of Satan and his demon hosts, so that Christ reigns without the opposition of supernatural enemies.

As it frequently does in Revelation (cf. vv 4, 11; 6:1, 2, 5, 8, 12; 7:2; 8:2, 13; 9:1; 10:1; 13:1, 11; 14:1, 6, 14; 15:1; 16:13; 17:3; 19:11, 17, 19; 21:1), the phrase kai eidon (Then I saw) indicates chronological progression. The location of this passage in the chronological flow of Revelation is consistent with a premillennial view of the kingdom. After the Tribulation (chaps. 6–19) Christ will return (19:11–21) and set up His kingdom (20:1–10), which will be followed by the new heavens and the new earth (21:1). Thus the millennial kingdom comes after Christ’s second coming but before the establishing of the new heavens and the new earth. Amillennialist Anthony Hoekema has to acknowledge that, taken at face value, the chronology of Revelation supports premillennialism. He writes:

The passage clearly teaches that Christ’s return precedes the millennial kingdom—a scenario incompatible with postmillennialism and amillennialism, but exactly what premillennialism teaches. To get around the difficulty the chronology of Revelation poses for their views, postmillennialists and amillennialists must deny that chapter 20 follows chapter 19 chronologically. But such a denial ignores the chronological significance of the phrase kai eidon, as noted above. It also ignores the continuity of the context: Having dealt with Antichrist and the false prophet in chapter 19, Christ deals with their evil master, Satan, in chapter 20. Why reject such an obvious chronology? It is apparently done for no other reason than to eliminate premillennialism, not because there is any justification in Scripture.

The identity of the angel whom John saw coming down from heaven to bind Satan is not disclosed, but he may be Michael the archangel, the great adversary of Satan (12:7; cf. Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9). Whoever the angel is, he possesses great power. He is sent to earth with a specific agenda: to seize Satan for the thousand-year duration of the kingdom, bind him, cast him into the abyss and seal it, and then release him at the end of the thousand years.

Abussos (abyss) appears seven times in Revelation (cf. 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8), always in reference to the temporary place of incarceration for certain demons. The abyss is not their final place of punishment; the lake of fire is (Matt. 25:41). Nevertheless it is a place of torment to which the demons fear to be sent (Luke 8:31). The prisoners in the abyss are among the most vile and evil of all demons and include the “spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah” (1 Pet. 3:19–20). Those demons, who attempted to corrupt the human race by cohabiting with human women (Gen. 6:1–4), will never be released (Jude 6). They will be transferred directly from their temporary incarceration in the abyss to their permanent place of punishment, the lake of fire (cf. Isa. 24:21–22). Other demons sentenced to the abyss will be released at the fifth trumpet judgment to torment sinners (9:1–12). (For further information on the abyss, see Revelation 1–11, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1999], 257–58.)

The key given to the angel by God signifies his delegated authority (cf. 9:1); he has the power to open the abyss, and then to shut it after casting Satan inside. The metaphor of binding demons with a chain also appears in Jude 6. This chain is a great one, because of Satan’s greatness and power as the highest created being (cf. Ezek. 28:14). The angel laid hold of Satan, who is unmistakably identified by the same four titles given him in 12:9. First, he is called the dragon, a title given him twelve times in Revelation (cf. 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:1, 2, 4; 16:13). It emphasizes his bestial nature, ferociousness, and oppressive cruelty. The title serpent of old hearkens back to the Garden of Eden and Satan’s temptation of Eve (Gen. 3:1–6; 2 Cor. 11:3). Diabolos (devil) means “slanderer,” or “malicious gossip” (1 Tim. 3:11; 2 Tim. 3:3; Titus 2:3)—an appropriate title for the “accuser of our brethren” (12:10). Satan is a malignant liar; in fact, he is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satanas (Satan) and its Hebrew root satan are used fifty-three times in Scripture. Both words mean “adversary,” since Satan opposes God, Christ, and all believers.

The length of the period for which Satan will be bound is defined as a thousand years, the first of six precise and important references to the duration of the Millennium (cf. vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Satan’s binding poses a serious difficulty for both postmillennialists and amillennialists. Amillennialists argue that Satan is already bound, since, as noted above, they believe we are in the Millennium now (though they do not view it as one thousand literal years in length). Many postmillennialists also believe that Satan is presently bound, because otherwise it is difficult to see how the church could usher in the Millennium. Yet the biblical description of Satan’s activity in this present age makes it impossible to believe he has already been bound. Satan plants lying hypocrites in the church (Acts 5:3), schemes against believers (2 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 6:11),disguises himself as an angel of light to deceive people (2 Cor. 11:14), attacks believers (2 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:27) and must be resisted (James 4:7), hinders those in the ministry (1 Thess. 2:18), and leads believers astray (1 Tim. 5:15). Amillennialists and postmillennialists generally argue that Satan was bound at the Cross, and that his binding simply means that he can no longer deceive the nations and keep them from learning God’s truth (e.g., Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 228]. But Satan did not keep the Gentile nations from the knowledge of the truth before his alleged binding at the Cross. The Egyptians heard about the true God from Joseph, and from the Israelites during the four hundred years they lived in Egypt. The Assyrians of Nineveh not only heard the truth from Jonah, but also repented (Matt. 12:41). The Queen of Sheba heard about the true God from Solomon (1 Kings 10:1–9); the Babylonians from Daniel and his Jewish friends; and the Persians from Esther, Mordecai, and Nehemiah. Further, in what sense is Satan restrained from deceiving the nations in the present age, since he blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4), “is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), and holds unbelievers captive (2 Tim. 2:26) in his kingdom (Col. 1:13)?

The testimony of Scripture is that Satan is anything but bound in this present age, but will be during the coming earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that he will be incarcerated in the abyss, which will be shut … and sealed … so that he cannot deceive the nations any longer. His activity in the world will not be merely restricted or restrained, but totally curtailed; he will not be permitted to influence the world in any way. As will be explained later, that does not mean that the living people in the Millennium will be incapable of sinning. Amazingly, a vast part of the population, born of the believers who alone entered the kingdom, will in that perfect environment love their sin and reject the King. They will be judged with a rod of iron (2:27; 12:5; Ps. 2:9), and those who engage in open rebellion under Satan’s leadership when the thousand years are completed and Satan must be released for a short time will be utterly destroyed (see the discussion of vv. 8–10 below).

THE REIGN OF THE SAINTS

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and 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 completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (20:4–6)

With Satan, his demon hosts, and all God-rejecting sinners out of the way, the millennial kingdom of peace and righteousness will be established. The supreme ruler in that kingdom will, of course, be the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (19:16), and “the Lord God will give Him [alone] the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32). Yet He has graciously promised that His saints will reign with Him. They will rule subordinately over every aspect of life in the kingdom, and being glorified and perfected, they will perfectly carry out His will.

In this vision, John sees the panorama of God’s people resurrected, rewarded, and reigning with Christ. He saw thrones, symbolizing both judicial and regal authority, and God’s people sat on them, and judgment was given to them. The glorified saints will both enforce God’s will and adjudicate disputes.

Several suggestions have been offered concerning the identity of the saints who sat on the thrones, but they can best be identified by determining who God promised would reign. Daniel 7:27 promises that the Old Testament saints will reign in the millennial kingdom: “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.” Jesus promised the apostles that “you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28). New Testament believers are also promised that they will reign with Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6:2 Paul wrote, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” while 2 Timothy 2:12 declares, “If we endure, we will also reign with Him.” In Revelation 2:26 Jesus promises, “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,” and in Revelation 3:21 He adds, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 5:10 makes it clear that the saints will reign on the earth, not in a spiritual sense or in the heavenly sphere: “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

The present passage introduces the last group of saints who will reign with Christ in His kingdom. As his vision continued, John saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. These are the martyred believers from the Tribulation (6:9; 7:9–17; 12:11). Pelekizō (beheaded) literally means, “to cut off with an axe,” and is a figure of speech meaning “to put to death,” or “to execute.” The empire of Antichrist exterminated Tribulation saints because of their testimony of Jesus (cf. 1:9; 12:17; 19:10), because they faithfully proclaimed the word of God (cf. 1:2; 6:9), and because they had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand (cf. 13:16–17; 14:9–11; 16:2; 19:20).

Because the Tribulation saints were faithful to the death, evidencing their true salvation (cf. Matt. 24:13; Col. 1:21–23; Heb. 3:14), they too came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Ez?san (they came to life) cannot refer to a spiritual resurrection (regeneration or the new birth), since the Tribulation martyrs were already spiritually alive. When used in connection with physical death, the root form of ez?san (za?) is used throughout the New Testament to describe physical, bodily resurrection (cf. 1:18; 2:8; 13:14; 20:5; Matt. 9:18; 27:63; Mark 5:23; Luke 24:23; John 11:25; Acts 1:3; 9:41; Rom. 14:9; 2 Cor. 13:4).

Then John adds the parenthetical footnote that the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. These are the unbelieving dead of all ages, whose resurrection to judgment and damnation is described in verses 11–15. John calls the resurrection of the saints from all ages the first resurrection. That resurrection is also called in Scripture the “resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14; Acts 24:15), the “resurrection of life” (John 5:29), the resurrection of “those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Cor. 15:23),and the “better resurrection” (Heb. 11:35). The use of anastasis (resurrection) offers further evidence that the resurrection described in verse 4 is a physical resurrection. The word is used forty-two times in the New Testament, always of a physical resurrection (except in Luke 2:34, where the context clearly demands another meaning).

The phrase blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection introduces the fifth of seven beatitudes in Revelation (cf. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 22:7, 14). Those who have a part in the first resurrection are blessed first of all because the second death has no power over them. The second death, defined in verse 14 as “the lake of fire,” is eternal hell. The comforting truth is that no true child of God will ever face God’s eternal wrath. “Having now been justified by His blood,” Paul wrote, “we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:9). To the Thessalonians he added, “Jesus … rescues us from the wrath to come…. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).

Those who participate in the first resurrection are also blessed because they will be priests of God and of Christ (cf. 1:6; 5:10). Believers are already “a royal priesthood,” called to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [them] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Believers now serve as priests by worshiping God and leading others to the knowledge of Him, and will also serve in that capacity during the millennial kingdom.

A final blessing for the participants in the first resurrection is that they will reign with the Lord Jesus Christ for a thousand years, along with believers who survived the Tribulation. Politically and socially, the rule of Christ and His saints will be universal (Ps. 2:6–8; Dan. 2:35), absolute (Ps. 2:9; Isa. 11:4), and righteous (Isa. 11:3–5). Spiritually, their rule will be a time when the believing remnant of Israel is converted (Jer. 30:5–8; Rom. 11:26) and the nation is restored to the land God promised to Abraham (Gen. 13:14–15; 15:18). It will be a time when the Gentile nations also will worship the King (Isa. 11:9; Mic. 4:2; Zech. 14:16). The millennial rule of Christ and the saints will also be marked by the presence of righteousness and peace (Isa. 32:17) and joy (Isa. 12:3–4; 61:3, 7). Physically, it will be a time when the curse is lifted (Isa. 11:7–9; 30:23–24; 35:1–2, 7), when food will be plentiful (Joel 2:21–27),and when there will be physical health and well-being (Isa. 33:24; 35:5–6), leading to long life (Isa. 65:20).

THE RETURN OF SATAN

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, (20:7)

As previously noted, Satan and his demon hordes will be imprisoned in the abyss for the duration of the Millennium, in which the Lord Jesus Christ will rule with unopposed sovereignty. They will not be permitted to interfere in the affairs of the kingdom in any way. Satan’s binding will end, however, when the thousand years are completed and he is released from his prison to lead a final rebellion of sinners.

To review briefly, Scripture teaches that no unsaved people will enter the kingdom. Only the redeemed from among the Jewish (12:6, 13–17; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:26) and Gentile (7:9–17) survivors of the Tribulation will go into the kingdom in their normal, physical bodies. The perfect environmental and social conditions of the Millennium, coupled with the lengthened life spans of those physically alive (Isa. 65:20), will cause their children to proliferate.

Though the initial inhabitants of the millennial kingdom will all be redeemed, they will still possess a sinful human nature. And as all parents have done since the Fall, they will pass that sin nature on to their offspring. Each successive generation throughout the thousand years will be made up of sinners in need of salvation. Many will come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But amazingly, despite the personal rule of Christ on earth, despite the most moral society the world will ever know, many others will love their sin and reject Him (cf. Rom. 8:7). Even the utopian conditions of the Millennium will not change the sad reality of human depravity. As they did during His incarnational presence on earth, sinners will refuse the grace and reject the lordship of the King of all the earth. That is not surprising, since even the perfect conditions of the Garden of Eden were not sufficient to keep sinless Adam and Eve from rebelling against God. The issue regarding salvation is never lack of information (cf. Rom. 1:18–20); it is love of sin (John 3:19). Those who openly rebel will face swift judgment (2:27; 12:5; 19:15; Ps. 2:9), including the withholding of rain on their land (Zech. 14:16–19). But enough unrepentant sinners will be alive at the end of the Millennium for Satan to lead a worldwide rebellion.

When Satan is loosed, he will provide the cohesive supernatural leadership needed to bring to the surface all the latent sin and rebellion left in the universe. He will pull together all the rebels, revealing the true character and intent of those Christ-rejecting sinners and making it evident that God’s judgment of them is just. Satan’s desperate wickedness and violent hatred of God and Christ will not be altered by his thousand years of imprisonment in the abyss. When he is released, he will immediately set about fomenting his final act of rebellion.

THE REVOLT OF SOCIETY

[Satan] will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (20:8–10)

At the end of his thousand-year imprisonment, Satan will come out to deceive the nations (cf. vv. 3, 10; 12:9). As noted above, Satan’s imprisonment cannot alter his God-hating nature. In fact, he will hate Christ more than ever. And as also noted above, Satan will find fertile soil in which to sow his seeds of rebellion. Many unsaved descendants of those who entered the millennial kingdom in their physical bodies (all of whom will be redeemed) will love their sin and reject Christ. They will be as unmoved by the peace, joy, and righteousness of the Millennium as sinners were by the devastating judgments of the Tribulation (cf. 9:20–21; 16:9,11,21).

The actual strategy and method of Satan’s deception is not revealed, but it will succeed in duping the unregenerate people of the world into revolting against the Lord Jesus Christ. His deception, however, will fit within God’s purpose, which, as noted above, is to manifest His justice when He destroys the rebels. Satan’s actions are always under God’s sovereign control (cf. Job 1:12; 2:6), and his gathering together of these wicked rebels will be no exception.

Satan will collect the deceived nations from the four corners of the earth (cf. 7:1; Isa. 11:12), an expression referring, not to a flat earth, but to the four main points of the compass: north, south, east, and west. In other words, the rebels will come from all over the globe.

John gives these enemies of the King of Kings the symbolic title Gog and Magog, naming them after the invasion force that will assault Israel during the Tribulation (Ezek. 38–39). Some believe that Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe this battle at the end of the Millennium. There are, however, significant differences that argue against equating the two events. Ezekiel 39:4 and 17 describe the invaders perishing on the mountains of Israel, but according to Revelation 20:9 the rebels at the end of the Millennium will be destroyed on a “broad plain.” Also, the language of Ezekiel 39:17–20 seems to be describing the same event depicted in Revelation 19:17–18. Finally, the events of Ezekiel 38–39 fit chronologically before the description of the millennial temple given in chapters 40–48, while the battle depicted in Revelation 20:7–10 takes place after the Millennium.

The name Gog appears to be used in Scripture as a general title for an enemy of God’s people (the Septuagint uses it to translate “Agag” in Num. 24:7). In Ezekiel 38–39, the name Gog describes the final Antichrist of the Tribulation. Most likely, then, Gog is used in verse 8 to describe the human leader of Satan’s forces. Some believe the people known as Magog to be the descendents of Noah’s grandson of that same name (Gen. 10:2). They later became known as the Scythians and inhabited the region north of the Black and Caspian Seas. Others identify them with a people who lived farther south in Asia Minor. Whoever the historical people known as Magog may have been, the term is used in this passage to describe the sinful rebels from all the nations who will gather together for the final war in human history.

Amazingly, John saw that the number of the rebels will be like the sand of the seashore—a figure of speech used in Scripture to describe a vast, uncountable multitude (Gen. 22:17; Josh. 11:4; Judg. 7:12; 1 Sam. 13:5; 1 Kings 4:20; Heb. 11:12). As previously noted, the ideal conditions of health, prosperity, safety, and peace that will prevail during the Millennium, coupled with the long life spans of its inhabitants, will lead to a massive population explosion. Incredibly, vast numbers of those people will join Satan in his final act of rebellion against God.

The earth’s topography will have been drastically reshaped by the catastrophic events of the Tribulation (cf. 16:20; Zech. 14:4, 9–11). That will allow the rebel forces to come up on the broad plain of the earth and surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Parembolē (camp) is used six times in Acts to describe a Roman military barrack (Acts 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32). The saints will be encamped around the beloved city of Jerusalem (cf. Pss. 78:68; 87:2), which is the place of Messiah’s throne and the center of the millennial world (cf. Isa. 24:23; Ezek. 38:12; 43:7; Mic. 4:7; Zech. 14:9–11), enjoying the glorious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 24:23; Jer. 3:17) when the attack comes.

Like Armageddon a thousand years earlier (19:11–21), the “battle” will in reality be an execution. As the rebel forces moved in for the attack, fire came down from heaven and devoured them. They will be swiftly, instantly, and totally exterminated. Sending fire … down from heaven is often the way God judges sinners (cf. Gen. 19:24; Lev. 10:2; 2 Kings 1:10, 12; Luke 9:54). Satan’s forces will be physically killed, and their souls will go into the realm of punishment, awaiting their final sentencing to eternal hell, which will take place shortly (20:11–15). Nor will their evil leader escape his fate: the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone. There he will join his cronies, the beast and the false prophet, who by that time will have been in that place of torment for a thousand years (19:20). That those two humans are still there after that time refutes the false doctrine of annihilationism.

Hell is a place of both mental (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28) and physical torment (14:10–11; Matt. 25:41; Mark 9:43–44; Luke 16:23–24). Those sentenced to that terrible place will be tormented day and night. There will not be a moment’s relief forever and ever. Scripture explicitly teaches that hell is eternal. The same Greek phrase translated forever and ever is used in 1:18 to speak of Christ’s eternity; in 4:9–10, 10:6, and 15:7 of God’s eternity; and in 11:15 of the duration of Christ’s reign. Unbelievers will “be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night” (14:10–11). Jesus taught that the punishment of the wicked is as eternal as the eternal life of the righteous (Matt. 25:46). He also taught that hell is a place of “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43), “where their worm does not die” (Mark 9:48). Second Thessalonians 1:9 teaches that the destruction of the wicked in hell stretches throughout all eternity. (For a summary of the arguments that the punishment in hell is eternal, see Richard L. Mayhue, “Hell: Never, Forever, or Just for Awhile?” The Master’s Seminary Journal 9 [Fall 1998]: 129–45. This entire issue of The Master’s Seminary Journal is devoted to the topic of the eternality of hell.)

Believers are already citizens of God’s kingdom (Phil. 3:20; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 2:12), blessed to be in fellowship with the King. But a glorious future inheritance awaits them, “imperishable and undefiled [which] will not fade away” (1 Pet. 1:4).