In this message Brian seeks to unpack the Biblical revelation in Revelation 20 concerning the millennial reign of Christ and His people. In doing so, He shows how a symbolic interpretation of Revelation 20 harmonizes beautifully with the rest of the clear teaching of Scripture on the second coming of Christ.

The Millennial Reign Of Christ and His People

Revelation 20:4-6

This morning we come to the Biblical passage that has divided so many Christians. This is the passage that speaks of the 1,000 years. Remember, that the Latin word for 1,000 years is millennium. That’s why we speak of the millennial reign of Christ.  All Christians divide into 3 major camps over this passage.  Remember, that Revelation 20 is the only place in the Bible that speaks of a millennium.

Premillennialists.  Their view is that the 1,000 years will take place after Christ returns, and the 1,000 years should be understood literally.  They believe that glorified saints will be living right along with Tribulation saints that have normal human bodies. Of course, people in glorified bodies can’t sin, feel pain, get sick, or die. Their experience will be the opposite of the tribulation saints who will sin, get sick, feel pain, and die.  These tribulation saints will have children during the 1,000 years, and there will be so many unbelievers at the end of the 1,000 years that they will surround the camp of the saints in order to destroy them, and Jesus must send fire from heaven to save them.  In addition, the Premillennialist believes that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt and animal sacrifices will be offered again in it. The Premillennialist believes in several different resurrections and judgments:  at the Rapture of church saints, 7 years later at the Second Coming of Tribulation martyrs and Old Testament saints, and then a resurrection of the lost after the 1,000 years.  However, this morning I hope to show you that the Bible teaches one general judgment of all people at one time.

Postmillennialists.  Their view is very similar to the Amillennialist, except that they believe that before Christ returns, there will be a long Golden Age, in which the gospel triumphs all over the world, and most of the world is converted.  Some Postmillennialists take the 1,000 years literally, and believe those years will take place at the end of church history almost up to the return of Christ. Other Postmillenialists take the 1,000 years symbolically as just a long indefinite period of time.

Amillennialists.  Their view is that the 1,000 years is not a statistical number, but a symbolic number for a long indefinite period of time. The millennium spans nearly the same time period as the church age. The millennium will end a short time before Christ returns. During that short time, Satan is able to deceive the nations so that they exert an all out war upon the saints in order to exterminate them, but are destroyed by the second coming of Christ.

As a young Christian, I was taught the Premillennial view. In fact, I did not realize there was any other view, until many years later.  For the first twelve years of my Christian life, I accepted the Premillennial view taught by the churches I attended. Later in 1991, I was pastoring a small Bible church in Milpitas, and did a deep dive into the study of last things, and discovered that the Bible taught a single resurrection and judgment that takes place at the second coming of Christ. That forced me to change my belief system. I found myself embracing the Amillennial view of the second coming of Christ.

If all that sounds very complicated, it’s because it is! However, I hope it will become clearer as we go through this passage this morning.

1. Who Reigns During The Millenium? (20:4)

Thrones.  What kind of a person sits on a throne?  A king, or prince, or some kind of royalty.  Do we see anyone sitting on a throne in the book of Revelation apart from God?  Yes we do. Revelation 4:4 “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”  The word “thrones” occurs 2 other times in Revelation.  Both of those times it refers to the 24 Elders who sit upon the 24 thrones.  That is who I believe are sitting on these thrones here in Revelation 20:4.  But who are the 24 Elders. They are a symbolic representation of God’s people throughout history.  The number 24 calls to mind the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and the 12 apostles in the New Testament. It also calls to mind the fact that there 24 orders of priests that served in the temple (1 Chronicles 24). We are told in 20:6 that these same people will be priests of God and of Christ.

Souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.  This is speaking about the martyrs; those who died to maintain a faithful testimony to Jesus Christ.  It has been estimated that millions of Christians have died as martyrs since the time of Christ.

And those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand.  As we have discussed in earlier studies, from God’s vantage point, every person in the world has some kind of mark on them.  Either you are marked out by the seal of the Holy Spirit, or you have the mark of the beast.  Either you give your mind (forehead) and actions (hand) to do Satan’s will, or you give your mind and actions to do God’s will.  This vision is pointing to those who would not give their lives to serving Satan or those who represent him, but determined to serve God alone.

So, who reigns during the millennium?  Of course, Christ does. 20:4 says “they reigned with Christ a thousand years.”  But who reigns with Christ?   Believers.  Saints.  Christians.

2. What Do They Reign Over?

Ephesians 2:5-6 says that when God made us alive together with Christ, He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

The Believer Reigns Over Sin:

Romans 5:17 “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

Romans 6:6-7 “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”

Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

The Believer Reigns Over Satan:

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”

James 4:7  “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Mark 16:17 “In My name they will cast out demons”

The comedian Flip Wilson used to say “The devil made me do it.”  However, the devil can’t make you do it any more, since you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

The Believer Reigns Over The World

1 John 5:5 “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Yes, it is true that we do not reign over these entities perfectly.  Our indwelling sin, Satan, and the world do give us trouble, and sometimes out of weakness or ignorance we submit to them. However, the big picture is that God has enabled the believer to reign over the world, the flesh and the devil. That’s what the Bible means by sanctification.

3. Why Are They Able To Reign?

They Came To Life and Reigned. There is the key. They were able to reign because they came to life.

This is the first resurrection.  John speaks of the “first resurrection.”  First must mean there will be a second. This is the reason why Premillennialists believe there will be more than one physical resurrection of the body.

However, is John speaking about multiple bodily resurrections?  What does the Bible elsewhere teach about this subject?

Acts 24:15 “having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”  Notice that Paul did not believe there would be more than one bodily resurrection. He speaks of a single resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”  Here we have a single hour in which all, those committing the good deeds, and those committing the evil deeds are all resurrected to judgment.

Matthew 25:31-46.  In this passage all mankind (all the nations will be gathered before Him) are judged.  This presupposes that all these people have been resurrected to be judged and receive their eternal sentencing.  Jesus tells the sheep to “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  He tells the goats, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…”  He ends this teaching in verse 46 by saying, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  It is clear then, that all mankind are resurrected bodily, judged and sentenced to heaven or hell by Jesus Christ at the same time.

The Bible teaches one single general resurrection and judgment of all men at the second coming of Christ.

Well, if that is true, then what is the first resurrection, and what would be the second resurrection?  A resurrection is simply someone dead coming alive again.

Well, remember that the human author of Revelation is John. He is also the author of the gospel of John.  Let’s look into the gospel of John, because fortunately he explains himself further on this issue in his gospel.

John 5:24-25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life.  Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

Now there are similarities between the resurrection in 5:24-25 and the resurrection in 5:28-29, but there are also some stark differences.

The Similarities.

Both these passages speak of someone coming to life.  John 5:24 says they “have passed out of death into life.”  5:25 says that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

John 5:28-29 speaks of all those in the tombs hearing Jesus’ voice and coming forth from the tombs to be judged.

The Differences. 

In 5:28-29, Jesus speaks of those tombs.  Jesus makes no mention of being in the tombs in 5:24-25.

In 5:28-29, Jesus says “an hour is coming.”  In 5:24-25 Jesus says, “An hour is coming, and now is…”  The resurrection Jesus is talking about in 5:24-25 was something that was happening already. He says in 5:24 “has passed out of death into life.”  It has already happened. The one in 5:28-29 is reserved for His second coming.

In 5:24-25 Jesus speaks of those who hear His word and believe Him who sent Him. It is conditional.  The result is that they have eternal life.  In 5:28-29 there is no mention of faith being necessary to experience eternal life. This resurrection is not conditioned on believing.

When Jesus is speaking in 5:24-25 He is speaking about a spiritual resurrection.  In 5:28-29 He is speaking about a bodily resurrection.  When a person hears the gospel and believes it, he experiences a resurrection of the soul.  At the second coming of Christ, all people will experience a resurrection of the body.

What is the first death?  Genesis 2:17.  God said, “In the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”  When Adam and Even ate the forbidden fruit, did they die?  Not physically. They lived on for hundreds of more years. But they did die spiritually. Their soul died. They were separated from God.

Ephesians 2:1 says that we were dead in trespasses and sins. 1 Timothy 5:6 says “But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.”  Since the first death is the death of the human soul, it is the soul that must be resurrected first.

But how is the soul resurrected? How does it come alive?  Look at Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ…”  The way we who were dead in sins were made alive, was by being united to Christ. Christ had already been resurrected. He is the first fruits of those who are asleep. When the believer is united to Christ, He experiences the same resurrection life that Jesus possesses. It happens the same way that a dead branch that is grafted into a living tree experiences the life that is in the tree coursing through it.

But how does a person get united to Christ?  How does He get “in Christ”?  1 Corinthians 1:30-31 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  God does this! God unites us to Christ.  That’s why we are saved by grace, and not our own doing.

So, how does a person know if they have received this resurrection of the soul?  John says in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren.”  That is one evidence that you have been resurrected spiritually. There are others. Read 1 John and you will discover several more.

So, to summarize the first resurrection is the resurrection of the soul. It God uniting the sinner to Christ so that he is made alive together with Him. It is a person who is dead in trespasses and sins receiving spiritual life, the very life of Christ.

When, then is the second resurrection?  It is the resurrection of the body. Everyone will experience the second resurrection, but only the elect experience the first resurrection. That’s why Revelation 20:6 says, “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power…”  The one who is born again and experiences this resurrection of the soul is blessed, highly favored by God. He is also holy. He has been set apart by God from sin to Christ.  He is a saint.  The greatest reason he is so blessed is because the second death has no power over him. Revelation 20:14 tells us that the second death is the lake of fire. This is telling us that if you experience the new birth, you will never go to hell! It has no power over those who experience this spiritual resurrection of the soul.

4. Where Are They When They Reign?

Revelation 20:4 says “… and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”  They begin to reign as soon as they come to life. They come to life as they live here on the earth. They experience this reign over sin, Satan, and the world now. But soon their body dies and their soul is translated to heaven, and they continue to live and reign with Christ from heaven.

Thrones.  Where are these thrones located?  Elsewhere in Revelation, the 24 Elders sit on 24 thrones, but those thrones are always located in heaven – Rev. 4:10; 5:8; 11:16.

Souls.  Interestingly, John does not see the bodies of these people. He sees their souls. That would tell us that He is seeing them in heaven after they have died on earth, but before the second coming of Christ. John sees others like them in 6:9-10, “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  This is taking place in heaven, but during the Intermediate State – the time between the first and second comings of Christ.

So, where are they when they reign?  They begin to reign through grace as they follow Christ while living on the earth. But when they die, their souls are translated to heaven where they continue to reign with Christ.

Conclusion

1. The Bible Does Not Teach An Earthly Millennium after the Second Coming of Christ. There is nothing in this passage about an earthly millennial reign of Christ. Nothing about a rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion, or an Old Testament sacrificial system restored or a Levitical priesthood reinstated. All of the elements of the millennium that we have been told will exist during the 1,000 years are strangely absent from the only passage that describes it!

Peter did not believe in or teach an earthly millennium after the second coming of Christ. 2 Peter 3:10,13 says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up… But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”  Elsewhere in the New Testament, the “day of the Lord” is a phrase referring to the day in which Jesus returns. It stands for the second coming of Christ. But according to Peter, what happens when Christ returns?  The heavens pass away and the earth and its worked are burned up. Peter doesn’t say that when He returns the earth continues on for 1,000 more years. Further, He says that we as Christians are looking not for an earthly millennium. We are looking for new heavens and a new earth. It appears that Peter knew nothing about an earthly millennium after Christ returned.

Paul did not believe in or teach an earthly millennium. 1 Corinthians 15:23-26, “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”  So here Paul says Jesus will come back, and then is the end when all Christ’s enemies will be abolished. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. But if death is abolished at the second coming of Christ, how can we have a millennium after He comes back in which people live and die?  We can’t.

Jesus did not believe in or teach an earthly millennium.  In His explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus says at the end of the age, all the wicked will be gathered and thrown into the furnace of fire (Hell), and the righteous will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Heaven).  In other words, when Jesus returns, all men are sent to Heaven or Hell. There is no mention of an earthly millennium that takes place after Jesus returns. Jesus says exactly the same thing in the parable of the Dragnet in Mt. 13:47-50.

In Matthew 25 all the world is gathered before Him when He comes in His glory, and He separates them into two groups (Sheep and Goats), and receives the sheep into His kingdom but banishes the goats to eternal punishment. There is no mention of an earthly millennial kingdom after Christ returns. It appears that Jesus knew nothing about this doctrine.

Jesus, Paul, James, and John all write about the second coming of Christ, but none of them refer to an earthly millennium. If all of the writers of the Bible did not believe in or teach this concept of the millennium, we shouldn’t believe in it or teach it either.

Therefore, let’s not look forward to an earthly millennium. Let’s look forward to Christ’s return! Let’s prepare for Heaven now. Let’s look forward to the New Heavens and New Earth.

2. Reign with Christ Now! If you have come to life spiritually, then exercise your authority as His child to reign in life!

Don’t let sin reign over you, because you are not under Law but under grace! (Rom.6:12,14)

Don’t let Satan be master over you, because you have been rescued out of the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Col.1:13)

Don’t let the world be master over you, for the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God overcomes the world (1 Jn. 5:5).

If we are mastered by the world, the flesh, or the devil, it is only because we let it happen. It is not because it must happen!

I will close with this verse from Romans 5:17 “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”  Are you reigning in life brothers and sisters?  That is your birthright. Take up your authority and reign as a child of God over the world, the flesh and the devil today!

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