Bound Him for a Thousand Years – Revelation 20

BOUND HIM FOR A THOUSAND YEARS:

The Now & Future Reign of Christ

Revelation

Revelation 20

THE TEXT:

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. ² And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

 

⁷ And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹ And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, ¹⁰ and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

 

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

At the end of the Return of the King, when Mordor sends out its armies to defeat the free people of Middle Earth, Gandalf takes a deep breath and says, “The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time.”

That’s how I’ve felt all week approaching Revelation 20. In case you are unfamiliar with this chapter of the Bible, you may be interested to know that this is the most controversial and debated chapter in Revelation, period.

And the controversy boils down to this question: Is the 1,000 years described in Revelation 20 a present or future reality?

Christians who love Jesus have debated this question vigorously for 2,000 years. Today, rather than explaining all the different views, and likely confusing everyone here by jumping around, I’m merely going to explain and preach my own approach to this passage. I’m sure there will be plenty of time this coming week to field all your questions.

Before we delve too deeply, let me give you the snapshot version of my view:

I believe that the 1,000 year period in Revelation 20 symbolically describes a present reality. Specifically, I believe that the binding of Satan happened in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 2,000 years ago, and because he is bound, he cannot prevent the progress of the gospel in all the earth. The saints in heaven right now are experiencing the perfect rule of Christ, and at the end of this age, Satan will be allowed to deceive again in a final revolt against Christ. Christ will return to defeat his enemies, who will be condemned to the Lake of Fire. And the last enemy, Death itself will be destroyed.

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

As we consider this chapter, we’ll do so under 4 headings:

1. SATAN IS BOUND (20:1-3)
2. THE SAINTS REIGN (20:4-6)
3. SATAN IS DECEIVES & IS DEFEATED (20:7-10)
4. DEATH DIES (20:11-15)

1. SATAN IS BOUND (20:1-3)

 What do I mean that Satan is bound, and how can that possibly be a present reality? I mean, look at how bad the world is!

If you look back at verse 3 you read that Satan has been bound or a reasons:

“so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended.”

This binding of Satan does not prevent him from doing anything. He is bound in order that the gospel may go forward into the nations in power. He is no longer able to hold the nations in his grip of deception. In this age, the gospel, attended by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, goes into all the earth redeeming, delivering, and saving people from every tribe tongue and nation.

And I believe the rest of the New Testament supports this understanding:

Colossians 2:13-15

¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Do you see what Paul is saying? The cross was the pivotal event of history. At the cross, Jesus Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities.

The Apostle John, the author of Revelation, in his 1^st letter wrote this:

⁸ Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Friends, Jesus himself spoke just like this in Mark 3. Jesus had been casting out demons and the religious leaders accused him of being the devil. Jesus responds by asking why Satan would cast out his own demons, and then he adds this:

²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

Do you see what Jesus is saying? Why did he come? Why the exorcisms? Why the cross? In his first appearing Jesus came to bind the devil, and at the cross he disarmed the ruler of this age.

Now listen: this does not mean that Satan is totally powerless in all his schemes. It means that he is no longer able to hold all of the nations in deception. He cannot prevent the power of the gospel from reaching the nations.

Think of it this way. By 1944 the Nazi war-machine had overrun Europe and was threatening to conquer England. The British army had been evacuated from Dunkirk and the Luftwaffe had bombed London. The war wasn’t officially over until September 2, 1945, but the decisive battle of the war was launched on June 6, 1944 when the allied forces crossed the English channel and landed at Normandy. We know it as D-Day. From that moment on, once the beach head was secured, the allied victory was as good as won.

In the same way, the cross and the resurrection act as the D-Day of history. At that moment, the tide turned. At that moment, the enemy was disarmed. At that moment, the victory of the gospel was etched in stone.

It doesn’t mean there aren’t skirmishes until Christ’s return. It does mean that the church now advances on the gates of hell.

One other question in these first three verses: what is the meaning of the 1,000 years? Didn’t the death and resurrection happen 2,000 years ago? Well, friends, I believe that the number 1,000, like the rest of the numbers in Revelation is a symbol. Most of the numbers in Revelation are very small: 3, 7, 24.

Modern people are used to extremely large numbers. We count our national debt in trillions. But in the ancient world, 1,000 was an astronomically large number. To us, it would be like saying a trillion years. I think the number 1,000 is symbolic of a very long time period stretching between Christ’s resurrection and ascension 2,000 years ago, and his return at the end of this age.

So, we have seen that Satan is bound. Now, let’s consider that…

2. THE SAINTS REIGN (20:4-6)

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Before we try to understand exactly what this means, consider for a moment, how this passage would have sounded to Christians at the end of the first century. At that time Christians were a tiny minority in an oppressive empire. They were called to a life of marginalization, ostracism, and persecution. As Domitian began putting more Christians to death under his state-sponsored persecution consider how encouraging this passage would have been.

Every time Domitian fed another Christian to the lions, it appeared as if the power of the beast was greater than the power of Christ. It appeared as if the Emperor was one step closer to extinguishing the church.

But it turns out that it is impossible to defeat Christians. The execution which ended their physical life on earth, only served to establish and seat them on thrones of perpetual authority with Christ.

Friends, who are the saints who reign for this 1,000 years? They are all the saints, from from the first martyr Stephen, all the way up to Betty Ann Stone of Lake Wylie Baptist Church who have died and who now experience the perfect reign of Jesus Christ in heaven.

The moment their earthly life ended, the moment it seemed as if the gospel wasn’t strong enough—was the very moment they entered the presence and the glory of the all-surpassing bliss of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

The strife was over. The clouds behind. Life secured. And the temporary and temporal affliction, suffering, and death they endured aren’t worth comparing to the eternal weight of glory they now enjoy.

⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

What I believe John is showing us is this: while there is only one physical resurrection at the end of this age, at the return of Christ… the saints who physically die in this age live on. They have experienced a kind of resurrection already. That shouldn’t surprise us since the salvation of a Christian is already spoken of in terms of new life, and regeneration.

Just as there are two deaths, a spiritual death that Adam experienced the day he sinned, and a physical death centuries later, Revelation 20 shows us that the resurrection life of a Christian happens in two successive stages: a spiritual resurrection and a bodily resurrection at the end of the age.

Tragically, this passage also shows us that while Christians experience both a spiritual and a physical resurrection, the lost, unbelievers, do not. They do not receive a spiritual resurrection, at the end of the age they are physically resurrected only to judgement (John 5:29)

3. SATAN IS DECEIVES & IS DEFEATED (20:7-10)

Beginning in verse 7, we are shown what happens at the end of this age: Satan will be unbound. He will be allowed, one final time, to deceive the nations, and he will gather them together to war against God.

This war, often referred to as Armageddon, is the same war we saw in Revelation 16 & 19. All of these are different description of the same battle at the return of Christ.

It’s important to note here, that leading up to the return of Christ, things don’t get better and better. Immediately preceding Christ’s return they get worse and worse. As George Ladd says, Satan’s success in leading the nations of the earth into rebellion “makes it plain that the ultimate root of sin is not poverty or inadequate social conditions or an unfortunate environment; it is the rebelliousness of the human heart.” (Ladd, 269)

We’re told this rebellious army is symbolically referred to as Gog and Magog and that their number is like the sand of the sea. In other words, by all human means of accounting, this ought to be an easy fight for them to win. They surround the people of God, and when it appears that the church will be defeated, this final rebellion is thrown down as quickly as it is summoned. In fact, John dedicated 9 words (in the English) to their demise:

but fire came down from heaven and consumed them

This fire, I believe is the return of Christ, and I believe this is what Paul referenced in 2 Thessalonians 1:7:

when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ¹⁰ when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

At this point, Satan, the beast and the false prophet from Revelation 13 are thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the final and everlasting condemnation of the enemies of Christ.

Friend, Satan doesn’t win. The beastly governments of this world who oppress the people of God and who demand ungodly submission—they do not win. In the end, they don’t even pose a threat to the returning King. In the end Jesus Christ will return and he will set all things to rights.  He will bind up every wound. He will set every broken bone. He will tie up every loose end.

I know I’m stretching it with two Lord of the Rings illustrations in one sermon, but bear with me. In the novel, everyone is wondering how they can possibly defeat all of the powerful dark enemies surrounding them. Yet they are reminded:

“it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”

What are you doing today to uproot the evil in the fields that you know? Friend, begin with your own heart. Have you recognized and admitted that you yourself are a sinner: that the brokenness of this world is partly of your own making?

And yet, there is a redeemer, who has already come to this earth, and died in your place. You have heard about him all morning. Will you not come to him in humility, admit your sin, and cast yourself upon his mercy?

Christian, what fields in your home, your career, your parenting have you allowed the weeds of sin to grow and spread? Have you harbored bitterness towards another? Have you been dealing falsely with your clients? Has your anger been left uncontrolled?

It is not our part to defeat Satan—Christ will do that when he comes. But it is our part to mortify our own sinfulness by the grace of Christ.

4. DEATH DIES (20:11-15)

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

We are back to where we began in chapters 4 & 5. God’s throne—the center of all things. We see a similar description to the final judgement that we read back in 6:14 & 16:20.

On that day, no one will be able to hide, deceive, or run away. John says that even the earth and the sky couldn’t find a place to hide from the all-seeing and searching eyes of the eternal judge.

¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

On the last day, we will all stand before and give an account to God. The books will be opened. The books here reference God’s perfect, comprehensive, and exhaustive knowledge and memory of all things. In other words, not a single deed done from Adam to the very moment of this judgment will escape notice.

I want to be extremely clear on this point: everyone will be judged according to their works. But no one, not one single person will be declared to be right with God based on their own deeds. This is why the book of life is mentioned as well.

Because no one earns their way into eternal life. No one earns their way into God’s love. No one earns their way out of death. The book of life contains the names of those who even though they are sinners—they have believed in Jesus Christ as the only sinless one who died for their sins. And therefore, they are not made right with God on their own merit, but by faith in the merits of Christ.

And when a Christian does that – their obedience to God do not earn God’s favor—their obedience to the Law only serves as evidence that they have already passed from death into life.

¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

What John tells us here matches up perfectly with what the Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15:22-26:

²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Church, I long to see this say. As much as I want to see Satan defeated… as much as I want to hear my own name read from the book of life… I long to see Death die.

I’ve pastored you now for 8 years. I have buried your fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives, and children. I have stood by sickbeds and tombs with you. Every week we confess our faith in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

I can’t wait for the day when all the saints of Lake Wylie Baptist Church stand together by the tomb of Death itself.

 I can’t wait for the day when Jesus Christ will give to you the perfect consolation and comfort that a pastor can only hope to imitate.

No more hospital visits. No more assisted living. No more hospice.

Only the eternal joy of Christ in his Father’s house.

The mortal parts.

Immortal comes,

Corruption flees our hearts.

Our death is His.

His life is ours.

Eternal life to start.

No more the grave can wield its sting,

No more is death our foe.

Our souls can now with gladness sing.

Now gone all curse and woe.

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