The One Thousand Year Reign of Christ

One of the most fought over parts of the Book of Revelation is the millennial or one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ. Eschatologists have their points of view. Some believe this reign has already been in effect when Jesus went to sit on throne beside His Father's in heaven, ""This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-- this Jesus whom you crucified." (Acts 2:33-36). While others believe that this one thousand year reign is forever and they cite, "for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.," (Psalm 50:10) which one thousand means all hills. But a thousand in Hebrew is all, but in Greek it is a fixed number and estimate (Revelation was written in Greek). In addition to this caveat, there are major details in Chapter Twenty of Revelation that lend light on what is actually happening. Let us take a encompassing look:

The Thousand Years (Revelation 20)

"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They 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 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 are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Notice that is says Satan will be bound for a thousand years and then released. A thousand cannot then be forever, because if Satan is released it is finite period of time. Also notice the thrones of those who judge in verse 4 which alludes to Christ's words, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matthew 19:28).

The Judgment of Satan

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

Here again is proof that the thousand year reign and binding of Satan cannot be infinite. Satan is seen raising an army for battle and then judged. This has to happen on this earth, because the New Heaven and New Earth are not created until Revelation 22, after this has all transpired.

The Judgment of the Dead

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."
(Revelation 20:1-15)

It is my eschatological view that Jesus Christ reigning for a thousand years is to fulfill the prophecies that say, "For this is what the LORD says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel," (Jeremiah 33:17) and "Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matthew 19:28). Christ already has been reigning in heavenly realm on a throne, "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God," (Mark 16:19) and "Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." (Hebrews 8:1). However, these verses do not fulfill what we read in Chapter twenty of Revelation, "They came to life and reigned with Christ 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 are those who share in the first resurrection." This has evidently not happened yet, or Jesus and first of the risen saints would be ruling from Jerusalem right now. This also raises an interesting question, there are two resurrections, and those who are in first resurrection and reign with Jesus are more blessed, could this be why Jesus says, "endure to the end and you shall be saved?" Does this mean for those believers who stood firm and did not bow to the beast, or compromise in their lives for Christ unto death (Revelation 12:11) will have this special privilege of reigning? The Scripture affirms this to be so (Revelation 20:4).

Jesus Christ's first coming was as "The Suffering Servant" (Isaiah 53). The Second Coming will be "The King of Kings," (Revelation 19:16). From reading chapter twenty of Revelation, Jesus reigns from the throne in Jerusalem, the city that actually exists today. From there our Lord and Savior shall reign for one thousand years before establishing the New Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21:1), and the New Jerusalem descends from the heavens (Revelation 21:2). With this in mind, we then understand that when "Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen," (Revelation 1:7), "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory," (Matthew 24:30), and "On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south," (Zachariah 14:4), is a Christ coming to rule for one thousand years in the Jerusalem of our world today. This then means the holy city is going to have a major part to play in the Prince of Peace's plans. It is in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) that God died on cross and rose from the dead, and it is there that He shall descend and rule for a millennium before making a New Heaven and Earth, and coming of New Jerusalem (see Revelation 21).

There is much speculation surrounding what these thousand years will entail. The devil is bound in chains during this time, so he will not be tempting us. Will there be generations who have been born and have never known temptation? What shall we as saints and believers be doing? Shall believers bask in glory of the Lamb or will we be helping harvesting souls while there is still time before the Last Judgment that comes after the thousand years? (Revelation 20:11-15). Will this be a time when we judge the angels?: "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!" (1 Corinthians 6:3). It seems these questions are likely, because of the timeline in Chapter Twenty through Twenty Two of Revelation. It puzzles me why so many think Revelation is confusing, when if you examine it carefully, the time of events becomes clear. What happens in Revelation is that "Chapters One through Nine summarize, and then the subsequent chapters tell all of it in detail and symbolism" (Dr. Ken Wonderly, SBC).

The facts are that Christ Jesus shall reign and rule over Jerusalem as it stands today for a thousand years. There will be a remnant of Christians who have not bowed to Beast (Rev 20:3-5) who will be resurrected first and reign with Jesus. Are these the ones who will suffer through Tribulation and who have been demeaned as Left Behind? Scripture indicates in contrast to the authors of Left Behind, that these people who go through the Tribulation and do not waver  are more blessed! (Rev 20:6). Beyond this, we can be excited about visiting present day Jerusalem because if you touch the stone walls, walk the paved streets, and enjoy the many churches, those same places will be there when Christ returns and will be standing for a thousand years! We already can touch and be where Christ walked, ministered, was crucified, died, and rose from dead; but in addition we can visit where He will return and reign for one thousand years!