Revelation 20:1-10

1,000 YEARS OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

Intro: This chapter is surrounded by controversy. The controversy swirls around the use of the words “thousand years” in verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The controversy concerns the 1,000 year period we call the Millennium.

      There are three dominant views concerning the nature of the Millennium.

1.)  Postmillennialism - This view says that the world will get better and better and when the world has reached the proper stage of perfection, Jesus will return and establish His kingdom on earth. This was a very popular view prior to World War II.  Nearly anyone can look at this world and all the wickedness and evil and see that the world is getting worse and not better. This is a false view of the Millennium. 

2.)  Amillennialism – There are several variations of this view. The primary version says that there is no literal millennial kingdom. The kingdom of God is spiritual in nature and we are really in the kingdom age right now. Many who hold this view believe that Satan is bound right now. The Amillennial view spiritualizes these verses. This is also a false view of the Millennium. (Ill. A branch of Amillennialism known as Preterism believes the Tribulation has already occurred and that Jesus has already returned. The Preterist believes that Jesus returned in 70 AD and established His kingdom then. Their belief system is far more complex than that, but that is the gist of it.)

3.)  Premillennialism - This view holds that humanity will continue to degenerate; the world will go through a literal Tribulation; Jesus will return and defeat the Antichrist and establish a literal kingdom on the earth and reign here for 1,000 years. This is the only view that takes these verses literally. It is my opinion that this is the only true view of the millennium. 

      It is my belief that these verses comprise the fulfillment of many great Old and New Testament promises and prophecies. It is my belief that these verses tell us about a literal 1,000 kingdom that will exist on this earth. It is my belief that these verses describe the final kingdom that will exist in time.

      Why is there even a need for the millennium? Why not just wind it all up, judge sin and sinners and let the redeemed enter into eternity? The millennium will allow the Lord to accomplish some much needed goals. Among other things, the millennium will allow the Lord to:

·         To fulfill His Old Testament promises of a kingdom to Israel.

·         To put Jesus, in all His glory, on public display.

·         To answer the prayer, “Thy Kingdom come.”

·         To fulfill the promise that the saints will reign.

·         To bring about the complete redemption of nature.

·         To give man one final test under the sovereign rule of the Lord Jesus Christ.

While there are many great truths associated with the millennial kingdom, too many to share in one message, let me share a few of the things that will be a reality then.

·         Peace – All wars will cease. (Isa.2:4; 9:4-7; 32:17-18; 33:5-6; 55:12; 60:18; Eze.28:26; 34:25, 28; Hos.2:18; Micah 4:2-3; Zech.9:10)

·         Joy – The King’s subjects will be happy. (Isa.12:3-6; 14:7-8; 25:8-9; 61:7,10; 65:18-19; 66:10-14; Jer.31:18-19; Zeph.3:14-17; Zech.10:6-7)

·         Holiness - This kingdom will be a holy kingdom. There will be rebellion, but King Jesus will rule with a rod of iron, Rev. 19:15. Capital punishment will be enforced. (Isa. 31:6-7; 35:8-9; 60:21; 61:10; Eze.36:24-31; 37:23-24; Zech.8:3; 14:20-21)

·         Glory - This kingdom will be a glorious kingdom, with the glory of God in full display. All the citizens of the world will be able to travel to Jerusalem and see the glorified Savior face to face! (Isa. 4:2; 35:2; 40:5; 60:1-9)

·         Comfort - Jesus will fully minister to every need, so that there will be no want anywhere on the earth. (Isa 12:1-2; 30:26; 40:1-2; 49:13; 51:3; 66:21-23; Jer.31:23-25; Zeph.3:18-20)

·         Justice - Perfect justice will be administered to every individual. (Isa. 9:7; 32:16; 42:1-4; 65:21-23; Jer.23:5.)

·         Fullness Of Knowledge - An increase in the teaching ministry of the Holy Ghost  will result in enhanced mental capabilities. (Isa. 11:1-2, 9; Isa. 41:19-20; *54:13*; Hab.2:14)

·         Instruction – King Jesus will instruct His people in the ways of God. (Isa. 2:2-3; 29:17-24; 32:3-4; Jer.3:14-15; Micah 4:2)

·         The Removal of the Curse - In Gen. 3:17-19, God placed a curse upon the earth. This curse will be removed; resulting in an increase in the productivity of the earth, and in wild animals will losing their ferocity and ability to injure or kill. (Isa 11:6-9; 65:25).

·         Sickness Removed - The King will be a healer, so that sickness and death will vanish from the earth. Death will only exist as a punishment for extreme sin. (Isa 33:24; Jer.30:17; 33:6)

·         Healing of the deformed - All deformity will be healed. (Isa.29:17-19; 35:3-6)

·         Protection - There will be a supernatural preservation of life during the millennium. (Isa.41:8-14; 62:8-9; Jer. 23:6; Joel 3:16-17; Amos 9:15; Zech.9:8; 14:10-11)

·         No Oppression - There will be no social, political, racial or religious oppression in that day. (Isa.14:3-6; 42:6-7; 49:8-9; Zech.9:11-12)

·         No Immaturity - It seems that there will be no mental retardation or dwarfed bodies, extreme longevity will also be restored. (Isa.65:20)

·         Reproduction by the Living People - The living Tribulation saints and believing Jews who enter the millennium will reproduce. The population of the earth will soar. Yet, all children will be born with a sin nature, and will therefore need salvation. (Jer.30:20; 31:29; Eze.47:22)

·         Labor - A perfect economic system, in which all needs will be met by the labor of men under direction of the King. It will be a fully industrialized world. (Isa. 62:8-9; 65:21-23; Jer.31:5)

·         Economic Prosperity - The perfect labor situation will produce economic abundance, so that there will be no want. (Isa.35:1-2, 7; 30:23-25; Jer.31:5; 12; Eze 34:26; 36:29-30; *Joel 2:21-27* *Amos 9:13-14*; Zech.8:11-12)

·         Increase of Light - The will be an increase in solar and lunar light, this will produce longer growing seasons, accounting for the increase in productivity. (Isa.30:26)

·         Unified Language - All language barriers will be removed. (Zeph.3:9)

·         Unified Worship - The entire world will worship God through the Lord Jesus Christ. (Isa.45:23; 66:17-23; Zeph.3:9; Zech.14:16; 8:23; Mal.1:11)

·         The fullness of the Spirit - All who are subject to the King will experience divine enablement and presence. (Isa.44:3; Eze.36:26-27; 37:14; Joel 2:28-29)

      Those are just a few of the glories of that future kingdom. Let’s take a few minutes to study these verses today. They tell us about a time we will call 1,000 Years Of Heaven On Earth.

 

  I.  v. 1-3      A PROPHECY INVOLVING SATAN

A.  v. 1-2  A Heavenly Intervention – a strong angel descends from Heaven and “laid hold on” the devil. That phrase means “to have power over; to be one’s master”. This angel is empowered by heaven to be the devil’s master. He grabs Satan and binds him with a strong chain that will remain on him for 1,000 years. There is no disputing who the Bible is speaking about in these verses. He is called “the dragon”; “that old serpent”; “the devil” and “Satan”. Those names reveal all we need to know about his character. As a dragon Satan is looking for those he might devour. As a serpent he is ever seeking those he might deceive. As the devil is the false accuser, always looking for someone to defame. As Satan, the adversary, he is always seeking someone to defeat. One day, he will get what is coming to him!

      From all appearances it seems that the devil is willing the war between good and evil. But, as they say, “appearances can be deceiving”. God will have the last word in this matter. Satan is powerful, but he isn’t all-powerful! Only God can lay claim to that title!

B.  v. 3  A Heavenly Incarceration – This angel removes the devil from the earth for 1,000 years. Imagine a world with no devil! It will be almost like Heaven! There will no one to tempt people to evil. No one will whisper lies into the ears of our minds. No one will remind us of how wicked we were and are. No will to set traps for us to fall into. A world without the devil will be a wonderful place! Without a devil peace, prosperity, joy, holiness and blessing will be the order of the day!

      While the earth will rejoice in his absence, the devil will be getting a small taste of what awaits him in eternity. We are told that he will go to the “bottomless pit”. This term translates the word “abyss”. This seems to be an ancient prison where certain demon spirits are incarcerated by the Lord, Jude 6. We saw this abyss opened in Rev. 9:1-12. When the pit was opened, terrible demons issued forth to torment people on the earth. Satan will be confined to this prison for 1,000 years!

      What will Satan do for 1,000 years? He will bide his time because he knows that he will be released for “a short season”. We will talk about all that in a few minutes. For now, we should rejoice in the truth that Satan will be bound one of these days! Hallelujah!

 

  I.  A Prophecy Involving Satan

 

 II. v. 4-6        A PROPHECY INVOLVING SAINTS

A.  v. 4a  The Saints And His Reign – This verse tells us that there is coming a day when the saints of God will rule with their Redeemer. Here’s a reminder of the events leading up to this moment for the saints of God.

      Jesus will return in the clouds above this earth in the Rapture. He will take His Bride home to Heaven. We will face Him at The Judgment Seat of Christ, and then we will join Him for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Jesus will return to this earth in power and glory, bring His people back with Him. He will defeat all His enemies, establish His kingdom on earth and allow us the privilege of reigning with Him for 1,000 years, 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10. (Ill. I wonder where I will be posted.)

B.  v. 4b  The Saints And His Reward – This next part of verse 4 seems to introduce another set of saints. It speaks of those who endured the horrors of the Tribulation Period without tarnishing their testimonies or denying their faith.

      Some of these saints died during the Tribulation, but they have been resurrected. Others made it alive to the end of the Tribulation Period. They are allowed to enter the Millennium. All of these Tribulation saints join with the Bride of Christ and we reign with Jesus for 1,000 years. And, according to Dan. 7:27 also promises that the Old Testament saints will reign during this time period as well.

      Imagine a world where there is no devil. Imagine a world filled with the redeemed saints of God from Pentecost to the Rapture. Imagine a world where the brave saints of the Tribulation will be living. Imagine a world where you might walk down the street and bump into Adam, Abraham, David, Moses or Elijah! That world will exist one day!

C.  v. 5-6  The Saints And His Resurrection – These verses reveal that there are two resurrections. Some people believe in a general resurrection. They believe that all the dead will be raised at one time and the sheep, which represent the saved, will be sent to Heaven while the goats, which represent the lost, will be sent to Hell. The Bible teaches very clearly that there will be two resurrections.   (Ill. Luke 14:14; John 5:29; ***Phil. 3:10-14 – v. 11 – Paul adds a preposition making the word mean “out resurrection from the dead”; 1 Cor. 15:23 – “own order” – “battalion”. Jesus led the victory march and we will all follow Him, each in our own place!)

      The first resurrection occurs at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus and includes the saints raised at the Rapture as well as all those resurrected at the end of the Tribulation. The Bible says that those who have a part in this resurrection are “blessed”. Why? They will not have to endure “the second death”. However, all those who have rejected Jesus as their Savior, from the time of Adam all the way to the end of the Millennium, will be raised in the second resurrection. The poor, unfortunate souls will all face Jesus at the Great White Throne and they will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. If I were you, I would do everything in my power to see to it that I was part of the first resurrection.

 

  I.  A Prophecy Involving Satan

 II.  A Prophecy Involving Saints

 

III.  v. 7-10   A PROPHECY INVOLVING SINNERS

A.  v. 7  Satan And His Freedom – After being bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, Satan is turned loose. Why? Someone asked Dr. Frances Schaeffer why and his answer was as follows: “If you can tell me why he was released the first time I will tell you why he was released the second time.”

      There must be a reason because verse 3 says “he must be loosed”. I am certain that we will never fully understand all the reasons why, but I will offer one or two for you to consider.

      First, this event proves that the devil is incorrigible and unrepentant.  Even after God has proven to the devil countless times that He is stronger, Satan still continues in his stubborn rebellion against God. God has thwarted every plan launched by the devil. And still Satan stands in defiance and open rebellion to the Lord.

      Second, this event will prove the total inability of man to save himself, even in a perfect world. It also proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that lost man is totally depraved. There is no good in him, and left to himself, he will always go away from God, Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 3:10-23.

B.  v. 8-9a  Satan And His Forces – Where will the devil find this vast army? After all, the world is perfect! There is no poverty, no disease, and no war. It is a perfect world! Why would anyone fall for the devil’s lies and rebel against God?

      Remember, millions of people entered the Millennium in flesh and blood bodies. Some were believing Jews, others were Tribulation saints. These people married and had children. In fact, because of perfect health and perfect living conditions, the population of the earth will explode. People will live to be 1,000 years old again! The children born during the Millennium will be raised in a perfect environment and still they will rebel against God.

      Every one of those little children was born into this world with a sin nature. Every one of them would still need to be saved from their sins by faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary. In a world where they will travel to Jerusalem and see King Jesus in Person, they will still refuse to bow to Him in faith and repentance. In a world inhabited by the characters from the Bible; the glorified saints of God and by those who endured the Tribulation Period, many millions will not be saved. They will keep the rules, because they will be forced to. But, in their hearts, they are still rebels in need of a Redeemer. They are still sinners in need of a Savior!

C.  v. 9b-10  Satan And His Finale – Satan raises his vast army and leads them in one final assault against King Jesus in Jerusalem. They do not stand a chance! God Himself ends the battle by raining fire down from Heaven. The rebels are destroyed in a moment of time and they all drop off into Hell to await judgment.

      Satan himself is cast into the Lake of Fire, where he will spend eternity being tormented along with the Antichrist and the False Prophet. I say, “Hallelujah!” When the smoke clears and dust settles, the Lord God Almighty will have the last say in this matter! God wins, end of story!

 

Conc: This thing all boils down to one simple question: Who’s side are you on? Have you joined forces with the devil? Or, have you enlisted in the Lord’s army?

      Right now it appears that the devil is winning the battle. It’s kind of like that little league game I heard about. A little boy was sitting in the dugout and a man walked by and said, “Hey son, what’s the score.”

      The little boy said, “They’re beating us 25 to 0.”

      The man responded, “Isn’t that a little depressing?”

      The boy answered, “Naw, mister, we ain’t even got up to bat yet!”

      That’s where this thing stands today. If you look at all the score cards, it appears that we are entering the fifteenth round and that the devil’s won the other fourteen. It just looks that way! When the bell rings and the final round begins, King Jesus is going to deliver the knockout punch!

      If I were you, I would be sure that I was on the right side of this thing!