Search
In Revelation 20:1-4 we see that Christ is the Establisher of the kingdom. After fighting all His enemies, Christ will establish the kingdom of God on the earth, the millennial kingdom, and reign with His overcoming believers for a thousand years. Between the rapture of the overcomers and the beginning of the millennial kingdom, many things will take place. Immediately after the rapture of the man-child, a loud voice in heaven says, “Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ” (12:10). Actually, the kingdom will not come at that time, for the three and a half years of the great tribulation are yet to come. Nevertheless, in the eyes of those who have been raptured to the heavens, the kingdom has already come. During the last three and a half years of this age, the following things will take place: the rapture of the majority of the saints; the destruction of religious Babylon, that is, the annihilation of Catholicism; the destruction of Judaism; and the fall of material Babylon. Following all this, there will be the war at Armageddon. The whole earth must be cleared up as a preparation for God’s kingdom to come. At the time of Revelation 20, nearly everything has been cleared up. Only one thing remains, and that is Satan, the source of all the problems. Therefore, the first item mentioned in Revelation 20, a chapter concerning the millennium, is the binding of Satan.
Revelation 20:1-3 says, “I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and cast him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be loosed for a little while.” Although the Lord judged Satan on the cross, that judgment has not yet been fully executed. Satan is still rampaging on the earth, tormenting God’s children especially. When the Lord returns, He will fully execute the judgment that He accomplished on the cross upon Satan. Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss. He will be powerless to act or damage anyone. At that time on this earth there will be no Satan. Then the earth will become Christ’s kingdom.
Following the defeat of Antichrist is the binding and imprisonment of Satan to clear up the rebellious earth so that the kingdom of Christ may come (vv. 4-6). Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss, which is in the heart of the earth, and he will be imprisoned there for a thousand years. After that, “he must be loosed for a little while” (v. 3). Before casting him into the lake of fire, where he will be tormented forever and ever (v. 10), Christ will bind the devil and cast him into the abyss for one thousand years. This is because the devil will still be somewhat useful in fulfilling God’s purpose at the end of the coming millennium. The abyss may be likened to a temporary jail, and the lake of fire to an eternal prison.
After the war at Armageddon, the Lord will establish His throne of glory in Jerusalem and gather before Him all the nations still on earth. He will then execute His judgment upon them. This will be Christ’s judgment of the living carried out according to the eternal gospel preached by an angel in mid-heaven (14:6). The “goats” will go to the fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and the “sheep” will enter into the millennial kingdom as citizens (Matt. 25:32-34). Although these “sheep” will be restored, they will not be regenerated. They will still have a rebellious nature within them; thus, they will need a further test a thousand years later. Because the Lord will use Satan to test them, He will not cast Satan into the lake of fire at the beginning of the millennium. When the thousand years are over, the Lord will release Satan from the abyss and use him to test the citizens who have been on earth during the millennium. Gog and Magog will not pass the test. Under Satan’s instigation, they will once more rebel against God. In this we can see that Satan will still be useful in God’s hands to purge mankind.
Acts 3:21 refers to “the times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” This restoration will affect not only man but also the whole creation — the heavens, the earth, the animals, and even the trees. Everything that was cursed through the fall of man will be restored. Isaiah 30:26 says, “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, / And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days.” Today the sun and the moon are not normal, because they have been cursed through the rebellion of Satan and the fall of man. As Genesis 3:17 and 18 further indicate, the whole earth has been cursed because of man’s fall and is also not in a normal state.
In the Old Testament there are many verses concerning the millennial kingdom (Psa. 2:6, 8-9; Isa. 2:2-5; 11:1-10; 65:20-25; 30:26; Zech. 8:20-23; Psa. 72:1-17; Isa. 4:2-6; 9:7; 12:1-5; 16:5; 32:1-2; 40:9-11; 61:4-9; Zech. 14:16-21). The kingdom was the good news proclaimed to mankind through the prophets in the Old Testament. In particular, there are many prophecies in Isaiah, Zechariah, and the Psalms regarding the millennium. At the time of the restoration, not only mankind but also all of creation will be restored to its original condition. The beasts and the cattle will be restored to such an extent that “the wolf will dwell with the lamb; / And the leopard will lie down with the kid” (Isa. 11:6). This will not be miraculous; rather, it will be normal and common. Isaiah 11:8 says, “The nursing child will play by the cobra’s hole, / And upon the viper’s den / The weaned child will stretch his hand.” When Christ comes again, everything will be restored. The trees will flourish, and the flowers will blossom abundantly. Isaiah 35:1 and 2 say, “The wilderness and the desert will be glad; / And the desert will exult and blossom / Like the rose. / It will blossom and blossom, / And even exult with exultation and a ringing shout.” Furthermore, “water will break forth in the wilderness, / And streams in the desert. / And the desert mirage will become a pool, / And the thirsty ground, springs of water” (vv. 6-7). Also, “a highway will be there, and a way, / And it will be called, The Way of Holiness” (v. 8). The book of Isaiah contains a full description of the millennium.
According to the prophecies of the Bible, the millennial kingdom is in two sections: the upper, heavenly, section and the lower, earthly, section. The upper section of the millennium is called the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 13:43), and the lower section is called the kingdom of the Son of Man (v. 41). The kingdom of the Messiah, or the Messianic kingdom, is another name for the lower section of the millennium.
In the millennial kingdom there will be three peoples. The first are the overcoming saints, including those of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. These overcoming saints will be co-kings of Christ. Christ is the highest King, and we will be His sub-kings. Therefore, the upper section is the royal portion of the millennium.
The second group, found in the lower section, is the preserved and proper Jews, who will be saved at the time of the Lord’s coming back. According to Zechariah 12:10-14, these Jews will look on Him whom they have pierced, and then they will repent. These are the Jews who will be the third part who will pass through fire and be refined (13:9). These saved Jews will enter into the millennium as priests and will teach the nations to seek God and to know Him. Isaiah 2:2-3 will be fulfilled at that time. Verse 3 says, “Many peoples will come and say, / Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, / To the house of the God of Jacob, / That He may instruct us in His ways, / And that we may walk in His paths. / For from Zion will go forth instruction, / And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.” The nations will learn of God through the instruction of the Jews, who will be priests. Isaiah 61:6 says, “You will be called the priests of Jehovah; / People will speak of you as the ministers of our God.” This word will also be fulfilled during the millennium, when the nations will recognize the Jews as God’s priests.
Zechariah 8:23 says, “Thus says Jehovah of hosts, In those days, from all the languages of the nations, ten men will take hold, indeed, they will take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” This verse indicates that every Jew will be precious. In those days the Jews will be warmly welcomed.
The third group of people in the millennial kingdom will be the “sheep” spoken of in Matthew 25. We have seen that these “sheep” will be transferred into the millennial kingdom to become the citizens there.
In the lower section of the millennium, called the kingdom of the Son of Man, Jesus as the seed of David will be King over the Jews and, through the Jews, over all the nations. He will be on the throne of David to be the King over all the nations through the Jews. This is the kingdom of the Son of Man and the kingdom of the Messiah; it is also the tabernacle of David spoken of in Acts 15:16. The tabernacle of David, which is the kingdom of David, has fallen. But when the millennium comes, Christ will re-erect the tabernacle of David. In 2 Samuel 7 God promised to establish David’s kingdom forever (v. 16). This eternal kingdom will be the lower part of the millennium, the kingdom of the Son of Man and of the Messiah. The kingly overcomers will be in the upper part of the millennium, and the priestly Jews and the citizens will be in the lower part.
Revelation 20:4-6 reveals that Christ as the Establisher of the kingdom will reign with the overcoming saints. Because the overcomers bring in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Lord will reign for a thousand years, and the overcomers will also reign with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4 says, “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them.” The word they refers to the overcomers. They are now sitting upon thrones, and authority to judge has been given to them. To have the authority to judge means to have the kingdom (cf. Dan. 7:10, 18, 22). Therefore, this verse in Revelation 20 indicates that the overcomers have received and are enjoying the kingdom.
Verse 4 also says, “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Those who have been “beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God” are the martyrs throughout the church age, as mentioned in 6:9. Undoubtedly, Peter, Paul, James, Stephen, and the many others slain throughout the centuries will be included in this group. These saints, martyred for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, will be resurrected to be co-kings of Christ.
The martyrs in the great tribulation are those who do not worship the beast or his image and do not receive the mark on their forehead or on their hand. After the rapture of the overcomers, many saints will be martyred because they refuse to worship Antichrist or receive his mark. These martyred saints will also be resurrected to be co-kings in the millennial kingdom. In principle, these co-kings must also include the raptured living overcomers. If those in the man-child will be among the co-kings, then certainly those making up the firstfruits will be also.
In both Matthew 25:21 and 23 the Lord said, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” These verses refer to the enjoyment of the overcomers in the millennial kingdom. To the diligent servant the Lord will say, “Well done! Come into the joy of your Lord. I have some things I want you to rule over.” This will be the enjoyment of the overcoming believers in the millennial kingdom.
Many mistakenly believe that no matter what kind of Christian they are after being saved, they will suddenly be a king when the Lord Jesus comes back. This is unfounded. Everyone who intends to be a king must be disciplined. If the Lord Jesus came today and put us on thrones as kings, we ourselves might tell Him that we are not qualified. God’s intention is not merely to save us initially but to save us to be priests and kings. One born into a royal family needs much training and discipline to become a proper king. Many Christians are poor, having only been saved but never having loved the Lord or agreed to hand themselves over to Him to be disciplined and trained. How can they be His co-kings? Those in Revelation 20 who live and reign with Christ are not merely the saved ones. After being saved, they passed through certain kinds of experiences which made them adequate and prepared to be kings.
The overcomers become qualified to reign with Christ by the humanity of Jesus being worked into them. Christ who is the unique proper man dwells in our spirit as the Spirit of Jesus. Such a One with all the proper human virtues is in us to be our humanity. When we have His humanity, we will put Satan to shame and be the kingdom of God.
The overcomers who will reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom will enjoy the best resurrection. Revelation 20:6 speaks of “the first resurrection.” The Greek word translated “first” is the same word translated “best” in Luke 15:22, where the father says in relation to the returned prodigal, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him.” Hence, the first resurrection in Revelation 20:6 may actually be translated “the best resurrection.” The overcomers will enjoy this resurrection.
The first resurrection is also the “ex-resurrection,” that is, the extraordinary resurrection for which the apostle Paul sought (Phil. 3:11). The Greek word may be translated “the out-resurrection.” This means that it is the resurrection set apart from the common resurrection, the resurrection with honor, comparable to graduation with honors. This resurrection is a resurrection of kingship as a reward to the overcomers that they may reign as co-kings with Christ in the millennial kingdom. Hence, “blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:6). Not only the resurrected overcomers, such as the man-child in 12:5 and the later martyrs in 15:2, but also the raptured living ones, such as the firstfruits in 14:1-5, have part in this resurrection.
Many hold an erroneous view that only believers will be resurrected and that unbelievers will not be resurrected. According to the Bible, however, the unbelievers will also be resurrected. John 5:29 speaks of “the resurrection of life” and “the resurrection of judgment.” The resurrection of life is the resurrection of the saved believers before the millennium, and the resurrection of judgment is the resurrection of the unsaved after the millennium. The dead believers will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life at the coming back of the Lord Jesus. Hence, their resurrection is called the resurrection of life. But all the dead unbelievers will be resurrected after the thousand years to be judged at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Hence, their resurrection is called the resurrection of judgment.
The first resurrection will also be the resurrection of reward. Luke 14:14 says, “You will be blessed, because they do not have anything with which to repay you; for it will be repaid to you in the resurrection of the righteous.” This resurrection is a resurrection with a reward.
Revelation 20:6 says, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.” This must be the highest blessing — to inherit the kingdom manifested on earth and even to be the kings within it. Concerning those who participate in the first resurrection, verse 6 continues, “Over these the second death has no authority.” This is difficult to understand. The lake of fire is called the second death (v. 14). We have seen that Satan is useful in the hand of God. Likewise, death is also somewhat useful to Him. All negative situations are related to death. All weakness — physical, mental, and spiritual — belongs to death. Weakness is a visiting card of death. When death is about to visit a person, it does not come directly. Instead, it first comes in the form of weakness. Weakness is followed by sickness, and sickness is followed by death. Thus, both weakness and sickness belong to death. Moreover, all the troubles and hardships that we face in life also belong to death. When the overcomers enter into the upper section of the millennium to be the co-kings of Christ, they will have no weakness, no sickness, no trouble, and no hardship. In other words, they will no longer be bothered by death.
The death before resurrection is the first death, and the death after resurrection is the second death. The second death, the lake of fire, refers to the death after resurrection. In the first death the spirit and soul leave the body, the body is buried, and the spirit and soul go to Hades; the spirit and soul of the believer go to the section of comfort in Hades, and the spirit and soul of the unbeliever go to the section of torment. The Lord Jesus will determine who among the dead will be resurrected before the millennium and who will be left in the tomb for another thousand years to be resurrected after the millennium. After the unbelievers are resurrected, they will be judged at the great white throne (vv. 11-15). Then the dead unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire, the second death. This means that even after their resurrection, they will still suffer the second death.
We should not believe, as many Christians do, that after our resurrection everything will necessarily be all right. After our resurrection we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). If there is no possibility that we might still have a problem, why then will we be judged after the resurrection? When we are standing before the judgment seat of Christ, we will be fearful and trembling, wondering what the Lord Jesus will say concerning us. Yes, we are saved, and we are saved for eternity. With this there is no problem. We do not believe that a saved person can be lost again. John 10:28 and 29 indicate that once we have received eternal life, we can never perish. However, in 1 Corinthians 3:15 Paul says, “If anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Although we are saved, we may still suffer loss; that is, we may still have a problem. We should not think that after we have been resurrected and raptured, we will immediately go to heaven. No, we must first be examined. We should not expect to go directly into the millennial kingdom to be a co-king of Christ. We must first stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 14:12 says that, as we stand before this judgment seat, “each one of us will give an account concerning himself to God.” Although we may criticize others today, as we stand before the judgment seat, we will have to criticize ourselves. The judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will determine whether we will receive the reward to enter into His kingdom or receive some punishment. That punishment will be something related to the second death, just as weakness, sickness, trouble, and hardship are related to the first death.
Today God uses weakness, sickness, trouble, and hardship to discipline us and to chastise us so that we may grow in life. If we die in our immaturity, we should not think that we will suddenly become mature after our resurrection. No, we will be resurrected and raptured in an immature condition. If we die in immaturity, we will also be resurrected in immaturity. Take graduation from school as an example. If you leave school before you graduate and return some time later, you will still have to complete your schoolwork. You will have to continue your studies until you have finished your course for graduation.
We need to grow and mature quickly. We should not delay this process. We must fear the prospect of dying in immaturity. If we die in our immaturity, after our resurrection we will stand in immaturity before the Lord’s judgment seat. Be assured that this situation will not be pleasant. Everyone in this situation will be dealt with by something related to the second death. This means that even after a believer’s resurrection, he may still be touched by something of the second death; that is, the second death may still have some authority over him. Only the overcomers, those who participate in the best resurrection, will not be subject to anything of the second death. They will have graduated from all weakness, sickness, trouble, hardship, and suffering. This is the proper understanding of Revelation 20:6.
Although we are saved for eternity, we still need to grow, mature, and be perfected so that we may be among the co-kings of Christ. If we do not mature, we will suffer loss. If we suffer loss before the resurrection, our loss will belong to the first death. But if we suffer loss after the resurrection, our loss will be related to the second death. Although we may be resurrected believers, we will still be under the authority of the second death, and something of the second death will trouble us. If we are still fleshly and love the world, at the judgment seat of Christ we will need to suffer something in order to mature, and we will need something of the second death to work on us. This is the pure, enlightening, and sobering truth. We need to be enlightened, sobered, and made serious, and we should aspire to be the overcomers who participate in the best resurrection and over whom the second death has no authority.
Verse 6 also says that the overcomers “will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” The overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium (2:26-27; 12:5). As priests they will bring man in his need to God and minister God to man, and as kings they will bring God in His authority to man and represent God to shepherd man. This is a reward to them. The believers who are defeated in this age will forfeit this reward. However, after being dealt with by the Lord in the millennium, they will participate in the service of God and in the kingship in the new heaven and the new earth for eternity (22:3, 5).
Today the proper Christians bring man and man’s need to God and Christ, and they also minister God and Christ to man. Also, they bring God’s authority to man and represent God to man. As we share in the upper section of the millennium, we will be both priests and kings. We will meet the need of both God and man, bringing man to God and God to man. Through our priesthood and kingship both God and man will be fully satisfied. We will be a priestly and kingly people, a people far beyond anything of the second death. The overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium. In this realm, there will be no weakness, no sickness, no trouble, and no hardship. Christ’s kingdom will be for His reigning with His overcomers. How wonderful this will be!
