Having a clearer understanding of the teachings of Jesus and the apostles concerning the second coming of Christ we can now go on to the more figurative and symbolic language of the book of Revelation.
REVIEW THE GUIDELINES
Let's look again at our three guidelines for establishing conclusions:
1. It must be a consistent scriptural teaching.
2. It must agree with the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.
3. We must interpret dreams and visions in the light of clear teachings of scripture already established.
REVELATION CHAPTER 20
With those three things in mind, let us proceed into John's vision in 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. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 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 for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part 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. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison." (Rev. 20:1 -7)
'Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the 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. 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 he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:11-15)
This is the only passage of scripture in the Bible that mentions a thousand year period between the first and second resurrection. Since a literal 1,000 years is not a consistent scriptural teaching, this vision must be interpreted in the light of the rest of the Bible. To take it literally would be to violate all the basic fundamental tenets of sound interpretations, especially since a literal interpretation of Revelation 20 comes in conflict with what the scriptures teach about the resurrection. In our previous study about the resurrection and the judgment we find that the scripture consistently teaches one general resurrection for all people. This is to occur at the end of this age when Christ returns.
DEALING WITH FIGURES OF SPEECH
Some believe these two resurrections are both physical. However, in Chapter Six we have shown from the scriptures that the first resurrection is a spiritual resurrection. We have passed from death unto life, Christ Jesus is the resurrection. He said I am the resurrection and the life. The first resurrection in Revelation 20 is a spiritual resurrection and speaks of all those who have been born again. To insist that satan is bound after Christ comes the second time and then released again at any time after that, contradicts every clear passage that deals with the subject. In the first verse it speaks of a key, and a great chain, and an angel; No one insists that the key is a literal key. No one insists that the chain spoken of here is a literal chain. And nobody insists that the dragon is a literal dragon. These are all symbolic and are couched in figurative language! And yet, when it comes to the thousand years, many insist that this has to be a literal thousand year period. "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or satan, and bound him for a thousand years. " (Rev. 20:2) The following Are some passages of scripture that give light on what the word bound could mean.
JESUS BINDS SATAN
Al His first coming Jesus bound satan. There was a woman that was bound with an affliction for eighteen years. She was bowed over and could not be healed. When Jesus came He said, 'Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" (Luke 13:16) Jesus referred to that affliction which satan had put upon this woman, as having bound her. Binding does not necessarily mean to imprison or to render completely helpless. But rather it means to restrain.
To bind is an action that will eliminate certain things, but will not necessarily totally nullify or destroy. This is true in the binding of satan. He is restrained from doing certain things, but he is not totally put out of commission or destroyed.
"He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended... " (Rev. 20:3) He had been deceiving the nations. That power was broken at Calvary. Until then Israel was God's chosen people. Christ's coming broke that barrier. Go ye into all the world. The church is now to take the gospel to the whole world. Satan's power to deceive them has been bound. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.
This does not insure that everyone will receive it. It does insure that they now have a choice, and satan can no longer keep them from choosing life.
JESUS CAME AND BOUND THE STRONG MAN
"If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beeizebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. " (Matt. 12:26-29)
Satan had freedom to keep the truth from getting to all nations until Christ came and established the kingdom that was to increase, and get the gospel into all the nations. He came and bound the strong man, and then he spoiled his house.
"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. " (Col. 2:15)
Satan is certainly at work in the world. He is not totally put out of business, yet!
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. " (Eph. 6:12)
We are still wrestling against those things, but God has given us keys.
'He will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. " (Matt. 16:19)
He has given us some chains. If we will exercise our authority, we can bind satan and all his demons! Jesus Christ never failed in His mission! He did that binding and made it secure, and satan in not able to keep us from going into all the world with this gospel. But the church must enforce the victory gained by Christ by exercising our spiritual authority over satan and his evil forces of darkness by using the name of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
BOUND WITH A CHAIN
I believe the chain spoken of here is symbolic of the restrictions placed on the fallen angels. We still are in warfare against the evil spirits, but they have limitations referred to as chains. The same idea is expressed by Jude. 'And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home-these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. " (Jude 1.6)
Although in chains these spirits are well organized and capable of destroying lives. They have kings, princes and nobles and many ranks. It is our responsibility to keep them bound. We have weapons of warfare to accomplish this. Joy, singing, high praises are listed as some of the ways we keep these enemies bound out of our lives. "May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord. " (Ps. 149:5-9)
SAINTS ARE GRANTED AUTHORITY TO BIND
God has given all his saints this power and authority. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil. " (Heb. 2:14) Paul said that through death Jesus destroyed him that had the power of death. If we took that literally, we would have to say that when Jesus died, satan was destroyed or annihilated! But in James 4 we are admonished to be sober and vigilant for our adversary the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour. And it is perfectly obvious to any thinking person that he is still at work in. the world. But Christ, through death and resurrection, has destroyed his hold over us! We have been delivered from the fear of death and we are transferred into the kingdom of God. We have passed from death unto life.
When we experience the new birth, we die with Christ and now live in newness of life with Him. "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." The power of satan has been bound or nullified in our lives through Jesus Christ the Lord, and the power of the Holy Spirit sets us free from sin.
BEHEADED SAINTS
"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 for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. " (Rev. 20:4)
On the surface the word beheaded may seem to offer special ruling authority to those who are executed in this specific way. Of course, there are no other scriptures to substantiate that idea. This refers to all the people of God who have made Christ the head of their lives. "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. " (Rom. 6:6) "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. " (Rom. 6:8) When we receive Christ He becomes the head of our life. We give up our headship. Symbolically then, we are beheaded. "And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. " (Col. 1:18)
THE THOUSAND YEARS
Many insist that the thousand years of Revelation 20 is a literal one thousand years. When we look at how one thousand is used in many scriptures, it helps us to interpret this term in John's vision. In Deuteronomy 1:1-11 God is multiplying the nation of Israel, and making them a thousand times more than they were. He is not talking about a literal one thousand. He is pointing to a continual growth of the people until they became a great nation. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God,- he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. " (Deut. 7:9) We know that he is not speaking of a literal thousand generations. It refers to an infinite ongoing mercy, even though it is referred to as a thousand generations. To take it literally would mean that any generation beyond a thousand would no longer be under the covenant. In 2 Peter 3:8, he says, ".. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. " He is simply saying that God is not limited by time. The word thousand is generally used to signify a large amount, or an infinite number, but not necessarily a literal one thousand. "He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant;" (Ps. 105:8-10) In verse eight he refers to the covenant as being forever and in the same verse says it is for a thousand generation. Here we see 1,000 used interchangeably with forever.
In the light of these scriptures we can say that the thousand years of Revelation 20 is speaking of a long indefinite period of time. Historically it represents the period of time between when Christ established the Kingdom at His first coming to the time of his second coming. But when expressed in figurative language, in vision, this long indefinite period is referred to as a thousand years. The saints enter this period when they receive Christ, who is the resurrection, and pass from death to life.
PROGRESSIVE REVELATION
Through the Bible more revelation is given as you progress from the beginning to the end. This is called 'Progressive Revelation". Suppose you began reading at the front of the Bible, and drew some conclusions regarding the resurrection, the coming of Christ, the judgment, etc.
Then, you read Revelation 20 and decide on a literal interpretation of that vision. If you do this, you have to abandon everything that you learned up to that point. You would break all guidelines of interpretation. Some have done exactly that.
The reign of Jesus Christ in His present, ever expanding kingdom is for an undetermined period of time, until he returns again. This period of time is expressed in vision as a thousand years.
Jesus will come again and there will be a physical resurrection which includes everyone.
The first resurrection is a spiritual resurrection, which began at the time Christ came into our lives and made us Holy in the sight of God. "Blessed and holy are those who have part 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. " (Rev. 20:6)
Anyone who is born again into the kingdom of God is a priest of God. "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood... " (2 Peter 2:5) We are reigning with Christ NOW. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. " (Rom. 5:17) So we see this does not apply to a future literal 1,000 year period but is the present position of the redeemed.
SUMMARY
The Revelation is sealed in symbolic language. The plain teachings of scripture unlock the symbols and agree with the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. To insist upon a literal interpretation creates contradicting portions of scripture, leaving us in confusion.