Home

Introduction

Message

Interpretation

Authorship

Structure

Historical

References

Comparison

Chap 1

Chap 2

Chap 3

Chap 4

Chap 5

Chap 6

Chap 7

Chap 8

Chap 9

Chap 10

Chap 11

Chap 12

Chap 13

Chap 14

Chap 15

Chap 16

Chap 17

Chap 18

Chap 19

Chap 20

Chap 21

Chap 22

Premillenium interpretation:

This argues that Christ comes pre- (before) the millenium of a literal thousand years.

The arguments for the premillenium interpretation.

1. This is the most straightforward reading of the text.
2. It demonstrates the type of government that could happen under Christ and his church.
3. It shows up the wickedness of humanity who join with the devil when he is released.
4. The whole passage from Rev 19:11 concerns the period from the second coming to the judgement, it is part of the same sequence, depicting the judgement of the beast and the false prophet; then the judgement of Satan; which continues with the judgement of mankind (20:11) and the new heaven and earth (21:1). Notice the sequence of 'I saw' which occurs seven times in 19:11, 19:17, 19:19, 20:1, 20:4, 20:11, 21:1
5. Satan does not seem to be bound now, he is still deceiving the nations.
6. The passage concerning Satan is separate to that concerning the fate of the beast and the false prophet. See v10, which indicates that the devil was thrown into the lake of fire after the beast and false prophet.
7. While there are no other NT references to it apart from Revelation there are a number of OT scriptures that support this view.
8. It was the view held by the early church fathers although Berkhof maintains that as many were amillenialists as advocates of chiliasm.
9. It is required to fulfil various OT prophecies.

The premillenium interpretation sees the vision of the white horse of Rev 19:11 and the subsequent battle of Rev 19:19 depicting the one and only second coming in which the antichrist (the beast ) and false prophet are defeated and thrown into the lake of fire. Their armies are also killed. Then Satan is bound for a thousand years, during which the Church reigns on earth, after Satan's release he gathers the nations against the saints. There is no battle because fire from heaven consumes the nations and the Devil. He does not have the beast and false prophet to help him because these are already in the lake of fire. The devil is consigned to the lake of fire, there is a general resurrection of the dead and the judgement starts. Part of Jewish thought is that there will be a Sabbath reign of God in the earth for a thousand year at the end of human history which would last for six thousand years. The idea being that a thousand years is one day in God's sight (Ps 90:4, cf. 2 Pet 3:8).

OT references in favour of Premillennialism:

(Psa 72) Of Solomon. Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. {2} He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. {3} The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. {4} He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. {5} He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. {6} He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. {7} In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. {8} He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. {9} The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. {10} The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. {11} All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. {12} For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. {13} He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. {14} He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. {15} Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. {16} Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field. {17} May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. {18} Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds. {19} Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. {20} This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

See all of Zec 14, esp. 14:1-9, 16.

(Zec 14:1-9) A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. {2} I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. {3} Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. {4} 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. {5} You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. {6} On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. {7} It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. {8} On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. {9} The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

(Zec 14:16) Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

(Zec 8:20-23) This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, {21} and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' {22} And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him." {23} This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" An Oracle

(Micah 4:2-8 NASB) And many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. {3} And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war. {4} And each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. {5} Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. {6} "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will assemble the lame, And gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted. {7} "I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. {8} "And as for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come-- Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.

(Isa 2:2-4) In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. {3} Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. {4} He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

(Isa 11:2-10) The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- {3} and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; {4} but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. {5} Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. {6} The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. {7} The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. {8} The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. {9} They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. {10} In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

(Isa 65:20-25) "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. {21} They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. {22} No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. {23} They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. {24} Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. {25} The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD.

(Jer 23:5-8) "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. {6} In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. {7} "So then, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when people will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' {8} but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land."

Commentary (Premillennial):

20:1 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.

20:4 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 for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped 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. 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 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 20:7 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--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 sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

v1 - And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. - This introduces a new section with 'I saw an angel coming down out of heaven'. This is not the same angel from the fifth trumpet, 9:1, who is a bad angel, probably Satan. The angel here comes down from heaven, he does not fall, he seized Satan and binds him with authority from God. Notice the similarity with Jude 6 in which the fallen angels are bound with chains until judgement day.

v2 - He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. - Notice that Satan is given all four titles he is known by in the book, the dragon (12:3 ff.), that ancient serpent (12:9), who is the devil (2:10, 12:9), or Satan (2:9, 2:13, 3:9, 12:9). Satan is bound by an angel from heaven with the authority of God who is stronger than Satan. In the same way Jesus bound Satan when he was on earth, Luke 11:22. This is the first of six references to the thousand years in the book all of which occur in the first seven verses of chapter 20. The term millennium comes from the Latin mille meaning thousand and annus meaning year. In common with the rest of the symbology of Revelation the thousand years is not literally a thousand years but a complete period of time (10*10*10).

v3 - 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. - The angel unceremonially throws Satan into the Abyss and locks and seals it with the purpose to stop him deceiving the nations as he had been doing before. The beast out of the earth, who is the false prophet deceives the nations elsewhere in Rev 13 and is the emissary of Satan. But Satan can do so only when the thousand years are over, thus with the beast and false prophet in the lake of fire and Satan bound the nations cannot be deceived into believing a lie. The nations referred to here are the remnant left from chapter 19, see Zec 14:16. They are no longer deceived into giving the beast the worship belonging to God, because he and the false prophet are in the lake of fire. The Devil is known as the deceiver because he deceived Eve, 2 Cor 11:3. All other references in the NT refer to people as deceivers apart from 1 Tim 4:1, which describes how in the latter days 'some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons'.

The Greek word planao is used in 20:3, 8 and 10 of the devil deceiving the inhabitants of the world. The same Greek word is also used of Jezebel misleading God's servants in 2:20; of Satan in 12:9; the signs caused by the second beast which deceive the inhabitants of the earth in 13:14; of the whore in 18:23; the false prophet in 19:20. Thus while Satan is instigator of deception he uses men, in the shape of false prophets and the world. Some other NT occurrences of the word planao refer to men i.e. false prophets and false Christs e.g. Mat 24:5, 11, 24:24.

The Greek word for abyss, abussos, is also used in Luk 8:31(the demons in Legion beg Jesus not to cast them into the Abyss), Rom 10:7 ('Who will descend into the deep?'), Rev 9:1, 9:2, 9:11 (Fifth trumpet), 11:7 (beast from Abyss attacks two witnesses), 17:8 (The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.), 20:1.

v4 - 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 worshipped 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. - Paul tells us in 1 Cor 6:2 that the saints will judge the world. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years, we are told in the next verse that this is the first resurrection (of the righteous). We take it that this is the resurrection of the body for the saints when Christ comes again, although John say he saw the souls, if they are to reign on earth they must also have bodies. The souls he saw are the souls of the martyrs seen in 6:9, the reference to those who had been beheaded simply means that they were martyred because of their testimony and their obedience to the word of God. In 5:10 it tells us that the saints will reign on the earth. The twelve apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel at the renewal of all things when Jesus sits on his glorious throne Mat (19:28). 2 Tim 2:12 tells us that if we endure with Him then we will also reign with Him. The word Martyr means witness, we are all witnesses but not all will suffer the death of the body as a witness.

They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands, they were then killed (cf. 13:15), but they had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, 15:2, and they came to life at the first resurrection which occurs at the second coming. They are the counterpart to those who had worshipped the beast and his image (14:9) and whose names were not in the book of life (13:8). This passage is most likely inspired by Daniel in which the saints will receive a kingdom, Dan 7:22; see also Dan 7:9 in which 'thrones were set in place' and Dan 7:27 'Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High'. This kingdom of the king will be one that will last for ever and ever, Dan 7:14, 27. The importance of this passage is that it shows that those who die for their faith come to life again and reign with Christ.

v5 - (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. - The first resurrection is for the righteous when Jesus comes again, Luke 14:14, 1 Thess 4:16. The second is a general resurrection at the end of the thousand years for the righteous and the wicked, see Dan 12:1-2, John 5:25-29. It has frequently been observed that if one resurrection is literal then the other one must be or else words lose all their meaning, see Walvoord.

v6 - 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. - Blessed and holy are those having a part of the first resurrection, they are blessed because the second death which is the lake of fire has no power over them, they are holy because they had not worshipped the beast. Looking at Rev 20:14-15 then by definition those who are in the book of life take part in the first resurrection. According to the letter to the church in Smyrna those who overcome will not be hurt by the second death, Rev 2:11. In 1:6 all believers have been made a kingdom and are priests to serve God. In 5:10 the elders praise the Lamb because he purchased men for God and has made them to be a kingdom and to be priests to serve God and they will reign on the earth. The emphasis of this verse would seem to be that all believers will reign with Christ for a thousand years. What is most likely is that those who are martyred will judge and the rest will reign with Christ.

v7 - When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison - He must be set free for a short time to deceive the world (v3). It is worth noting that in Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation the assault follows the period of the Messianic kingdom. In Ezekiel 36-37 Israel is restored to the land; then comes the warfare in chapters 38 and 39. This is followed by a portrayal of the eternal state under the figure of a rebuilt temple in the New Jerusalem (Mounce).

v8 - and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. - After his release he goes out to deceive the nations as before v3 and gathers the nations for battle although it is God who gathers them (Ezek 38:4, 38:9). The four corners of the earth indicate the universality of the nations that he gathers. In scripture Gog and Magog are only mentioned together in Ezek 38:2, where Gog is of the land Magog, they are mentioned separately in Gen 10:2, 1 Chr 1:5, 5:4. Their main occurrence in scripture is in Ezek Ch 38 and 39. It is Satan's final little time. To gather them for battle, Zech 14:1, Psa 2. In scripture the expression 'in number they are like the sand on the seashore' means that their number cannot be counted (Gen 22:17, Josh 11:4, 1 King 4:29, Jer 33:22, Heb 11:12). It should be noted that Ezek 38 and 39 are also used to describe the war of 19:19. Compare the carrion eating the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men of 19:17-18, 21 with Ezek 39:17-22.

v9 - 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. - They marched across the breadth of the earth again indicates the universality of those who attack God's people. They surrounded God's people, Ezek 38:16. Probably a period of intense persecution, camp refers to the camp in the wilderness, Deu 23:14, Num 2:2. Fire came down from heaven, compare with Ezek 38:22, in which God executes judgement with 'plague and bloodshed and burning sulphur' against Gog, in 39:6 God says he will 'send fire on Magog and on those who live safety in the coastlands so that they will know that he is the Lord'. For other examples of fire from heaven see: Gen 19:24, Lev 10:2, Num 11:1, 16:35, Ki 1:10, 1 Chr 21:26, 2 Chr 7:1, Luk 17:29, 2 Thess 1:7, Rev 13:13, 18:8. The city he loves is likely to be Jerusalem, Zech 14:16. Once again the city is equated with its people, see the New Jerusalem. Compare God's fire from heaven with the counterfeit fire of the beast from the earth in 13:13 with which he deceives the inhabitants of the earth.. There is no actual battle against God's people.

v10 - And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. - This completes the destruction of this trio, in 19:20, the beast and false prophet were also thrown into the lake of burning sulphur. According to this verse there is a time sequence between the beast and false prophet having been thrown into the lake of fire and the devil being thrown into the lake of fire. Just as he accused the believers day and night, 12:10, he will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Contrast their fate with that of the Seraphim who worship God day and night, 4:8, and the saints who serve God day and night (7:15).

See also:

• Introduction
• Amillennial interpretation
• A Critique of the Premillennial View of Scripture and Review of its Historical Development with a consideration of Revelation 20:1-6. By Alan Nairne.
• The Biblical basis of Postmillennialism.