‘Day 321

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” Rev 20:1,6. (NASB)

One of the things I love about the last chapters of Revelation is how they reverse the first chapters of Genesis. Scripture moves in a golden circle and it is as if the last 6,000 or so years have been a cul-de-sac of eternity.  In Genesis, we saw the new creation, the first marriage, the tree of life, the entry of satan, the entry of sin and rebellion. As we saw in the plagues earth’s de-creation; the days of creation in reverse, now we see the “fall” in reverse; we farewell the devil and his rebellion, we see the end of sin sickness, and suffering, we witness the last marriage, the creation of the new earth to its Eden like state, complete with the tree of life. We have moved in a golden circle and there you will be, with the immensity of eternity before you.

Flowing with the narrative of Revelation we can see that John clearly intended the thousand years of our text to occur after the Second Coming. By the time the millennium begins, characters like Babylon and the beast have already passed off the scene (Revelation 19). The beginning of the millennium also comes after the Mark of the Beast and the forced worship of the Beast’s image (Rev 13:15-17; cf. Rev 20:4).

The Book of Revelation has a strong focus on judgment. But the judgment of God is not something that the people of God need to fear. And that judgment is more than just deciding who will be saved and who will be lost. The judgment in this text allows the saints to review the events of history and see that God has consistently done the right thing. That conviction is important for the health of the universe and everyone in it. The amazing thing is that God is willing to submit Himself to judgment for our sakes. He cares about our feelings, even in eternity. He gives the redeemed a thousand-year period to examine His actions. After careful review, they will be satisfied both with His justice and with their position in His kingdom.