The Thousand Years
The “thousand years” of Rev. 20:2-7 is no more literal than the other symbols in the text, such as the key, bottomless pit, chain, dragon, beast, etc. Since Revelation makes frequent use of figurative language,1 there is no reason to assume that the “thousand years” was meant in a literal sense. In fact, the number 1000 is a commonly used symbolic figure in scripture.
Job affirms that a person cannot answer God “one time out of a thousand” (Job 9:3). Rather than limiting God, this hyperbolic comparison simply means that humans are totally incapable of contending with him. The psalmist acknowledges that “the cattle on a thousand hills” belong to God (Psa. 50:10). This is not to say that the cattle on more than a thousand hills do not belong to him, rather he owns the indefinite/complete number of cattle. To God “a thousand years” are like a single day (Psa. 90:4). To take this literally would mean that he can, to some degree, be bound by human time. But since God is eternal (Deut. 33:27), this is simply a metaphoric way of saying that time has no relevance to him. While “ten days” symbolizes a relatively short, yet complete, period of time from a human perspective (cf. Rev. 2:10), “a thousand years” symbolizes a relatively long and complete period. As a symbol it does not specify an exact number.
Since Christ began his reign in the first century AD (Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:30-36; 1 Pet. 3:22), and Christians are now reigning as priestly servants with Christ in a spiritual sense (Rom. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:5-9), and Christ’s reign certainly did not end in AD 1033, the “one thousand years” of Rev. 20 would then refer, not to linear time per se, but to the long, indefinite period of Christ’s reign in his spiritual kingdom—the church (John 18:36-37; Col. 1:13). It connotes an extended period of completion of God’s work on earth, serving as a symbol of ultimate victory. When Jesus returns, he will deliver the kingdom to the Father (1 Cor. 15:23-24).
The Binding and Release of Satan
The chapter begins with a past event (as in 12:1-5) and ends with a future event. Note the symbols: the “key” symbolizing power to bind or loose (cf. Matt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18); the “chain” symbolizing whatever restricts the power of Satan; the “bottomless pit” symbolizing that which prevents the devil from deceiving and controlling the nations as he did before he was “bound.” Satan was bound and continues to be restricted by the power of the gospel (1 John 3:8; Heb. 2:14-15; Rom. 6:9-18; Jas. 4:7; Eph. 4:8). This does not, however, render him completely inactive (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8). Those who do not submit to or remain in the teaching of Christ essentially walk away from divine protection and into the devil’s grasp (2 Thess. 2:9-12). A vicious dog may be bound on a chain, locked behind a fence, and sealed with the warning: “Beware of Dog.” But the person who wanders into the dog’s domain will suffer the consequences.
Some have suggested the releasing of Satan “for a little while” may indicate a time when either the church will be hindered, by persecution or government restrictions, from freely preaching the gospel, or the gospel may lose its influence because of hardened hearts and rejection. Neither interpretation, however, is biblically necessitated.
The “little while” may be nothing more than the time it takes for all the events of the Lord’s return to transpire, including the resurrection of the dead and bodily transformation of the righteous snatched away from the earth (1 Thess. 4:15-18). These are the ones who have been proclaiming, obeying, and defending the gospel and thus restricting the devil’s work. This momentary release of Satan, concurrent with the events of Christ’s return, will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). Jesus is coming with flaming fire and judgment, at which time the enigmatic “man of lawlessness” (personification of false religion as the work of Satan) will be revealed but immediately consumed by the Lord’s fiery vengeance (2 Thess. 1:7–2:10).2
Conclusion
The rest of Rev. 20 (vv. 11-15) continues with a vivid scene of God’s victory and judgment. Despite the challenging details of this chapter’s apocalyptic imagery, in the end the Lord’s people are victorious and our spiritual enemies are defeated and ultimately face divine retribution.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 See K. L. Moore, “Confused By the Book of Revelation?,” Moore Perspective (3 Nov. 2021), <Link>.
2 See K. L. Moore, “The Man of Lawlessness (Part 1),” Moore Perspective (12 July 2017), <Link>.
Related Posts: Introducing the Book of Revelation (Part 3), The Kingdom of God (Part 1)
Image credit: https://practicallyknowntheology.com/2020/06/29/amillennialism-and-the-binding-of-satan/
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