The Millennial Kingdom Part 1
Revelation 20:1-6
Revelation 20:1–6 (NLT) — 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
1. The Removal of Satan.
a. The King prepares the Kingdom
i. Jesus the King first order of business is the confinement of the chief rebel.
ii. The removal of “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4).
1. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV) — 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
iii. The prince of the air - the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience”
1. Ephesians 2:2 (ESV) — 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
iv. This removal will dramatically change the world.
b. The ringleaders of the rebellion.
i. The beast (Antichrist)
ii. The false prophet.
iii. Will be thrown in the Lake of Fire.
iv. Revelation 19:20 (ESV) — 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
c. God has destroyed all the human rebels.
i. If they have survived the Tribulation judgements, they will be executed at Armageddon.
ii. Another passage addresses this.
iii. Matthew 25:41-46 (Goats)
iv. Revelation 19:21 (ESV) — 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
d. The final step.
i. The removal of Satan
ii. His host of demons.
iii. Christ will then reign with without opposition.
2. Order of Events.
a. Revelation is a difficult map to follow.
i. One clue in helping us do that is the Greek word kia eidon
ii. Kia eidon = “And I saw”
iii. This phrase appears a lot in Revelation.
iv. (cf. vv. 4, 11; 6:1, 2, 5, 8, 12; 7:2; 8:2, 13; 9:1; 10:1; 13:1, 11; 14:1, 6, 14; 15:1; 16:13; 17:3; 19:11, 17, 19; 21:1),
v. The phrase kai eidon (And I saw) indicates chronological progression.
vi. Quote: “The location of this passage in the chronological flow of Revelation is consistent with a premillennial view of the kingdom.”
vii. The Tribulation (chaps. 6–19)
viii. Christ returns to make war. 19:11-21
ix. Then the King (Christ) will set up his Kingdom
x. This Kingdom is the 1000-year millennium. 20:1-6
xi. After the millennium God then establishes the New Heaven and New Earth.
3. The Angel Coming Down.
a. Who is this?
i. Of course, scripture doesn’t tell us, but we can speculate.
ii. Michael the archangel
iii. This is Satan’s great adversary.
iv. Revelation 12:7–9 (NLT) — 7 Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 8 And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
v. Daniel 10:13 (CSB) — 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
vi. Also verse 21
vii. Daniel 12:1 (NIV) — 1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
viii. Jude 9 (NIV) — 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
ix. Whoever the angel is, he possesses great power.
b. The Angels Purpose
i. He is sent to earth with a specific agenda.
ii. To seize Satan for the thousand-year duration of the kingdom,
iii. Bind him with a heavy chain.
iv. Cast him into the abyss and seal it.
v. Then release him at the end of the thousand years.
c. Satan’s prison
i. Revelation 20:1 (ESV) — 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
ii. The bottomless pit (Abyss)
iii. Seven times in Revelation
iv. (cf. 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8)
1. It is verses like these that make Revelation so complicated.
2. But God has said that we are to study to show ourselves approved.
v. We can notice a couple of things.
vi. It is always referenced as a temporary place.
vii. A holding cell if you will.
viii. The final place of punishment is the lake of fire.
ix. Matthew 25:41 (NIV) — 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
1. See Isaiah 66:24
d. Not their happy place.
i. Luke 8:31 (NLT) — 31 The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.
ii. This is reserved for the vilest of demons.
iii. Also, a place for those of Noah’s day. (1 Peter 3:19-20)
iv. 1 Peter 3:18–20 (NLT) — 18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. 19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison—20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.
v. Those demons, who attempted to corrupt the human race by cohabiting with human women (Gen. 6:1–4).
vi. These demons will never be released.
vii. Jude 6 (NLT) — 6 And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.
viii. Others will be released at the fifth trumpet (9:1-12)
