SECTION FIVE THE "" AND THE Revelation 20:1-15 Revelation 20:1-10 has been made the battle ground for more conflicting theories, perhaps, than any other passage of scripture. This fact suggests caution and modesty in approaching it as commentator. Where so many have fallen must be dangerous ground. A few introductory considerations may aid in reaching satisfactory conclusions. 1. The word "millennium" is not in the. Bible, but by common use has been given a permanent place in religious literature. It is a Latin word, meaning "a thousand years," and is generally substituted for that expression which is used six times in this passage. This is the only place in the Bible where this period is mentioned. If a distinct age in which Christ will reign personally on earth, it is remarkable that neither he nor any of the apostles in their plain teaching said anything about it. Why should so important a matter be mentioned only in a book of symbols and in a highly figurative passage? 2. The popular notion that the millennium is a period of absolute and universal peace, righteousness, and felicity is pure assertion; the word has no such meaning. The assumption is based upon the statement that Satan is to be "bound" during that period, which is supposed to mean literal binding and a complete destruction of his influence. Neither of these conclusions is true. If any wicked people are left on earth in the millennial age, Satan's personal binding would be of no special benefit; for his servants here could still torment and deceive the righteous. The wicked are his "ministers" now (2 Corinthians 11:15), and will be while here. At Christ's coming all the wicked are to be destroyed (Revelation 19:19-21) and the righteous living and dead are to receive immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.) If he comes to establish the millennium, then there can be no literal kingdom, for there will be none in the flesh either to rule or be ruled. Hence, the literal throne of David idea is false; the passage must be explained figuratively. 3. Many, including some pioneer preachers of the church of Christ, seemed to think the millennium would be introduced and perpetuated by the gospel prevailing over evil; that it would continue to win its way to men's hearts till all evil would be rooted out by the inherent power of the truth. The rapidity with which the restoration work succeeded probably led to this idea but it evidently was a delusion. The notion overlooked the setting of this millennial passage, as well as man's ability to reject any and all kinds of moral influences. The history of mankind for nearly sixty centuries is unmistakably against such a view. 4. Whatever the millennium may be, it precedes the final judgment. This is conceded by all. If the judgment occurs at Christ's coming (a fact taught by the Scriptures), the doctrine that he comes to inaugurate the millennium is of necessity false. Peter makes the "coming of the day of God" the time when the heavens will be dissolved by fire and the elements melt with fervent heat. (2 Peter 3:12.) Paul says Christ will be revealed from heaven "in flaming fire" to render vengeance upon the disobedient and be "glorified in his saints." (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9.) The rewarding of both bad and good will be at the judgment. (2 Corinthians 5:10.) Jesus plainly teaches that both classes will be raised at the same time. (John 5:28-29.) These passages show clearly that the coming of Christ, the resurrection of both righteous and wicked, and the judgment will all occur after the millennium, which renders a thousand years reign of Christ on earth an impossibility. Jesus divides "all that are in their tombs" into two classes those raised to life--eternal salvation--and those raised to judgment--condemnation. The following conclusions are evident: If Jesus comes before the millennium, none can be raised bodily after it; for all are to be raised to be rewarded when he comes. Hence, the theory that only the wicked dead will then be raised is not true. If he comes after the millennium, none can be raised bodily before it, and the view that only the righteous dead will then be raised is also untrue. In either case the premillennial view of this passage is false. This fact will be more fully developed as we examine the language of the text. 6. To know the true setting of this passage is necessary to its correct understanding. The symbols in Revelation 20:1-9 do not reveal events that are to follow chronologically after those of Rev 19:19-21. These verses describe the casting of the beast and false prophet into the "lake of fire"; Revelation 20:10 tells of Satan being cast into the same place--that is, it completes the story partly told in Revelation 19:19-21 and must refer to the same time. The millennial passage is a recapitulation of things described in preceding chapters with different symbols. Reviewing the same periods with changed scenes is common to this book. The seven seals that closed with the end of the world stop with Revelation 11:18. The vision of the pure woman (true church) in her struggles against the dragon, beast, and false prophet, under the emblems of pouring out bowls of wrath, covers practically the same time, and the same final end is shown in Revelation 16:17-21. Next the destruction of the false church, represented as a drunken harlot and a great city, is symbolically pictured in chapters 17 and 18, followed with a song of triumph by the redeemed. (Revelation 19:1-10.) In Revelation 19:11-18 is told the means by which this overthrow of evil is to be accomplished. Finally Revelation 19:19-21 and Revelation 20:10 describe this overthrow and bring us for the third time to the end of the world, for the "lake of fire" in Revelation 20:14 is defined as the "second death." The evident purpose of Rev 20:1-10 is to give a brief review of Satan's overthrow from the time his power was restrained until banished in the lake of fire forever. This recapitulation is appropriate here because it was Satan who did and will furnish the beast and false prophets with the power by which they operate against the truth. Christ's personal coming ends the career of these three enemies; this event is after, not before, the "millennium." 1. THE BINDING OF SATAN Revelation 20:1-3 1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven,--Perhaps it is well to observe again that we are here dealing with a symbolic vision that appeared to John. As noted several times before, the vision and the thing it represents must be kept distinct. As in other visions an angel is the medium of revealing the scenes, which guarantees that true facts are represented. having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.--"Key" represents the angel's authority to open and close doors, but here must mean his right to force Satan to remain in his own place and be restrained from the unlimited use of his power which he had been exercising during the long period of papal usurpation. Being bound with a "great chain" signifies this restraint. No reasonable person will contend that the words "key," "abyss," and "chain" are to be understood literally. All that is necessarily implied is that the followers of Christ would have such protection against Satan's power that they would be free to obey Christ, if they desired. Anything more than this would ignore man's responsibility for his conduct, and make God a respecter of persons. No doctrine that conflicts with these two principles can be true as long as man dwells in the flesh. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, --In the vision John saw the binding actually take place, but the thing it represents was far in the future when he wrote. See notes on Revelation 4:1-2. He figuratively describes the dragon as the "old serpent" which is doubtless an allusion to the serpent in Eden. Then he drops the figure and plainly states that the dragon represents Satan. Beginning with deceiving Eve in the garden, it has been his business to deceive mankind ever since. His effort then was and ever afterward has been to discredit or pervert God's word--make people believe that God does not mean what he says, or means what he does not say. Satan being a spirit, the only "chain" that can effectively bind him--restrain or defeat him--is God's word. In what was the world's greatest battle between right and wrong, Jesus defeated the devil at every turn with "it is written." (Matthew 4.) When God's word has free course in directing human life, the individual can safely protect himself against any device of Satan. When mankind has the right to use that protection at will, Satan is "bound" in the only way that is consistent with man's nature. Satan's binding does not mean the destruction of all evil; though under restraint, Satan still operates through his angels who pose as ministers of righteousness. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15.) The duration of this binding is stated as a thousand years. Is this a symbolic or literal number? As usual expositors are disagreed. To apply the day-year theory would give the enormous amount of 365,000 years. This appears wholly out of proportion with other numbers in this book that seem to fit the theory. If to be taken literally, the exact beginning and ending of the period could not be fixed definitely. With these difficulties to meet, it seems better to consider it a symbolic number. Other numbers such as 3, 7, 10, and 12 appear to carry a spiritual significance. In Ezekiel 39 we have a description of the overthrow of Gog, and verse 9 says the Israelites should make fires of their weapons for "seven years." Certainly this means the complete destruction of their implements of war, not that it would take seven literal years to burn them. Through Moses God threatened Israel with seven times more, or seven times, punishment if they persistently rebelled against him. (Leviticus 26:18; Leviticus 26:21; Leviticus 26:24; Leviticus 26:28.) Evidently this does not mean exactly seven times, for their sins required punishment far more times than seven. It means that they would be fully punished as their sins deserved. So the definite number-1,000 years--is probably used for a long but indefinite period. "Showing lovingkindness unto thousands" (Exodus 20:6) means showing it to all of the class mentioned ; "thousands of thousands" (5:11) means a countless number. So in this text the word "thousand" most likely means an indefinite length of time, but long enough for the symbols to find complete fulfillment. 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him,--In vision John saw the woman driven into the wilderness for 1,260 day-years (Revelation 12:1-6), yet that did not occur till several centuries later, when the apostate church was fully developed. Shutting and sealing the abyss indicates the certainty of the influence of Satan's power being restrained. The true church apparently disappeared as one does who goes into a wilderness; but, though unseen as an organized body, it still existed in the hearts and lives of individual faithful saints. So Satan during the thousand years has his power restrained, yet he still has through his unseen agents and workers means for deceiving those who are willing. During the 1,260-year period he exercised a practically unlimited power through the papacy and the kingdom it controlled. The millennium--the period of his being bound--must of necessity begin after that power was broken; and, for the same reason, it must have begun when that power was broken. that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished:--As the purpose of the binding was to prevent Satan's deceiving the nations, then the binding would consist in changing the situation which made the deception easily effective. During the papal supremacy the Bible, man's only real protection against the devil's power, was practically taken away from the people. With the Bible removed, it was no trouble for him to deceive the nations by superstition, false miracles, and pretended infallibility. When the Protestant Reformation broke the Roman religious yoke of bondage by giving the Bible back to the people with liberty to read and obey it without human dictation, Satan Was bound in the fair meaning of the text. Through this right has come the privilege of restoring and maintaining apostolic congregations, which is a most fortunate and happy time for those who really desire to be pleasing to God. For emphasis the main thought is repeated. The millennial period is not a time of absolute and universal righteousness upon earth but a time of such restraint of Satan's power that all may have the privilege to serve God as the Scriptures teach, if they so desire. It is a period in direct comparison with the previous one of supreme papal authority. With this view we must conclude that we are now in the millennium. When it will end we do not know. This position, at least, has the plausible advantage of harmonizing with plain facts of religious history and leaves man free and responsible for his own conduct--a thing that must be true while men are in the flesh. That this view may be clearly understood a brief review of the main changes in church history is here repeated. It required about 300 years for the church to pass through the pagan Roman persecutions and receive recognition from the Emperor Constantine. Something over 200 years more were necessary to develop the papacy--Paul's "man of sin." (2 Thessalonians 2:3.) This came through the slow process of corrupting divine truth with the "precepts of men"; or, viewing it from another standpoint, exalting men to unscriptural positions until the bishop of Rome was declared the Universal Bishop of the church. This was followed by the 1,260 years of papal rule, after which began the millennium. Any true interpretation must harmonize with these well-known historical facts. after this he must be loosed for a little time.--That is, after the millennium ends, Satan must be loosed, not permanently, but for a "little time." There is no way to determine how long the "little time" may be, but it is the period that divides the millennium from the final judgment. It may be short in comparison with the 1,000 years, or with the whole history of the church up to that time.