Commentary - Revelation 20:1-6

Bird's-eye view

In Revelation 20:1-6, the Apostle John is shown a vision that is central to our understanding of the entire age between the first and second comings of Christ. This is the famous millennium passage, and a right understanding of it is the backbone of a robust, optimistic, and victorious eschatology. Far from being a puzzle box of inscrutable riddles, this passage lays out the ground rules for the Great Commission era. It explains why the gospel has been loosed upon the world with such power, and why the nations, which were once held in deep darkness, are now being discipled.

John sees the great enemy, Satan, bound and incarcerated. This is the foundational action that defines our age. He is not annihilated, not yet, but he is restricted in a very specific way: he can no longer deceive the nations wholesale. This binding is the direct result of Christ's victory at the cross and resurrection. Following this, John sees the glorious reign of the saints with Christ. This is not a future, earthly reign after a secret rapture, but a present, spiritual reality. The martyrs and all the saints who have gone before us are alive and reigning with their King now. This period of reigning is described as a "thousand years," a symbolic number representing the complete and perfect duration of this gospel age. The passage concludes by defining the "first resurrection," which is our participation in the resurrection of Christ, a spiritual reality that secures us against the "second death."

Outline

Commentary

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

John's vision shifts, and he sees an angel descending. This is not just any angel. He comes "down from heaven," indicating that his authority and his mission are from God Himself. He is an emissary of the ultimate authority. He carries two instruments: the key of the abyss and a great chain. The abyss is the shaft of the bottomless pit, the prison for demonic powers. A key signifies authority over access; this angel has the authority to lock and unlock this prison at will. The "great chain" is not a literal chain, of course, but a symbol of immense restraining power. The point is that this is a decisive, authoritative, and powerful action. God is not asking permission. He is sending His agent to carry out a sentence that has already been passed in the heavenly court through the victory of Christ.

2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

The angel acts with complete authority. He "laid hold" of the dragon. There is no struggle depicted here. The enemy is apprehended. John leaves no room for confusion about the identity of this dragon. He piles up the names: he is the dragon from the previous visions, the serpent of old from the Garden, the devil (the accuser), and Satan (the adversary). This is our ancient foe. And he is bound. This binding is the central reality of the current age. Christ, in His death and resurrection, crushed the serpent's head (Gen. 3:15) and plundered the strong man's house (Matt. 12:29). This vision in Revelation 20 is the outworking of that victory. The duration of this binding is "a thousand years." This is apocalyptic literature, and we should not make the woodenly literalist mistake of setting a stopwatch. Ten is the number of completion, and a thousand is ten cubed (10x10x10). This signifies a vast, complete, and divinely determined period of time. It is the age of the Church, the age of the gospel's triumph.

3 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 finished. After these things he must be released for a short time.

The binding is not just a light tether. The dragon is thrown into the abyss, and it is shut and sealed over him. This is a picture of total incarceration. But we must pay close attention to the purpose of this imprisonment, which the text makes explicit: "so that he would not deceive the nations any longer." This is the key that unlocks the whole passage. Before Christ came, the nations were universally deceived, trapped in pagan darkness (Ps. 147:20). Satan held them in his sway. But with the coming of Christ and the preaching of the gospel, that has changed. The Great Commission is now possible because Satan is bound in this specific way. He can no longer pull a pagan blanket over entire Gentile nations to keep the gospel out. This does not mean he is inactive; he still prowls around like a roaring lion, deceiving individuals and stirring up trouble within the Church. But his ability to orchestrate global, national deception to prevent the advance of the kingdom has been curtailed. This restriction lasts for the "thousand years," after which he will be loosed for a final, brief rebellion before the end.

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 witness of Jesus and because of the word of God, and who also had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The scene shifts from the abyss to the heavens. John sees thrones, which are symbols of rule and authority. On these thrones are seated individuals to whom judgment, or the authority to rule, has been given. Who are they? The text specifies the "souls of those who had been beheaded." These are the martyrs, the front-line casualties in the spiritual war. They were faithful unto death, refusing to worship the beast (the pagan state, epitomized by Rome) or receive his mark (total allegiance to man's system). And what is their status now? They "came to life and reigned with Christ." They are not dead and waiting; they are alive and reigning. Their faithfulness on earth has been vindicated with a share in Christ's rule in heaven. This is a present reality for all the saints who have died in faith. They reign with Him for the same "thousand years" that Satan is bound. The two events are concurrent. The binding of Satan on earth enables the progress of the gospel, and the saints who have gone before us participate in this victory from their thrones in heaven.

5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

This is a parenthetical statement explaining the status of the unbelieving dead. "The rest of the dead," meaning those who were not beheaded for their faith and did not belong to Christ, remain in their state of death. They do not participate in this reign. Their resurrection is the resurrection of judgment at the very end of time. John then defines what he has just described in verse 4: "This is the first resurrection." The first resurrection is not a bodily event that happens somewhere in the middle of history. It is the spiritual reality of passing from death to life in Christ. For the martyrs and saints in heaven, it is their entrance into glory to reign with Christ. For believers on earth, it is our regeneration, our being united to Christ in His resurrection (Rom. 6:5). We have been raised with Him, and we are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). 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 authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

John concludes with a beatitude. A great blessing rests on every person who partakes in this first resurrection. To be holy is to be set apart for God, and this is our status. The glorious consequence is that the "second death has no authority" over us. The second death is the lake of fire, the final judgment (Rev. 20:14). Because we have already been raised with Christ, we are eternally secure. The final judgment holds no terror for us. Instead of judgment, our destiny is to be "priests of God and of Christ." As priests, we have access to God and serve Him. And our destiny is to "reign with Him" for that same complete, millennial age. This is the great promise of the gospel. The world is being won for Christ, Satan is bound from preventing it, and we, the Church, are participants in that glorious reign, both here on earth by faith and in heaven by sight.

Application

The truths of this passage are not for theological ivory towers; they are the engine oil for Christian living. First, we must live with a robust and infectious optimism. Our enemy is on a leash. The specific purpose of his binding was to allow the nations to be discipled. Therefore, the Great Commission is not a hopeless long shot; it is a guaranteed success. Christ is reigning now, and He will continue to do so until He has put all His enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25). Our prayers, our evangelism, our church planting, and our cultural engagement are not shots in the dark. They are the very means by which our reigning King is extending His dominion.

Second, we must not fear martyrdom or opposition. The martyrs John saw were not losers; they were enthroned. They lost their heads and gained a crown. When we face opposition for our "witness of Jesus and the word of God," we are walking a well-trodden path that leads to glory. We must refuse to worship the beast or take his mark, which means we must refuse to give ultimate allegiance to any secular power or godless ideology. Our loyalty is to Christ the King, and our citizenship is in heaven.

Finally, we must live in the reality of our resurrection status. If we have a part in the "first resurrection," then the second death cannot touch us. This should fill us with an unshakable peace and a holy boldness. We are priests of God, called to a life of worship and service. We are co-heirs with Christ, called to reign with Him. Let us therefore live like the royalty we are, faithfully administering the affairs of our Father's kingdom until the whole earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.