Millennium: Saints Victory & Satan’s Defeat
I. WE MUST INTERPRET REV 19:11-21:8 IN A CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE
A. Scene #1: Jesus’ Second Coming includes the capture of the Antichrist and the False Prophet
11 I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He (Jesus) who sat on him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness He judges and makes war…14 The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen…followed
Him on white horses….16 He has…a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS…19 I saw the Beast
(Antichrist), the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him (Jesus)
who sat on the horse…20 Then the Beast was captured, and with him the false prophet…These two were
cast alive into the lake of fire…21 The rest were killed with the sword… (Rev. 19:11-21)
B. Scene #2: Satan is cast into prison for 1000 years so he cannot deceive the nations.
1 Then I saw an angel…having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon…
the Devil…and bound him for 1000-years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up…that he should
deceive the nations no more till the 1000-years were finished. After these things he must be released for a little while.
(Rev. 20:1-3)
C. Scene #3: Resurrected saints will be given the governmental leadership over the Millennial earth.
4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their witness to Jesus…who had not worshiped the Beast (Antichrist)… They lived and reigned with Christ
for 1000-years. 5 The rest of the dead did not live again until the 1000-years were finished. This is the first resurrection…
6 They shall be priests…and shall reign with Him 1000-years. (Rev. 20:4-6)
D. Scene #4: Satan is released to deceive the nations and thus prove that God’s judgments are just.
7 When the 1000-years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations…
in the four corners of the earth…to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand…9 They went up…
and surrounded…the Beloved City. Fire came down…and devoured them. 10 The devil…was cast into the lake of fire
… (Rev. 20:7-10)
E. Scene #5: God has a final judgment of the human race at the Great White Throne.
11 Then I saw a great white Throne…12 I saw the dead…standing before God, and books were opened…the dead
were judged according to their works…14 This is the second death. 15 Anyone not…in the Book of Life was cast into
the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15)
F. Scene #6: God dwells in face to face fellowship with His people on the New Earth forever.
1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth… 2 I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven…3 Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men…God Himself will be with them…4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there
shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying… 8 The cowardly…murderers, sexually immoral… shall have their part in
the lake which burns with fire…which is the second death. (Rev. 21:1-8)
II. INTRODUCTION TO REV. 20
A. Rev. 20 is the most in-depth NT teaching on the Millennial Kingdom. It provides insight into the length of the
Millennium, the exaltation of the saints who reign as kings and priests, the imprisonment of Satan for 1,000 years and
his release to deceive the nations. In these events God demonstrates the justice of His judgments by showing that
Satan cannot be rehabilitated and that men will rebel against God even in an ideal environment because they love sin.
B. The Millennium is a term that speaks of a literal 1,000-year period in which Jesus rules the earth (millennium is
from the Latin “mille” or ‘a thousand’ and “annus” ‘a year’).
C. The main themes of Rev. 20 are the victory of God’s people and a final defeat of His enemies.
D. Rev. 20:1-10 has three sections describing events occurring during the Millennium.
1). Rev. 20:1-3, Satan will be imprisoned for 1000-years (beginning of the Millennium)
2). Rev. 20:4-6, resurrected saints given the leadership of the earth (during the Millennium)
3). Rev. 20:7-10, Satan released from prison to deceive nations (end of the Millennium)
III. SATAN WILL BE IMPRISONED FOR 1,000 YEARS (REV. 20:1-3)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He
laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more
till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. (Rev. 20:1-3)
A. The bottomless pit – or the abyss is a prison for fallen angels that are released in the End-Times at the fifth
trumpet (Rev. 9:1-4, demonic locusts). There is a long shaft extending from the earth’s surface to its depths that is
currently sealed up. It requires a key to open it (Rev. 9:1). The Antichrist spends time there (Rev. 11:7; 17:8) as does
a demonic king named Abaddon (Rev. 9:11) plus a multitude of demonic locusts.
B. A natural chain could not restrain a demonic spirit. These unusual chains are also called “everlasting chains”
(Jude 6) and “chains of darkness” (2 Pet. 2:4).
4 God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to
be reserved for judgment. (2 Pet. 2:4)
6 The angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness for the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)
C. Four evil angels are currently bound (with chains?) at the Euphrates river to be released to lead a large demonic
army that kills 1/3 of the human race (Rev. 9:14-15).
14 Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. (Rev. 9:14)
D. Demonic spirits and evil kings at the end of the Tribulation are imprisoned in this pit.
21 The Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones (demonic principalities, etc.), and on the earth the kings of the
earth. 22 They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit (bottomless pit), and will be shut up in the
prison (as in Rev. 20:1-3); after many days (1,000 years) they will be punished (in the Lake of Fire). Then the moon will
be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (in the Millennium)
and before His elders, gloriously. (Isa. 24:21-23)
E. Four titles of Satan (Rev. 20:2; 12:9) – these names will indict Satan at the bar of God’s justice for his crimes
against humanity. Each title depicts different dimensions of his crimes. He is called the “dragon” denoting his cruelty.
This is the name John used most (Rev. 12:3, 4, 7, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13). He is the “serpent of old” tying him
back to the Garden of Eden to hint of the Millennial rebellion in Rev. 20:7-9. He is called the “Devil” which means the
accuser and “Satan” which means the adversary (Rev. 2:9-13, 24; 3:9; 12:9, 12).
F. 1000 years – the length of Satan’s imprisonment is literally 1,000 year. This number is emphasized six times
(Rev. 20:3, 4, 5, 6, 7). There is no precedent in Scripture for a symbolic number to be given six times. Nothing in
Scripture is contradicted by this 1,000 years time frame. John’s point is that the Millennium is only allowed for a
restricted time.
G. Satan is bound – so he cannot deceive the nations for 1,000 years. Satan is put in prison below the earth to
keep him from influencing the people on the earth for 1,000 years.
H. The NT makes it clear that Satan is not bound in deceiving the nations in this age before the Second Coming. Satan
will be more active as we approach the end-of-the-age (Rev. 12:12). Satan was not bound in the Book of Acts. In
Acts 5:3, Satan filled Ananias and Sapphira’s heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. In 2 Cor 4:3-4, Satan blinds the minds of
unbelievers. Satan appears as an angel of light to deceive the church (2 Cor 11:14). People live "according to the
prince of the power of the air that works in the unbelievers (Eph 2:2). Satan hindered Paul’s travels (1 Thes 2:18).
Unsaved people are taken captive by Satan (2 Tim 2:26). Satan as our adversary roams the earth as a roaring lion
seeking to devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
IV. SATAN WILL BE BOUND IN FIVE WAYS (REV. 20:2-3)
A. Laid hold of Satan – a dramatic event in which Satan is filled with rage (Rev. 12:12)
B. Bound him – put supernatural chains on him so he could not deceive the nations
C. Cast him into the pit – put him in prison
D. Shut him up – kept him from any communication with or activity on the earth
E. Set a seal on him – to stop him from breaking out of prison
V. RESURRECTED SAINTS GIVEN THE LEADERSHIP OVER THE EARTH (REV. 20:4-6)
4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not
received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1000-years. 5 But the
rest of the dead did not live again until the 1000-years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is
he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and
of Christ, and shall reign with Him 1000-years. (Rev. 20:4-6)
A. The Millennial or Messianic Kingdom was prophesied often in the OT. Those who remain true to God through
history will replace the Antichrist’s government as Daniel prophesied. The saints of Rev. 19:14, 19 are the subject of
the phrase "they sat" (v. 4).
21 I was watching; and the same horn (Antichrist) was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, 22
until the Ancient of Days (the Father) came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the
time came for the saints to possess the kingdom…25 He (Antichrist) shall…persecute the saints of the Most High…
then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time (3½ years). 26 But the court shall
be seated, and they shall take away his (Antichrist’s) dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. 27 Then the
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people,
the saints of the Most High… (Dan. 7:21-27)
B. The saint’s highest roles in the Millennium: priests (worshipping) and kings (ruling). Priests worship, intercede, and
mediate the knowledge of God to people (with natural bodies on the Millennial earth), to one another and to angels.
Kings rule with judicial responsibility and authority. This role involves evaluating the past and helping to set the future
action plan for area of authority entrusted to them. This involves appointing people into positions within the Kingdom
of God infrastructure which includes training and managing those people.
VI. SATAN RELEASED TO DECEIVE THE NATIONS REV. 20:7-10
7 Now when the 1000-years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the
sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved
city. Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are… (Rev. 20:7-10)
Satan must be released at the end of the Millennium. Why? God will openly manifest the truth about the depth of human
sin (called the mystery of lawlessness in 2 Thes. 2:7) and about Satan as being incurably evil. Satan immediately
deceives the nations revealing that there was no rehabilitation or change in his character during his 1,000-year
prison sentence.
3 But after these things he must be released for a little while. (Rev. 20:3)