THE 1000 YEAR REIGN OF CHRIST
Rev 20:4-6
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. 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 power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Premillenialist use these verses for the basis of the doctrine of the “1000 year reign of Christ.”
- Their teaching is that Christ will someday return to this earth and establish His kingdom and will reign here for 1000 years with the saints.
- Prior to His return will be the “Rapture” as well as a period of “Great Tribulation.”
- Obviously none of these things have yet taken place because we have not been “raptured” where all the faithful to Christ are taken into heaven.
- Therefore, those who teach this doctrine say that the events of chapter 20 must still take place in the future.
- What about the idea of the “1000 year reign of Christ” here on earth?
- Will there be a literal 1000 year period of time when Christ will rule over His kingdom here on the earth?
- Is that what this passage is talking about?
- Are the Premillenialists right?
First of all, glance through the first 6 verses of the passage:
- Notice in verse 1 that this is a vision…it is what John “saw.
- All through the book truths have been presented to us in “figurative” images…and now, to take the “1000 year reign of Christ here on earth” and make it something that is to be literally fulfilled is not being consistent.
- This is a “vision” and therefore, you cannot insist that what John says here will be literally fulfilled.
Second: Notice that John saw an “angel coming down”; vs. 1.
- As far as I can tell there is no mention at all in this chapter of Jesus coming down to this earth to establish His kingdom.
- John apparently sees an “angel” coming down and it may be that the angel does come to the earth…even that is not specifically mentioned.
- But no where in the chapter do we read of Jesus coming to the earth as Premillenialists suggest.
THREE ADDITIONAL POINTS THAT MUST BE STRESSED IN UNDERSTANDING “THE 1000 YEAR REIGN OF CHRIST.”
First: Nothing is said in the verse about the length of Jesus’ reign.
Vs. 4: And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- If I were to say that “I worked with Mr. Jones for 10 years” have I said anything about how long Mr. Jones worked?
- The time that Mr. Jones worked cannot be determined by my statement and the passage above states how long the saints reigned with Christ and it says nothing about how long Christ reigns.
- Therefore, to use this passage to teach that Christ will reign for 1000 years is to say something that the passage does not say.
Second: If one passage is interpreted in such a way that it contradicts all other passages on the subject, something is wrong with the interpretation.
- Nothing else is scripture backs a literal 1000 year earthly reign of Christ.
Third: A literal one thousand year reign places a limit on the length of time that Christ will reign. Two other passages in Revelation completely refute the literal 1000 year reign.
- Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
- Rev 22:5 And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.
The point is this: The number 1000 does not conflict with “forever and ever.” It is merely a symbolic way of saying the same thing. The saints spoken of in Revelation 20 and verse 4 who “had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand”, those saints began their reign with Christ before their death, Rev. 1:6; 5: 9-10, and they continued to reign with Him even after they were killed by the beast…or by Rome. That reign will not end after a thousand years have passed. It will last forever.
Summary: To use this passage to say that there will be a literal 1000 year earthly reign of Christ on this earth is to take unjustified liberties with the passage. The Lord’s kingdom has already been established; Col. 1: 12-13, Rev. 1: 5; Rev. 5: 9-10; as His saints we are part of His kingdom, and as such we will reign with Him forever and ever as long as we remain faithful even unto death; Rev. 2: 10.