Revelation 20:1–3

Context

The Book of Revelation records the visions that John saw on the island of Patmos, and this passage is likewise a vision report, opening with "And I saw." In the immediately preceding chapter 19, the rider on the white horse defeats the beast and the false prophet. The verses that follow, Revelation 20:4–6, depict the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years; verses 7–10 describe Satan's release and final defeat; and verses 11–15 present the great white throne judgment.

In this passage an angel, holding the key of the "bottomless pit" (the abyss) and a great chain, lays hold on the dragon, binds him for a thousand years, shuts him up, and sets a seal upon him. The dragon is called "that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan," repeating the language of Revelation 12:9. The stated purpose of the binding is "that he should deceive the nations no more."

Interpretation

In discussions of the millennium, two questions are central: when the binding takes place, and whether the thousand years should be understood as a literal period.

• Historic premillennial reading: Chapter 20 is understood as following the Second Coming of Christ described in chapter 19. After His return, Christ reigns on earth, and Satan is bound during that period. Some early church fathers, including Irenaeus, are known to have anticipated such a millennial reign.
• Dispensational premillennial reading: The thousand years are taken as a literal period. After the Second Coming, an earthly kingdom is established along with the restoration of Israel, and Satan's activity ceases entirely during that time. This reading forms part of the dispensationalist eschatological framework, which includes the Rapture and the Great Tribulation.
• Amillennial reading: Chapter 20 is read not as an event following chapter 19 but as a scene that presents the entire church age again from a different perspective. The thousand years is a symbolic number referring to the period between Christ's first and second comings. The binding is understood as the condition in which Satan, defeated through the cross and the resurrection, can no longer prevent the gospel from being proclaimed to the nations. Matthew 12:29, which speaks of first binding the strong man, is cited in support. After Augustine set forth this reading in The City of God, it became widely accepted in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed traditions.
• Postmillennial reading: A period comes first in which the world is gradually brought under the reign of Christ through the spread of the gospel, and the Second Coming follows. Satan's binding is likewise understood to take place progressively over the course of this process.

Debates and Issues

• The extent of the binding: Premillennialists argue that a binding so complete that the angel "shut him up, and set a seal upon him" cannot be reconciled with the New Testament testimony that the devil is still active (1 Peter 5:8). Amillennialists reply that the binding is limited to preventing him from deceiving the nations.
• The nature of the thousand years: Revelation contains many numbers used symbolically. Whether the thousand years is read literally or symbolically therefore depends on how the interpreter understands apocalyptic literature.
• Denominational positions: The Westminster Confession of Faith confesses the Second Coming and the Last Judgment but does not specify the nature of the millennium. As a result, views differ even within the same denomination.

In the Korean Church

The early Korean church is known to have held a strongly premillennial expectation of the Second Coming under the influence of missionaries, and the end-times preaching of Kil Sun-joo is often cited as a representative example. The Holiness Church emphasizes the Second Coming by including it in its Fourfold Gospel (regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the Second Coming). At the same time, some groups that interpret Revelation around a particular person or organization use the millennium passage as a basis for their own doctrines. Several denominations have identified such interpretations of Revelation as problematic in the course of their heresy rulings.

Related Passages

• Revelation 12:9
• Revelation 20:7–15
• 2 Peter 2:4–5
• 1 John 3:8
• 1 Corinthians 15:22–26