Synopsis: Revelation 20:1-10 has generated centuries of debate, yet its central message is clear: history belongs to the Lord. This sermon presents an optimistic amillennial view, arguing that Satan was bound through Christ’s death and resurrection, limiting his ability to deceive the nations while the gospel advances throughout the Church Age. During this symbolic millennium, believers who die reign with Christ in heaven as the Church boldly proclaims the gospel. Though a final surge of satanic opposition will precede Christ’s return, Satan’s defeat is certain. Therefore, Christians should live with tempered optimism, courageous faith, and unwavering confidence in Christ’s sovereign reign.

Text: Revelation 20:1-10
Date: July 19, 2026

Introduction

General: We are continuing our study in Revelation, and today we come to one of the most debated passages in all of Scripture, Revelation 20, where the Apostle John’s description of a 1,000 year period that we call The Millennium. Before we even attempt to study this together, I want to lay some ground rules.

Thrilled: First, let this passage thrill you. Do not be the type of Christian who says “that passage sounds too difficult to understand, so I can’t take the time for it.” No! It’s God’s Word! I want to see it and savor it and cherish it as if my life depends on it. Let it thrill you. Let’s seek to understand it and apply it.

Friends: Second, promise me that we are all going to leave here friends after today. This is one of those passages where some Christians have very strong views. And sometimes folks get very angry when someone suggests something other than how they interpret this passage. This passage is not a test of whether a person has saving faith or not. Let’s all leave here still loving each other.

No matter how you interpret this passage, the same main idea applies. This passage suggests to us today, that the world we inhabit is on a very fixed clock. The sovereign hand of God is guiding all events in history towards his chosen end. This is not an idea solely linked to this one passage today, but is a theme that has emerged from the book of Revelation throughout our entire study. It is a theme that is meant to give confidence, and assurance, and comfort when this world seems so difficult, and the pain of life feels overwhelming.

Main Idea: The main idea is simply this: Rest assured, history belongs to the Lord!

Revelation 20:1–10 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Exposition

General Flow: Let’s get a sense of the general flow of this passage. There are four movements within this passage.

Binding (1-3): First, there is what this passage refers to as the “binding of Satan” in verses 1-3. The image is of a great angel taking the dragon, throwing in a pit and sealing that pit shut for 1,000 years.

1,000 Years (4-6): Second, there is a lengthy period of time referred to “1,000 years.” During this time Satan is bound, and according to verses 4-6, those who have died with Christ are reigning alongside Christ in heaven.

Little While (7-9): Third, in verses 7-9 is the release of Satan at the end of the thousand years. Verse 3 refers to that time period as “a little while.” But in that “little while” Satan wages war violently against God and the Church.

Satan’s Defeat (10): Lastly, in verse 10, is the defeat of Satan once and for all. Where Satan is consumed by fire from heaven and thrown into the Lake of Fire where he will suffer forever alongside the other beasts and false prophets we have already met in Revelation.

Four clear movements.

Christ Events: The big question is “What and when is this describing? What is challenging about it, is that we already know from this book, as well as from other places in scripture the major events in Christian history. The first was at the cross and resurrection where Jesus died. That was a cosmic level event where Satan was defeated, and a new age was ushered in. After that, the next big event is Christ’s return. Christian’s are eagerly awaiting the return of Christ when he delivers the final death blow to Satan and ushers in Heaven on Earth. So, where do these events (the binding of Satan, the 1,000 years, and so on) fit in with those events?

Three Views: There are essentially three major views to answering that question. I am going to walk you through each of them briefly.

Premillennialism: The first view is called “premillennialism.” You can here the prefex “pre” at the beginning, which means “before.” Under this view, Christ returns “before” the Millennium. So, this view believes that at the end of this Church Age, Christ will return in physical body. At that point he will bind Satan, and he will rule from a throne in Jerusalem, for a literal thousand year period on Earth. At the end of the thousand years, the Devil will be released for one final battle.

This view is the most popular today in America, though historically it is more of a minority view. The problem with it, is that this passage nowhere says that Jesus is reigning on Earth from Jerusalem for the 1,000 years. In fact, verses 4-6 seem to fairly directly indicate that during the 1,000 years, Christ is reigning from heaven, alongside souls.

Postmillennialism: The second view is called “postmillennialism.” And you can hear the prefix “post” which means “after.” Christ will return “after” the 1,000 years. What does that mean? Classic postmillennials believe that in this Church Age, at some point, the Church will be so successful in Christianizing the world, and Christianizing every institution, that we will enter a golden age of Earth’s history, called the millennium. That millennium is not necessarily literally 1,000 years, but it is a symbolic to represent the perfection of that age. This view is obviously hyper-optimistic about the work the Church does, because we are building towards a Christianized Golden Age.

This view is quite unpopular today, but was a primary view of Christians for many generations, especially among the great Puritans who helped build the nation we are living in. In fact, there optimism about the Christianization of the world, is what drove them to do what they did.

This view, I believe gets much right. But they get one thing very wrong. And that is, that while I share their optimism about the power of Christianity to change the world, I do not believe the scriptures clearly teach a future golden age. Rather, it seems that the Church will grow, and Satan’s efforts will grow alongside it all the way up until the end.

Amillennialism/Inaugurated Millennium: Lastly, the third view is called “amillennialism.” The prefix “a” or “a” is a bit unfortunate to describe this view, because that prefix means the lack of something. So, an “atheist” is someone who does not believe in God. Well an amillennialist does not believe in a future millennium. Rather, they believe this passage is doing what so many other passages in Revelation has done. It is painting a picture of the Church Age through a different lens. The thousand years is not a literal thousand years, but rather symbolically represents a very long period of time that we are living in right now, what we call the Church Age.

Walk Through: Those are the three major views. As you can tell, I hold to Amillennialism. Let’s walk through this passage, and reveal God’s program for history, and what this passage teaches about it.

1 Satan Thrown Down: Recall the flow of this passage. Verses 1-3 speak about the “Binding of Satan.” According to this view, this is describing what happened through Christ’s death and resurrection 2,000 years ago. Satan was bound. But you might say, “In what way was he bound? Does he not still blind unbelievers, and wreak havoc upon the Church?” Yes. Yes he does. Does Satan not still do terrible things in this world? Yes, indeed he does. Revelation has painted awful pictures for us, of how bloody, gruesome, and twisted, and cunning the Devil is in this Church Age. He coopts governments and religions and people to wage war against the Church. Yet, in a very real sense, he has been thrown down already.

But consider that we have already come across Revelation talking about Satan in this way. Recall Revelation 12.

Revelation 12:7–9 “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

In that passage, the Devil is described as the “deceiver of the whole world.” And that passage is describing the events surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection. Through his death and through his resurrection, something happened to the Devil’s power that limited him from deceiving the nations in the same way that he used to. At the cross Christ threw Satan down, or as our text says today “he bound him” / limited him from functioning in the same way he was before the cross.

Elsewhere: This is confirmed by a number of other passages in Scripture. John 12:31-33 tell

John 12:31–33 “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Likewise, Colossians 2:15 describes what Christ accomplished on the cross this way:

Colossians 2:15 “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Deceiving the Nations: Our text today gets specific. It tells in what way he is bound.

Revelation 20:3 “… so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended…”

Before Christ came, the nations of the world were in spiritual darkness. Only one nation, Israel, had direct access to God. They were to be a light to all nations, but they struggled mightily in that task. In general, all of the nations of the world served false gods and insodoing, served the Devil himself. But then Christ came. He died for our sins. He rose from the grave defeating sin, Satan, and death. He gave us His Spirit, and has commissioned us to take the gospel to the nations. And Christ bound Satan from deceiving the nations any longer. Indeed, for 2,000 years of Church history missionaries have taken the gospel to the corners of this world with great success. Even in those places where Satan has the tightest grip, we are witnessing individuals get baptized in Christ and underground churches established.

Gospel Plea Here:

Application: What if you believed this? Many of us live our Christian lives as if Satan is too formidable a foe. They say that we should be pessimistic about what we can accomplish, because Satan’s grip is far too tight on culture. It is far too tight on the nations. No!

Satan is bound from deceiving the nations any longer.

2 Long Period: The second phase is described as a thousand year period, or symbollically, a very long period of time.

Preaching Triumph: Once again, this long period of time has been described multiple times in Revelation already. Recall back in chapter 11, we read of the witness of the Church and it was described through the symbolism of the preaching of two prophets.

Revelation 11:3 “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.””

There it was 1,260 days of the word of God being preached. There it was a lengthy period of time where God’s Word goes forward and triumphs.

Nourished: In chapter 12, the same story was told through a different lens. In that chapter the Church was described as a woman being persecuted by the Devil, and we are told:

Revelation 12:14 “But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.”

“A time, and times, and half a time.” What is that referrring to? A very long time! In which God’s people are protected and comforted in all their affliction—the Church Age. What is our 1,000 years referring to? It is the very long period of time that began immediately after Satan was bound, which we call the Church Age. And we are living in it, right now.

What is happening during this Millennium, this Church Age? Well, we have seen much already in Revelation. We know that the gospel goes forward in power. We know that the preaching of God’s Word is successful. We know that the Church is nourished. Praise God. But this passage speaks of two very specific ideas.

First Resurrection: First, in verses 4-7 a great picture is painted of what is happening in the spiritual world during this Church Age. John has a vision of all those who had died with their in faith in Christ.

Revelation 20:4 “… They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

This is remarkable imagery. It tells us that those who have pledged their allegiance to Christ, who followed, and served him in this life, even when put through great trial, do not only come to life upon their death, but they reign with Christ throughout this Church Age. Church, when a loved one dies in this world with their faith in Christ, as a follower of Jesus, they immediately wake up alive with Christ in heaven. They are not only alive, but they are reigning. A legitimate authority is granted to them. Heaven is not just life, but it is life alongside Christ who reigns as King. This is called the First Resurrection.

The Rest of the Dead: But verse 5 is very clear.

Revelation 20:5 “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended…”

Who are the “rest of the dead?” Well, it is all those who never placed their faith in Christ. It is those who did bow the knee to this world and to Babylon. They have no part in the first resurrection. They have no share in reigning with Christ. Their judgment here is simply described in verse 6 as “the second death.” What is meant by that is Hell. Oh friend, may that not be your destiny. Choose Christ! And when you die, you will participate in the first resurrection.

The thousand year period is this Church Age.

3 Satan’s Little Period: The third phase in God’s program of history is called “Satan’s little period”. Verse 3 refers to it as a “short time.”

Revelation 20:7 “And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison”

Once again, we have already seen this described in Revelation. In Revelation 11, after the two prophets preach the word of God, we read:

Revelation 11:7 “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,”

This is describing what will happen at the close of this Church Age, when Satan knowing his time is short, will give one last final effort to expunge the Church. If you have been watching the World Cup, you have seen what teams do in the final minutes of a game when they know they have lost and their time is running out. They put everyone on attack. They pull their goalie. And they get wreckless. Gone is the order of passing the ball through the middle field and creating wise attacks. There’s no time for that. All there is time for, is an all out blitz on the goal. As this age one day will draw towards its final moments, Satan will wage war upon the Church in a way never before experienced in the history of the world. And that is saying something. May God have mercy upon our souls if any of us are alive during these days.

Gog & Magog: Verse 8, in describing this war against the Church references “Gog and Magog.” Much has been made about this. Some folks who get quite creative in their biblical interpretation think this is a reference to modern day Russia. But, what John is doing here is quite straight forward. He is referencing an Old Testament passage from the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 38:2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him”

Antiochus: In this passage, written hundreds of years before Christ during the Age of Israel, when the Church was looking forward to the coming of their Messiah. During those days Ezekiel prophesied of a King named whom he named Gog, from the land of Magog. Most commentators have associated that particular prophecy with a particular event that happened about 500 years after Ezekiel wrote it, when the bitter enemy of the Jews, a man named Antiochus Epiphanes, entered and desecrated the temple in 168BC.

Last Great Battle: Why does John use this language to describe the last battle Satan will wage before Christ returns? The answer is simple. Gog and Magog, or Antiochus & the Seleucid Empire, was the last great battle of Israel before the end of that age. That age ended at the coming of Christ. John now uses that battle to describe the final battle at the end of this age, to say, this battle will signal the end!

Awful: Let me be clear. I believe that in the final days before Christ returns, there will be a surge of Satanic inspired persecution of the Church, the likes of which this world has never seen. Whether we are witnessing movements towards that final battle right now, or whether it will take place in a thousand years, I do not know. But those will be sorrowful days to be alive. And praise God, that it is only for a “little while.”

4 Second Coming: The fourth phase of God’s program for history will occur at the climax of “Satan’s little period.” It is described in verses 9 and 10. We are told that at the end, just when Satan looks as if he is going to win, as if the Church will finally be defeated, Christ will return:

Revelation 20:9 “… but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,”

And the very next verse is the final judgment of Satan, where he is thrown into the eternal lake of fire. This describes the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When Christ returns to this Earth, he will not come to usher in another interval period between this life and heaven. He does not come to establish a 1,000 year period. No! When Christ return, He brings with him the end, the final judgment, heaven on earth (as we will study in greater detail in coming weeks).

At that moment, Satan’s efforts are extinguished immediately.

The Devil will suffer the agonizing torment of eternity in the Lake of Fire, known as the second death.

Christ will restore this world to its full glory, a world without sin, Satan, or death.

Christ will have the ultimate victory.

Concluding Application

That is my exposition of the text. Let me close with a two additional thoughts for application.

1 Tempered Optimism: First, in describing the Millennium, this Age of the Church, I discussed that we ought to have a “tempered optimism.” What I mean by that is that the thousand year period of the Church Age is an age of Kingdom Advancement. Many Christians today are pessimistic about what the Church can accomplish in this age. They look at secularism, and Islam, and other satan influences that wield the levers of power, and they think “we’re just the nice Church, we can’t do anything against those powers.”

No! There is no power on this planet like the Church! And we need to live like it. This is the age of the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom. We will be resisted at every step. Nothing will be easy. And indeed, anyone who has ever done anything worthwhile in the kingdom of God will admit to that. But we must build.

Illustration – CCA: A few years ago, some of us got in a room together and were talking about the schooling in Chicago. While there are many opportunities within the Chicago Public Schools, it is also clear that CPS has a lot of problems. And then we said, “Isn’t Jesus on the throne? And isn’t the Kingdom going forward? Why can’t we build a world class school? What, are we afraid to try somethign bold in the name of Jesus? Let’s build the best school in the city! Let’s make it so Christ saturated, that every student who graduates is ready to storm the gates of hell with us. Let’s make it so academically excellent, that parents from all different backgrounds are fighting to get their kids in. And lets make it so financially accessible, that no matter who you are or what your background is, we’ll make it possible. What are we afraid to try bold things? Are we afraid to raise money? No, we’re Christian optimists! And Church, by God’s grace, we did it. We built Chicago Christian Academy. We’re on year three, and it is thriving and growing like crazy. You see, Christ’s reign is not some future thing, that we’re waiting for. He’s reigning right now. That doesn’t mean every Christian venture will succeed, it is permission to be bold, to pray fervently, and to build institutions, and create to the glory of God.

2 The Enemy: I have spoken of the optimism we should have. But let me remind us of our enemy. Satan is bound from deceiving the nations. But he is still a prowling lion. During WWII when the allies were closing in on Hitler, the reports are that Hitler increasingly became erratic. Eye witnesses say that at the Battle of Berlin, shortly before his death, he screamed at his generals for hours, accusing them of treason and cowardice. He constantly berated his staff. He often refused to accept intelligence reports, and would command armies that had already been defeated, to accomplish set missions.

What I am trying to say is that the more the Kingdom of God advances, the more we can expect Satan to rage. I do know when the end will come. But in the days and years leading up to that, I suspect we will epxerience bizarre behavior from Satan. Be warned! Keep your gaze fixed on Christ who is king. And if this generation, is the generation, to be alive during those final days, so be it. Satan can beat down on the Church all he wants. He can cause laws to put many of us in jail. He can send spies to try to tear us apart from the inside. He can co-opt the harlot to spill our blood on the streets. May we remember the words of Martin Luther, that he put to my all time favorite hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.

Rest assured, history belongs to the Lord!