Revelation 20:1-15 – the “thousand years”

The Christian church throughout its history has debated against each other on their understanding of the “thousand years.” As the context has clearly stated, the “thousand years” is directly connected to the reign of Christ together with His believers (Rev. 20:4). It is also a period wherein Satan would be restrained for a period, before unleashing him again for the last time (Rev. 20:1-3). Some have understood this event as something in the future, and others see it as a present event. I believed the disagreement arise not from hermeneutical differences but from theological. Often times, our theological bias cause us to interpret a certain passage differently. CAN”T WE EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS AGREE WITH ONE ANOTHER IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF “THOUSAND YEARS“?

 

In Deuteronomy 29:29, the Bible said: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” This passage was given not to excuse us from our misunderstanding of Scriptural truth, but to emphasis the importance of Scriptural message as Word of God to us. Whatever was revealed in the Scripture is for our understanding. God will never reveal incomprehensible truths in His Scripture. Therefore, understanding the “thousand years” in Revelation is as important as any other truth in the Scripture. Revelation is often neglected in pulpit because of conflict it often creates. But shouldn’t we Christians be submissive to the message of Revelation as we are to other books of the Bible?

The Book of Revelation was written to encourage believers undergoing Roman oppression. The Jewish temple was burned down, its people went into Diaspora because of persecution. Christians live like nomads, not having a place of their own. In effect, the church began to wane on their devotion and compromise on their faith. Only a few remain faithful to Jesus and His message. Thus, Christ revealed His message to John, which in turn was communicated to the churches (7 churches initially, but eventually to all the churches including us). The theme of Revelation was to encourage believers. Believers should hold on to their faith because Jesus Christ had already won the battle, although demonic activity would continue, but it was restrained by Christ and His gospel (Matt. 28:18-20). Revelation 20-22 is a conclusion or recapitulation of the previous chapters. The “thousand years” signify the period from the 1^st Coming of Jesus Christ (encompassing His sacrifice, death and resurrection) to the period prior to His 2^nd Coming. The “thousand years” therefore is not about FUTURE reign of Christ with His believers, but instead it is about the PRESENT, EFFECTIVE and REAL reign of Christ with believers. This reign or kingdom is not visible one because God had intended the weeds and the wheat to grow together before the HARVEST TIME (Matt. 13:24-30). The “thousand years” therefore has the same meaning and message as that of 2Peter 3:8-10 – it is the time of grace and patience. The message of Revelation is therefore timely and relevant in our present generation. Today, Christians compromise their faith not because of Roman persecution, but because of secularism and materialism. Present day Christians are indistinguishable from non-Christian. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  If He condemns complacency before, He still does today.  Let us hold on to our Bible and study the message of Revelation as revealed by God. Revelation ended with an appropriate warning:

“18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

Jesus gave us a fair warning, let us heed His warning and not take away the message of Revelation. May the good Lord continue to strengthen us for His ministry. God bless!