We sing about it every Christmas.
We may not know that we do, but we do. The hard-hearted sing about it. The secular cynical sing about it. The barely sober sing about it. We all sing about the millennium.
It might surprise you to know that when Isaac Watts wrote “Joy to the World,” he wasn’t writing a Christmas carol. He was reflecting on Psalm 98, a text that celebrates the upcoming thousand-year earthly reign of Jesus. During this golden age, Jesus will rule the world in truth and grace. He will make the nations prove the wonders of His love. He will make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found.
Isaac Watts was one of many students of Scripture who look forward to an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity: an age during which Jesus will reign from a physical throne in a geographical Jerusalem and, for an extended period, the world will rest.
Not all students of Scripture agree with Watts. There are many God- fearing, Christ-seeking, heaven-bound men and women who see the Bible’s references to the thousand-year reign as a symbol, a metaphor. The discussion is a rigorous one.
Three Essential Truths of Christian Eschatology
When it comes to eschatology — the study of the end times — most Christians agree on three essentials:
- The visible return of Jesus Christ.
- The bodily resurrection of the dead.
- The final judgment of all people.
These fundamental truths form the foundation of the Christian hope regarding the end times. They comprise and create the common ground upon which we can serve together, enjoy fellowship, and worship Jesus.
While there is robust discussion regarding details of what’s about to happen, we cannot let different interpretations threaten our common bond. We can be decisive but never divisive.
Christ is coming. The dead will be living. And everything will be set right.
Amen!
Many Christians feel no need for further discussion. (In fact, just mention the topic of end times, and some run for the hills.) Others of us, however, are curious. We want to know what happens next. Foundational to this question is a more focused query: How are we to interpret the golden age described by the prophet John?
A Thousand Years: Three Interpretations of the Book of Revelation
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon — that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan — and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. — Rev. 20:1–6 (NLT)
Students of the Bible interpret this text in different ways.
- Some see it as figurative (nonliteral) language and believe we are in the millennium now. They believe the kingdom of God began with the first coming of Jesus and will be consummated by his second coming. This view has come to be called amillennialism.
- Others believe the kingdom of God will gradually progress into a time of worldwide peace that will end with the second coming of Jesus. The reference to a thousand years is seen as symbolic, simply describing a long period of time. This view is often described as postmillennialism because it identifies Jesus’ second coming as occurring after (post) the millennium.
- Still others interpret Revelation 20 as describing a literal thousand-year period in which Satan will be bound and Christ will be king. Most call this premillennialism because it refers to Jesus’ second coming occurring before (pre) the millennium.
What Difference Does It Make?
Does it matter what view a person takes? Regarding salvation, not one bit. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by cracking the code of millennialism.
Our answer does, however, shape the way we see end-time events.
Do you believe the millennium is symbolic, figurative language? Then your time line is simple. Christ will return in judgment. The saved will be saved. The lost souls will be condemned, and our eternal state will begin.
Do you hold to a more literal interpretation of Revelation 20? If so, then you likely anticipate other dramatic moments: A rapture of the church into the presence of Christ. A time of severe tribulation on the earth. The triumphant return of Jesus from heaven. A thousand-year reset of nature and humankind.
P.O.W.E.R.
So, will we experience a one-thousand-year reign with Jesus?
My answer is yes. Jesus will someday rule from the physical city of Jerusalem. The earth will be restored to its garden-of-Eden splendor, and we will walk on a perfect planet in perfected bodies. This interpretation is in line with the premillennial position.
What leads me to that conclusion? Interesting question. I never had a premillennial pastor or professor. The seminary I attended taught that the millennial kingdom is the current age. Yet as I studied Scripture for myself, a shift in my thinking took place. The reasons for that shift can be listed in an acrostic, P.O.W.E.R.
Promises Yet Unfulfilled
A millennial kingdom provides an opportunity for God’s covenants to be honored.
The earliest covenant is found in the earliest words God spoke about humankind. “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28 NKJV). Adam and Eve were created to oversee creation, but humanity has fallen from its intended position.
Unfulfilled covenants remain between God and Israel (Gen. 12:1–3 and 15:18), too. God promised Israel a specific piece of land, which includes the modern-day nation of Israel plus parts of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq (Gen. 15:18–21).
God also made a specific covenant with David that one of David’s descendants would sit on David’s throne and reign over his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:12–16). This pledge was specifically applied to Jesus when he was born (Luke 1:32).
Jesus is certainly ruling from heaven in the current age. But the promise made to David requires that Jesus sit on David’s throne and rule over David’s kingdom, the nation of Israel.
Has God’s plan been changed? Will he forsake it? Amend his covenants? No. These unfulfilled covenants remain between God and humanity, and they will be realized.
We can add to this list a collection of prophecies that fit neither the present age nor our heavenly state. For example, Isaiah foresaw an era in which newborns won’t die and lifespans will stretch into centuries (Isa. 65:20), and when “the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat” (Isa. 11:6 NLT) — a time when “nations will rally to him” and “the Lord will reach out his hand a second time” (Isa. 11:11).
These prophecies are far different from the present age, but also an inaccurate description of our eternal state. Life spans are much longer, and people and animals coexist in peace — but people are still experiencing death, and some are still seeking salvation.
Apparently heaven’s itinerary includes a stage in history that is far greater than the status quo but far less than our final home. The millennium fits this description.
Overthrow of Satan
In John’s vision, “[The angel] seized the dragon — that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan — and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:2–3 NLT).
Satan is a fallen, embittered, and evil angel. He wreaks havoc on earth and leaves devastation in his wake. Every war, worry, and weary soul can be blamed on him. Hence, to imagine Satan bound, locked away from humanity — what an appealing thought!
Has this incarceration occurred? Has Satan been removed from the earth and locked away?
As far as I can tell, he is still the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30 NASB), “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4 NASB), “the commander of the powers in the unseen world” (Eph. 2:2 NLT), and a “roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 GNT). Satan’s incarceration is a yet-to-be event.
Word-for-Word Interpretation
I wrote this phrase on the page in my Bible that precedes the book of Revelation: “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, we will seek no other sense.” I don’t know who first set forth that rule, but I like it. The plainest reading of Revelation 20 is a literal thousand-year reign. John mentions it six times in seven verses (Rev. 20:2-7).
Why not take John’s number literally?
The prophet Daniel would have. Toward the end of his life, Daniel offered a prayer that occupies half of the ninth chapter of his book and deserves a spot on the list of the great prayers of the Bible. Daniel called on God to forgive the Jewish people and return them to Jerusalem.
What prompted the prayer? He was reading the prophecy of Jeremiah, a prophet from the prior generation: “This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jer. 25:11 NIV).
This is a prophet reading a prophet, thereby teaching us how to read prophecy. At the time Daniel read Jeremiah’s prediction, sixty-seven years of captivity had passed. So with the seventy years coming to an end, he prayed for God to keep his promise.
Daniel didn’t assume seventy was a symbolic number. He didn’t define seventy as a metaphorical phrase for an undisclosed number of years. When he read the phrase “seventy years,” he assumed it meant seventy literal years.
For that reason, unless there is a clear reason to do otherwise, I lean literal.
Early Church Fathers
For the first three hundred years of church history, almost all its leaders were premillennial.1 Most significant among them was Papias (AD 60–130), the Bishop of Hierapolis, who was a disciple of none other than the apostle John. If a student of the author of Revelation ascribed to a literal understanding of the millennium in Revelation 20, that’s a compelling argument to do the same.
The list of early adherents to the literal reign of Christ also includes Irenaeus (c. 120–202) and Tertullian (160–230). Justin Martyr, who died in AD 165, wrote, “But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.”2
The church fathers embraced the promise of an earthly reign of Jesus on earth. The evidence of history is compelling.
Resurrections in Revelation
Recall from the passage from Revelation above that John foresaw two resurrections: one for those who “had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands” and one for the rest (Rev. 20:4–5 NLT).
John is referring to the tribulation — the seven years of trouble. The tribulation will be a season of struggle for all people, especially those who resist Satan. Only those who take his mark on their foreheads or hands will buy and sell (Rev. 13:16-18).
Multitudes will refuse to kneel before the devil’s goons. They will be killed for their beliefs and come to life again and reign with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. John is careful to point out: “The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended” (v. 5).
Two resurrections: one for the redeemed and one for the rebels. One at the beginning of the millennium, one at the end. If there is no millennium, how can there be two resurrections?
A Glorious Day
Just moments prior to his ascension into heaven, the followers of Christ inquired, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6 NKJV).
Many scholars give the apostles a bad rap for this inquiry. They accuse them of misinterpretation, thinking they had one thing in mind when they talked about the “kingdom” — specifically, a literal kingdom headquartered in Israel in which Christ would reign as King — while Jesus was only interested in something more symbolic. If that’s the case, we would expect Jesus to correct them and adjust their thinking.
We listen for the Master’s kind rebuke, but it doesn’t come. He simply explains: “It is not for you to know times or seasons” (Acts 1:7 NKJV).
Christ didn’t challenge or correct their kingdom conception. Why? Could it be the apostles were correct? That Jesus will establish a kingdom on earth?
Scripture is not shy about this promise. Examine the itinerary of your journey home, and you will find ten centuries reserved by God for him to do what he promised to do — establish Eden. Place your ear upon the pages of your Bible and you will hear the hoofbeats of a coming king.
I do.
Promises yet unfulfilled,
Overthrow of Satan,
Word-for-word interpretation,
Early church fathers, and
Resurrections in Revelation
convince me that Christ will reign on the earth in P.O.W.E.R.
A glorious day awaits God’s children. It seems to include an interlude of earthly abundance. It most certainly includes an eternity of joy in God’s presence. Your longings for a world made right will become a reality. Our Father has a plan, and he holds us in his hand.
Joy to the world!
Be Prepared, Not Scared
This post was adapted from What Happens Next: A Traveler’s Guide Through the End of This Age by Max Lucado.
Are we living in the end times? If so, what does that mean for you?
In contrast to the confusion and anxiety that often comes with this topic, Max Lucado believes God wants us to be prepared, not scared; informed, not intimidated. He writes: “The future is not frightening if you know the future. And you can know the future when you know who holds it.”
What Happens Next is an optimistic, accessible, and nonsensational guide to what the Bible says about heaven’s time line that will empower you to face the future with faith.
In Max’s signature encouraging style, he reminds us, “It’s all about hope. It’s all about him.”
PLUS — watch the first session of the What Happens Next Bible Study Guide video series free on YouTube!
What Happens Next is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.
Footnotes
- Mark Hitchcock, The End: Everything You’ll Want to Know About the Apocalypse (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2018), 412. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. II (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1910, rep. 1995), 614. ↩︎
- Justin Martyr, “The Dialogue with Trypho” (chapter LXXX, para. 239), in Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. ↩︎
Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 150 million products in print. Visit his website at MaxLucado.com.
