Exegesis of Revelation, Chapter 20

¶ … Book of Revelation is a unique portion of the New Testament. Unlike the other Books found in the latter part of the Bible, the Book of Revelation is not presented as a historical document or an instructional discussion, but is essentially a prophetic book, intended to deliver a glimpse of upcoming history that affects the happenings of the church. Also more mystery and disagreement surrounds the Book of Revelation than any other part of the New Testament. Why is this so? One reason why there is so much disharmony in the interpretations of the Book of Revelation is that there are different perspectives from which this apocalyptic book could be understood. The magnificence of revelation is apparent in its intersection of shared imagery, language and style. It is often beneficial to read revelation alongside the Old Testament. Bible scholars have found up to 500 references from the Old Testament in Revelation.

The perspectives held by different individuals vary according to their personal beliefs, schooling, and agendas. The book is written in a style called apocalyptic literature, which was popular from 200 B.C. To 200 A.D, and was normally used in times of persecution, usually depicting the conflict. Features of this style of writing include the use of highly figurative of or symbolic language between good and evil. The element of repetition is an important characteristic of the Book of Revelation. In order to interpret the book properly, it is necessary to understand the historical context in which it was written.

Although the meaning of the text of the Book of Revelation is open to interpretation, the authorship of the Book has been shown to be quite definite. The Book of Revelation was authored by the apostle John, brother of James, who was known as the one "who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ" (1:1-2). The authorship of the book by John is supported by the testimony of Justin Martyr (165 A.D.), Clement of Alexandria (220 A.D.), Hippolytus (236 A.D.), and Origen (254 A.D.).

There is controversy over when exactly the Book of Revelation was written, and one's interpretation perspective may influence which date to adhere to. There are two dates proposed by different scholars for the authorship of the book. The first date proposed is from 81 A.D. To 96 A.D., which was the end of the reign of Emperor Domitian. The other proposed date is 65-68 A.D., which was the latter part of the reign of Nero. The first proposed date is followed by the ancient church and is supported by historical testimony. The second proposed date, however, is supported by internal evidence found within the Book of Revelation itself.

The visions that inspired John to write the Book of Revelation were seen upon the Island of Patmos. Johnson (1891) explains the validity of this claim in the following passage:

It is the Universal testimony of the early church that John survived the destruction of Jerusalem, that when the storm of war was gathering around that devoted city he, in obedience to the Lord's warning (Matt. 24:16), fled from the coming desolation, and finally took up his abode in Ephesus, in the midst of the churches of Asia, founded by the apostle Paul. During his long sojourn in this region, which extended until the close of his life, he was banished in the persecution of the latter part of the reign of Domitian. Patmos, the place of exile, is simply a rocky prison house in the sea. It consists of three rocky masses connected by isthmuses, is about thirty miles in circuit, lies in the south part of the Aegean sea, and one of a group called the Sporades.

John was influenced by the prophecies of Daniel more than any other book, and the Book of Revelation was written with a similar purpose to the book of Daniel. The Book of Daniel was written with the purpose of comforting the Jews under the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. Similarly, the Book of Revelation was written at a time when the Christians were cruelly persecuted under the reign of Domitian, and false-prophets tried to seduce people into heathen practices. The main message in the Book of Revelation is for Christians to stay true to their faith and to have courage in dealing with misfortunes. John encourages Christians with promises of reward, and that Christ's triumphant return is at hand, when he will come to judge the living and the dead. However, the time of Christ's return is unknown. In fact, many Christians of the apostolic age believed that Christ would return during their own lifetime or generation.

Often times, the purpose of determining authorial intention is to safeguard one's own perspective of interpretation. Nonetheless, the main purpose of the Book of Revelation is clearly stated at the beginning and the end of the book (1:1,3; 22:10,16): to reveal "things which must shortly come to pass." Specifically, the Book of Revelation may be interpreted as a message from Christ himself of the judgement to come upon those who were persecuting His people, and this judgement was especially directed towards two enemies, Babylon the harlot and the beast. The Harlot is often interpreted as either the city of Rome or Jerusalem. The beast, which supported the harlot, is often interpreted as the Roman Empire led by persecuting emperors, such as Nero and Domitian. Overall, the purpose of the Book of Revelation may be interpreted as a message of warning for erring disciples and a message of comfort for faithful disciples. The key verse that summarizes the Book of Revelation is found at Revelation 17:14, and reads as follows:

These will make war with the lamb, and the lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."

There are generally four different views utilized in the interpretation of the Book of Revelation. All methods of interpretation have something of value to offer, and nothing is gained by repressing one interpretation in favour of another. These include the preterist view, the historicist view, the futurist view, and the idealist view. The preterist view believes that the book refers to events that were fulfilled in the first century A.D., or shortly thereafter. This perspective promotes the idea that the book was written primarily to encourage the original readers. Preterists would believe that the current value of the Book of Revelation is didactic, or it teaches the value of faithfulness to God.

The historicist view interprets the book as providing a panoramic view of the church from its inception through history. This view believes that the Book of Revelation contains information about events such as the rise of Catholicism, Islam, the Protestant Reformation, etc., ending with the second coming of Christ. Historicists would believe that the book encourages Christians living throughout all periods in history.

The futurist view holds that the Book of Revelation depicts events that immediately precede the second coming of Christ. Therefore, much of the book is unfolding now, or has yet to occur. Futurists believe that the Book of Revelation holds the most value for those who will be living at the time of Christ's return.

The Idealist view ascertains that the Book of Revelation does not address any specific historical situation. Alternately, it is enforcing the principle that good will ultimately triumph over evil. Idealists believe that the Book of Revelation is relevant to any time in history. The chosen method of interpretation varies depending on personal, educational, and historical factors.

Overall, the whole Book of Revelation might be divided into five parts. The first part contains chapters one to four, and it embraces the Introduction, the Vision of the Son of Man, the Letters to the Seven Churches, and Vision of the Opened Heaven and the Throne of God. The second part, which is comprised of chapters five to eleven, opens with a Vision of a Book sealed with Seven Seals in the Hands of Him who sits upon the Throne, which is the Book of Destiny whose contents are hidden by the seals. The Lamb of God opens the seals and consequentially reveals the future. As each seal is opened a vision appears which delivers a symbol representing a period of history relevant to the church. Six seals are opened, followed by a pause before the opening of the seventh seal. The seventh seal is then opened and is found to contain Seven Thunders and Seven Trumpets. The trumpets are sounded in succession, and each is followed by important events. When the last trumpeted is sounded, the End arrives with the return of Christ. In other words, the Seven Seals, with the Seven Trumpets under the last seal reach to the end of time.

The third part, which is comprised of chapters twelve through eighteen, opens with a vision of a woman, which is a symbol of the church. A Seven-headed Beast and a Ten-horned Beast, enemies of the woman, appear, which symbolize Pagan Rome. A Two-Horned beast also appears, which could represent Papal Rome. Sitting on top of the Seven-headed Beast is a False Woman, which is a symbol of a False Church. The figures described all change and Babylon is overthrown.

The fourth part of the Book of Revelation contains chapters nineteen and twenty. This part describes the Great Victory over the opposing powers, the millennial period and the ultimate uprising and defeat of Satan. This part will be the focus of the following exegesis. The fifth and final part of the book contains chapters twenty-one and twenty-two, and it describes the Glorious Home of the Redeemed Saints, and it contains Closing Exhortations.

Chapter twenty of the Book of Revelation falls in the latter part of the book that describes the power of Christ over Satan and his kingdom. In this part the Lamb defeats the dragon and the beast. This main theme is developed through five successive scenes, which are the struggle, the fall of Babylon, the harlot, the victory, and final beatitude.

Like all the other chapters in the book of Revelation, chapter twenty is written in figurative language rich in symbolism. Therefore, in order to understand the message behind the text, it is necessary to dissect it line by line and associate the images and symbols used with important figures, places and events relevant to the context in which the book was written. The following outline of chapter twenty refers to a summary by Johnson.

The first line of Chapter twenty reads "And I saw an angel come down from heaven with a chain, and the key of the abyss." The abyss is a symbol for the domain of Satan and evil spirits and the chain symbolizes the word of God. This line implies that the evil powers will be destroyed upon the Earth. The second line of the chapter reads "He laid hold on the dragon....and bound him a thousand years."

This implies that the gospel takes such a powerful hold of the hearts of those who read it that Satan has no power over them. When the time comes that all people obey the laws of God, Satan will be bound with the chain of truth and will have no influence over the people on Earth. The third line, which starts out "And cast him into the abyss..." describes how during this millennial period the evil spirits chained by truth are cast into a prison, or bottomless pit. However, Satan goes there only for one thousand years and then regains power for a short time.

The fourth line begins "And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them..." These thrones symbolize rule, and it implies that whoever sits upon the thrones have authority and power. "And judgment was given to them..." indicates that those who are upon the thrones will exercise moral judgement over humanity. "I saw the souls of them..." was written, which points to the fact that John saw the souls of the martyrs and not physical beings. "And they lived and reigned with Christ" indicates that those on the thrones reigned with Christ a thousand years. It is held by all the sacred writers of a certain perspective, that the last event before the great judgement day is the personal, visible coming of Christ. Part of line four refers to "Souls of them that have been beheaded." These are the martyrs that lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The martyrs' bodies had been put to death, but their souls lived on unseen upon the Earth. Christ reigns upon the Earth during the millennial period by his truth, so the spirit of the martyrs is revived and lives in the church. The souls of the martyrs live on because the church is composed of those who love Christ better than anything material or life itself. Therefore, the reign of Christ pervades the earth because the souls of the martyrs are resurrected and live in all who have faith in Christ. The timeframe "a thousand years" is not to be taken literally, but should be understood as a very long period of righteousness.

The fifth line begins "But the rest of the dead lived not," and this refers to how all people other than the martyrs have no influence on the Earth until the millennial period is ended. These others have no part of the first resurrection or the spirits of the martyrs. The sixth line begins "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on the second death hath no power."

The first resurrection might be interpreted as personal death. This indicates how this first resurrection is moral and spiritual and brings on the millennium, but the second death is doomed and eternal.

The seventh line states "When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed." This refers to how the Earth will have its golden age, but Satan will return for a short time. However, his reign will be short. Line eight begins "And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the Earth, Gog, and Magog," which means that Satan will once again renew old conflicts across the whole Earth, across all races. The ninth line reads "And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from god and consumed them." This describes how evil spread over the Earth, assailed the beloved city, the true church Jerusalem, and sought to destroy it. The power of God then came in the form of fire to destroy evil. The tenth line begins "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire." This indicates how Satan's last battle has come, and he is cast into the lake of fire to be in wickedness forever.

Line eleven states "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." This throne is the throne of judgement, and all nations are called to stand before God. The white throne represents purity, glory and triumph, and is the color of the light. There is to be a new heaven and earth, and the old ones are destroyed and will be reconstructed. The twelfth line reads "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." This indicates how the dead of every part of earth all come to judgement. The records that contain all the deeds of men are opened, as is the book of life in which the names of the saints are kept. All are judged according to their works in these books.

Line thirteen reads "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." The sea here may be understood as a symbol of the lost dead that no men know. Death and hell represent the unseen world that hides from view those who have departed from earth. The main idea being portrayed is that all the dead will be judged. The fourteenth line reads "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." This indicates that death and the unseen land of the dead disappear forever. Until the end of the millennium and the final judgement people will die, but after the second death, there will be no more death.

The fifteenth and final verse reads "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." This means that all that is evil will be banished forever. Also, those whose names do not appear in the book of life will also be banished. This is the second death. The lake of fire is an eternal fate. This second death is the final separation of sinners from God.

So what does this all mean? How does one go about interpreting the messages delivered through Chapter twenty? The theme of the millennium is pervasive throughout chapter twenty in the repeated use of the phrase "a thousand years." There are some important questions to address regarding chapter twenty. First of all, one must question whether the teaching on the millennium is intended to be literal or symbolic. Second of all, it is necessary to question whether the resurrections in 20:4-6 are spiritual or physical. Thirdly, it must be addressed whether the millennium is in the future or present. Fourthly, the question must be raised as to whether there is any basis for an optimistic future on earth. And finally, it must be examined whether the church will escape the great tribulation.

There are four major viewpoints from which these questions may be addressed. These perspectives are amillennialism or realized millennialism, postmillennialism, dispensational or pretributional premillennialism, and classic, historic or posttributional premillenialism. These four viewpoints will all be explored in detail.

Amillenialism is the simplest of the four views, and it holds that there is no future millennium. Instead, they teach that the millennium is taking place in the present. This is the view historically held by Augustine, Origen, Clement, and the Reformers.

This perspective holds that the "thousand years" of Revelation 20 is figurative and can not be taken literally. This viewpoint maintains that during the millennium Christ's reign is not bodily but heavenly, and that it is a time when Satan's influence is reduced. According to this viewpoint, those who are said to be reigning with Christ for the thousand years are Christians who have died and are already reigning with Christ. Also, they hold that the present age of the church will go on until Christ returns, which will bring the resurrection of believers and non-believers, judgement, and a new Earth and Heaven, and therefore will lead to an eternal state. Revelation, according to this perspective, is an account of the entire history of the church. However, like all perspectives, there is internal evidence in support of and against this viewpoint.

Postmillennialism is generally the historic position of the church in response to Revelation. This viewpoint teaches that the kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit. Proponents of this perspective hold that the entire world will eventually have faith in Christ. This in turn would result in an age of spiritual prosperity, with elevated social, economic, political, and cultural conditions. This would therefore result in a dramatic reduction in evil. This viewpoint maintains that Christ will return at the end of a long period of peace, which they call the millennium. After the second coming of Christ there will be a general resurrection, judgement, and an introduction of heaven and hell. During the millennium, Christ will not be physically present on Earth. And, once again, evidence can be presented both for and against this perspective.

The third viewpoint, historic premillennialism teaches that the present church age will continue until a time of Great Tribulation descends upon the Earth. It is after this Tribulation that Christ will return to Earth to establish a millennial kingdom and believers will be raised from the dead. At this time, their bodies will be reunited with their spirits, and believers who are alive will receive their resurrected bodies. This perspective maintains that Christ will be physically present on Earth during the millennium, and will reign as King over the Earth with the glorified believers, and this will take place for a thousand years. During this time many, but not all, believers will be saved, and there will be peace on Earth since Satan was cast to the bottomless pit for the millennium. This perspective also believes that at this time, Israel will find its place within the church, and large numbers will be converted. At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released and will align with many non-believers to rise against Christ but will be decisively defeated. After this defeat, believers who have died throughout time will be raised and judged. After this judgement, believers will enter into the eternal state.

The fourth and final viewpoint to be discussed is dispensational premillennialism. This perspective teaches that the present age of the church will continue until secretly and suddenly, Christ will return to Earth and take believers out of the world to heaven. After this occurs, there will be a seven-year period of Tribulation. There will be many signs that will precede the return of Christ. At the end of the great tribulation Christ will return to Earth with his saints to rule for a thousand years. At the end of this period, Satan will lead a rebellion, but will be defeated. At this point, non-believers will be resurrected and judged, and this will mark the beginning of the eternal state. In this viewpoint, biblical prophecies are mostly interpreted literally.