For introduction

Prophecy is an integral part of the biblical message. A prophet tells the words of God. That is the most important thing. Prophecy is not always what happens in a distant future. Sometimes, however, it is – a preview of future events.

Among the many books of the Bible, the last book, the Revelation to John, is full of symbolism and prophecy. It is a glimpse into the future when he says right at the beginning that he (John) was “in the Spirit in the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10). This does not mean Sunday, but it is a reference to “the day of the Lord,” a period of time about which the prophets already wrote. So what John writes down afterwards is a vision of this “day of the Lord” and he reports what he saw in the vision about this time. The interpretation of this book should logically have something to do with this introduction, even though there are countless other interpretations.

Today, this book has a chapter and verse division. In the 20th chapter there are some descriptions in which “1000 years” play a role. These descriptions have contributed to the idea of a “millennial kingdom”. This paper is about the idea of a Millennial Kingdom, as many base that on Revelation 20.

How long does 1000 years last?

The so-called Millennial Kingdom does not last 1000 years. Indeed, if you look in the book of Revelation, there are references to “1000 years,” but nowhere is it said that the kingdom will last a thousand years. Only other things take a thousand years. This has consequences for understanding.

First, let’s read what the clues are:

“Then I saw another messenger coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent (who is the adversary and Satan) and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it and sealed it over him (so that he would no longer deceive the nations) until the thousand years were completed. After that, it must be released for a short time.”
Rev 20:1-3

“Then I beheld thrones on which they sat, to whom it was given to award judgment. The souls of those who had been killed with the axe for the sake of the testimony for Jesus and for the word of God, as well as those who had not worshipped the wild beast or its image, nor accepted the mark on their forehead and on their hand – they too live and reign as kings with Christ thousand years. (The remaining dead do not live until the thousand years are completed). This resurrection is the first. Blessed and holy is the one who has a share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and Christ and with Him the Reign as kings for a thousand years.”
Rev 20:4-6

“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison.”
Rev 20:7

The following things will be for “1000 years” according to these words:

• Satan is bound for 1000 years (and then released for a short time)
• There is a first resurrection before the 1000 years
• The rest of the dead will not be raised until the 1000 years are completed
• Those who participate in the first resurrection will reign with Christ as kings for 1000 years.

So different things last 1000 years here and it’s a special time for sure. The absence of Satan, of evil, seems extraordinary. However, you can read how that turns out in the text. Within the subject of this article, we can state that nowhere does it say that the empire itself is limited to 1000 years.

An Aha! experience

Based on the verses mentioned above, one can come to the conclusion that the kingdom lasts a little longer than 1000 years, for example. One compares these passages with details from the Book of Daniel and other parts of Revelation. It is calculated. One recognizes perhaps that these periods of 1000 years are shifted about 70 days next to each other. Thus one comes to define the time as 1000 years + 70 days. I can relate to that.

But there is a fundamental problem here that I recognized but was still blind to the consequences of. The problem is this: One deludes oneself that this is about a completed (millennial kingdom). But that is not what it says here. Neither does the kingdom begin at the beginning of the 1000 year periods, nor does it end at the end of those 1000 years. The empire is greater than this period of 1000 years. Much bigger.

Gratefully, I was able to attend a Bible study the other day by a brother who (in a very different place) worked out an expression for the Kingdom so well that afterwards I was no longer sure exactly what was meant. I realized that I had missed something. That’s when shared learning happens and aha! experiences awaken. I was set on a new track.

What had happened?

Although I have known for a long time that nowhere does it say that the kingdom lasts a thousand years, I have always had the idea in my head that this is about a closed time. This time of “about” thousand years is “therefore” nevertheless something like a “thousand-year empire”. However, these are inferences. It all fits so nicely:

• First come the dishes
• Through the judgments you would come to the 1000-year kingdom of Revelation 20
• After the conclusion of this realm, a new era dawns
• The book of Revelation then speaks of a new heaven and a new earth
• Then the final judgment takes place, which is held before the Great White Throne
• Subsequently, there is the time on a new earth, after which the heavenly Jerusalem descends.

Now that seems beautiful, plausible, and wrong. While this is the sequence described, nowhere does it say that the kingdom will cease after the 1,000 years. Rather, the time of Revelation 20 is merely one period in a much larger realm. What is defined as the messianic kingdom does have certain features that take place in the time of Revelation 20, but that is not the whole story.

The outlook of Isaiah

When I first read that Isaiah was already talking about new heavens and a new earth (Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22), I was stunned. I had always thought that this was a feature of the New Testament, in which Peter speaks about it once (2Pet 3:13) and which is mentioned afterwards in the book of Revelation (Rev 21:1-2). My assumption was wrong.

So Isaiah is talking about things Christians traditionally associate with Revelation 20 (Isa 2; Isa 11), but he is also talking about new heavens and a new earth (Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22). In the book of Isaiah, it begins with a “traditional 1000-year kingdom,” so to speak, but at the end of the book he mentions the new creation of the world. Things belong together. Arguably, they do not occur at the same time, but that is not why they can be classified as two different kingdoms, each self-contained.

So my aha! experience was this: It goes on seamlessly. Already Isaiah has given the prospect of new heavens and a new earth in the Jewish-Messianic understanding. That belonged together. It is not an invention in the New Testament. It is rather the continuation of the thoughts, the fulfillment and confirmation of what was already known.

From the Establishment to the Handing Over of the Kingdom

The announced messianic kingdom were announced in the prophets in the Tenach. In the New Testament we read about the establishment of this kingdom.

The establishment of the kingdom is described in the Book of Revelation as follows:

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now salvation, power and kingship have gone to our God, and authority to His Christ!””
Rev 12:10

This is where the empire seems to have arrived. The stories of the 1000 years we find only many chapters further. In chronological order, this is not very much later, but it may be clear that the kingdom does not begin when “1000 years” is spoken of.

After the completion of the 1000 years, heaven and earth pass away to make way for new heavens and a new earth. The first thing we read then is the account of the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11-15). This throne shows that there is still a kingdom.

It is only at the end of all time, still past the time of the new heavens and new earth, as John writes about in the book of Revelation, that this kingdom will be handed over to God. Even then, the kingdom does not stop, but continues. It is the widest vision we have in the Bible:

“For He [Christus] must reign as King until He puts all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be dismissed is death. For He subordinated everything to Him: Under His feet. Then, when He says, “Everything has been subordinated!”, it is evident that God is excepted, who subordinated the All to Him. But if the universe is subordinate to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subordinate to Him who subordinated the universe to Him, so that God may be all in all.”
1Cor 15:25-28

So there is a moment when Christ establishes the Kingdom and there is a moment when He will hand over the Kingdom to His God and Father. All the time lasts the kingdom, with different periods, courts and actions. It’s not that everything is perfect all at once, but there is a clear goal being worked toward, which Paul describes with the words “that God may be all in all.”

The traditional “1,000-year kingdom” is often described as lacking because of the fierceness at the conclusion of that time (Rev. 20:7-9). But if we consider that Isaiah already speaks of new heavens and a new earth, then it would be presumptuous to limit the expectation of Israel to an “imperfect time” (Revelation 20), as sometimes happens. Rather, it is that the Hebrews also had an unshakable kingdom in mind.

“Therefore, because we receive an unshakable kingdom, we should have the gratitude by which we offer worship to God in a pleasing manner, with reverence and trembling.”
Heb 12:28

Summary

The so-called “millennial empire” is a myth. It is not mentioned anywhere in Scripture. It is already better if we speak of the kingdom that the prophets of Israel had already foreseen. The establishment and completion of this kingdom (and much more) we read in the New Testament. If many project the 1000-year kingdom only on Revelation 20, nevertheless no such kingdom is spoken of there. Rather, the kingdom had already been established, and within that kingdom there are several references to things that “last a thousand years.” The empire will outlast the periods of a thousand years.

This is what we should hold fast: God has an unshakable kingdom in mind, and at the end of time Christ will hand over this unshakable and the then completed kingdom to His God and Father (1 Cor. 15:24). This God, making peace through the blood of the cross, will reconcile all things to Himself (1 Cor. 15:28; Col. 1:20).

Deepening

“The millennial empire isn’t what it used to be either.” I discovered that I was making some inferences that were not helpful. I’m going to look further into this foresight and see if it can be found back in other places. Thus, step by step, you can gratefully expand your own horizons. Faith, understanding and outlook are not static. We are allowed to learn all the time. I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 1:8, etc.).