Is Christ’s 1,000-Year Reign on Earth Literal? Part 1
(March 31, 2025)
The difficulty many folks have in interpreting Scripture is answering the question: What do I take literally and what is meant to be taken figuratively? The 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth in Revelation 20:1-3 is a perfect example of the trouble people get in when one takes a Scripture figuratively that should be taken literally.
There is nothing in the context of this passage that suggests a figurative interpretation is correct. Here is the passage in the NIV: “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.”
Notice that in Revelation 20:1-10 the period of 1,000-years is mentioned 6 times in this short section. It is never referred to as an ‘era’ or ‘season’ or ‘indeterminate’ period of time. It has a definitive beginning, and a definitive end. To interpret this thousand-year period to say it started in 70 AD and continues until now (as some teach) is to wrench a meaning out of context that is not there!
Also, note that during the 1,000-year reign of Christ Satan is out of the picture entirely. Some teach that Christ is ruling now, and that Satan is bound by His power now. While I agree that Christ has the devil on a short leash, Satan IS working to deceive people now and is in no way absent from the earth.
There are a few more things to note about this controversial subject that I will address next week. Until then, study Revelation 20 and we’ll talk next time.