Revelation 20:1-6
Session 31 — The Study of Revelation
Keep your Bible open as you study with us. Also, while we won’t quote every passage in full, we’ll provide links to an online Bible for easy reference. Thanks for joining us!
Before you begin, if you have not already done so, visit the Victorious – Glorious Main Page for introductory materials that will enrich your study of Revelation. You’ll also find helpful articles on eschatology under Theology › End Times. If you missed any earlier sessions, be sure to review them first to stay connected to the flow of the study.
The Structure of Revelation
Unit 7 (see The Structure of Revelation) of Revelation, encompassing chapters 20 through 22, introduces the final sequence of visions in John’s apocalypse: the judgment of the dragon (Satan), the ultimate fate of the rebellious, and the glorious establishment of the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem. This unit follows directly after Unit 6, which described the fall of the great harlot and the beasts (Rev 17-19). In Unit 6, John focused on the climactic judgment of human and demonic powers aligned against God—the political, religious, and cosmic forces that oppose Christ and His people. Revelation 19 closed with the Rider on the white horse, the decisive defeat of the beast and the false prophet, and the stark reality of divine justice. Unit 7 now returns to the start of the present age, beginning a new cycle.
The vision of the millennium in Revelation 20, while short has had a large impact on how Revelation is understood. The millennium, described as a thousand-year reign, is one of the most debated and often misunderstood aspects of Revelation. To understand it, it is crucial to remember that John is not describing a future earthly thousand-year political kingdom. Instead, the millennium symbolically depicts the present age—the era between Christ’s first coming and His second coming—through vivid imagery of a reign lasting a complete, significant period of time. During this period, Satan is restrained, limiting his ability to deceive the nations fully, while Christ reigns with His saints from heaven. The imagery of the thousand-year reign highlights two realities: God’s sovereignty over evil and the active participation of His people in His kingdom.
In this way, the millennium is not simply a futuristic event but a framework for understanding the present age. It shows that while the world remains under the influence of sin and spiritual opposition continues, God’s purposes are advancing. The church experiences both restraint of evil and spiritual reign with Christ. Believers are transformed spiritually—the first resurrection—enabling them to participate in God’s kingdom, grow in holiness, and serve as priests of God and of Christ. This period provides a foretaste of the ultimate victory and the final restoration that will be fully realized at Christ’s return.
Unit 7 also places these events within the larger structure of Revelation. John has been revealing a cosmic struggle: the dragon, the beasts, and the harlot oppose God, His Messiah, and His people. Unit 6 depicted the climactic defeat of the beasts and the fall of Babylon, symbolizing the collapse of worldly power and religious deception. Unit 7 begins by addressing the dragon himself, showing that the ultimate adversary, Satan, is restrained but still active in a limited way during the church age. This sets the stage for the final judgment and the inauguration of God’s eternal kingdom. By presenting these themes in sequence, Revelation emphasizes both the certainty of Christ’s triumph and the ongoing role of His people in the present age, living under His rule even while spiritual opposition persists.
This passage invites reflection on the present age as a time of both restraint and conflict. Satan’s power is limited, and Christ reigns, yet opposition continues. It can be difficult to perceive evil as being restrained in this world, and even harder to grasp the full extent of how much worse things could be without that restraint. Understanding the millennium as a symbolic depiction of the church age helps us recognize that God’s purposes are unfolding in history with order and sovereignty. The faithful are called to endure, to witness faithfully, and to participate in Christ’s reign, confident that the ultimate victory over evil is certain, even as the struggle continues in this present age.
Overview:
Revelation 20:1-6 presents a vision of God’s sovereign control over evil and the spiritual transformation of His people in the present age. John sees an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Bottomless Pit (abyss) and a great chain, signifying the restraint of Satan. This is not the final defeat of the dragon, but a temporary limitation of his power. The imagery portrays Satan as a “mob boss in jail”: he remains active, yet his ability to deceive the nations is restricted. This restraint enables the church to grow, witness, and participate in God’s kingdom while living under ongoing spiritual opposition.
The passage introduces the millennium, described as a thousand-year reign, which symbolizes the present age. Satan’s restraint during this time highlights that God’s purposes are unfolding with order and sovereignty, even amid conflict. Christ reigns with His saints from heaven, and His people experience spiritual transformation through what John calls the “first resurrection.” This is a unique resurrection: it is not physical but spiritual, representing the salvation and renewal of the soul at conversion. Believers are made new in Christ, empowered to reign spiritually, and called to serve as priests of God and of Christ.
The vision also draws a distinction between those who share in this first resurrection and “the rest of the dead,” who will not come to life until the end of the age. This emphasizes that the millennium is a depiction of the present church age—a period in which God’s people participate in Christ’s rule, while the devil’s power is restrained but not eliminated. This dual reality of restraint and conflict encourages the faithful to persevere, witnessing and serving under Christ’s authority, confident in the certainty of His ultimate victory over evil.
Exploring the Passage:
Take a moment to read through the whole passage for yourself. If you can, glance at the section before and after it as well—seeing the bigger picture will make the insights ahead even more meaningful. And if time allows, reading the entire book a few times will help you hear its flow and themes with even greater clarity.
Revelation 20:1-3
The Restraining of Satan: John sees an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key to the Bottomless Pit (abyss) and a great chain. This vision does not depict Satan’s final defeat; that destiny is still to come. Instead, it portrays his temporary restraint, signaling the beginning of a new phase in God’s redemptive plan. The angel’s authority demonstrates God’s absolute control over the powers of darkness, showing that even the devil operates under divine supervision. Satan’s confinement to the pit represents a limitation of his activity rather than his elimination: he remains active, but his influence is curtailed, allowing God’s purposes—especially the advance of the church—to unfold without the full force of Satan’s opposition.
The imagery evokes a “mob boss in jail” scenario. Though bound, Satan continues to command his forces and schemes, yet his power is significantly limited. The Bottomless Pit emphasizes both the seriousness and the temporary nature of this confinement. The angel seizes Satan, binds him, and throws him into the Bottomless Pit, actions that indicate a legal and decisive restriction of his ability to deceive the nations. The chain symbolizes the strength and permanence of this restraint during the appointed period, ensuring that Satan cannot fully thwart God’s plan for the church. Even cosmic evil operates under limits God has established.
The duration of this restraint is described as a thousand years, a symbolic number representing completeness and a long but finite era. This period corresponds to the present age—the same age in which we live now—portrayed through the imagery of a thousand-year reign. During this time, Satan cannot exercise his full influence over the nations, though he remains active in limited ways. The vision makes clear that Christ is reigning with His saints during this period, not on earth in a political or physical sense, but from heaven. His rule over the church and the faithful is real, spiritual, and active, shaping the advance of the gospel and the growth of God’s kingdom despite the continued presence of evil.
This passage invites reflection on the present age as a time of both restraint and conflict. Satan is limited, and Christ reigns, yet opposition continues. It may be difficult to see evil as being restrained in this world. It is hard to understand that this is limited evil, but we do not and cannot see just how evil this world would be without Satan’s restraint. Understanding the millennium as the symbolic depiction of the church age helps us see that God’s purposes are unfolding in history with order and sovereignty. The faithful are called to endure, witness, and participate in Christ’s reign, knowing that the ultimate victory over evil is certain, even while the struggle continues in this present age.
Revelation 20:4-6
The First Resurrection and the Reign of the Saints: John now turns to a vision of those who share in Christ’s reign. He sees thrones and those seated on them, given authority to judge. These are the faithful—martyrs and those who remained steadfast in their witness to Christ and refused the mark of the beast. Their placement on thrones signals participation in Christ’s sovereign rule. Authority to judge does not imply independent power but sharing in Christ’s reign from heaven, exercising delegated authority under His perfect justice.
While Scripture elsewhere speaks of believers being ‘raised with Christ’ (Eph 2:5-6; Col 2:12-13), Revelation alone names this reality ‘the first resurrection.’ It is not a physical resurrection but a spiritual one, representing the salvation and transformation of the soul (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18, 5:17). When a person comes to Christ in faith, their heart is changed, and they become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Just as the final resurrection will transform believers physically into immortal, incorruptible bodies, the first resurrection depicts the spiritual transformation that occurs at conversion. In this sense, being “raised” in Christ means receiving a new life, a new nature, and the spiritual capacity to reign with Him even now. This is a spiritual resurrection in Revelation’s use of the term. John emphasizes that those who partake in this first resurrection are blessed and holy, “priests of God and of Christ,” highlighting their role of service and authority.
It is understandable that this spiritual use of “resurrection” may confuse or throw some of us off. This use of the term does not in any way diminish the reality of a real, actual, and coming physical resurrection of Christ’s followers. Using “resurrection” in this way is new to many of us, but as we have studied Revelation, we know that the unique is not unusual to this book.
The vision contrasts those who share in this first resurrection with “the rest of the dead,” who do not come to life until the completion of the thousand years. This reinforces that the first resurrection is a symbolic portrayal of life in Christ experienced during the present age—the church age. Those who experience it live and reign with Christ from heaven, while the rest remain under the consequences of sin until the final judgment. This period—the millennium—is therefore a depiction of the present age, showing God’s people spiritually transformed and participating in His reign, even as Satan’s power is restrained.
Participation in the first resurrection carries a profound blessing: those who reign with Christ spiritually are promised protection from the second death, which is the eternal destiny of the lost, separation from God. This is the fifth blessing of Revelation. The full scope and reality of the second death will be revealed and dealt with later in Revelation. This vision portrays the present age as a time of both spiritual renewal and ongoing spiritual conflict. Christ reigns with His saints from heaven, evil is restrained, and the faithful experience a foretaste of the ultimate triumph that will be fully realized at His return. It encourages endurance, steadfastness, and hope, showing that God’s purposes are active now and that His people are intimately involved in His kingdom work through salvation and spiritual authority.
Bringing It Together:
Revelation 20:1-6 reminds us that the present age is both a time of spiritual conflict and divine order. Satan is active, but his power is limited—restrained by God’s sovereign authority—allowing the church to grow, witness, and participate in Christ’s reign. The millennium, depicted symbolically as a thousand-year reign, represents the present age in which Christ rules with His saints from heaven and evil is kept in check, even as spiritual opposition continues.
The first resurrection highlights the transformative power of salvation. Though not a physical resurrection, it depicts the spiritual renewal of the believer at conversion. Those who share in this resurrection are made new in Christ, empowered to reign with Him spiritually, and called to serve as priests of God and of Christ. This reminds us that God’s kingdom is already active and that His people are participants in His reign, even now.
Taken together, these verses encourage endurance, faithfulness, and hope. God’s purposes are advancing, Satan is restrained, and believers share in Christ’s authority and victory. While we live in a world still under sin and opposition, we are called to witness, serve, and live as transformed participants in God’s kingdom, confident that ultimate victory over evil is certain.
Consider Your Part:
How do you experience Christ’s reign in your life today, even while facing opposition or spiritual challenges?
Takeaway:
God’s kingdom is secure, and Satan’s power is limited. Remain faithful, trust God’s timing, and rejoice that Christ reigns over all.
At Cultivating Faith, our desire is to help you grow deeper in God’s Word. You are free to use or adapt this study for personal or group study. May God bless your time in His Word and cultivate faith, hope, and love in your life.
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless!
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