What Is the Millennium in Revelation 20?
This article summarizes the perspective presented in Into the Winepress: A Concise Companion to the Book of Revelation by Michael R. Abram. The book approaches Revelation through the victory of the Lamb, the fall of Jerusalem, the reign of Christ, and the ongoing mission of the Church.
The Millennium is one of the most debated passages in Scripture. Many interpretations place it entirely in the future, while others see it as a symbolic description of Christ's present reign.
Into the Winepress understands the thousand years as the age inaugurated by Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, and the spread of the Gospel into the nations.
John sees Satan bound so that he might no longer deceive the nations. This does not mean that Satan ceases all activity. Throughout the New Testament, believers continue to struggle against temptation, persecution, and spiritual powers. The binding is specific. The deceiver's authority over the nations is broken so that the Gospel may go forth.
Before Christ's victory, the nations largely sat in darkness. After Christ's victory, the Gospel begins spreading throughout the world. The restraint placed upon Satan serves the mission of the Church.
John also sees thrones and those seated upon them. These reign with Christ. The first resurrection is understood as participation in the life of Christ. Those who belong to Him share already in His victory and reign.
The Millennium therefore describes the present reign of Christ through His Body, the Church. Christ reigns from heaven, yet His reign is manifested on earth through the proclamation of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, acts of mercy, and the witness of His people.
At the conclusion of this age comes the final defeat of all opposition to God's Kingdom. Satan's rebellion is crushed. The dead are raised. Judgment occurs. Death itself is thrown into the lake of fire.
The thousand years are not primarily about a future political kingdom. They are about the present reign of the risen Christ. Revelation 20 reveals the age in which the Church now lives, the age between Christ's victory and the final destruction of every enemy.
The Lamb reigns now. His Kingdom is already present. His enemies are being placed beneath His feet until the day when God becomes all in all.
Was Babylon the Great Jerusalem or Rome?
Few questions in Revelation generate more discussion than the identity of Babylon the Great. Many readers assume that Babylon refers to Rome because Rome ruled the world when Revelation was written. Others have argued that Babylon represents a future world system. Into the Winepress proposes that Babylon is first and foremost a symbolic portrayal of Jerusalem under judgment.
John describes Babylon as the city that kills the prophets and saints. Jesus had already identified Jerusalem as the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. Throughout the Gospels, He warns that the blood of the righteous would come upon that generation.
Babylon is also called the great city. Earlier in Revelation, the great city is identified as the place where the Lord was crucified. While the description is symbolic, the reference points directly to Jerusalem.
The harlot imagery likewise fits the Old Testament pattern. The prophets repeatedly described Jerusalem as an unfaithful bride who had become a prostitute. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea all employ this covenantal language. When John portrays a harlot riding the beast, he is drawing from a long prophetic tradition in which God's covenant people are judged for spiritual adultery.
The judgment of Babylon also parallels Jesus' warnings concerning Jerusalem's coming destruction. The city that rejected her Messiah, persecuted His followers, and allied herself with worldly power would face covenant judgment. Revelation portrays that judgment in vivid prophetic imagery.
Rome is not absent from the picture. The beast exercises political and military power, and the harlot is supported by that power. Rome serves as the instrument through which judgment falls. Yet the distinction between the harlot and the beast suggests that they are not identical. One rides the other. One ultimately turns against the other.
Into the Winepress therefore understands Babylon as apostate Jerusalem, the covenant city that rejected her King and persecuted His people. The beast represents the imperial power that carries out the judgment decreed by God.
The fall of Babylon marks the end of the old covenant order centered on the temple and the earthly city. With that judgment complete, Revelation turns its attention to a new city. The harlot city falls. The Bride city descends. Babylon gives way to the New Jerusalem.
This contrast stands at the heart of Revelation's message. Two women appear in the book. One is adorned for judgment. The other is adorned for her Husband. One sheds the blood of the saints. The other bears the healing of the nations. One falls. The other endures forever through the victory of the Lamb.
Further Reading