What Does Revelation 20 NOT Say?
The striking fact is that many things people associate with “the millennium” simply aren't stated in the chapter.
For example, Revelation 20 does not say:
Jesus returns in verse 4.
Jesus comes down to earth to reign.
The throne is in Jerusalem.
Jesus reigns from Jerusalem.
A Temple is rebuilt.
Animal sacrifices resume.
National Israel is restored.
The saints reign on earth.
Jesus' reign lasts only 1,000 years.
And perhaps the biggest attention-getter:
John says he saw “souls.”
“I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus...”
— Revelation 20:4
What Does Revelation 20 NOT Say?
Ask someone what happens during the “millennium” of Revelation 20 and you may hear a familiar description.
Jesus returns to earth.
He establishes His throne in Jerusalem.
Israel is restored.
A Temple is built.
Christ reigns physically on earth for exactly 1,000 years.
There is only one problem.
Now read Revelation 20 and see how many of those things John actually says.
That may be one of the most revealing Bible studies you can do.
Start With the Text
Revelation 20 begins with an angel coming down from heaven.
The angel seizes Satan, binds him for a thousand years, and throws him into the Abyss.
Why?
John tells us:
“To keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.”
— Revelation 20:3
Then John sees something else:
“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.”
— Revelation 20:4
And then comes an easily overlooked detail:
“And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus.”
— Revelation 20:4
Souls.
John does not say that he sees resurrected physical bodies walking around Jerusalem.
He sees souls.
That should at least make us stop and ask whether we have brought more into the chapter than John put there.
Where Does John Say Jesus Returns?
This may be the simplest question of all.
Find the Second Coming in Revelation 20:1–6.
John never says:
“Then Jesus returned.”
He never describes Christ descending from heaven.
He never describes Jesus arriving on the Mount of Olives.
He never says Christ came to Jerusalem.
That doesn't settle every question about Revelation 20.
But it raises an important one:
If the thousand years begin with the Second Coming, why doesn't John mention the Second Coming when he introduces the thousand years?
Where Is the Throne?
John sees thrones.
But where are they?
Revelation has already shown us thrones repeatedly.
Earlier John wrote:
“There before me was a throne in heaven.”
— Revelation 4:2
In Revelation 6 John also sees the souls of martyrs.
Where are they?
They are before God.
So when Revelation 20 again shows John souls who have died for Christ and who now live and reign with Him, should we automatically move the scene to earth?
Or should we allow Revelation itself to help us understand Revelation?
Where Does It Say Jerusalem?
Now try another simple exercise.
Read Revelation 20:1–10 and find Jerusalem.
It isn't there.
Find the rebuilt Temple.
It isn't there.
Find restored animal sacrifices.
They aren't there.
Find national Israel ruling the nations.
It isn't there.
Find Jesus sitting on an earthly throne.
It isn't there.
Yet all of these ideas are sometimes included when Revelation 20 is explained.
That raises a question worth considering:
Are we reading those things out of Revelation 20—or reading them into Revelation 20?
What Is Satan Actually Prevented From Doing?
John does not say Satan has no power whatsoever during the thousand years.
He tells us specifically why Satan is bound:
“To keep him from deceiving the nations anymore.”
— Revelation 20:3
That qualification matters.
During Jesus' ministry, He spoke about binding “the strong man” before plundering his house.
“In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man's house.”
— Mark 3:27
Jesus also said, as the cross approached:
“Now the prince of this world will be driven out.”
— John 12:31
And then:
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
— John 12:32
For generations the nations had largely remained outside God's covenant people.
Then Christ came.
The gospel began moving into all nations.
Could that help explain what John means when he says Satan was bound so that he could no longer deceive the nations?
At the very least, those passages belong in the discussion.
What About the Thousand Years?
Is 1,000 necessarily a literal measurement of calendar years?
Remember what kind of book we are reading.
Revelation gives us beasts, horns, lampstands, dragons, a Lamb, a bottomless pit, and many symbolic numbers.
And the Bible sometimes uses “a thousand” to express fullness rather than a precise count.
God owns:
“the cattle on a thousand hills.”
— Psalm 50:10
Surely hill number 1,001 belongs to Him too.
The point is completeness.
So before assuming Revelation's thousand years must mean exactly 365,000 days, we should at least ask:
How does the Bible use numbers in symbolic passages?
What Happens When the Thousand Years End?
John's sequence is important.
Satan is released.
There is a final rebellion.
God defeats His enemies.
Then comes the judgment before the great white throne.
After that John says:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.”
— Revelation 21:1
Peter describes the Day of the Lord in similar final terms:
“The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire.”
— 2 Peter 3:10
Then Peter says:
“We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth.”
— 2 Peter 3:13
That gives us a remarkably simple movement:
Christ's present victory → final opposition → judgment → new creation.
Perhaps We Should Read Revelation 20 Again
This study isn't asking you to accept somebody else's system.
It is asking something much simpler.
Read Revelation 20.
Then make two lists.
On one side write:
WHAT JOHN SAYS
On the other write:
WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD
Then compare them.
Does John say Christ reigns?
Yes.
Does John say His people reign with Him?
Yes.
Does John describe Satan being restrained from deceiving the nations?
Yes.
Does John describe a final rebellion and judgment?
Yes.
Does John mention a thousand years?
Yes.
But does John say Jesus returns to earth and establishes a thousand-year political kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem with a rebuilt Temple and restored sacrifices?
Read the chapter and decide for yourself.
Sometimes the most important part of Bible study isn't noticing what the text says.
It is discovering what we always assumed it said—
but doesn't.
Text B4 Tradition
Read First. Conclude Later.