Revelation 20 - The Book of Life
A quick search of the bible reveals the word “thousand” is used about 413 times. While the word means ten groups of one hundred it is also a metaphorically rich word used by our Father meaning a long or seemingly limitless amount. It is a word used to magnify God’s love for us.
For instance, “And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!” (Deuteronomy 1:11). We must interpret Revelation 20:4 and the thousand years that the martyrs reign with Christ in light of all Scripture. The same Apostle John who wrote this scripture also wrote, “Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment” (John 5:28-29). While we can major on the obscure and minor on the obvious, please don't miss what the Bible says about the resurrection of the dead (see also 1 Cor. 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).
Indeed, we hear in this chapter the answer to the question posed in Revelation 6:9-10 of how long will it be before the Sovereign Lord, holy and true, avenges the blood of Peter, Paul, and all the saints murdered in the first century for their faith. The martyrs indeed are vindicated they will reign with Christ just as John encourages them with Revelation - blessed and holy believers in Christ.
So yes the time until Christ’s final return seems long, even limitless. But don’t put down your guard. We are to stay alert. We know that the end of all things is near and we must be clear-minded and self-controlled, showing deep love for one another and sharing with one another in generosity and hospitality (1 Peter 4:7-9).
Many modern-day Christian “influencers” put on a good show. They are rightly a fount of a thousand meme jokes for their hypocrisy; they bring great dishonor to the name of Christ by their greed. But their hypocrisy and love of the world is no laughing matter. God records it all; He will judge each of us just as Revelation 20 says.
Don’t mistake God’s patience with his somehow failure to return or slowness in fulfilling John’s vision of final return (2 Peter 3:9). God is waiting for the full number of believers to trust in Jesus (Romans 11:25).
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10); the smallest family will become a thousand people (Isaiah 60:22); a day in God’s presence is like a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10); God shows His love to a thousand generations (Exodus 20:6); He keeps His commandments to a thousand generations (Deut. 7:9); with Jesus, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day (Ecclesiastes 6:6 and 2 Peter 3:8); Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands (1 Samuel 29:5); hopefully we will understand the thousandfold love our God has for us.
Peter, crucified upside down in conviction and love of his Lord Jesus warned us that Jesus would return when we least expect it (2 Peter 3:10). Likewise the Apostle Paul describes the return of the King in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 as very public (i.e. not secret) and with a loud trumpet call of finality (Titus 2:13 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7).
Similarly in Rev. 20, John writes down for us to keep focusing on the new heaven and new earth where the believers in Christ and God’s righteousness will dwell. It is now our responsibility to be found in Christ upon Christ’s return. Today is a day for selfless deeds. It’s amazing how you can spend time with believers and they’ll moan on and on with stories about themselves and their family and their problems and their greatness and they are oblivious to the opportunities around them to be interested in others. I don't mean to be rude, but how about we change it up and boast only in the Cross of Christ? Let's make disciples of the young men and women desperately in need to hear the truth of Christ (1 John 3:18-22). Interesting people are those who are genuinely interested in the eternal destination of others.
Let's pray. Dear God, we are yet babes. But we know that You yearn to fill us with more knowledge of You, with spiritual wisdom and understanding. And You do so for a reason. We know that You've given us this great privilege of making disciples of You and walking worthy of Your name in everything we do (Colossians 1:9-12). Help us today Lord Jesus to lay aside every impediment that leads us to sin and drifting away from You. And please give us endurance to keep running for You and to You. Amen.
The context of Chapter 20 leading from the previous chapters is the punishment and destruction of the great city of Jerusalem for murdering God’s servants and for her immorality (19:2) and the defeat of the beast and his entire army (Rev. 19:21). In this chapter we then hear about the old serpent, Satan who was bound by the angel of God (20:1-3). There is only one Kingdom - it belongs to Jesus. Yes, the devil, like a narco operating out of prison, has influence and a realm of dominion over the powers of darkness, but Jesus defeated Satan on the Cross. Jesus triumphed over the devil by His resurrection (John 12:31, Colossians 2:15, and Matthew 12:25-29). To Christ our King alone is the power and the glory forever (Matthew 6:13).
John saw in heaven the souls of martyred believers - those like Peter and Paul who had maintained their faith and testimony for Jesus in the face of Nero’s persecution - and they reigned in heaven with Christ during the age of the growth of Jesus’ bride - the time we are in now. Blessed and holy are those who persevered during the trials and tribulations decreed by Jesus in the first century. Nowhere in this passage does John say that Jesus returns before (or secretly during like the dispensationalists say) the end of the thousand years. The plain reading of this chapter aligning with all Scripture is that Jesus will return at the end of the thousand-year reign and then comes the final judgment of Jesus (2 Peter 3 and Revelation 20:11).
Jesus reigns today. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16). Jesus is the Word of God (19:13 and John 1:14), our Savior, and our Judge. We can trust our Good Shepherd (as can all those who’ve died before us in Christ - Peter, Paul, John, Stephen, and billions more) at His word. Jesus makes His home in our hearts now (Ephesians 3:17) and Jesus goes before us to make an eternal home for us after we are given new bodies on Judgment Day (John 14:2).
John the Apostle tells us in this chapter that there is God-ordained punishment for the devil and the beast and for all those who reject Jesus. You get what you want - you cannot serve both God and money (20:10-15). We must have our names written in the Book of Life through faith in Christ to have eternal life with God on the new earth (Psalm 145:17).
Revelation has apocalyptic language rich with metaphorical meaning that is tied to Old Testament prophecy. Over the last two years, I've commented on the New Testament from Acts to Revelation. This is indeed the hardest book to understand. I'm still learning. It takes effort. But that does not mean we should read into Scripture what clearly is not there. We read that beast along with his armies have long been defeated. God defeated them and threw them into the fiery lake of torment (19:20-21 and 20:10). One day in the future at the end of the church age (end of the thousand years) the devil too will join those already in the fiery lake (20:10). This chapter also teaches that there are thrones in heaven and people on them who have authority given by God to judge (20:4). Christ is supreme in heaven right now - He reigns along with those He delegates power to. We cannot know the hour or the day of Christ’s final return - but it will come.
At the end of the thousand years, Jesus will return (2 Peter 3 and Revelation 20:11-15) to judge the devil - and the living and the dead. Jesus is the one who sits on the judgment seat - the great white throne. Jesus will judge us all (2 Corinthians 5:10 and Revelation 20:14). Then the old heaven and earth will disappear and Christ will make a new heaven and earth.
We see a cottage industry of imaginative stories about antichrists, beasts, left-behind genocidal horror movies, tall tribulation tales, and yarns about the remaking of the temple and the sacrifice of animals for forgiveness, a system that God destroyed once and for all. That deceptive industry does not honor what the early church believed - the plain reading of Scripture.
Our hope is this: Jesus’ imminent return, judgment, and those who are in the Book of Life by faith receive an eternity with God. There is no mention in Revelation of a secret return of Christ before a tribulation as the John Nelson Darby adherents claim.
The truth is though that Jesus will return, once for all time. The Book of Life is real - God has the pen - He alone decides where people are for eternity and He does so through His plan of salvation. It’s God’s good plan; Paradise lost will be Paradise restored. Through the sacrifice of Christ, we are redeemed and made right with God. We can have confidence in our salvation - God is trustworthy. These bodies will age and turn to dust. But we will receive new bodies just as the Bible says. They will be similar to these old bodies - but different, better. God wants us to know the depth of His love for us.
If the Bible is true, and I believe it is, then God has a long record of mankind; there is nothing artificial about His intelligence. Jesus is the creator of intelligence. God Almighty has a record of everything. At the Final Judgment Jesus, the humble King, mocked and rejected by so many, will open all the records (20:12). This includes the record of whose names are in the Book of Life. Of the earth’s population today billions are baptized believers in Christ. The Book of Life will have names in it from Adam and Eve all the way through to God’s return and judgment by the Man on the Great White Throne (20:11). God knows your name. And He loves you completely.
I humbly pray that your name will be in the Book of Life. Whether you die at sea or on land all will be judged according to what they have done as recorded in the books John writes about (20:12). There will be no posing at that point. Billions and billions of people will be finally and forever judged.
I also pray that my name will be in the Book of Life. This morning I’m reminded of the words of Saint James, Jesus' little brother. James is a martyr - he was killed for his testimony about his brother and his God and for proclaiming the word of God. James said, “I will show you my faith by my good deeds” (James 2:18). Be like James.
If we have faith in Jesus let’s show it by what we do today. Our actions make our faith in Jesus complete. God sees - and He records what we do.
The Apostle John said that whoever trusts in Jesus the Son of God has eternal life (1 John 5:11-21). We can have confidence that our names are indeed in the Book of Life. Be confident in Christ Jesus today and pray for what you need to do to please Jesus. I’ll pray the same for you right now. Amen.
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