Big Idea: Following the millennial reign, Satan will be released for a final battle only to be defeated for good and eternally condemned.

Understanding the Text

Following Satan’s imprisonment (20:1–3), believers will reign with Christ over creation (20:4–6).

The term “millennium” is a word taken from the Latin for “thousand years” (20:2). The millennial reign both fulfills God’s promise of a messianic kingdom on earth (see “Theological Insights” below) and inaugurates life in the new heaven and new earth (the “city he loves” in 20:9). In addition, the millennium demonstrates the tragic irony of deception: even after spending a thousand years with their deceiver, the rebellious will continue to prefer Satan’s deception to God’s truth. As a result, the wicked are completely deserving of…