He Reigns
Bible reading
1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient snake, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
– Revelation 20:1-6 (NIVUK)
Devotional
It’s around this time in the book of Revelation that I start to get nervous. This is where our understanding of what John was seeing, and hearing is limited. Some have even called Revelation 20:1-6 “Millennium Madness”! We could spend several hours together working through all the symbols and the various theories of the thousand-year period that we call the millennium. And although that discussion is exciting and interesting. I will again limit myself to focusing on what I hope encourages us the most from these six verses.
No matter what you think of the millennium, almost everyone agrees with these three facts. First, the best is yet to come! This is an image of victory for those who held firm to their faith. Second, the future belongs to Jesus. He is there with his people reigning in victory. And third, the future is not in our hands. This is God’s plan unfolding before John’s eyes. He cannot stop it or change it. God is in control.
John Stott suggests that there are four other things that every theory should agree upon, but don’t always. First, the thousand years is a symbol and not a statistic. In the book of Revelation, numbers are symbols, so the thousand years is a symbol also. Second, Jesus is not going to become King, Jesus is King! Third, The Church is not a helpless victim. If Jesus is king and we are reigning with him, then we are not at the mercy of the media, the government or the world. We are not victims but victors! And fourth, the Gospel changes things. The Good News of Jesus Christ changes lives because it really is good news. All these people who are reigning with Jesus heard the gospel of Jesus, believed it and followed Jesus. Not only were their lives changed forever, but also their eternity.
There are things far scarier than being a martyr, the rest of chapter 20 will explain some of them. But these six verses show us the hope we have in standing firm, keeping our faith, and not being afraid. Our King reigns!
– Connie Main Duarte
This devotional is part of a series that helps us navigate the texts of the book of Revelation with fresh eyes. A new devotional every Saturday.
These devotionals are available in Portuguese and in English.