The keys of the kingdom FAQ

What were the keys of the kingdom given to Peter?
Did the apostles teach that the kingdom had come?
What is meant by the key of David?
Who reigns 1,000 years? Christ, or the saints?
What is meant by a thousand years?
How does Rev. 20:1-7 connect with Ezekiel?
Did John say χίλιοι ἔτος, thousands, in Revelation 20:1-7?
In prophecy, are years literal, but days figurative?
What does John intend to teach in Revelation 20:1-10?
When he returns, will Christ reign for a thousand years?
When do the saints become “a royal priesthood”?
Is part of Revelation 20:5 spurious?
Where can I see the Codex Sinaiticus manuscript?
What is the first resurrection?
What is Discrete Millennialism?
What happens when the thousand years end?
What is the territory of God’s kingdom?

Thousand or thousands in Revelation 20:1-7

The question whether a thousand years, or thousands of years, best represents the thought of Revelation 20:1-7, is raised by the translation offered in the Tischendorf 8th Edition of the Greek New Testament, where the expression χίλιοι ἔτος is used, meaning thousands of years, as chilioi is plural. Most texts have χίλια ἔτη, a thousand years.

If chilioi is the correct word, rather than chilia, the idea that Christ will return to reign upon earth for one thousand years in the future is discredited. A spiritual interpretation of the reigns of the saints who are beheaded, and do not worship the beast or his image, seems more promising.

Richard Baxter on the Millennium

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was an influential Puritan leader in the seventeenth century, during a period when the meaning of the thousand years of Revelation 20 was a topic of controversy, especially in England. One of the last books written by Baxter was about Christ’s reign in the present age.

The great chain of prophecy

Revelation 20:1-2
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

The chain in the hand of the angel in Revelation 20:1 is used to bind Satan for a thousand years. Obviously the chain is a spiritual one, not a literal chain. It is associated with time, and so this chain may be connected to the time prophecies in Daniel 7–12. Time is like a chain, in that it is continuous; each year is linked to the one before, and the one following. Similarly, each day is linked to the one before, and to the one following.

Deep waters in Ezekiel’s river

Proverbs 18:4 says, “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.”

When God was about to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites, a select group was chosen from the people, and the manner in which they were selected was based upon how they drank water at a well.

M. G. Kline, Armageddon, and discrete millennialism

In his article “Har Magedon: The End of the Millennium,” [1] Meredith G. Kline reviewed a previous study by C. C. Torrey on the Hebrew term translated as har magedōn, and showed how this is significant for the millennium debate. Kline identified this as a reference to Mount Zaphon or Mount Zion, and said it is parallel or equivalent to har mo‘ēd in Isaiah 14:3, the “Mount of Assembly.” He wrote: [2]

This in turn proves to be of critical significance in the millennium debate. For it adds a final, decisive point to the traditional amillennial argument for the identification of the conflict marking the end of the millennium (Rev 20:7–10) with the climactic battle of the great day of the Lord to which the Apocalypse repeatedly returns, as in the Rev 16:12–16 account of the Har Magedon encounter itself and the Rev 19:11–21 prophecy of the war waged by the messianic judge.

Discrete Millennialism

Many authors discussing the thousand years of Revelation 20 list three different ways that these are understood: Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, and Amillennialism. So, how should we understand the thousand years? Are these the only options? Here, I will discuss another explanation, which I will call discrete Millennialism.