The Duration of the Kingdom
One of the most concise and informative passages on the kingdom occurs in Revelation. After the description of the Lord's second coming in chapter 19, but before the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 and the eternal kingdom in chapters 21 and 22, we have this description of the kingdom.
Revelation 20:1-10 says, "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, andSatan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
This passage makes several things very clear. Satan will be bound and unable to influence mankind. The first resurrection, the resurrection of the Old Testament saints (Daniel 12:2-3 and 12:13) and tribulation saints, will occur at the beginning of the kingdom. This resurrection is not to be confused with the resurrection of the Christians at the rapture, which will occur seven years earlier, prior to the tribulation. The rapture was a mystery first revealed to Apostle Paul and is not the subject of either Old Testament prophecy or prophecies given in Christ's earthly ministry.
The duration of this kingdom will be one millennium. This passage makes this very clear by telling us not just once but six times that it will last one thousand years. Satan will be released for a brief period after the one thousand years. This passage may bring questions to the minds of many readers, but hopefully, the remainder of this paper will adequately address most of them. For a description of the eternal kingdom which will follow this one thousand year kingdom, one may read Revelation chapters 21 and 22.
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