In Revelation 20 we come to the third and final pause. All of these pauses have something to say about the martyrs and to the persecuted church. The repeated message of the New Testament to the embattled early church, and this is especially true of the book of Revelation, is that Jesus reigns! Satan was defeated at the cross and disempowered. He is still present and active in the world, but he is powerless to stop the light of truth from breaking through his deception. One way of interpreting the ‘millennium’ of Revelation 20:1-6 (there are a few equally viable interpretations) is to see it as a snapshot of this present age, symbolised by the ‘1000 years’ in which Christ reigns to establish his Kingdom on earth. The strength of this interpretation is that it takes seriously the present reign of Christ (Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:25-28) as well as Christ’s victory over Satan which allows for the ‘plunder’ of his ‘house’ (see Matthew 12:29). It is a complex passage in an already complex book that is full of cryptic symbols, but it was written with a clear purpose: to give hope to a church that was hemmed in by hostile powers. However we interpret this chapter, the main message is the same: Jesus is establishing his reign on earth and even the full force of demonic powers in this world cannot withstand that rule. You have an enemy working against you. You should be wary, but not afraid or discouraged, because he is powerless against the one who lives in you. The darkness will be vanquished by the light not vice versa.
Ask God to achieve his purpose through you today.
Read Revelation 20:1-6.
