Revelation 20:4
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.
The thousand years are still future, coming after Christ's return and the resurrection of His followers and lying between the first and second resurrections. Those who live and reign are the faithful witnesses who suffered for Jesus and for the word of God, who refused to worship the beast and his image or receive his mark. Christ and the saints sit together on thrones and reign together for a thousand years as kings and priests unto God. Judgment is given to the righteous to share with Jesus, reviewing the deeds of the wicked dead by the Bible as the standard and fixing each one's punishment according to works. That judgment is only a review whose sentences are written down to be carried out after the thousand years, when the wicked are raised and consumed by fire and the earth is made new for the saints to inherit.
Timing and Setting
The thousand years are still future and have not already occurred. The claim that they were already past is error, for Revelation 20:1-6 and 20:1-7 place that period ahead.
The reign follows Christ's coming and the resurrection of His followers, when Christ and the saints sit together on thrones of judgment and reign together for a thousand years. That thousand-year judgment of the wicked lies between the first and second resurrections, after Christ's second coming, with the righteous reigning as kings and priests and sharing in judging the wicked by comparing each person's deeds with the Bible and recording the punishment due according to those deeds against each name in the book of death. The events shown take place at the close of those thousand years, after Christ's second advent.
Christ's thousand-year reign comes after the dragon is bound and before the resurrection of the wicked and their final destruction, pointing to His final triumph and reign on earth.
During the thousand years the immortal saints sit with Jesus in judgment in the holy city, the city of God, before it descends to earth. There they rest and reign with Christ as kings and priests for one thousand years. Their judgment of the wicked dead is a review rather than the execution of the sentence: the book of life and the book of death are compared with the Bible, and the saints in unison with Jesus determine what each person must receive according to deeds done, with each sentence recorded to be carried out after the thousand years. After the thousand years Jesus descends with them to the Mount of Olives, which splits and becomes a plain and great plain for God's Paradise, while the rest of the earth remains uncleansed until the wicked dead are raised and gather around the city; then fire from God and from heaven devours the wicked and purifies the earth, and the wicked will never desecrate the earth made new, with Satan as the root and his children as the branches.
Those Who Reign
Christ and the saints sit together on thrones of judgment and reign together for a thousand years as kings and priests unto God. This reign follows Christ's coming and the resurrection of His followers, and during the thousand years the saints rest in the holy city and reign with Christ before the wicked dead are raised at the end of the thousand years. Those who live and reign are the souls beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, who did not worship the beast nor his image nor receive his mark upon forehead or hand. Among them are the martyrs slain for Him and those who lost their lives for the truth, who will live again and receive everlasting life in the city of God.
The martyrs who reign are seen wearing brilliant crowns and pure white robes with red borders. An innumerable company of little ones is with them and wears garments with red borders as well. Those who belong to Christ are represented by white robes washed in the Lamb's blood, and they will reign with Him in white. They will see Jesus and reign with Him in glory, and their inheritance is glorious beyond words. Reigning with Christ in glory requires being saved, being humble, letting God lead, and being taught His will and present truth and what must be to be saved.
Those having part in the first resurrection are blessed and holy, made priests of God and of Christ to reign with Him a thousand years, and the second death has no power over them. The rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished, for the dead rest in their graves until the resurrection. The righteous rise first in the first resurrection, while those who have done evil rise after the thousand years.
Judgment During Millennium
The judgment spoken of is given to the righteous to share with Jesus during the thousand years, when they sit with Him on thrones in the holy city before it descends to earth and reign with Him as kings and priests in unison and union with Him. That work belongs to the interval between the first and second resurrections after Christ's second coming. After the living saints are changed and caught up together with the sleeping saints, they enter the city, and there the book of life and the book of death are opened. Those books record the good deeds of the saints and the evil deeds of the wicked.
The saints judge the wicked dead by reviewing the records and comparing each person's acts and deeds with the Bible as the statute book and standard. By that comparison they decide each case according to what was done in the body and determine what each must receive. The portion of suffering and punishment due to each wicked person according to works is fixed by Jesus in union and agreement with the saints. It is written and recorded against each name in the book of death. This judgment during the thousand years is a review, not the execution of the sentence, and each sentence so recorded is to be carried out after the thousand years, when the wicked receive what the saints in agreement with Jesus determined and fire from God consumes them.
Jesus and the saints also judge Satan and his angels. Satan's punishment is far greater than that of those he deceived, and he continues to live and suffer much longer after all those he deceived have perished. The saints are raised before the final sentence is carried out on the wicked because their names are recorded in heaven, so it is known whom to raise and gather to the New Jerusalem. The wicked meanwhile remain dead in the dust until they are raised at the close of the thousand years, and those years are not spent executing judgment upon them.
Events After Millennium
After the thousand years Jesus descends with the saints to the Mount of Olives, which splits and becomes a plain, a great plain for God's Paradise. After that thousand-year stay in the city of God, the city comes down to the earth, which has been cleansed by fire from all impurity. Afterward the enemy is brought down while the city and its inhabitants remain untouched by corruption.
The rest of the earth remains uncleansed until the wicked dead are raised and gather around the city. Then fire from God and from heaven devours and consumes the wicked and purifies the earth, with Satan as the root and his children as the branches. At that execution the wicked receive the sentence the saints in unison and agreement with Jesus determined during the thousand years, meted out with Him according to their judgment. By that fire from God the earth is purified and made new for the saints to inherit as their inheritance of the whole earth made new.
The wicked will never desecrate the earth made new. The persecutors will be outside the city, seeing the faithful who lost their lives for the truth living again with everlasting life in the city of God and honored by Jesus, and realizing that the persecuted were accepted by God. Christ's glorious reign belongs to the final outcome of the great controversy, after His coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the destruction of Satan and sin.
Errors About Millennium
There are two literal resurrections separated by 1,000 years. The dead rest in their graves until the resurrection, with the righteous rising first in the first resurrection and those who have done evil rising after the thousand years are finished. Those in the first resurrection live and reign with Christ during the thousand years, and the second death has no power over them.
The thousand-year period is not a time of worldwide spiritual peace and prosperity and worldwide conversion before Christ comes, and to teach it as such is false doctrine. That expectation of a temporal millennium to come before His return stands in contrast to longing for Jesus to return with the clouds, end sin, and take His people home. The claim that a temporal millennium of peace and worldwide conversion comes before Christ's return conflicts with the Bible's picture of worsening wickedness and perilous times as the end approaches.
The passage does not teach a temporal millennium before the end of the world, but is consistent with literal fulfillment of prophecy and with Christ's future return to earth in the clouds of heaven. The expected millennium is falsely presented as a world-converting movement achieved through a religious union that accepts spiritualism. The temporal millennium once hoped for was a time when the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, yet against that stood the longing for Jesus to come soon, end sin, take His people home, and bring lasting sanctification. Because a temporal millennium was taught to occur before Christ's return in the clouds, the announcement of Christ's near coming was startling.
That millennium is not an earthly period available for warning the world. The work of warning must therefore be done now, before God's dealings with sinful people suddenly change. People need a change of heart without delay. Millennium teaching can lull sinners into spiritual sleep when it is presented in a way that reassures them while they continue in sin.
Promise and Application
Revelation holds forth a central truth to be known, centered on Christ as Alpha and Omega in whom the Old and New Testaments meet, showing that the faithful live and reign with Christ a thousand years in Paradise. There Adam meets and embraces Christ the second Adam, who overcame the temptations of Satan and redeemed Adam's failure and fall and reconciled Adam and God. From that Paradise are shut out the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, and all who refused mercy offered at infinite cost and remained disloyal. Those having part in the first resurrection are blessed and holy, made priests of God and of Christ to reign with Him a thousand years, over whom the second death has no power, while the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished.
The warfare, trials, and defeats of the church militant lead on to victory, for Christ chooses His faithful people to reign with Him. That reign looks forward to His return in glory, when the Suffering One will reign forever. The saints will see Jesus and reign with Him in glory, and their inheritance is glorious beyond words. In the final conflict over worship and obedience, those who keep God's commandments and refuse the mark of the beast or its image receive God's mark of deliverance.
The righteous have part in the first resurrection, living and reigning with Christ during the thousand years, with the second death having no power over them. The dead rest in their graves until the resurrection, the righteous rising first while those who have done evil rise after the thousand years. The prospect of sharing in that first resurrection calls each person to seek a life hidden with Christ and to walk the narrow path. Those who belong to Christ are represented by white robes washed in the Lamb's blood and will reign with Him in white, and as God's sons and daughters and His jewels Christians are to live with untainted morals and represent Christ in the world. Reigning with Christ in glory requires being saved, being humble, letting God lead, and being taught His will and present truth and what must be to be saved.