This page is part of an overview of all the major end-times views held by faithful Christians. Each view gets the same structure and the same care, with no winner declared. Start with the overview for what every view shares, then read the others alongside this one.
In a sentence: The thousand years of Revelation 20 is a picture of the present age, in which Christ reigns from heaven and the gospel goes out to the nations, until His one return.
How it reads the story: Holders read Revelation as a series of visions that often retell the same age from different angles rather than one strict chronological sequence. The thousand years, in this reading, began with Christ’s first coming, death, resurrection, and ascension. Satan’s binding means he can no longer keep the nations from hearing the gospel (Revelation 20:3; Matthew 12:28–29). The “first resurrection” is usually understood as new life in Christ, or as believers who have died living and reigning with Christ in heaven. Many holders prefer the name inaugurated millennialism, since they see the reign as already begun. At the end of this age, after a final season of opposition, Christ returns once, visibly and bodily. All the dead, righteous and wicked, are raised together, the final judgment takes place, and the new heavens and new earth begin.
Key texts: Revelation 20:1–6; Matthew 12:28–29; John 5:24–29; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:5–6; Acts 24:15; Romans 8:18–23; 2 Peter 3:10–13.
What its holders are most careful to protect: Amillennial believers are most careful to guard the truth that Christ is King right now, not only someday, and that the kingdom has already come in power through His finished work. They also want to keep the simplicity of one return, one resurrection, and one judgment that they see in the teaching of Jesus and Paul.
Questions others ask: Some ask whether Satan looks bound in a world so full of evil. Holders typically answer that Revelation 20:3 names the specific purpose of the binding, “so that he might not deceive the nations any longer,” and that the spread of the gospel to every people shows the binding at work, using the same image Jesus used of binding the strong man. Others ask whether this reading spiritualizes the Old Testament promises to Israel. Holders answer that they see those promises fulfilled in Christ and enlarged beyond what was first imagined, with Abraham promised not a strip of land but “the world” (Romans 4:13), and many also expect a future turning of Jewish people to Christ. A third question is how “came to life” can mean one thing in Revelation 20:4 and another in 20:5. Holders point to John 5:25–29, where Jesus Himself speaks of a spiritual coming to life now and a bodily resurrection later.
Who has held it: This view is closely associated with Augustine, whose City of God shaped how much of the church read Revelation 20 for centuries. It was the common view of the Reformers, including Luther and Calvin, and remains widely held in Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, and Anglican churches, as well as in Catholic and Orthodox teaching. Anthony Hoekema was a well-known twentieth-century defender. Many amillennial believers also hold a form of partial preterism, though plenty don’t.
Every View Stands on the Same Foundation
Every view described in this overview affirms that Jesus Christ reigns as King right now, that He will return bodily, personally, visibly, and victoriously, that the dead will be raised, that He will judge with perfect justice and make all things new, and that the day and hour of His return are known by the Father alone (Matthew 24:36). These questions don’t decide whether someone who trusts Christ is your brother or sister. Your pastor and your local church are the right people to walk through them with you.
Faithful Christians read this question differently. Here’s how Last Days Living handles questions like this.
Explore the Other Views
Overview: The Major End-Times Views
When are believers gathered to Christ?
What is the thousand years?
A related term