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After a careful analysis of the premillennial, post millennial and amillenial positions. I have come to the conclusion that Revelation 20:1–6 is best read as following Revelation 19:11–21 in chronological sequence, that the millennium is a future phase of Christ’s reign after his second coming, and that the “first resurrection” refers to a bodily resurrection of the saints rather than merely a description of their heavenly life after death.
Here’s a clear breakdown of each position:
Premillennialism
- Definition: Christ will return before (pre-) the millennium.
- Order of events (simplified):
- The world grows increasingly troubled (often seen as decline, apostasy, or tribulation).
- Jesus returns bodily and visibly to the earth.
- He defeats evil and inaugurates a literal or figurative thousand-year reign of peace and righteousness.
- At the end of the millennium, there is a final rebellion, judgment, and then the eternal state (new heaven and new earth).
- Tone: More pessimistic about human history on its own (expects worsening conditions until Christ intervenes).
- Common among: Many evangelicals, dispensationalists, and some early church fathers (like Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus).
Postmillennialism
- Definition: Christ will return after (post-) the millennium.
- Order of events (simplified):
- The gospel gradually spreads and transforms cultures.
- Over time, a “millennial age” of righteousness, peace, and Christian influence arises on earth (not always taken as a literal 1,000 years).
- After this golden age, Christ returns to judge the world and establish the eternal state.
- Tone: More optimistic about history (expects the gospel’s power to progressively improve the world).
- Common among: Some Reformed and Puritan traditions; it influenced early American Protestant thought (e.g., Jonathan Edwards).
👉 Key difference in mindset:
- Premillennialism: The world gets worse until Jesus comes to fix it.
- Postmillennialism: The world gets better through the gospel until Jesus comes to complete it.
Adding amillennialism completes the “big three” approaches to the millennium. Here’s how it compares with premillennialism and postmillennialism:
Amillennialism
- Definition: There is no literal future 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. The “millennium” in Revelation 20 is understood symbolically.
- Order of events (simplified):
- The “millennium” is happening now — it represents the current church age, where Christ reigns spiritually from heaven.
- Satan is “bound” in the sense that he cannot stop the spread of the gospel (though evil still exists).
- History continues with both good and evil advancing side by side.
- At the end of history, Christ returns once: resurrection, final judgment, and new creation happen all at once.
- Tone: Realistic (sometimes called “inaugurated eschatology”) — the kingdom is already present spiritually, but not yet fully visible.
- Common among: Augustine (who shaped the classic view), Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and many Reformed/Protestant traditions.
Quick comparison table
| View | When is the millennium? | Christ’s return | Tone about history |
| Premillennial | Future, earthly reign (literal or symbolic) | Before millennium | Pessimistic — things worsen until Christ comes |
| Postmillennial | Future golden age (not always literal) | After millennium | Optimistic — gospel brings progress and peace |
| Amillennial | Present, spiritual reign (symbolic) | After church age (no separate millennium) | Realistic — kingdom is “already/not yet” |
The Sequence in 1 Corinthians 15
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
(1 Corinthians 15:20-26 NASB)
Paul writes that Christ is the firstfruits, then those who belong to him are raised at his coming, and then comes the end, when all enemies are finally subdued and death itself is abolished. This passage teaches both resurrection order and an ongoing reign of Christ that continues until the last enemy is destroyed.
A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
(Psalms 110:1 NASB)
but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.
(Hebrews 10:12-13 NASB)
Psalm 110:1 and Hebrews 10:12–13 deepen this picture by showing that the Messiah is already enthroned at God’s right hand while his enemies are progressively being placed under his feet. From a premillennial standpoint, this present heavenly reign does not exclude a future earthly phase of that reign after the second coming.
That distinction is important. 1 Corinthians 15 does not mention a thousand years, and Revelation 20 does not explicitly quote Psalm 110 or Hebrews 10. The relationship between the passages is therefore theological rather than an explicit verbal identification, but premillennialism argues that they fit together coherently: Paul gives the broad eschatological order, and Revelation 20 supplies further detail about a future millennial reign before the final abolition of death.
Revelation 19 and 20
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
(Revelation 19:19-21 NASB)
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
(Revelation 20:1-6 NASB)
A central question is whether Revelation 20:1–6 follows chapter 19 chronologically or whether it restarts the story from another angle. Premillennialism argues that the most natural reading is sequential: Revelation 19 describes Christ’s victorious return, the defeat of the beast and false prophet, and Revelation 20 then describes what happens next—Satan is bound, the saints are raised, and they reign with Christ for a thousand years.
I would agree, but with one adjustment: I believe Revelation chapter 19 is describing Christ’s coming on the clouds of heaven to bring the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem in 70 CE.
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘ “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.
(Matthew 22:2-7 NASB)
Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
(Matthew 26:64 NASB)
Associated with that destruction, the Roman beast (Nero) and the false prophet (the Jewish priesthood) were destroyed. Also there was a tremendous loss of life of many Jewish combatants (the rest of the dead were killed off with the sword).
Chapter 20 then begins with a future vision that describes the abyssing of Satan and the resurrection of the saints to reign with Christ for a thousand years, whether that time period is to be taken literally or not.
This reading takes seriously the narrative flow of the text. Chapter 19 ends with the destruction of Christ’s enemies; chapter 20 continues with the confinement of Satan and the enthronement of the saints. On this view, the millennium is not the present church age symbolically portrayed, but a future kingdom phase inaugurated after Christ’s second coming.
Amillennialism instead usually reads Revelation 20:1–6 as recapitulating the present age and interpreting the thousand years symbolically. But from the premillennial perspective, that reading weakens the natural connection between chapter 19 and chapter 20 and makes the “first resurrection” harder to interpret in its plain sense.
The Meaning of the Thousand Years
Premillennialism understands the thousand years of Revelation 20 as a real future reign of Christ after his return. Whether some premillennialists stress a more literal or more apocalyptic use of the number, the passage is still understood to describe a distinct future period before the final judgment of Revelation 20:11–15.
This view differs sharply from the standard amillennial position. Most amillennialists do not locate the millennium, Satan’s binding, and the saints’ resurrection at AD 70; instead they ordinarily identify the millennium with the present age between Christ’s first and second comings. AD 70 may be treated as an important covenantal judgment, but it is not typically made the decisive beginning of the millennium in mainstream amillennialism.
From a premillennial perspective, however, Revelation 20 points beyond both the destruction of Jerusalem and the present church age to a future kingdom that follows Christ’s visible return.
Satan’s Binding and the Priestly Reign of the Saints
Revelation 20 opens with Satan being bound and cast into the abyss so that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are finished. Premillennialism generally understands this as a future, decisive restriction that begins after Christ returns, not simply as a present limitation operating throughout the church age.
The saints are then said to live and reign with Christ and to be priests of God and of Christ. Their priestly status signifies more than mere honor. It indicates consecration, access to God, participation in royal administration under the Messiah, and covenantal privilege in the kingdom. In a premillennial reading, this priestly reign belongs to the resurrected saints in the future millennial kingdom rather than only to disembodied souls in the intermediate state.
The First Resurrection
The phrase “first resurrection” in Revelation 20:5–6 is one of the major dividing lines between amillennialism and premillennialism. Amillennialists often interpret it as a spiritual reality—either the believer’s entrance into heavenly life after death or a figurative description of union with Christ and present heavenly reign.
Premillennialism argues that this interpretation does not best fit the context. Revelation 20:4–6 places the resurrection in connection with enthronement, reign, and a contrast with “the rest of the dead,” who do not live again until the thousand years are finished. This contrast strongly suggests that the first resurrection is an actual resurrection of believers, corresponding to the bodily resurrection of the righteous.
For that reason, the premillennial reading usually takes the first resurrection as bodily rather than merely spiritual. The saints who were faithful unto death are raised to share in Messiah’s kingdom, and the second death has no power over them.
1 Corinthians 15:44 and the Resurrection Body
Paul says that the body is “sown a natural body” and “raised a spiritual body.” This does not mean the resurrection body is nonphysical or merely ghostlike. In context, Paul is contrasting the present mortal, corruptible, weak body with the future glorified, incorruptible, Spirit-empowered body given in resurrection.
That means 1 Corinthians 15:44 is describing the nature of the resurrection body itself, not merely the soul’s existence in heaven after death. From an amillenialist perspective, the believer’s heavenly life after death and the bodily resurrection must therefore be distinguished. In the intermediate state, the believer is with Christ and blessed, but the body has not yet been raised. At the resurrection, the person is clothed with the transformed body suited for the age to come.
But if Paul’s “spiritual body” is still a body, and if 1 Corinthians 15 places the resurrection of believers at Christ’s coming, then Revelation 20:4–6 fits well within premillennialism as a future bodily resurrection at the beginning of the millennium.
Why Premillennialism Fits the Data Better
A premillennial synthesis holds together several textual observations. Christ reigns now from heaven, as Psalm 110 and Hebrews 10 indicate, yet Revelation 20 reveals a future kingdom phase after his return. 1 Corinthians 15 teaches resurrection at Christ’s coming and the eventual destruction of death, while Revelation 20 places a first resurrection and a thousand-year reign before the final judgment and the casting of death into the lake of fire.
This reading also preserves the ordinary force of the phrase “first resurrection.” If the “rest of the dead” refers to an actual resurrection, then the first resurrection is most naturally understood as actual as well. Likewise, if Revelation 19 and 20 are read in sequence, the timing of the millennium falls after the second advent, not during the present age.
By contrast, the amillennial interpretation usually requires Revelation 20 to restart the chronology, the first resurrection to become a figurative heavenly experience, and the thousand years to symbolize the present age. That remains a serious and historically important view, but the premillennial reading argues that the text reads more straightforwardly when these elements are taken in their forward-moving narrative sense.
Final Perspective
From a premillennial viewpoint, Revelation 20:1–6 describes a future event sequence following the return of Christ in Revelation 19. Satan will be bound, the saints will be bodily raised in the first resurrection, they will reign with Christ as priests for a thousand years, and only after this kingdom phase will the final judgment of Revelation 20:11–15 occur.
On this reading, 1 Corinthians 15:44 does not refer to a merely spiritual existence or to a symbolic heavenly enthronement, but to the transformed resurrection body believers receive in God’s appointed future resurrection. The intermediate state remains blessed and real, but it is not the final hope. (Luke 20:37,38) The Christian hope is bodily resurrection, kingdom participation under the returning Christ, and at last the complete destruction of death itself.