Are We Living in Satan’s “Short Time” that is Mentioned in Revelation 20:3?

[Editor’s Note: Crossexamined takes no specific position on end times theology except for what historic Christianity requires: future judgment, Christ’s return, resurrection, heaven, hell, and the inspiration of Scripture. Among the leading schools of thought are: premillenialism, postmillennialism, and amillenialism. This blog post, from ConvincingProof.org, reflects a postmillennial position – wherein Christ’s return will be after the “millennium” which they understand to be a non-literal reference to “a long time.” Postmillennialists often teach that there is or will be a blossoming “golden age” leading up to Christ’s return, and some include Christian Nationalism as part of that golden age (ex., Doug Wilson)]

Question: “I have been studying Postmillennialism and have held firmly to this position for some time now. However, I have recently come across an eschatological position that has given me serious pause. This eschatological view posits that we are actually in Satan’s little season of Rev. 20:3 right now. So, the Olivet Discourse and the Millennium have already occurred according to this view, and they occurred as literal events (i.e., no allegory whatsoever). This would mean that all secular history (i.e., history outside of what we’re given in Scripture) is either completely false or corrupted in some way which would be consistent with a little season of deception.

I’m a student of Gordon Clark’s view of Scripturalism so doubting anything outside of Scripture is nothing new to me. My question is, do you consider this view to be a possibility? As I see it, if we understand Revelation 18 to be the fall of Jerusalem and Revelation 19 to be the fall of Rome and both of these events happen with very little or no time gap in between each other, then the mainstream historical narrative must be false because the mainstream time gap between the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of Rome is quite large—several hundred years. This is then followed by a 1,000 year “Dark Age”—what an interesting number! I personally don’t see a significant time gap between Revelation 18 and Revelation 19 at all. Nor do I see a time gap between these two chapters and the starting of the Millennium in Revelation 20. Once again, I’m curious on your perspective.”

Answer: First of all, I want to thank you for this question! Eschatology (the study of the end times or “last things”) and the Book of Revelation are two subjects which admittedly are very enigmatic and mysterious at times. On top of that, we have over 2,000 years’ worth of theological musings, sermons, expositions, and positions on these two topics, a fact which oftentimes makes a Christian’s undertaking more complex as he seeks to understand how to interpret eschatological passages in the Bible. Being a student of Gordon Clark’s philosophy, you know full well that when it comes to any interpretive issue in Scripture, the analogia fidei [analogy of faith] is the guiding principle for us as Christians and students of Scripture. This principle states that Scripture is our “rule of faith” which guides our interpretation of anything in Scripture which may appear unclear or confusing. Interpreting Revelation properly, then, must be a process that begins and ends with us going back to the Word of God and using it to illuminate what may at first be complicated and unclear. Scripture must be understood in light of Scripture; any position or belief formed about Scripture can and should be examined in this light.

The position that you heard about, that most events in the Book of Revelation, including the Millennium, have been fulfilled throughout history, is known as “preterism.” Preterism can be subdivided into “partial preterism” and “full preterism.” The former asserts that some events and prophecies of Revelation have been fulfilled, and the latter asserts that virtually all the events in Revelation have been fulfilled. Usually, Christians who hold to some flavor of preterism think that the prominent historical event in which many or all prophecies of Revelation find their fulfillment is the destruction of the temple in AD 70. This, however, is not true of every preterist.

On the other hand, postmillennialism is a school of thought revolving around Revelation 20:1-6. It states that this “thousand-year” period of time in which Satan is bound refers to a golden age of peace and prosperity that is brought about in the whole earth through the spreading of the gospel. This period of time does not, according to this position, necessarily refer to a literal thousand years. Rather, it is a spiritual reality in which Satan’s power is severely limited by the work of Christ’s church and the mission of the gospel on earth. The prefix “post” refers to the timing of the second coming of Christ. Different views have been established to determine the nature and timing of Christ’s return to earth; postmillennialism states that Christ will return sometime after this “golden age” or millennium.

Lastly, premillennialism is a school of thought which maintains that this “thousand-year” period will literally last for 1,000 years and will take place in the future someday after Christ returns. So, the main difference between postmillennialism and premillennialism is that the former holds Christ will return after this thousand-year period (hence the prefix “post”) whereas the latter holds Christ will return before this thousand-year period (hence the prefix “pre”).

It seems as though this person you ran across holds to an extreme preterist view of the Book of Revelation. In my assessment, however, the view that we are in Satan’s “little season” or that the Olivet Discourse and the Millennium have already found their fulfillment in history has some issues.

One thing to take note of is the nature of Satan’s “little season” as it is described in the text. Revelation 20:7-8 tells us that after Satan is released after this Millennium, he will “come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle… [T]heir number is like the sand of the sea.” It is important to note that the events in Revelation 20 seem to unfold almost simultaneously or as if it is one consistent event with parts connected to each other. Revelation 20:5 tells us that the “rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.” Taking these two events in tandem, we can see that this chapter doesn’t describe a prolonged time where Satan rules on earth and takes his time to deceive nations and cause chaos. Instead, his release signifies the gathering of all his armies to wage war on the saints. After Satan gathers his armies, however, “fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet were” (Revelation 20:9-10). So, we see that when Satan is released for a “short while,” he will gather all of the armies of Gog and Magog and wage war against Christ’s army. Christ, in a moment of decisive and overwhelming victory, will wipe out Satan and cast him and his army into a “lake of fire.” This marks the moment when God judges the living and the dead.

Several issues arise as we consider the interpretation you presented, which is that the Millennium has passed and that we are in the time of Satan’s release. For one thing, it is difficult for us to imagine how the dead have already resurrected when that is one of the most notable events marking the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:5). Secondly, Satan’s short release is characterized by his gathering of the world’s armies to wage war against Christ and His people on earth (Revelation 19:19, 20:7-8; Ezekiel 38-39). Ezekiel 38-39 tells us more about these nations who rule under the names Gog and Magog. These nations are described as enemies of Israel seeking to wage war and exalt themselves over God. These nations rally together against Israel and are numerous, yet they are smitten by the Lord in a series of visible, powerful, and physical judgements. Revelation universalizes these two nations and describes them as coming from the “four corners of the earth,” a reiteration of the Ezekiel prophecy that encompasses all of the earth as contrasted with a part of it. Given the descriptive language that both prophecies use to describe these worldly armies gathered by Satan, it would be difficult to assert that we are already in the period of time where Satan is released. Satan’s release, contra the interpretation you heard, is not merely a time when Satan manipulates history and deceives the minds of people. Instead, it is an act done to gather up armies against Christ and His people in order to attack and declare literal victory. This, however, is already doomed to fail. As we read, Christ will destroy the armies of Satan and throw them into everlasting punishment. These do not sound like events that have unfolded already. The language used makes me skeptical that Satan’s “little season” is a covert time of historical coverup and deception.

To sum up the argument, I believe Scripture teaches that the Millennium has not been completed and therefore we are not in the period of time known as “Satan’s little season”. Rather, it is the final assault of the world’s armies on Christ and His people on earth which is quickly stopped in powerful, literal, and physical displays of God’s glory and judgement. With regard to history, we can be assured that what we have and know is not false and corrupted in some way. We are able to look at Scripture and remain confident in the view that I laid out. When in doubt, we should always view Scripture in light of Scripture to answer our interpretive questions and difficulties. I always tell people who ask me how I view the Book of Revelation that the most important thing everyone can agree on is this: Christ has always been and always will be victorious! We are His soldiers and must never lose focus on Him who is our Commander and King of Kings. While it is important to discuss and think about the prophecies and details contained in Revelation, it is easy to get caught up in the details. Recognizing that God is sovereign over every event that unfolds is a good guiding principle that allows us to better understand the overall message of this long-debated and little-understood book of the Bible!

Recommended Resources:

The New Testament: Too Embarrassing to Be False by Frank Turek ( Mp3 and Mp4 )

Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek ( Mp3 and Mp4 )

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek ( INSTRUCTOR Study Guide )

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series , INSTRUCTOR Study Guide , and STUDENT Study Guide

Clark Moghadam writes for ConvincingProof.org. He’s also a student at University of Nebraska-Lincon where he studies biology and philosophy. His father is Iranian and was raised in a Muslim and atheist household before he found Christ. Clark loves theology, history, and philosophy.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/3RRp28I