As a preterist, I believe Revelation 20 is highly symbolic and follows the pattern of recapitulation seen throughout the book. It is not in strict chronological order after Revelation 19 or the fall of Jerusalem in chapter 18. Instead, Revelation 20 steps back to give a symbolic overview of Christ's victory and the Church's spiritual reign.

Let's break it down using Scripture and logic.

1. The 1000 years is symbolic and begins before the fall of Jerusalem

Revelation 20:2-3 says, "And he took 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..." This binding is not physical imprisonment but a restraint from his former power to deceive the nations and stop the gospel. This fits with what Paul said in Colossians 1:6 and 1:23, that the gospel "has come to you, just as in all the world... proclaimed in all creation under heaven." Satan was bound from stopping this global mission.

The binding began with Christ's victory at the cross and resurrection. Jesus said in Luke 10:18, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning." That fall (Revelation 12:9) is the beginning of his binding, not some later event after AD 70.

2. The saints began reigning before AD 70

Revelation 20:4 says, "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... and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." These are the first century martyrs. They reign spiritually with Christ. Paul tells believers in Ephesians 2:6 that God "raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." That reigning began in the first century, before Jerusalem fell.

3. The "little season" already happened

Revelation 20:7-9 says, "When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released... and will come out to deceive the nations... to gather them together for the war... and they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city..." The "camp of the saints" and the "beloved city" are not physical Jerusalem, which was already called "Sodom and Egypt" in Revelation 11:8. The real city God loves is New Jerusalem, the Church.

This attack is not a physical siege. It is a symbolic picture of global persecution. It is the same event seen earlier in Revelation 11:7, "When they have finished their testimony, the beast... will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them." And in Revelation 13:7, "It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation." This war against the saints began during Nero's persecution and climaxed in the Roman Jewish war. Satan's "release" corresponds to that short but intense season of persecution, deception, and chaos.

4. The fire from heaven is God's judgment in AD 70

Revelation 20:9 says, "...and fire came down from heaven and devoured them." This is symbolic language for divine judgment, just like in Revelation 18:8 when God judged Babylon (Jerusalem): "Because the Lord God who judges her is strong... she will be burned up with fire." This fiery judgment is the same judgment as the fall of Jerusalem. The recapitulated vision in chapter 20 simply re-tells it from a cosmic and spiritual perspective.

Summary:

• Revelation 20 is symbolic and recapitulates earlier events rather than following a strict chronological sequence after Revelation 19.
  
  

• The 1000 years represents the Church age that began with Christ’s victory at the cross and resurrection, during which Satan was bound from deceiving the nations.
  
  

• Satan’s binding allowed the gospel to spread freely, as seen in Colossians 1:6, 23, and symbolized his loss of power to stop God’s global mission.
  
  

• The saints began reigning spiritually with Christ before AD 70, as seen in Revelation 20:4 and Ephesians 2:6.
  
  

• The "little season" is symbolic of Satan’s brief release, corresponding to Nero’s persecution and the chaos leading up to Jerusalem’s fall.
  
  

• The attack on the “camp of the saints” is not physical but a picture of global persecution against the Church, echoed in Revelation 11 and 13.
  
  

• The fire from heaven represents divine judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70, just as described in Revelation 18:8.
  
  

• Revelation 20 retells the same judgment from a cosmic, spiritual perspective, affirming Christ’s victory and Satan’s final defeat. Part 1 of 4 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JKccJU1nF/
  
  

Part 2 of 4 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Y3reopyWZ/

Part 3 of 4 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18w85ttNVL/

Part 4 of 4 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AZCvKysJR/