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Regarding the 1000 years, Revelation 20:6 states:

Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (NET)

According to pre-millennial reformed theology, who or what will the saints reign over during the 1000 years?

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  • There are both pre-trib and post-trib premillennialists associated with Reformed theology (though more of the latter). Do you want the views of both, or one or the other?
    – Nathaniel is protesting
    Nov 8, 2016 at 3:12
  • Both would be welcome.
    – למה זה תשאל לשמי
    Nov 8, 2016 at 5:23
  • It's probably worth noting that this question may not have a really good answer because there will be a very limited selection of works to choose from. Most Reformed theologians are not pre-millenial at all (at least not in the current popular dispensational sense. Ergo most of the pre-mil work you're going to come across isn't really very Reformed at all.
    – Caleb
    Jan 2, 2017 at 20:34
  • @Caleb True, but many reformed baptists are non-dispensational pre-mill...
    – curiousdannii ♦
    Sep 2, 2017 at 12:01

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While pre-millennialism is rare in Reformed theology, you will find it among the Reformed Baptists. It is possible that their views vary greatly today, I will assume that those of the eminent theologian John Gill (1697-1771) are still typical. As mentioned in the comments, this pre-millennialism is not dispensational, so do not confuse it with the popular modern versions.

Quoting from his Exposition of the Bible, on Revelations 20:4, as his commentary on verse 6 refers to the previous mention of "reigned with Christ a thousand years":

... Christ being descended from heaven, and having bound Satan, and the dead saints being raised, and the living ones changed, he will reign among them personally, visibly, and gloriously, and in the fullest manner; all the antichristian powers will be destroyed; Satan will be in close confinement; death, with respect to Christ and his people, will be no more; the heavens and the earth will be made new, and all things will be subject to him; and all his saints will be with him, and they shall reign with him; they shall be glorified together; they shall sit on the throne with him, have a crown of righteousness given them, and possess the kingdom appointed for them; they will reign over all their enemies; Satan will be bruised under their feet, being bound; the wicked will be shut up in hell, and neither will be able to give them any disturbance; and sin and death will be no more: this reign will not be in a sensual and carnal way, or lie in possessing worldly riches and honours, in eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage; the saints will not be in a mortal, but in an immortal state; the children of this resurrection will be like the angels; and this reign will be on earth, (Revelation 5:10) the present earth will be burnt up, and a new one formed, in which these righteous persons will dwell, (2 Peter 3:13) of which (See Gill on Revelation 21:1) and it will last a thousand years; not distinct from, but the same with the thousand years in which Satan will be bound ...

I hope this summary is accurate, but from my reading of Gills Exposition, Reformed pre-millennialsm essentially is a belief in an extended "judgement day" that begins with Christ's second coming and ends with the final judgement, the millennium being a thousand years of glory for the saints before that final judgement of the wicked.

To get a clear picture of his teachings on the millennium and the second coming, I would recommend reading his full commentary on Revelations 20. Again, as a disclaimer, I only know one Reformed Baptist personally, and I have no idea if John Gill's pre-millennial theology is still popular among them.

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    Thanks for your answer. I'm also interested in your statement that reformed premillenialism views the millennium as a kind of extended judgment day. If you could point me to resources that discuss that, or information from which you drew this conclusion, I would be most appreciative!
    – למה זה תשאל לשמי
    Apr 24, 2018 at 4:43
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    You can research "historic premillennialism". Here is a timeline as I understand it: 1. The great apostasy and tribulation. (Most of Rev.) 2. The "rapture" (not in the modern sense) and Second Coming. (Rev 19.) Enemies destroyed. 3. Satan bound. (Rev 20.) 4. The millennium of the saints. (No death, no sin.) 5. Satan loosed and defeated forever. 6. General judgement. You can see that from step 2-6, Christ reigns supreme, so I would consider that an "extended judgement day". (Compared to modern premillennialism, which has various "ups-and-downs" through the process.)
    – dieuwe
    Apr 24, 2018 at 5:00
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