REVELATION - CHAPTER 20 - THE MILLENNIUM
REVELATION – Chapter 20
THE MILLENNIUM
November 27, 2012, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
In Chapter 20, we have come to the millennium, that period of time following the return of the Lord.
The subordinate powers of the beast and false prophet as well as all subordinate powers of evil have been destroyed. Only Satan; Gog and Magog; death and Hades; remains to be dealt with. An angel from heaven chains Satan and locks him in the abyss for a thousand years.
Rev. 20: 1-3: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed. After these things he must be released for a short time.”
That he is not allowed to deceive the nations indicates the nations will still be in existence during the Millennium.
There is an account of this in the Book of Enoch 88:1, which, of course, is not in our cannon of scripture. However, I feel to make mention of it for consideration only.
Rev. 9:1: “The fifth angel sounded and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.”
“One of the principal archangels seized that first star which had fallen from heaven, and bound it hand and foot, and cast it into an abyss, into which the other fallen stars were then thrown bound” (Enoch 88:1).
Satan’s consignment to the abyss is clearly later than his expulsion from heaven (Rev. 12:9); that preceded the rise of the beast and false prophet, whereas this follows their destruction. The thousand years of Satan’s imprisonment in the abyss are surely identical with the thousand years of verse 4, during which the risen martyrs reign with Christ.
Rev. 12:9: “The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him”.
Rev. 20:4: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
Remember those souls under the altar who cried out for God to avenge Himself on those dwelling on the earth (Rev. 6: 9-11). God told them to wait until their fellow servants had been killed as they had been. Now that has happened and here they are all resurrected together.
There are two groups listed here who will take part in the first resurrection:
- Souls of those beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God.
- Those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand.
We have hope that this means “all saints” because of Daniel 7:22: “Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.”
All of the commentaries have concluded that all believers take part in the first resurrection. However, that is not what is written. Just to be sure we make the cut into the first resurrection, let us not worship the beast (spirit of anti-christ and/or the anti-christ).
We should also clarify that for Christians, the Messiah has already come, and with His exaltation to God’s right hand His reign has already begun. However, the millennial period of verses 4-6 does not commence with the enthronement of Christ at His ascension, but at a later point with the resurrection of the martyrs to share His throne.
Rev. 20:5-6: “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.”
It is not said, and perhaps not even implied that earth is the place where they reign with Him; although earth certainly enjoys a blessed respite during this period of the binding of Satan.
Some commentators have identified Isaiah 65 as the state of the earth during the 1000 year reign of Christ.
Isaiah 65:17-25 “behold I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered nor will they come to mind.”
It is my persuasion that Isaiah 65 aligns with Rev. 21: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”
There are two births and two deaths in God’s Word:
- Physical Birth from our mothers
- When we received the Lord as our Savior, we were born again.
- Physical death
- The person, who is not born again, obviously has no spiritual birth, therefore no eternal life.
The Lake of fire is the second death.
GOG AND MAGOG
Rev. 20: 7-8: “When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, God and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.”
The binding of Satan is a restraint on evil, but does not extirpate it. A brief spell of renewed devilry intervenes between the thousand years and the last judgment. Satan, released from the abyss, resumes his deception of the nations and finds obedient tools in Gog and Magog.
Here, as in Ezekiel 38:1, and in several other places where Gog appears in Jewish literature, his attack comes between the Messianic age and the establishment of the New Jerusalem.
Ezekiel places Gog of the land of Magog in the precise geographical setting (Asia Minor) together with his subject-allies (from north, east and southwest of the Fertile Crescent). They are not the same as the Gog and Magog of this passage. The geographical delimitation disappears here, and the reference comprises the marginal forces of evil from the four corners of the earth. In the Sibylline Oracles, the land of Gog and Magog is located in the midst of the rivers of Ethiopia. Again, whereas in Ezek. 38:1, Magog is the territory of which Gog is ruler. Gog and Magog here, as in Sibylline and Rabbinic literature are parallel names, used together as a symbol of the world-powers opposed to God.
Gog and Magog are demonic powers and principalities who are not just regional, but will have international power during this time.
In number they are like the sand on the seashore. Ezekiel describes Gog’s army as a cloud covering the land (Ez. 18:16).
It is a great amazement to me that for 1000 years during the Millennium, Satan has been bound, the false prophet and the beast are in the lake of fire, but when Satan is again loosed on the earth those who yield their flesh to his power are in number like the sand of the seashore.
Rev. 20: 9: “They came upon the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.”
“Camp of the saints and the beloved city” is not clarified by any of the theologians that I studied. In the New Testament, the city is a community of the true Israel. Here the saints are encamped as earlier Israel once was, in the wilderness. Is this the remnant who has been protected against her enemies in the persecution under the beast? The beloved city always means the glorified community of the saints of God. Again these are those who have been living on the earth during the 1000 year reign of Christ.
Fire came down from Heaven and totally destroyed the armies of God and Magog.
Rev. 20:10: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
This is the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels of Mt. 25:41: “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
The two earlier prisoners, the beast and false prophet are still there, for together with their new companion, they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The personification of the individual persons and figuratively for their systems will be permanently destroyed.
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
20:11: “I saw a great White Throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them”
Daniel 7:9 “And the Ancient of Days took his seat” as judge of the final assize.
We have come to the very last event in the human story, the judgment of the rest of the dead. The whole matter is dealt with in just five verses. Once this is taken care of, there will no longer be any need for the earth or sky an din Peter’s words…”the heavens will disappear with a loud bang and the elements will vanish in tremendous heat”(2 Pet. 3:10).
The Physical world is all held together by the Word of His power (Heb. 1:2). He only has to speak and it all goes back to energy.
From whose presence, here serves chiefly to underline the awesome majesty of the judge and the judgment.
In Rev. 1:13, the one like a Son of Man shares the features of Daniel’s Ancient of Days. According to John 5:27, the Father has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man.
Rev. 20:12: “I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds.”
The last judgment is conducted with scrupulous justice; if salvation is always by grace; divine judgment is always according to men’s works.
Rev. 20:13-14: “The
sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead
which were in them; and they were judged; every one of them according to their
deeds. Death and Hades were thrown into
the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire.”
Death at sea, with no monument to mark the spot where one’s body lay, was thought of as a terribly desolate fate. In some Jewish circles resurrection was thought of as possible only for those buried on dry land.
Death and Hades are personified in 6:8 as riders of the pale horse. This is the only horse with two riders. “ I looked and behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it had the name Death and Hades was following with him; and authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”
These, of course, are demonic strongmen over Death and Hell. Even though Satan has been cast into the lake of fire, these two here meet their fate.
The gospel proclaims Christ as the “death of death, and hell’s destruction, “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” Death and Hades are the all that remains of evil and are the last to be cast into the lake of fire.
2 Tim. 1:10: “But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
God is through with Death and Hades. Death followed sin and Hades was the holding tank for those who died as a result of sin.
Rev. 20:15: “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Those who have committed apostasy and worshipped the image of the beast have no place in the book of life. The dead who stand before the throne include all mankind except those who were at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Those are seated on thrones and ruling with Christ.
O may we stand before the Lamb
When earth and seas are fled;
And hear the Judge pronounce our names
With blessings on our head!
We will not be having Bible Study during the month of December. We will resume with Revelation, Chapter 21: A New Heaven and a New Earth on Tuesday, January, 8, 2013, the Year of our Lord.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
I entered into the labors of F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary and C. S. Lovett’s Lights on Revelation. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those whom I entered into their labors.