Lesson 26 Revelation 20 The Victory, Reign, and Judgment of Christ

Lessons for Today With God on our side we have nothing to fear. No matter how futile things may appear; no matter how wicked the world may become. He will be there for His people. we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8:35 39) The works we do in this life are like the writings in a book. What kind of book are we writing? We write something in it every day. Will it be one that causes us shame and fear before the awesome Judge? Or, will it be a book that we look back on and see the work of God in our lives?

Introduction to Ch. 20 The most abused chapter in the book and perhaps in the Bible Many false doctrines have originated from a misunderstanding of what is here, and what is in fact not here, but added to the text Should heed the admonition of Rev. 22:18 19 If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life First 7 verses of this chapter are the only scriptures that speak of a 1000 year reign You would think it is found throughout the Bible from all the theories spun from it The doctrine of premillennialism is one of these; will discuss this at the end of class We ll begin with what IS in this chapter

Satan Bound for 1000 Years vv. 1 3 Ch. 19 the beast and his army had been defeated; punishment of the beast and the false prophet Next, John sees an angel coming down from heaven holding a great chain and a key to the bottomless pit Symbols of what takes place Great chain constraining and imprisonment; great because of the power of the one to be bound by it Bottomless pit the place where evil resides and has come forth from and gone into before Key access and security; angel has power and authority to lock down all within and not allow any to exit until the time chosen by God The angel laid hold of the dragon laid hold of krateo to use strength, seize, hold, keep Took a great deal of strength to capture and hold the dragon so he could be bound

Satan Bound for 1000 Years vv. 1 3 The dragon: The serpent of old an allusion to the garden of Eden He is the devil and Satan discussed the names before when we first met the figure of the dragon in ch. 12 The angel bound him for a thousand years Binds Satan with the chain Would constrain him in some ways; prevent some of his movements and actions 1000 years symbolic for a long period; 10 three times over Apocalyptic symbol of highest completeness; a full, uninterrupted period Satan s power will be limited for this period; Christ will rule during this period

Satan Bound for 1000 Years vv. 1 3 The angel also casts Satan into the bottomless pit Have seen this pit introduced before (9:1 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8) Not Satan s place of final punishment; preventative Where all things evil are kept; dreaded by demons Lk. 8:31 The angel shuts the pit and puts a seal on him None but God has authority to break the seal and release him Will not able to deceive the nations any longer until the 1000 years are finished He had done so through his allies in the beast and false prophet; the Roman Empire served his purposes and was a party to his deception (ch. 13) After these things released for a little while (see vv. 7ff)

Satan Bound for 1000 Years vv. 1 3 Satan had already been bound or limited prior to this First, in relation to demon possession which Jesus and His apostles brought to an end Mt. 12:28 29 binds the strong man Satan further limited Jesus died and was raised from the dead By this, the bondage of sin and death was broken Heb. 2:14 15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Col. 2:14 15 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Satan Bound for 1000 Years vv. 1 3 This binding (vv. 2 3) happens some time later Subsequent to the persecution at the hands of Rome Notice what we have seen before: The holy city was to be trodden under foot 42 months (11:2) Witnesses were to prophesy under persecution 1260 days (11:3) The radiant woman in the wilderness, protected from Satan 1260 days (12:6); time, times, and half a time 3 1/2 years (12:14) The beast with authority to persecute and blaspheme would continue his unholy work 42 months (13:5; Dan. 7:25) This period was the same for each the Roman persecution This short time (6:11; 12:12) has now been fulfilled; the Roman persecution and associated paganism is at an end

Satan Bound for 1000 Years vv. 1 3 Satan failed to abolish the church (Rev. 12) through the instrument of Rome; the Lord prevailed in the symbolic battle of Har Magedon; an oppressive world empire has not existed since that time Though Satan has continued to use various methods to turn disciples away from the Lord, the church has not suffered the severe oppression of a world dominion as in the days of the Roman empire. (Robert Harkrider) Satan has been bound; his abilities are limited; he has not been allowed to deceive the nations to the extent that he did during the period of Rome

Reigning With Christ vv. 4 6 Next John sees thrones and they sat on them; judgment was committed to them Who are they? The souls of those beheaded for the witnessing of Jesus and the Word of God Note that they are souls, not people on the earth They had not worshiped the beast or his image Had refused emperor worship and the idolatry associated with it Had refused to recant their faith They refused the mark of the beast on their foreheads or hands Did not compromise their beliefs for economic gain; they were shut out and persecuted because they refused to go along; they remained faithful So, they = the martyred saints from Roman oppression

Reigning With Christ vv. 4 6 Lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years Stated as if it has already happened certainty They are with Christ and reigning with Him He is king and they have an important position reigning with Him in His kingdom We re not told exactly what this means, but it would seem to imply the idea of reward for their sacrifice; they are now the honored ones The judgment That rendered against Satan on behalf of the saints The harlot burned with fire 18:20 The beast and false prophet cast into lake of fire 19:20 And now, the dragon cast into the abyss This period of a thousand years appears to be coincident with the period in which Satan is bound (see v. 7)

Reigning With Christ vv. 4 6 the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished v. 5 Appears to be a parenthetical statement As opposed to those reigning with Christ, the rest of the dead would be those wicked people who had served Satan and the beast and were defeated by Christ They would not live again (i.e. their cause was now dead) for 1000 years Their cause would experience something of a resurrection when Satan would be released at the end of the 1000 years

Reigning With Christ vv. 4 6 This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy Appears the parenthetical ends The second death has no power over these who are part of the first resurrection Priests of God and of Christ; they reign with Him; connects back to v. 4 Learn that the second death is eternal punishment (Rev. 21:8) Those who overcome would not be hurt by it (Rev. 2:11) Appears this is continuing to speak of the martyred souls who are part of this first resurrection Then, the first resurrection would be tied to the victory over the persecuting power of Rome The cause of Christ has overcome that oppressive power and is now in a sense resurrected

Satan is Loosed vv. 7 10 After the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released What this release will involve exactly we do not know Would seem that some of the limitations he has had will be removed and he will have greater power once again to deceive However, it will be for a short time (v. 3) He will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth The full extent of the earth will come under his deceptive power He will gather Gog and Magog to battle as well Gog and the land of Magog are mentioned in Ezek. 38 39 Gog was the king of that land symbolized the pagan forces which fought against the kingdom of God The world s pagan forces that Satan will gather together in one last attempt to overthrow God s spiritual kingdom And the number of these will be as the sand of the sea A great many will fall prey to Satan s deceptions

Satan is Loosed vv. 7 10 Satan and his followers will surround the camp of the faithful They will come against God s faithful; will appear as though all is lost However, with God on one s side, he is never outnumbered (Rom. 8:35 39) Fire came down and devoured them Just when it appears that all hope is lost, God destroys those arrayed against the people of God in an instant There is nothing to fear; God will protect His people With God on our side we have nothing to fear. No matter how futile things may appear; no matter how wicked the world may become. He will be there for His people. Note: not a physical battle, but a spiritual and moral one The kingdom of Christ has never been and never will be advanced by engaging in physical warfare (Jn. 18:36)

Satan is Loosed vv. 7 10 Finally, the devil will meet his end once and for all Will be tormented forever; an eternal punishment All who reject the Lord will be in this same place (Mt. 25:41,46) Many questions, e.g.: Has Satan already been loosed and the thousand years ended? If not, when will that occur and what will it be like? Why will God allow Satan to be loosed once again? What kind of trials will this loosing bring? Some suggest it has already occurred and point to the godlessness, humanism and other evils that are so prevalent But look at the severity Christians endured during the time when Satan was loosed and Rome persecuted so many Bottom line we shouldn t be so presumptuous as to think we know the answers to these questions Let us simply do all we can to be faithful to God; even to the point of death

The Judgment Scene vv. 11 15 This last part of the chapter pictures God on His throne An imposing picture; He is ready to judge the wicked for their works The earth and heaven flee from His face; they can t find anyplace to flee from His presence A personification to depict the fear that all the wicked will feel in His presence (see 16:20) Or, may refer to the end of the world as we know it (2 Pet. 3:10) The judgment all are standing before God Everyone, both small and great it matters not what one s position in life was All judged righteously by the things written in the books Records of their works in life Everyone in a sense writes his own book What kind of book are we writing?

The Judgment Scene vv. 11 15 Vv. 13 14 the sea and Death and Hades give up the dead so they can be judged Seems to draw on the imagery of the sea we have seen before the mass of humanity Those in the realm of the dead (Death and Hades) will also be judged All will be judged by their works, whether good or bad Does this mean there will be two judgments if some have already gone to the place of torment at death? No. One s destiny will already have been determined by the life one lived (see Lk. 16:19ff) This day of judgment will be the day when the final sentence is passed on them They will be convicted of their ungodly deeds and every knee will bow at the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:9) The lake of fire is the second death it is a death that is unending

The Judgment Scene vv. 11 15 V. 15 Anyone not found in the Book of Life cast into the lake of fire The righteous have their names recorded in this book their reward will be described in the following chapters But any not written there will meet the doom that the works of their life have brought upon themselves As we look back over this scene, what do we see? A God of justice and wrath; will not abide the wicked in the end They will meet their Maker and it will not be a happy meeting Not the picture of God that so many of the world want to paint; He is not accepting of people s corrupt behavior and selfish religiosity He is not the God that they want Him to be. He is who He is! It will be a fearful thing for some to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31)

Chart by Robert Harkrider, Revelation Victory in Christ, p. 92

Premillennialism Defined Chart by Ferrell Jenkins, Studies in the Book of Revelation, p. 35

Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10