Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION:

How do you handle yourself in areas of strong disagreement on secondary or tertiary issues?

Are you somebody who knows how to disagree agreeably and charitably or do you become disagreeable and uncharitable?

We’re going to examine a passage of Scripture this morning that has been hotly debated by Christians since the inception of the faith.

There are certain areas within Christian theology that are “not up for debate.”

The resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

The exclusivity of Christ for salvation.

The trinity.

But we all know the Christian life speaks to a variety of issues outside those major doctrines.

Consider the following list:

Vaccines,

immigration,

critical race theory,

gun control,

voting for Donald Trump,

voting for Joe Biden.

I can guarantee you within this very room there are different groups with entirely different viewpoints on those matters.

If you were to discuss your view with another from a different perspective - how would you treat them?

My reason for raising this question isn’t to suggest that all views are equally valid or some nonsense like that.

It’s just to say that second tier and third tier issues are 2nd and 3rd for a reason.

Good and reasonable people can come to vastly different conclusions for a variety of reasons.

How Satan Uses Lack of Clarity

The same is true theologically.

There are 2nd and 3rd tier issues that I have STRONG feelings about:

the continuation of miraculous and revelatory spiritual gifts,

the age of the earth and evolution,

the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human freedom...

The timing and nature of Christ’s millennial reign is a secondary theological issue in the Christian faith.

One of the things that make secondary doctrines secondary is that there’s a lack of CLARITY for how they’re to be understood.

Satan loves to exploit that lack of clarity to deceive, divide and destroy.

He will enflame tensions and egos until peace and unity within a congregation are demolished.

That’s always been his nature.

He’s the best liar who’s ever lived.

LOKI ILLUSTRATION: I listened to a sermon by Sean McDowel the other day wherein he compared Satan to the Loki character in Avengers.

Remember Loki is a master deceiver who rebelled against his Father and came to earth to be worshipped.

He knew he couldn’t defeat the Avengers so he tried to get them divided against one another and unleash the hulk and his anger to destroy them all.

That’s what Satan does in the church.

He deceives, he lies, he divides and he destroys.

Why am I talking about this when we’re supposed to be talking about Revelation 20?

Because Revelation 20 is one of the most controversial passages in the entire Bible.

Good, Bible-believing people come to sincerely held and strong convictions that drastically differ in their approach to this chapter.

So what we’re going to do is read our passage and I’m going to introduce you the three major views for how to understand it.

Then we’re going to make application that I hope all three views can affirm and benefit from.

Read The Text

Let’s start with Revelation 20:1-3.

Revelation 20:1–3 (CSB)

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

3 He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed.

After that, he must be released for a short time.

What’s going on here?

You have an angel with a key to the abyss.

Keys represent authority.

This chain represents bondage or slavery.

This angel comes down, seizes the dragon (who we already know to be Satan) and he binds him.

After Satan gets bound by this angel he is thrown into the abyss for 1,000 years so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were finished.

After the 1,000 years is done, however, Satan gets released to go and deceive the nations again.

Revelation 20:4–6 (CSB)

4 Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge.

I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands.

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares 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.

What’s going on here?

While Satan is bound in the abyss for 1,000 years the saints “come back to life” and reign with Christ during his millennial reign.

The identity of these saints are those who

were beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus & the Word

Did not worship the beast or his image and

Did not take the mark of the beast on their foreheads or hands.

Finally we come to the last part Revelation 20:7-10

Revelation 20:7–10 (CSB)

7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.

Their number is like the sand of the sea.

9 They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city.

Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

What’s happening here?

Satan gets released.

He gathers this innumerable army to partner together in warring against Christ during his millennial reign .

Right as they surround Jerusalem to take Jesus out fire falls down from heaven and takes THEM out.

Satan is then thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet are and together they are tormented forever and ever.

The Main Interpretive Questions

That text pretty much speaks for itself so let’s have a word of prayer and go home!

Of course not!

All SORTS of questions arise from a passage like this.

If you’ve been with us throughout this study of the book of Revelation, you’ll notice several things about Revelation 20 that you’ve heard or interacted with before.

The dragon and the abyss

The beast and the false prophet

the mark of the beast,

the deceiving of the nations,

the war of gog & Magog and

the great battle around the Holy City.

The Question of When

That brings us to our first important interpretive question when it comes to the millennial reign of Christ.

The question of WHEN.

There are so many similarities between Revelation 20 and other portions of the book of Revelation that several interpreters see it as a recapitulation of the same events but from a different perspective.

Cyclical view.

Others take it more sequentially to follow chronologically on the heels of Revelation 19.

There are certainly good reasons to take it chronologically.