Satan's Deception and Final End

We are in verses 7-10. Satan is released. Satan is bound, and we discussed that. He must be released for a little while. He must of necessity. Man must have a choice between good and evil. God will never take that choice away. In the end, there will be no choice because we will be in the hands of God.

Revelation 20:7 “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison.”

He must be released for a while. The release is the same as in verse 3. Before the coming of Christ. The devil's deceptive efforts will intensify, and more people will refuse the gospel and be deceived by the devil. 2 Thess 2:9-12, some people have no love for the truth but take pleasure in lies. Acts 28:23-30, Paul shared the gospel, but some did not believe. He said their minds have closed and their hearts have been closed. Luke 18:8, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth. The closer we get to the second coming of Jesus, the more secular the world will become, and the less interest that people will have in the knowledge of God. We live in a world where people call right wrong and bittersweet. That keeps coming and going.

But as we come to the moment when Jesus will come again. Satan will deceive more and more people. All the mechanisms are in place. He has some false doctrines on the internet, but there is a lot of good in there. He cannot keep people from the truth. We thank God for the good. But a lot of people are exposed to errors. As children of God, we want to do our job and do it well. The devil is not taking any holidays.

Rev. 20:8 “and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” This speaks of the devil's deceptive power. Although the gospel is preached, he can still deceive. Satan is operating all over the world. Satan being bound means restricted. When Christ came, the gospel went all over the world Matthew 28. The gospel is worldwide so men and women will have a choice.

Gog and Magog were gentile nations in the OT who were enemies of Israel.To find out more about them read Ezekiel chapters 38-40. Ezekiel 39:1-6 ““And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD. “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”God said I will destroy you and all of the nations with you, and I will send fire on you. The idea in Revelation 20 is taken from Ezekiel chapters 38-40. God talks about these two gentile nations.

In Revelation 20:8, Gog and Magog, in Jewish thought, it came to stand for everything that is against God. It's not just the two nations; they become the representatives of every government, people, and teaching that opposes God. It's not just these two nations; he is using these nations to epitomize all that opposes his people and his church. Anything in this world that opposes God is represented in this. God said they would be destroyed just like God and Magog.

The devil lost the sea beast and the land beast in chapter 19. But he goes out and finds someone to recruit and helps him in his attempt to attach the people of God. The devil can always find someone to recruit. There is always someone he can pull in his service to do something evil because they have an evil inclination. We should not be surprised when we see all kinds of hideous things that inspire int eh world. Some people do not believe in the devil. If you believe in God, you must believe there is a devil. The devil is real, and he has recruited many to help him in his fight.

Rev. 20:8 “and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” Satan’s deception aims to gather together an army and fight a losing battle. Satan knows he has lost it. But he convinces other people that he and they can win it. That is his deception. He knows he has lost, but he recruits others to help him in a pointless battle. He can pull people into what he knows he cannot win. But that is the nature of the devil.

Satan, through his perverse lies, is to persuade people that they can win, and he will be enthroned. He was fighting a losing battle then, and he is fighting a losing battle now. Part of the decision is to try to get people to believe they can fight against God and win.

This is another description of the Battle of Armageddon.

Rev. 16:12-21” when there was an attempt to marshal the attempt to go against the people of God. There was no battle because God stopped it and brought things to an end.

Rev. 19:11-21 “” Jesus Christ fought the battle. There was no battle that was involved where everyone was fighting. There was no battle because the battle was fought at Calvary.

Rev. 20, this is the same battle. What we have is another attempt. Rev 16 and 19 refer to the same thing we read in Rev. 20.

Rev. 20:9 “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”

The Bible says in verse 8 that the group that Satan achieved was as the sand of the sea. They surrounded the saints. The odds make God's people look helpless. You have a group of people that has been rallied against the saints by the devil. There are so many, they are like the sand of the sea. How can this small group of people of God survive and stand up against the devil and his unholy entourage? How can they win?

If I look at it from the world's vantage point, it's hopeless. As Christians, we look at things from God’s vantage point. It may appear to be one way. When you come up higher and look at it from God’s vantage point, it appears to be not the way it is.

In verse 9, the camp of the saints and beloved city are called the universal church.

Satan’s wrath is against the church (Rev. 12:13-17). He turned his anger against the seed of the woman who had the testimony. The devil's anger and rage is against the church. He is trying to destroy the church. When the bible talks about the camp and city of God he is talking about the church.

The beloved city is not literal Jerusalem.

The beloved city is spiritual Jerusalem (Gal. 4:21-31; Hebrews 12:18-24). God gave the law at Mount Sinai, and the voice of God frightened the people of God. They said his voice was scaring us. Let Him talk to you, and you speak to us. The beloved city is the church of the firstborn; it's talking about the church of Christ, Christ's body. They have surrounded this holy city, the people of God, God’s church. It agrees with Scripture. It is not talking about a literal city. But a spiritual people.

Revelation 20:9 “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”

Fire from heaven is associated with the second coming of Christ (2 Thess 1:3-10) When the bible talks about the coming down from heaven and devouring satan and his army. The Lord has come, and the devil is being dealt with.

Just like in Rev 16, 19, 20, there is not battle. God fights for his people. God is the odds maker, not the numbers. One plus God is the majority. If I am on the side, God is on. I am in the majority. David had a slingshot and rock. Gideon went up with 300 men and went against a number that could not be numbered. God is the odds maker. If God be for us, who can be against us? No matter how bad it looks, all we have to do is remain faithful. God will stand with you if you stand with Him. Acts 7, they stoned Steven, and when he looked up, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. When we stand up for Him, He will stand up for us.

Rev. 20:10 “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

When Christ comes again, the devil will be put away immediately. The first thing God will deal with first is the devil as the judgment. HE will join the ranks of the beast and false prophets (Rev. 19:20). The devil is now with the beat of the land and beast of the sea.

Lake of fire is a euphonism of hell (Mark 9:43-48; Mat 5:22)

In Mark 9:43 and Matthew 5, Gehenna is eternal hell fire.

Hell/ Gehenna: γέεννα (geenna), ης (ēs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ DBLHebr 1628 + 2183; Str 1067; TDNT 1.657—LN 1.21 hell, Gehenna, a Hellenized transliteration of the Hebrew, “Hinnom Valley.” A ravine just SSW of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. A place of trash fires and perpetually burning rubbish, hence the figurative extension of a place of eternal punishment (Mt 5:22, 29; 10:28; 23:15, 33; Mk 9:43; Lk 12:5; Jas 3:6)

Not Hades. Hades is the unseen realm of the dead.

This is not Tartarus, a place of holding for the wicked (2 Pet. 2:4) “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;”

Hell/ Tartarus/ ταρταρόω (tartaroō). vb. to hold in Tartarus, to be held in hell. Refers to the act of holding someone captive in Tartarus.

In classical Greek, this verb describes the act of holding a prisoner in Tartarus, the level of Hades where the wicked are punished. This verb only occurs in 2 Pet 2:4, referring to where the fallen angels are sent to be punished (compare Luke 8:31).

Gehenna hell is the final place of punishment.

Hades is where everyone goes when they die, righteous and unrighteous.

Tatarus in the place in Hades, there is no peace in that place. There is punishment there.

The righteous go to the place called Paradise in Luke 23:43.

In the end, some will be assigned to Hell.

Rev. 20:10 Hell is a place of punishment. Satan is not running hell. There is nothing but punishment. He is not giving our awards for their wickedness. Satan is not tormenting anyone. He is being tormented to. The punishment is unending.

Rev. 20:11-15 “” This is the final judgment sence, Christ has come, Satan has been judged and now everyone welse will be judged.

Rev. 20:11

The earth and the present world that we know will be no more (2 Peter. 3:9-13)

Rev. 20:12a

The dead are those who were dead and ress at Christ’s returen (Jn 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Thess. 4:16; Phil. 3:20-21)

Rev. 20:12b small and great, all reaces, rich and poor, rebuplicans and deomcates. Everyone will be there, no one will escape the gospel.

Rev. 20:13 books can stand for the word of God.