REVELATION 20

By the beginning of Chapter 20…the Tribulation has ended, Christ has triumphed at Armageddon and Jesus has brought his Bride back to earth for His 1,000 year Honeymoon .

Jesus is about to wrap up the world as we know it.

However, the believer anticipates the hereafter for obvious reasons.

Romans 8:18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

We are continuously moving toward final victory !

1924-1929 has been dubbed by the world as the “Golden Years” defined by an improvement in foreign relations and economic prosperity.

Other define the “golden years” as the season of life where a person is able to retire and enjoy the spoils of their labor after a lifetime in the workforce.

However, In verses 1-10 we witness the first of two main topics of Chapter 20 - A period of time greater than the golden years of the past…

We witness the “Golden Age ” of Christ!

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.

2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

A noticeable feature of the “Golden Age” will be the binding of Satan!

Today…Satan roams the earth like a lion !

1 Peter 5:8- Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

But in the millenium that “roaring lion” will be chained!

4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its 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 ended. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

The first time that Jesus came to earth, He came to suffer , die to provide us a way to salvation .

Isaiah 53:5–6 - But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He came to transform us from victims of the righteous judgment of God to victors by the righteousness of Christ!

However, this time [Chapter 20] He is going to come to fulfill the prophecy of Gabriel !

Luke 1:31-32 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David…

There will be none to question on that day that “Christ is the Rightful King!”

During the Millennium…Christ will reign as King over the earth as He occupies Jerusalem and the Throne of David for 1,000 years!

Zechariah 14:8–9 “On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Jerusalem is the only great city of antiquity that was not built near a large river . It is situated 21 miles from a major body of water to the east and 32 miles from a major body of water to the west ?

Any guesses on what two bodies of water Zechariah is referring to?

Dead Sea and Mediterranean Sea

During the Millennium [Golden Age, Kingdom Age] many believe that the earth will return to its Edenic Beauty.

And a river will flow out of Jerusalem eastward and westward…turning arid Jerusalem into a port city and connecting the waters of the two seas.

Zephaniah 3:9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord.

The language barrier or wall that separated humanity in Genesis 11 will dissipate as Jesus gives us a common language to both communicate and worship Him.

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison

8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are 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 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,

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

After the millennium Satan will be released for one reason and that is to deceive those who can be deceived!

Those who have come through the tribulation will have children and some will chose to believe Satan and follow his lies.

This is beyond me. But sinners will still rebel even while living under the Lordship of Christ!

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

We must recognize our vulnerability .

We saw Satan lead an initial rebellion in Heaven . Then a second at the end of the tribulation . And now a third at the end of the 1,000 year reign.

However, Satan’s defeat is guaranteed . Hi-Ho…Hi-Ho…To the Lake of Fire he’ll go!!! [Key the Whistle!!!]

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The throne of God takes center stage at the end!

Ecclesiastes 12:14 - For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

At the “Great White Throne” Judgment the people whose names are not found in the Book of Life will stand before GOd.

I believe there will be a searching of that Book will take place because it is not God’s desire that any should perish .

2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

An angel may search the Book turning the pages looking for the place where the unsaved person’s name should be. But it will be blank.

It may not happen just like that…but I believe it could!

John 12:48 - The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.