Revelation 20:1-15 (The End of the Curse)

Introduction

Well, here we are. We have arrived at the chapter of the Bible that defines the way Christians divide over their views of the end times. This is not the only place in the Bible where Christians divide on this subject, but it is here that we find the infamous phrase “a thousand years;” and the three main end-times views are defined by how they understand this phrase… or more precisely, where they locate this “thousand years” on the timeline of human history.

Some believe that it is a literal one thousand years that will begin when Christ returns. Some believe that the number is not to be taken literally, but that it represents a long span of time… and those who take the millennium symbolically or figuratively can sometimes disagree about when it did or will begin.

Pre-millennialists believe that Christ’s final return will happen before the literal one-thousand years begins (at some point in the future), and (generally) both Post-millennialists and A-millennialists believe Christ’s return will happen after a long span of time between Christ’s first coming and His second.

The various views among Bible-believing Christians today are quite complicated to describe, and each of these millennial views has a range of differing positions within it. But many Christians only know what sounds familiar to them.

If we’re honest with each other, most of us in this room have probably not read a single book that lays out the biblical case for whywe ought to believe one view over another about the millennium… and most of us have not done our own exegetical work through the book of Revelation in order to understand a consistent interpretation of all that we read there.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we are bad people or that we can’t understand anything we read in Revelation until we have read all the books or done all the homework. No! I argued the exact opposite when I started preaching through this book several months ago. We do nothave to decide what millennial view we’re going to take before we start to read and understand it.

As a matter of fact, the millennium is not even the main emphasis of our passage today, where the phrase “thousand years” shows up the most in the Bible. The main emphasis here is on the final judgment… that final destination of the devil, his beasts, and all who have thrown in their lot with him – against Christ. This passage speaks of the end of the curse… the end in the sense of the curse being over and in the sense of where the curse ultimately leads.

But those who do have a particular conviction about the millennium (based on careful exegesis and thoughtful evaluation of the interpretive methods)… Well, if yours is different than mine, then we have probably already parted ways in some passages of the book… and we are especially going to differ here.

Though I trust that we’ve been able to agree on the main things, and I trust that my applications have been good ones… even if you don’t like my exegesis.

In a group discussion or even in personal conversation, I’m reluctant to declare my own view of the millennium. This is not because I think I’m wrong, but because I don’t care to argue much about it. As long as we agree on the main things, then I am less concerned about hammering out all the details of how and when the last day will arrive.

That’s not to say that eschatology is not important. On the contrary, it is very important. In fact, I believe there are some big problems with at least two of those eschatological views, and I’m glad to point out the stuff that I think is out of bounds. For example, we ought not confuse the gospel of grace (no one will be saved on the last day apart from faith in Christ; not even if they are direct descendants of Abraham). And Christians ought not seclude themselves from the world (even if we have a pessimistic expectation about where the world is headed).

More could be said about all of this, but let me get to the bottom line of my introduction… actually three bottom lines.

First, since I’m preaching Revelation 20 today, I must preach it from the perspective I have. What a terrible sermon this would be if I just tried to explain how a handful of disagreeing Christians might be able to interpret this passage. Now, I won’t label my view – those that know what to look for will easily see it, but that’s not the point… I’m not trying to convince anyone to adopt a particular view of the millennium. I’m just going to preach the text as I understand it, and I think that’s the best anyone can ask of me.

Second, if you do have a different view than I me, then you’ll have to at least try to see it from my perspective if you’re going to get anything good out of this sermon. As I said, if you don’t share my view, then we’ve probably already parted ways in certain passages, but I trust you’ve still been edified by a good bit of what I’ve said before. And I pray that the Lord would grant that today.

Even if you don’t agree with my view, then please try to follow my logic, and aim benefit from my effort to walk through the text and apply it well.

Third and finally (as always), don’t think of this sermon (or any other) as the end of a conversation but as the beginning (or maybe as a contributing point in an ongoing conversation you’re already having). If what I say today provokes questions for you (or even disagreement), then let’s explore those further. Let’s aim for clarity before we decide whether something is wrong or right. And let’s all try to understand and to grow, not just to win an argument.

That said, I will remind you that I am not very interested in arguing over millennial views. If you know me at all, then you know that I love to learn, and I have no doubt that some of you could teach me something I don’t know about one of the millennial views I reject.

But I’m convinced that most Christians would do well to spend a lot more time studying and discussing the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of the church, and the doctrine of God… and to wait until after these have been explored really well to start getting into the weeds of the doctrine of last things.

Now that I’ve made my pastoral plea, let’s get into it. Would you stand with me one more time as I read our passage for today – Revelation 20:1-15?

Scripture Reading

Revelation 20:1–15 (ESV)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Main Idea:

Christ is King over Satan and death, and Christ will one day throw them both into hell, as well as all those who reject the gospel and remain in sin.

Sermon

1. Christ Defeated the Devil (v1-3)

The phrase “thousand years” appears six times in our passage this morning, and the first two are right here in our first few verses. And one of the main features of the millennium is that Satan is bound, and Christ is the one who did the binding.

1. Christ holds the key.

a. This is yet another vision John saw, and it begins with “an angel” who holds “the key.”

i. John wrote, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain” (v1).

b. There are three other references in Revelation to one who holds or possesses a “key” or “keys.”

i. In Revelation 9:1, a “star” fell “from heaven to earth,” and “he” was “given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.”

1. In Scripture generally, and in Revelation specifically, “stars” (symbolically) often refer to “angels.”

a. In one of Daniel’s visions (Dan. 8), the “host of heaven” are synonymous with “stars” (v10).

b. And in Revelation 1, we are told that the “seven stars” John saw in his first vision were “the angels of the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20).

2. In the context of Rev. 9, the “star” that fell was the devil, and the passage implies that the “key” he was given came from God.

a. The “key” to the “bottomless pit” (in Rev. 9) represents the authority to open it, and God is the one who was sending out His judgment upon the world in the form of demonic affliction by an army of monsters who have “Abaddon” or “Apollyon” as their “king” (Rev. 9:7-11).

3. So, in Rev. 9, Christ or God has the key to the pit, and He gives it to the devil to carry out His judgment.

ii. In Revelation 3:7, the risen and glorified Christ says that He is the “holy one, the true one, [and the one] who has the key of David.”

1. Once again, “key” there indicates authority, and the “key of David” represents the authority of the promised Messiah who would sit upon David’s throne.

a. Remember that David was the first righteous king of Israel, and God promised him that there would be a better king to come after him… One who would establish God’s “name” as king over an eternal “kingdom” (2 Sam. 7:8-16).

2. So, in Rev. 3, Christ has the key of the Messianic kingdom – the eternal kingdom of God.

iii. And in Revelation 1:18, Jesus said, “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

1. Yet again, “keys” represent authority, and Jesus has total authority over “death” and “the grave.”

c. Friends, Jesus is the holder or possessor of “the key” – He has full authority over heaven and earth, and He even has authority over the devil and his demons.

i. And there is (in that last reference I cited, from Rev. 1) good reason to think that Jesus’s possession of “the key” is related to His earthly ministry (when He came the first time).

ii. It was then that He claimed the keys of Death and Hades; and it was then that Jesus bound Satan by conquering him through suffering.

2. Satan was and is bound.

a. In this vision, John says that the “angel” with the “key… seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him… and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer” (v1-2).

i. Before we say anything about when the “thousand years” haveoccurred or will occur, we ought to ask the question, “When does the Bible say that Jesus did or will bind or subdue or conquer Satan?”

ii. During His earthly ministry, Jesus said that His act of “casting out demons” by “the Spirit of God” was evidence that “the kingdom of God has come” and that He was “binding the strong man” and “plundering his goods” (Matt. 12:22-32).

iii. In Colossians 2, the Apostle Paul said that God “disarmed the rulers and authorities [i.e., demonic powers] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ]” at “the cross” (Col. 2:13-15).

iv. Jesus spoke this way before His crucifixion, saying, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (Jn. 12:31-32, 16:7-11).

v. And the author of Hebrews wrote, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, [Christ] himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who… were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15).

b. Friends, Satan has already been defeated, and Christ is already reigning victorious!

i. The ancient serpent has been crushed, and his power to “deceive the nations” (or Gentiles) is utterly overturned, since the people of God in the world from the time of Christ until today is overwhelmingly made up of folks who are not descendants of Abraham (not Jews, but Gentiles)!

ii. This is not to say that all Gentiles are Christians, but it is to say that the vast majority of Christians throughout the ages are and will be Gentiles.

3. Thus, the millennium is the age in which we live.

a. If Christ is the holder of the “key,” and if Satan was “bound” (at least in some sense) when Christ came the first time, then the “thousand years” began way back then.

i. The millennium is (as I read it) the long span of time between Christ’s first coming and His final return.

ii. In the order of human history, the “release” of Satan “for a little while” (v3) is referring to something that will happen just before Christ returns in the end… not to bind Satan in a pit, but to “throw” him and all who are with him “into the lake of fire,” where “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (v10).

Friends, Christ is King over Satan right now, and Christ has defeated and bound the devil already. This whole passage this morning emphasizes for us, not Satan’s power, but his impotence. There will come a time when Satan seems to regain his power to deceive and to make war against Christ and His people (And nearly every Christian generation has thought that they were living in just such a time!), but any apparent gain by the devil will only hasten his ultimate demise.

And this is a major theme of our passage today.

2. The First Resurrection (v4-6)

These next few verses speak of the “thousand years” again, but herethe emphasis is on what John calls “the first resurrection.” Let’s consider what this means and how it may be a great comfort to us… especially as we think about those Christians who have died before us… and even as we think about our own death (if we should die before Christ’s return).

1. Alive and reigning with Christ

a. In this next part of the vision, John sees “the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God… those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands” (v4).

b. “They,” he says, “came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (v4).

i. Remember that throughout Revelation, there has been a stark contrast between those who are “of heaven” and those who are “earth-dwellers”

1. those who are marked as servants of God and those who are marked as servants of the dragon

2. those who remain faithfulto Christ and those who rebel against Him

3. saints and sinners

4. righteous and wicked

5. just and unjust

6. believers and unbelievers

ii. John introduced himself at the beginning of this book as a “servant” of Christ, “who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1-2).

1. The same language as what we find here in v4.

iii. And John counted himself as a “brother” to all believers and a “partner” with them “in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus” (Rev. 1:9).

iv. Thus, (it seems to me) what John saw here was a vision of the reality that all who remain faithful to Christ unto death (by martyrdom or by any other way) are immediately made alive… and with Christ in glory.

v. There is a full resurrection that is still yet to come, where the physical body and the immaterial soul will be reunited and glorified – note that these are merely “souls” that John sees here (v4) – but all who die in Christ are alive and well… and they are with Him… even reigning with Him right now.

2. No fear of the “second death”

a. “This,” John says, “is the first resurrection” (v5).

i. The experience of those “souls” who have died in faith.

b. And note the “blessing” that is pronounced upon them in v6.

i. “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!” (v6).

ii. But what is the substance of this blessing?

1. “they will be priestsof God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” (v6).

a. We’ve already pointed out that this is the status of all those faithful believers who have died before us.

2. “over such [ones]” – those who share in the first resurrection or the “resurrection of the soul” (we might say) – “the second death has no power” (v6).

a. We will get more into the “second death” and the “lake of fire” in a moment, but look down at the end of v14.

b. The text says, “This is the second death, the lake of fire” (v14).

c. I’ll say briefly here that the second death refers to that final judgment, the eternal death, the kind of death that does not end one’s suffering but seals it as the permanent condition.

c. Friends, those who “share” in the “first resurrection” – those who remain faithful to Christ unto death in this mortal life – they are alive now, and they are reigning with Christ, and they have no fear of the final judgment.

i. One day all the “dead” will be raised (v5), and all the living will join with them (v12), and we shall all stand before the “great white throne” and “him who [is] seated on it” (v11).

ii. But for those whose names are written in the Lambs “book of life,” there need be no fear of that day.

Christ is King over Satan and death, and Christ will one day throw them both into hell, as well as all those who reject the gospel and remain in sin. But the same Christ who will sit in judgment over the wicked will stand as defender of those who love and trust Him.

Friend, do you believe that? Then why would you go on living as though there is no final judgment?

Brothers and sisters, do you believe that? Then why would you hold on to fear and doubt? Has God ever failed to keep His promise? Has Christ ever failed to show you grace? Has the Spirit ever left you to chase after your sin without any conviction or without urging you toward repentance and faith?

Those who believe in Christ, who turn from their sin, and who remain faithful to the end have nothing to fear about the second death.

3. The Devil’s Hell (v7-10)

We’ve already spent a good bit of time on the phrase “thousand years.” I said (from my perspective) that this refers symbolically to the span of time between Christ’s first coming and His second. When Christ came the first time, He defeated and bound the devil. And since that first generation of Christians, every believer who has died in faith has been living and reigning with Christ, waiting for that coming day when all shall be resurrected and brought to their complete end.

And (this passage seems also to indicate that) there will be a “release” of Satan from “his prison” (in the pit) during the last moments or at the final conclusion of that millennial period (in other words, just before or at Christ’s return). But Satan’s release is not unto victory, it is to his swift and utter defeat.

These verses (7-10) speak of a rise to power (the power to deceive many), a gathering of a great number from all over the earth (an army of rebels who have solidified their opposition to Christ), a surrounding of the “saints” and “the beloved city” (representing a full intent on conquering all who remain true to Christ), and an immediate and effortless destruction of the powerful and wicked horde (“fire came down from heaven and consumed them” without the use of a single weapon).

I said earlier that this whole passage emphasizes… not Satan’s power, but his impotence… and that’s true… but there is an even greater emphasis on the absolute power and reign of Christ… and there probably aren’t many ways that I could point this out than by saying that hell is not the devil’s kingdom… Hell is Christ’s dungeon… and Christ Himself (who sits as King over hell) will one day throw the devil into it… and the devil and his beast and his false prophet will “be tormented day and night forever and ever” (v10).

The Bible uses different words to speak of “the grave” (i.e., the place where the dead go when they die) and the other place of final and eternal punishment. In the NT, the word “Hades” refers to “the grave” or the place of the dead (v14), and it uses the word “gehenna” or the phrase “lake of fire” to refer to “hell,” that final place of everlasting judgment under God’s curse.

Maybe you’ve heard it said, “I’d rather rule in hell than be a servant in heaven.” But this is a complete misunderstanding of what hell is and what it’s for.

The devil does not rule in hell, and neither does any demon or sinner. Christ is the King over hell, just as He is King over everything else in creation. And when it comes time for Christ to bring final judgment upon all sinners everywhere, the devil himself will face Christ as judge… and the King of kings and Lord of lords will “throw” that ancient serpent into hell, where the devil will not reign, but suffer torment… day and night… forever and ever.

Friends, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God… a terror and torment for sinners… and a terror and torment for the devil too.

4. The Second Death (v11-15)

Our passage ends with a final scene of John’s vision – he saw “a great white throne and [the one] who was seated on it” (v11). John says (in powerful and poetic and prophetic language, alluding to what the OT prophet Daniel had seen and said hundreds of years before) that “earth and sky fled away” from the “presence” of the one “seated” on the “throne” (v11).

This is a scene of complete and comprehensive exposure. All that has been has come to an end. And all the world is laid bare before the King of glory who sits in judgment over all His created things – “great and small,” they are all “standing before the throne,” and the “books were opened” (v12).

These two different sets of “books” here are significant. There are the “books,” which represent the record of all sins and sinners. The Scripture tells us that “the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” (v12).

And there is another “book” (v12). This “book” is the “book of life,” which contains the “names” of all those who shall escape the “lake of fire” (v12, 15).

Friends, we would do well to remember that God is a God who is serious about His law, and He has kept meticulous record of all the times and all the ways people have disobeyed. Just because we haven’t felt His judgment in full as of yet does not mean that He has forgotten or that He won’t deliver it.

The only hope we have is that our name is written “in the book of life” (v15). And if it is, then the record of our sin has not disappeared. It has been transferred to the account of another.

This is what the Bible means when it says (in Colossians 2), “you, who were dead in your trespasses… God made alive together with [Christ], having forgiven all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This,” (i.e., the record of sin) the Scripture says, “he set aside, nailing it to the cross” in the person of Christ (Col. 2:13-14).

Friends, on the last day, at the great white throne of judgment, the most important question before us will be “Has Christ taken the record of my sin and put on His own account? Or does the record against me stand?” The Bible teaches us that Christ died in the place of all those sinners who turn from sin and trust in Him, and these are the ones whose names are written in the “book of life.”

The last couple of verses conclude this final judgment from the One who is “seated” on the “throne,” and it is the endof God’s curse. Remember that the entire Bible storyline began with God’s creation, full of life and wonder and intimate fellowship between God and man. But shortly thereafter, sin entered in, and all creation suffered for it.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God (in Genesis 3), and God had warned them that sin would result in death. In Genesis 4, Adam and Eve’s first son murdered their second son, and Genesis 5 tells us of repeating generations where death conquered everyone.

Death is not the only feature of God’s curse on the world, but it is that resounding and terrifying and cold and non-negotiable reminder that we live in a world that is under God’s curse.

But here, in our passage this morning, we are reminded that “death” and “the grave” itself will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (v14). That prominent feature of God’s curse will be cast out, along with everyone who has not repented and has not believed in the only Savior who defeated death.

This “lake of fire” or “hell” is “the second death” (v14). This is the end of God’s curse… it is where God’s curse and all those who remain under it are consigned for all eternity… suffering the torments of God’s judgments and enjoying none of the blessings of God’s kindness or forbearance.

Friends, a passage like this teaches and reminds us that the God of the Bible is a holy God. He is morally upright and ethically pure in all His ways. And He will not suffer His holiness to be tainted or marred or blemished in the slightest.

This means that He will let no sin go unpunished, and He will give no reprieve on the last day.

Revelation 21 and 22 are coming, and there is so much joy and blessing to be found there for those whose names are written in the book of life, but the major emphasis of our passage this morning is on the perfect power and justice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is King over Satan and death, and Christ will one day throw them both into hell. So too, Christ will throw into hell all those who reject the gospel and remain in sin.

May God grant us repentance and faith, so that we will avoid such an end.

May God grant that we will persevere in faithfulness, even if the wicked seem to be so powerful in our lifetime.

And may God help us to bare witness of Christ to others around us, so that they too may be warned and may avoid the curse of God on the last day.