The Final Defeat and the Final Judgment

Revelation 19:17–20:15 ESV

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 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. 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. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 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. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Enemy is Exposed

Four times in this text, John repeats the M.O. of the beast, the false prophet, and the power behind them—the Dragon. They “deceive.” They lead astray.

The dragon deceived other angels—leading to their fall from heaven. The dragon deceived humans—leading to their fall from life in relationship with God and Eden.

The story of the Bible has come full circle.

Genesis 3:13 ESV

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS DECEPTION AND LIES (FATHER OF LIES)

Isaiah 14:3–21 ESV

When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’ Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’ Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named! Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.”

The Enemy is Destroyed

A) The Beast and the False Prophet are thrown in to the lake of fire.

B) The armies of the Beast and the False Prophet are destroyed by the sword coming out of the mouth of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Psalm 2:1–9 ESV

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

C) The Dragon is locked away for 1,000 years.

The Saints Reign with Christ

There will be a “first” resurrection of the dead—those who have been martyred as a result of the deception of the beast. They will rule and reign with Christ for 1,000 years.

Three views/interpretations—PREMILLENNIALISM, POST MILLENNIALISM, AMILLENNIALISM.

The Book of Revelation The Millennium is Inaugurated during the Church Age by God’s Curtailment of Satan’s Ability to Deceive the Nations and to Annihilate the Church and by the Resurrection of Believers’ Souls to Heaven to Reign There with Christ (20:1–6)

1) Some believe that the millennium will occur after the second coming of Christ. This view is traditionally known as premillennialism. (2) Postmillennialism has held that the millennium occurs toward the end of the church age and that Christ’s climactic coming will occur at the close of the millennium. (3) Others believe that the millennium started at Christ’s resurrection and will be concluded at his final coming. This view has been called amillennialism, though it is better to call it, more simply, “inaugurated millennialism” since “amillennial” is vaguer.

I, personally, hold to a premillennial view.

Who are the saints that reign with Jesus?

The Deceiver is Eternally Destroyed

Revelation: Verse by Verse The Release of Satan and the Final Battle (20:7–10)

Satan is not released until “the thousand years were over,” as was said in 20:3. This is evidence for the premillennial position, for it is clear Satan was not allowed to deceive the nations at all during that period. He is “released from his prison” on parole, and it is clear from 20:3 (“must be set free”) that this is part of the divine plan, allowing a final period of deception to prove the extent of human depravity. Now the time of deception begins anew, and every unbeliever among the nations immediately flocks to Satan. It is as if for the entire time they were under Christ’s rule, they longed for Satan to return. They have never responded to the gospel during that lengthy time, and now they demonstrate once and for all the depth of their depravity. Their sin is eternal, and so eternal punishment is the only valid option.

In 20:8 Satan goes out with a twofold purpose: to “deceive the nations” and to “gather them for battle.” As in 12:9 and 20:3 it is clear that Satan does not overpower people—he deceives them with lies that convince them to follow him. His ultimate purpose is to gather the armies of the nations for the final battle, a last-ditch effort to snatch victory out of defeat. He goes out to “the four corners of the earth,” namely the whole world, to unite all the nations for war. Their number is “like the sand on the seashore,” a common image for an innumerable host (Josh 11:4; 1 Sam 13:5).

The nations are identified here as “Gog and Magog,” a reference to Ezekiel 38–39, where Gog (the king of the northern lands) and Magog (= “the land of Gog”) come to wage war against God’s people. With a similar order of events to Revelation, the coalition of nations comes to destroy them (Ezek 38) yet are destroyed themselves (Ezek 39), followed by the glorified people of God enjoying the eschatological temple (Ezek 40–48). John sees the millennial events as a fulfillment of that prophecy. Gog and Magog symbolize all the nations uniting to oppose Christ and his followers. God here, as in Ezekiel, is a covenant God who is faithful to his beleaguered people and will deliver them from their enemies.

LITTLE GIRL — WHY IS GOD LETTING HIM OUT?

PASTOR—I DON’T KNOW WHY HE LET HIM OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Revelation: Verse by Verse The Release of Satan and the Final Battle (20:7–10)

The massive host of unsaved humanity now marches across the earth to “surround the camp of God’s people” (20:9). This includes every unbeliever who lived through the millennial period. The language indicates a military attack with armies coming from all around the world to strike at the saints. The “camp of the saints” recalls the camps of the 12 tribes around the tabernacle during the wilderness wanderings (Exod 33:7–11; Num 2:1–34). This pictures God’s people once more hunted down yet protected by God even from a vast, seemingly invincible foe. The camp is situated in “the city he loves,” namely Jerusalem. In 11:8 Jerusalem was an apostate city and with Rome became the capital city of the beast. Now it has been reinstated to the sacred city it was in the Old Testament.

All Humanity is Raised to Stand in Judgment

Matthew 5:21–26 (ESV)

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.