Sunday, June 10th, 2018 - AM - The Devil's Doom (Rev. 20:1-10)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Millennium

The English language has always used the word millennium to indicate a period of great happiness, and that is one of the meanings still found in the dictionary. But more precisely the word means a period lasting one thousand years and refers to a period of that duration during which Jesus Christ will rule on the earth. This will be earth’s golden age.

But before King Jesus can reign, all opposition must be swept aside. Armageddon will demolish nearly all the forces of revolt, leaving but a single revolutionary on the earth. The one who started it all and who has led the rebels throughout history must yet be conquered before Christ’s kingdom can come. And so as the birds of the skies are cleaning up the carnage of Armageddon, an angel will come from heaven to bind the devil and to confine him in the abyss for a thousand years (Revelation 20:2–3). That will truly be a millennium—Jesus Christ as head of world government, and Satan totally inactive in the affairs of men. At long last will come the answer to the prayer Christ taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Although the catastrophes and judgments of that terrible time of tribulation will have radically changed the topography of the world, it is to this earth that the kingdom will come.

And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.

Zechariah 14:9

[Charles Caldwell Ryrie, The Best Is yet to Come (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1981), 135.]

Sub-intro:

With the Tribulation over, the focus is upon the binding of Satan, the Millennium, and its dramatic conclusion in the Battle of Gog and Magog. The chapter concludes with Satan being cast into the lake of fire forever and then are details of the Great White Throne Judgment. [David H. Sorenson, Understanding the Bible, An Independent Baptist Commentary - Hebrews through Revelation, vol. 11, Understanding the Bible, An Independent Baptist Commentary (Northstar Ministries, 2007), 536.]

I. Satan Restrained (Rev. 20:1-3)

- The Devil Is Arrested, Bound and Locked Up in the Abyss for One Thousand Years

A. The Dragon's Chains (Rev. 20:1-2)

Revelation 20:1–2 KJV 1900

Slide - Second Century House Keys from the “Cave of the Letters” in the Judean Desert.

Satan may have had his great Babylon, but God’s chains for the Devil are greater yet!

B. The Dragon's Confines (Rev. 20:3)

Revelation 20:3 KJV 1900

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Note - “bottomless pit” = abyss (lit. “without a depth”)

...the reference is to the lower regions as the abode of demons, out of which they can be let loose, Rev. 11:7; 17:8, it is found seven times in the Apocalypse, Rev. 9:1–2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3; [W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 75.]

Satan’s career began in Heaven, descended to earth, and now concluded in the bottomless pit. He ruled earth for approximately six thousand years, and Isaiah described his reign through his precursor (the king of Babylon), saying, “He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth” (Isa. 14:6). Now, according to the Johannine vision, Satan’s rule is basically over. [Thomas M. Strouse, To the Seven Churches: A Commentary on the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, Selected Works of Dr. Thomas M. Strouse (Bible Baptist Theological Press, 40 Country Squire Rd., Cromwell, CT 06461, 2013), 856–857.]

II. Saints Reigning (Rev. 20:4-6)

- God's Saints Reign With Christ in Judgment for A Thousand Years

A. The Reward of God’s Faithful in the First Resurrection (Rev. 20:4)

Revelation 20:4 KJV 1900

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Jeremiah 23:5 KJV 1900

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Matthew 19:28 KJV 1900

And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke 22:30 KJV 1900

That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Revelation 1:6 KJV 1900

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:10 KJV 1900

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Daniel 7:22 KJV 1900

Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Daniel 7:27 KJV 1900

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

B. The Rest Remain Dead Until the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:5)

Revelation 20:5 KJV 1900

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Note - See Rev. 20:11-15 below

C. The Rejoicing of Those Who Shall Reign with Christ (Rev. 20:6)

Revelation 20:6 KJV 1900

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Note - What it means in blessing [WA Criswell]

A. For Israel

1. Restored

Amos 9:14–15 KJV 1900

And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, And they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; And they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, And they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, Saith the Lord thy God.

2. Regenerated

Jeremiah 23:5–8 KJV 1900

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Romans 11:25–29 KJV 1900

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

B. For the Gentiles

Isaiah 2:2–4 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass in the last days, That the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; And he will teach us of his ways, And we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, And shall rebuke many people: And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.

Isaiah 19:23–25 KJV 1900

In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, And the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, Even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, And Assyria the work of my hands, And Israel mine inheritance.

C. For the whole creation

Romans 8:19–23 KJV 1900

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

III. Satan's Ruin (Rev. 20:7-10)

- The Devil & His Dupes Meet Their Final Doom (Rev. 20:7-10)

A. Society’s Final Anarchy (Rev. 20:7-9a)

Revelation 20:7–9 KJV 1900

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Deception is a real danger

News: It was one more tragedy for the Kennedy family. When John F. Kennedy Jr. took off from Essex County Airport with his wife, Carolyn, and sister-in-law, Lauren, on July 16, 1999, he thought they were destined for a short trip up the coast to Martha’s Vineyard Airport. Kennedy had received training as a pilot but was not instrument-flight rated. In other words, he was dependent on his own perceptive accuracy to make appropriate adjustments. In this case, that dependence proved deadly. Flying over open water at night through difficult conditions, JFK Jr. lost the horizon, became disoriented, and flew into the ocean—all the while convinced he was flying true.

As believers, we must beware of deception. It is easy, if we depend on our own perceptions, to be led astray. We must fix our eyes on the Word, the “instrument panel” for our journey. To miss this is to risk even more than crashing a plane. [J. Scott Duvall, Revelation, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2014), 266.]

B. Satan's Eternal Agony (Rev. 20:9b-10)

Revelation 20:9–10 KJV 1900

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

This passage reminds us that God’s sovereign plan includes the destruction of his archenemy, Satan. The New Testament records multiple defeats or falls of Satan: being cast from heaven to earth (12:7–9; also perhaps Isa. 14:3–21),

Revelation 12:7–9 KJV 1900

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Isaiah 14:3–21 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: It stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; It hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; That opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, Lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, And as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, That go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, Because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: The seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; That they do not rise, nor possess the land, Nor fill the face of the world with cities.

being defeated during the ministry of Jesus (e.g., Luke 10:18; John 12:31; 16:11; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8),

Luke 10:18 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

John 12:31 KJV 1900

Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

John 16:11 KJV 1900

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Hebrews 2:14 KJV 1900

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

1 John 3:8 KJV 1900

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

being cast into the Abyss (Rev. 20:1–3), and finally being thrown into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

Matthew 25:41 KJV 1900

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

The head of the serpent has been crushed (Gen. 3:14–15).

Genesis 3:14–15 KJV 1900

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The ancient dragon—Leviathan or Rahab—has been slain (Isa. 27:1; 51:9–11).

Isaiah 27:1 KJV 1900

In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword Shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, Even leviathan that crooked serpent; And he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Isaiah 51:9–11 KJV 1900

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; That hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, And come with singing unto Zion; And everlasting joy shall be upon their head: They shall obtain gladness and joy; And sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Although he tempts, accuses, and tries to deceive now, his time is limited and his doom is certain. [Duvall, 265.]

Conclusion:

We close with this timely application:

The strategy for believers is not to fear Satan but to stay alert to his schemes. Interestingly, the first mention of the millennium is connected with the judgment of Satan, not the reign of believers. The role for believers comes soon enough, but we shouldn’t miss the present implication: do not fear Satan, but be alert to his deceitful schemes. Although Satan remains a dangerous enemy, he has been defeated and will eventually be destroyed. As Osborne observes, “the great victory in the Apocalypse occurs not at Armageddon but at the cross.”5 Our present strategy includes putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:11), resisting the devil (1 Pet. 5:9; James 4:7), exercising spiritual authority (2 Cor. 10:3–4), responding with God’s Word (Matt. 4:1–11), forgiving and dealing quickly with anger (2 Cor. 2:10–11; Eph. 4:26–27), and relying on God’s faithfulness even as we remain faithful (1 Cor. 10:13; Rev. 12:11; 16:15). [5 Osborne, Revelation, 34. [Duvall, 266.]]

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