Revelation Sermon - 50

Revelation: Millennial Madness Part 2

Revelation 20:1-3

1. Introduction – In the passage we read this morning, the word “millennium” usually gets all the attention.

a. It’s a repeated word…and I’ve taught you that anytime a biblical author uses the same word multiple times in a short span…

i. It means that he is trying to highlight something, draw attention to something. So as readers we should perk up and pay attention.

1. And while millennium is important, I fear that it has taken attention away from other important themes and happenings in this chapter.

b. Remember, as we make our way through this chapter, we are going to focus on the what…and leave the when up to God.

i. We’re going to let the sequence of events in Revelation 20 speak for themselves…

1. And we’ll do our best to put our preconceived notions and ideas to the side. We’re going to let the text speak to us…not us speak in to the text.

2. Structure – As we dive into the Word this morning, I want to talk a little bit more about the structure of this incredible book. A couple weeks ago I handed out an outline of the entire book of Revelation…

a. But this morning I want to draw your attention to what is happening in the last half of the letter.

i. In the fall, the first week of September, we studied Revelation 12, and in that chapter, we were introduced to a figure called the Great Red Dragon.

1. And the Great Red Dragon was the first in a series of menacing figures that we were introduced to.

a. In chapter 13 we were introduced to the beast from the sea.

i. Later in that same chapter, the beast from the earth comes on the scene – the beast from the earth is also called the false prophet.

ii. Together, these 3 figures form what we called the unholy trinity – and through our study we saw how each member of the unholy trinity mimicked and imitated the work of God the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.

1. Throughout this section, the cosmic war behind all wars is described.

a. We saw the unholy trinity deceive in order to gain allegiance and we saw that persecution of God’s people.

i. This section of Revelation hits its climax with the introduction of Babylon – the place where the devil’s work is done.

1. These were some difficult weeks as we made our way through some very difficult and hard to interpret visions.

b. But now that we are nearing the end of the letter, I want to point what is now happening.

i. The figures are called out…Dragon, beast, false prophet, Babylon…but in chapters 18, 19, &20 – these figures are all now being judged.

1. And what is happening is that they are being judged in the reverse order that they were introduced.

a. The argument has been winding up, menacing figures and places being introduced, but now, ever since chapter 18, we have seen those same menacing figures judged.

i. Babylon, introduced in chapter 17, judged in chapter 18.

1. The false prophet and the beast, introduced in chapter 13, also judged in chapter 19.

a. Now, there’s only one more enemy to go.

c. Chapters 12-20 show the systematic introduction of God’s enemies, but then it describes the systematic and complete dismantling of everything that stands opposed to God.

i. Babylon is in ruins; the Beast and False Prophet occupy their eternal dwelling place…

1. And chapter 20 describes for us the judgment of God’s arch-adversary…that old serpent, the devil…Satan.

d. One more judgment scene to go folks…then we will gaze upon the new Jerusalem, the new heaven and new earth.

3. Repeated Themes – As I said at the beginning, the millennium gets a lot, if not all, the attention in this chapter…

a. But in the 3 verses we read this morning, there’s actually a number of repeated themes that we’ve previously encountered.

i. First, right off the bat, we’re told that an angel appears on the scene. And this is one repetition that should really grab our attention.

1. Because whenever God works in this letter, he works through an angel.

ii. An angel focused John’s gaze on the Lamb that was slain.

1. An angel marked and sealed God’s people. Angels blew the seven trumpets, in the 5th trumpet, an angel came down from heaven and unlocked and opened the abyss…

a. A scene that is like ours this morning.

i. An angel gave John a small scroll to eat and a measuring stick to measure the temple of God.

1. An angel took John out into the desert to show him Babylon the harlot. The angel interpreted that vision for him.

2. An angel told him to write…Angels make announcements on behalf of God.

iii. In chapter 12, Michael the archangel threw Satan out of heaven…and here the angel comes down from heaven and throws him in the abyss.

1. Just seeing that word “angel” should heighten our attention – cause us to perk up a bit…what’s about to happen is an act of God, and it is really important.

b. Another repeated theme is the idea of a ‘key.’ This is the 4th time we’ve encountered the word ‘Key’ in this study.

i. In 1:18, Jesus said he holds the key to death and Hades.

1. In 3:7 – Jesus told the church in Philly that he has the key of David. Most commentators agree that this key is same key that Jesus spoke of in Matt. 16…the key to the kingdom of heaven.

a. In 9:1 – in a scene that is similar to this morning’s passage – an angel is given the key to the bottomless pit.

i. The angel opens the shaft to the bottomless it and a demonic swarm of locusts comes out.

1. 3 of the 4 times the word ‘key’ is used, its used to describe God’s sovereignty over the demonic realm.

c. On that note, here, we are seeing the repetition of the abyss…the bottomless pit.

i. We see the repetition of the Dragon’s full name – that old serpent, the devil, Satan – almost a word for word repetition of chapter 12.

1. So, chapter 20 isn’t simply an anomaly in and of itself…introducing the millennium and serving no other purpose.

a. Revelation 20 is a further development of some really important themes that have been mentioned throughout the letter.

4. Sequence of Events – As we dive deeper into this chapter, I want to next walk us through what it is that’s happening here.

a. Putting aside discussion of when this is going to take place or if it has already taken place…I want us to focus on the sequence of events 20:1-3 describes for us.

i. Look at the words that are used in this vision. John sees an angel coming down from heaven…

1. Coming down from the presence of God…coming down with the authority of God to exercise and execute his purposes….it must have been quite the sight.

b. We’re told that like the previous vision of an angel and the bottomless pit…this angel has a key…and a heavy chain.

i. Now, look at the other words that are used to describe the angel’s activity.

1. The angel came down from heaven…he seized the dragon…

a. He bound him…he threw him in the abyss…he shut the door and then locked it up.

i. What a series of events.

c. The vision is so very matter of fact. Its almost anticlimactic…if it weren’t so important.

i. The sequence, the words used…describe the complete power of God and the utter futility of Satan.

1. It’s so very matter of fact…seized, bound, thrown, shut and locked…with seemingly no effort.

a. It’s the same as in chapter 12 when Michael threw Satan out of heaven, no struggle…just describing the events.

i. Or in chapter 16 with the battle of Armageddon, no actual battle is fought. Jesus just shows up and the whole thing is over.

1. Or in chapter 19, the beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. The armies of the nations are destroyed by the powerful words of Jesus.

d. This language, seized, bound, thrown, shut and locked…is the language of arrest.

i. That’s how a criminal is secured and jailed…so it is with Satan.

1. And that it is done by an angel, done by a messenger of God, operating with the authority of God…shows that Satan’s power and influence are completely cut off…for a time.

a. This sequence shows God’s absolute power over evil. He will vanquish it, with no effort at all.

5. Expansion of Satan’s fall – Also, what we have here in chapter 20 is a further expansion of Satan’s fall that began in chapter 12.

a. Remember in 12:7, we’re told that there was a war in heaven. Michael and his army defeated Satan and his army…expelling them from heaven.

i. This was in reference to the pre-creation fall of Satan.

1. But the chapter goes on to describe further defeats.

a. Having been expelled from heaven, Satan, described as the great Red Dragon, goes after the newborn Son of the woman in ch. 12.

i. But his efforts are thwarted and the dragon is defeated once again.

1. So, the dragon turns his attention to the other children of the woman…the church. But they too are protected.

b. Chapter 12 tells us that the dragon, that serpent of old, the devil, Satan…was defeated and always will be defeated.

i. He was defeated before creation, defeated at Christmas, defeated at Easter…

1. And here, Rev. 20 tells us that he will be defeated and incarcerated at Jesus’ return.

c. Notice the downward progression of his defeats. Expelled from heaven to earth – chapter 12.

i. Thrown from earth into the abyss – chapter 20.

1. And later in chapter 20, we’re told that Satan is thrown into the lake of fire…his eternal dwelling place.

a. This scene stresses evil’s complete elimination from God’s creation.

i. It stresses the complete and utter judgment of anything that stands opposed to god’s purposes and kingdom.

6. Why? – Now notice WHY Satan is thrown into the abyss. What does the text say??? So he could not deceive the nations…

a. And here we are reminded that Satan’s main tactic is not to overpower unbelievers…his main tactic is deception. We see it with his name.

i. That old serpent…instantly that brings us to Gen. 3 and the Garden.

1. Satan didn’t demand worship and allegiance from Adam and Eve…not his style.

a. He deceived them… “Did God really say???”

i. Demands would have been to forward and strong…Satan works with the subtle art of deception.

ii. The word devil, diablos literally means deceiver.

1. And throughout Revelation, when the Dragon comes on the scene, so does the word deception. In 12:9 – he is the one deceiving the nations.

a. In 13:14 – the false prophet, working with Satan, deceived through false miracles, and people gave their allegiance to the beast and ultimately to Satan.

i. In 18:23 – the kings, merchants, and sailors were deceived by Babylon’s seductiveness and sorceries.

1. There’s never an outright demand for worship and allegiance – no overt demand, but covert deception.

b. But here in chapter 20, we’re told that far a time, for the millennium, that deception will stop.

i. That old serpent, the devil, Satan – the deceiver…will be seized, bound, thrown down, shut and locked up.

c. We are told at the end of v.3 that Satan ‘must’ be released after a time.

i. We’ll at this in future weeks, but for now know this… This ‘must’ is a word of divine initiative.

1. Satan doesn’t perform a great escape, he isn’t broken out of jail or orchestrate a jailbreak… No, no – Satan is released…by God…for God’s purposes.

a. Satan is released from the abyss for a time…but the end result is not world domination…Satan is released from the abyss so that he can be thrown into the lake of fire.

i. And with his fall to the lake of fire his downfall and his judgment are complete.

d. He must be released – one final attempt to deceive…but understand that his release is actually the mechanism that ensures his utter demise.

7. Application – So for us today…what can we take away from Revelation 20:1-3?

a. Well, with all this talk about Satan’s deception – it becomes apparent to us that we must counter his deception with God’s truth.

i. In our world today – we see deception all over the place.

1. Pictures are cropped and photoshopped and altered.

a. Turn on the news and we hear deception coming from anyone and everyone we hear talking on it.

i. Politicians spinning comments to make them say whatever fits their agenda.

ii. We see the deception in our world as we seen ungodly, unholy and unbiblical behaviour being pushed as ‘normal’ and ‘natural’ and ‘beautiful’ – and you’re intolerant and ignorant if you say otherwise…that’s the devil’s deception.

1. But as God’s people, we have God on our side, God’s truth on our side – and we’ve witnessed the power of God over evil this morning.

a. As God’s people we must recognize the deceptive work of Satan in our world…and counter it with the truth that is found in God’s Word.

b. Also, from our passage this morning, we must have complete confidence in evil’s utter demise and God’s complete rule.

i. Revelation makes it very clear that evil will have its day. Revelation makes it clear that God’s people will be pressed, persecuted and maybe even killed. It has been that way through history…and will continue into the future.

1. But Revelation is also clear that evil is operating on borrowed time…evil is already in its death throes.

a. Revelation is clear that evil will be judged and brought down with no effort at all.

ii. Revelation makes it clear that the war between good and evil is not an even fight…and the war between good and evil has already been decisively won at Calvary.

1. As God’s people, who are still in the midst of the battle – we must have confidence that God will bring to pass all that he has promised to accomplish.

a. We have a glorious future ahead of us.

8. Conclusion – This is an incredible passage. 3 verses, but so much hope.

a. Yes, the timing of the millennium can be a little confusing, but when we leave the WHEN up to God and look at the WHAT of this chapter…look at the events of it.

i. What we just read and studied this morning is the beginning of the end for our adversary.

1. This will happen…

b. The glorious end will continue in a couple weeks when we talk about the saints ruling and reigning with Jesus.

i. Our study through Revelation will continue to get brighter as we get closer to the end and we reach the pinnacle of the Revelation when we hear “God’s dwelling place is with man”

1. And we get a glimpse of our eternal home with God.

c. The study as been great so far…but I believe that best is yet to come.