The End of the Enemy & The Great White Throne

1. Satan is bound while the faithful reign (1-6)

An angel comes down from heaven with a key [to the abyss] and a chain [for the devil]

The angel grabs Satan and binds him for a thousand years

He threw him into the abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him

This imprisonment prevented Satan from deceiving the nations during this time

Satan would be released for a brief time after the one thousand years were over

“The elaborate measures taken to insure his custody are most easily understood as implying the complete cessation of his influence on earth (rather than a curbing of his activities).” -Mounce, Revelation (353)

John saw thrones everywhere and certain people sat on them with authority to judge

John saw the souls of two distinct groups of people come to life to reign with Christ for a thousand years

all those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God

all those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark

“They who were once judged by earth’s courts to be worthy of death are now the judges of the earth under Christ…The reference to ’souls’ (psychas) immediately recalls 6:9, where the same expression is used of the slain witnesses under the altar. The word describes those who have lost their bodily life but are nevertheless still alive in God’s sight…These martyrs are also those who did not worship the beast of his image or receive his mark on them; in a word, they are the followers of the Lamb.” -Johnson, Revelation, EBC vol. 12 (582)

All the rest of the dead did not participate in “the first resurrection”

Those who have a part in the first resurrection are blessed and holy; the second death does not affect them

They will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years

“Following the lead of the earlier exegesis of Irenaeus, we may understand the first resurrection as being the raising to physical life of all the dead in Christ; this is the resurrection to life of John 5:29.” -Johnson (585)

2. Satan is freed only to be destroyed (7-10)

“The source of rebellion against God does not lie in man’s environment or fundamentally with the devil but springs up from deep within man’s own heart. The return of Satan will demonstrate this in the most dramatic manner once for all” -Johnson (587)

Satan is released from his prison when the thousand years are completed

He will come out to deceive the nations from “the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog”

“Ezekiel’s vision of Gog brought out of the land of Magog seems to be clearly in John’s mind (Ezek 38-39)…In Revelation, however, the names are symbolic of the final enemies of Christ duped by Satan into attacking the community of the saints. The change in meaning has occurred historically through the frequent use in rabbinic circles of the expression ‘Gog and Magog’ to symbolically refer to the nations spoken of in Psalm 2 who are in rebellion against God and his Messiah.” -Johnson (587)

He will gather them for war; they are as numerous as the sand of the sea

They surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city

Fire came down from heaven and devoured them; it was a very brief war

The devil, who had deceived the nations, was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone

this is the same place where the beast and false prophet had already been thrown (19:20)

they will all be tormented day and night forever and ever

“The swiftness and finality of the divine judgment (v. 9) emphasizes the reality of the victory of Christ at the Cross…The devil is now dealt the long-awaited final and fatal blow (Gen 3:15; John 12:31).” -Johnson (588)

3. The Great White Throne (11-15)

“The language of poetic imagery captures the fading character of everything of the world (1 John 2:17). ow the only reality is God seated on the throne of judgment, before whom all must appear (Heb 9:27). His verdict alone is holy and righteous…This vision declares that even though it may have seemed that earth’s course of history ran contrary to his holy will, no single day or hour in the world’s drama has ever detracted from the absolute sovereignty of God.” -Johnson (589)

John saw a great white throne and He who sat upon it; earth and heaven fled from his presence

John saw all the dead standing before the throne; books were being opened; deeds and life

All the dead were judged based on what was written in the books, “according to their deeds”

No one was excluded from this judgment; they were all judged according to their deeds

the sea gave up the dead which were in it

death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them

“It is sobering to ponder that in God’s sight nothing is forgotten; all will give an account of their actions (v. 13). Judgment always proceeds on the basis of works…Works are unmistakable evidence of the loyalty of the heart; they express either belief or unbelief, faithfulness or unfaithfulness. The judgment will reveal through the records whether or not the loyalties were with God and the Lamb or with God’s enemies…This judgment is not a balancing of good works over bad works. Those who have their names in the Lamb’s book of life will also have the records of righteous deeds. The opposite will also be true. The imagery reflects the delicate balance between grace and obedience.” -Johnson (589)

Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire; this is known as the second death

If anyone’s name was not written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire

Here are the eternal residents of the lake of fire:

the beast

the false prophet

Satan

death

Hades

All who had rejected Jesus the Messiah

“The enemies of Christ are dealt with in two stages of judgment. First, the spiritually wicked forces behind the world’s animosity toward Christ and His church (represented by the Devil, the beast, and the false prophet), are tormented forever and ever in the lake of fire. Second, the men and women who have throughout history opposed Christ are brought before the judgment seat of God, the ‘great white throne,’ where they stand alongside the believers whom they have persecuted. God is upon His throne. Imagine the terror of those who have scorned ideas of His existence, mocked His Word, and refused His offer of forgiveness in Christ as they stand face to face with this God whom they have denied.” -Chuck Colclasure, The Overcomers (173)