Revelation 20

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.

In Chapter 19, the Tribulation is coming to an end and the focus was placed on heaven and Christ’s second coming. It is a time of rejoicing and victory. After Babylon was destroyed, a great roar from heaven could be heard. Babylon’s defeat would be a great victory! The 24 elders and 4 living creatures are mentioned again as they sing a hallelujah chorus, along with another voice (assuming this is an angel) saying Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.

A great picture is then painted before us - the marriage of the Lamb (groom) and his Bride (believers) has come. The bride is dressed in fine linen - believers are justified (made pure) by their faith - and stand before their groom based on their salvation. Who would be invited to this joyous union? Notice the differentiation among the attendees. Jewish believers (Messianic Jews), Gentile believers, martyred believers, all believers will be gathered together in the great banquet hall, for the very first time and for one purpose - to worship God.

As John saw heaven open, he saw prophetically Christ’s second coming and the events which will follow it. I can with all certainty tell you, scripture confirms a second return of Christ. The armies had gathered for one final battle, wickedness will be defeated. The Bible is clear that judgment awaits the wicked, and the second coming of Christ is the occasion for a worldwide judgment unparalleled in Scripture since the time of Noah’s flood. The second coming should be kept separate from the rapture.

Before Jesus establishes His kingdom on earth, He will come for His Church - the Rapture.

1 Corinthians 15:51–54 ESV

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Immediately after the rapture of the Church, Christians will be brought before the judgment seat of Christ. He will reward them on the basis of the works they have accomplished. This is the period where some will be set to rule and judge with Christ. The Rapture will also inaugurate a period that the Bible characterizes as the "great day of His wrath," "the great tribulation" and the "time of Jacob's trouble."

Jeremiah 30:7 (ESV)

7 Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

This time of unprecedented difficulty will affect Israel and all nations. Its purpose will be to prepare Israel for her Messiah.

At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ will return with the hosts of heaven as well as the Church to establish the Messianic Kingdom on earth and will rule for 1,000 years. The Antichrist will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Satan will be bound for a thousand years.

Satan is Bound

Revelation 20:1–3 ESV

Notice the dragon (Satan) is the only one seized. What has happened to the AntiChrist and the False Prophet?

English Standard Version (Chapter 19)

20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence5 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.

When Christ returns to earth again in His glory and majesty, He is coming to destroy all the ungodliness and evil from the earth. He is coming to re-establish His rightful rule and reign upon this earth. It will be returned to its original intent - to be filled with the righteousness of God. There is coming a day where there will be no more sin, no more sickness, no more heartache, no more pain. Our relationship with God will be restored to a time similar to Eden.

As John watched these things unfold, the soon ending of the Tribulation and the formation of the armies for the great battle, he sees an angel coming down from heaven with the keys to the bottomless pit and a great chain. May I remind you, Satan does not win - I would even submit he has never even been in the ball game. We know from these verses that an angel - God’s messenger - is coming to chain Satan and he will be bound.

Satan is powerless compared to God. Satan, while he may act as though he has authority is still under the subjection and rule of THE divine authority. Even satan will have to subject himself to the will of God at the end. God has the power to remove Satan and all the evil and sin from this earth, and He will.

Notice the names used for Satan:

The dragon - we see the picture of the dragon earlier in the chapter, one who stirs up the wrath of the people and the governments - causing them to behave like beasts and destroy people and their property.

The ancient serpent - From the beginning, we see this serpent deceiving Eve. His deception has not ended - he continues to seduce people into sin, leading people to disobey, ignore, and neglect God.

The devil - a spiritual power that leads people to go against God.

Satan - the spiritual power that accuses, opposes, and stands as an enemy to God and His followers. He is the accuser of believers, constantly pointing out our sins and failures. He is the one behind all the ungodliness and evil in this world, and continues to deceive us into thinking otherwise. He must be stopped. That is why he has to be bound and removed from the earth so a perfect government and society can exist on earth.

Once removed, there will be no more ungodliness and evil on the earth for 1,000 years. The Millennial reign where Christ will rule as was intended from the beginning of time.

How long will Satan be bound?

During this Millennial reign, satan is kept in the bottomless pit - a place where evil spirits and demons are kept until the end of the world awaiting their final destination - Gehenna, the lake of fire. The place where all those who rebel against Christ will be condemned for eternity.

So, why is there a millennial reign? Why is the final battle not fought and Satan defeated immediately? Possibly it is to return this earth back to its original state - Christ reclaims this earth and rule over it before we transition to the perfect world. Maybe it is where God can fulfill all the promises to mankind that is in His Word. In the current sinful state of mankind and this world, all of God’s promises could not be fulfilled. Mankind will finally be able to experience God’s true, pure love by experiencing a literal heaven on earth. There is a restoration of the earth back as God intended without blemish, without sin.

Judgment

Revelation 20:4–6 (ESV)

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.

When we speak of the Millennium, we reference the thousand year rule of Jesus Christ on earth and here we have two events that have been shown to us.

First, Jesus Christ is going to return to earth as conqueror, and He is going to destroy the antichrist and all the war machines and armies of the world at Armageddon. There will not be a shot fired at Armageddon. When Jesus Christ appears in the heavens, He will give one blast of His glory and the most powerful laser beam the world has ever known will destroy the armies and nations of the world.

Second, Christ will take Satan and bind and remove him from the earth for one thousand years. For one thousand years Satan will not be able to tempt or deceive people on earth. This does not mean that people cannot sin or do wrong, for man will still have his human nature that comes short of God by its very nature. Man will still have choices to make: to follow Christ or not to follow Christ. But with Satan bound and removed, there will be far less evil and ungodliness in the world. And government and society itself will be under the control of Christ Himself.

Who are those who have the authority to judge?

Their identities are not revealed, but they are not the martyred dead (also I saw).

Who is in this first resurrection John speaks of?

The martyred saints coming out of the Tribulation.

John sees people sitting on thrones with the authority to judge and rule. He sees the millions of martyred believers from the tribulation, those who were dead in the earthly sense, but were alive during the Millennium. What John saw was not all the souls in heaven but a particular generation of martyred from the Tribulation, so this instance is the resurrection of only believers FROM the period of the Tribulation - the resurrection of unbelievers is still to come. 1000 years will separate the two resurrections of unbelievers and their judgment. This is a blessed and holy event. It is a time of joy, completion, security, and peace. We will be made perfect into the holiness of Christ Himself, bearing His very nature - holy and pure. We, as believers, will never experience the second death. Now, unless God returns, we will experience the physical death here on earth, but that is the only death we will experience as a believer. Unfortunately there is a second death coming to those who rejected God. The second death results in the unbeliever being separated from God for eternity and being cast into the lake of fire.

Satan’s Return and Fate

Revelation 20:7–10 ESV

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.

How long will Satan be released?

Only for a short period of time, which will end in His defeat.

Notice…at this time, only Babylon has been destroyed. The rest of the earth and its inhabitants will be on earth. Saved, and unsaved.

How do we know unsaved will be on earth if there is 1,000 years of peace?

Satan will deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth to gather them for battle.

Peace is maintained because Satan is bound during the Millennial reign.

Think of this question, if humans are not influenced by evil desires do they desire to do evil?

At the end of the Millennium Satan is going to be set loose from hell and allowed to deceive people again. Why? There are at least two reasons.

1. Satan will be loosed for the same reason that he is allowed to tempt us now: to show man what is in his heart, to show man that he must turn to Christ or else face destruction. People during the Millennium will be no different from any other generation of people: they will have a free will and they will still need to turn to Christ for salvation. Therefore, they have to be shown their need. The fact that they turn to Satan so readily will show people their need for Christ in the most stirring way possible. But note: as with all other generations, most people will reject Christ and choose to go their own way in life. Most people will choose to follow Satan.

2. God will release Satan in order to vindicate the justice of God, that is, in order to show that people deserve to be judged and condemned. When people turn to Satan so readily and oppose Christ so easily, they will be without excuse, unable to say one word against the righteous judgment of God. God’s final and eternal judgment will be totally vindicated. Therefore, Satan will be released so that people will see the utter corruption of their hearts and stand speechless before the righteous judgment of God.

When Satan is loosed at the end of the Millennium and he immediately deceives the nations. Not all people or nations were destroyed at Armageddon, those who live through the Millennium, and there will be some saved during that time. These people will have survived the trumpets and the bowls of judgment, all these atrocities that have been experienced on earth. They will have seen God’s mercy, grace, and goodness through the Millennium…and Satan will still try to deceive them.

Scripture tells us that everyone on earth during the Millennium will not be saved. There will be many whose hearts will not belong to Christ. And remember, Christ will actually be living in Jerusalem where His palace and rule will be centered. Yet the hearts of many will be hard toward Him. How could this possibly happen when Christ will rule for one thousand years, when He will personally guide the rebuilding of the world’s cities and bring peace and prosperity to earth? The answer is the same as what is experienced today and has been experienced from the beginning of time. Never forget that God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to earth thousands of years ago, yet people not only rejected Him, many denied that He was even God’s Son. And today, despite all the clear and unmistakable evidence, most reject and deny Him. Remember this also: the Millennium will be one thousand years long. Think about it: one thousand years. That is a long, long time. People around the earth, as we all tend to do, will begin to fall into a routine. Year after year will pass; then decade after decade and century after century will pass. Some people will not even meet Christ face to face. They will not go up to Jerusalem for the great Feast of Tabernacles (Zec. 14:16–19). As a result, what will happen will be just what has happened since Christ came the first time: people will begin to think of Christ in terms of a mere man. To many people, He will be a mere ruler. Note how many will follow the deception of Satan: they will be numbered as the sand of the sea. Note they are called by the name of Gog and Magog. These are the names that symbolize the nations that come from the north to fight against God’s people.

The nations will march against Jerusalem and the throne of Christ seeking to take over the world for themselves (v.9). But there will be no battle. The nations will misinterpret who Christ is, that is, the Sovereign Majesty of the universe. They will let the fact that He has come to earth throw them into thinking He is only a mere man, as they are. Then, without warning, God will pour out His fire from heaven and devour them. Satan will be condemned forever. He will be condemned because he deceived both the people and the armies of the earth. He led them astray, away from the Lord and His way of righteousness. For that reason, the devil will be taken and cast into the lake of fire with the antichrist and the false prophet. And note: they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Final Resurrection & Judgment of Unbelievers

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

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.

When does the final judgment come?

What else is the final judgment known as?

The final judgment is coming, that great day when all unbelievers shall stand before God and give an account to God. The final judgment is called the “Great White Throne Judgment.” Many deny a final judgment. They smile and scoff at the idea that there is to be future punishment for sins. They laugh at the preaching and teaching of hell. This Scripture stands diametrically opposed to these people. This Scripture declares emphatically: there is to be a final judgment for unbelievers; every unbeliever, small and great, shall stand before God and give an account to God. The declaration is emphatic: all unbelievers shall be judged and punished for their rejection of Jesus Christ and for their works upon earth. Unbelievers shall be judged at the “Great White Throne Judgment of God.”

Everyone who stands before the great white throne of God has rejected salvation offered by the Son of God Himself. The salvation offered by the Lord Jesus Christ is not just another salvation, not just another way to God, not just one of many ways to God. The salvation offered by Jesus Christ is the only salvation of God’s Son Himself. This is what makes the rejection of Jesus Christ so serious. Jesus Christ is God’s Son, God’s very own Son. As good as the morality and teachings of some religions may be, there is only one Son of God. God has only one Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the only person who is ever acceptable God is the person who approaches Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As stated, the salvation offered by Jesus Christ is the only salvation there is; it is the only way to God. Why? Because it is the salvation of the Son of God Himself. Therefore, it is the great salvation, the only salvation that has existed or ever will exist. Consequently, when it comes time to judge those who reject the great salvation of God’s Son, they will be judged from a great throne.

White stands for purity, holiness, and righteousness. We must never forget: no person is perfect. No person is perfectly pure or righteous. We all have some impurity and some unrighteousness. But not God; God is perfect. He is perfect in purity and righteousness. Therefore, no imperfect person can ever live with God. If any of us are to live with God, our imperfection must be removed so that we can stand perfect before God.

How can this be done? Only by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ alone is perfect and sinless. Therefore, the person must believe that Jesus Christ died for his sins, that Jesus Christ actually took his sins off him and died for them. If a person believes this, God counts it so. God actually counts the death of Jesus Christ for the believer. Therefore, the believer stands before God perfect and sinless—not because he really is sinless, but because Jesus Christ bore his sins for him and paid the judgment for them. The only person who can ever live with God is a person who has let Jesus Christ bear his sin. If a person wishes to live with God, he must trust the death of Jesus Christ, trust that Jesus Christ died for him.

The point is this: no unbeliever has done this. Everyone who stands before the great white throne of God will be bearing his own sins. Not a single unbeliever will have trusted the purity and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the purity of God’s throne will blaze forth in righteousness and condemn the unbeliever, condemn him because he is neither pure nor righteous. The purity and righteousness of Jesus Christ to cover his sins were available, but he rejected Jesus Christ. Therefore, the unbeliever stands in his unrighteousness before God’s holy righteousness. Consequently his unrighteousness must be condemned by God’s righteousness, and it will be. This is what the great white throne judgment is: the judgment of all unbelievers.

When will this judgment occur? As the present heaven and earth is being destroyed. How can a new heaven and earth be formed if the present heaven and earth exists? Can you imagine this, standing at the throne, making excuses for rejected Christ, as the heaven and earth as we know it implodes in the background. Every unbeliever on the face of the earth will stand before God and be judged. No matter how small or how great, the unbeliever shall stand before the great white throne judgment of God and be sentenced. Everything they thought was important - gone. No unbeliever will be exempt; no unbeliever will be overlooked or missed. All unbelievers, each in his own time, will be called forward by name and face Him who sits upon the throne. Every unbeliever will have his day in the great tribunal of God.

How many books are there?

They will be judged by two books. There is the book of life. This is the book where every human being who has ever lived has his name written. It is the book that includes the names of everyone who has ever lived or ever will live upon earth. God longs for everyone to live with Him forever; therefore, every person’s name is recorded in the book of life. However, when a person fails to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior, his name is erased from the book, and he loses the right to live as a citizen of heaven with God.

There are the books of records. These books are the records of all the works of unbelievers. When a person’s name is found erased from the book of life, then the books of records are opened, and he is judged out of them. Note two things. These books are not opened to see whether or not a person is doomed to hell. The book of life tells that. The book of records shows the degree of punishment a person is to receive. The books of records means that the judgment will be exact and fair. An unbeliever will be treated justly. There is a record of his works, of exactly what he has done and not done. There is a record of secret sins, of the sins committed in the dark and behind closed doors, of ill feelings within the heart, of evil thoughts of the mind. There is a record of all the works of the unbeliever. Therefore, he can be treated with fairness and perfect justice. He will be judged and punished for exactly what he has done, no more and no less.

Death and hades (the grave) will be cast into the lake of fire. Hades is the place where all unbelievers go after their death. Hades is a temporary place where unbelievers go to await the final judgment. After the great white throne judgment is completed, then all those who are dead and in hades will be cast into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the final and eternal place of torment where all unbelievers shall be cast.

Who will experience the second death?

The lake of fire is the second death. That is, it is eternal death. In the Scripture death means separation from God. Death does not mean annihilation, ceasing to exist, nor extinction. This life is not all there is. When a person dies upon this earth, he still exists. How? He exists in the next world, in the spiritual world and dimension—the permanent and eternal world, the world that does not age, deteriorate, die, or pass away. The physical world does pass away, but not the spiritual world or dimension. The spiritual world, the next world, is eternal and lasts forever and ever. Therefore, when a person dies upon this earth, that is just the first death. The person is merely separated from this life and world. He merely passes over into the next world, and he exists there forever and ever. But note what happens to the person who dies separated from God. If he does not follow God, if he chooses to be separated from God in this life, then when he passes on into the next world, he is still separated from God. His condition and state never change. He chose to be separated from God; therefore, he shall be separated from God forever and ever. The basis of judgment is the book of life. If a person’s name is not found written in the book of life, then he will be cast into the lake of fire. A person must possess the perfect life of Jesus Christ if he is to live forever in heaven with God. If a person does not posses life, the perfect life and righteousness of Jesus Christ, if his name is not written in the book of life, then he is doomed to death. He is doomed to the second death, to the lake of fire.

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