Sermon Tone Analysis

Wenstrom Bible Ministries

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday August 8, 2010

www.wenstrom.org

The Day of the Lord: Revelation 20:7-10-The Gog And Magog Rebellion And The Execution Of Satan’s Sentence To The Lake Of Fire

Lesson # 40

Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 20:7.

This morning we will continue with our study of the prophetic subject known as “the Day of the Lord.”

This expression does not refer to a literal 24 hour period but rather a comparison of Scripture with Scripture reveals that it is a period of time beginning with God’s dealing with Israel after the rapture period and extending to the Second Advent and through the millennial age unto the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.

This morning we will continue with our study of this prophetic subject by noting the Gog-Magog rebellion of mankind, which will be led by Satan and will take place at the conclusion of the millennial reign of Christ and will constitute the final rebellion of men and angels against God and will be put down by God Himself.

Revelation 20:7, “ When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan will be released from his prison in order to demonstrate for the final time that the heart of man is desperately wicked.

Jeremiah 17:9, “The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad.

Who can understand it?”

(NET Bible)

As we noted in our study of the millennium, there will be perfect political, economic, social and environmental conditions on the earth during the millennial reign since Christ will be sovereign ruler of the nations and Satan will be imprisoned along with the fallen angels.

The judgment of “Israel” will take place immediately after the Second Advent and prior to the millennial reign and involves the removal of unregenerate Israel from the earth leaving only regenerate Israel to enter into the millennial reign of Christ (Ezekiel 20:37-38; Zechariah 13:8-9; Malachi 3:2-3, 5; Matthew 25:1-30).

The judgment of the “Gentiles” also takes place immediately after the Second Advent of Christ and prior to His millennial reign and involves the removal of unregenerate, anti-Semitic Gentiles from the earth leaving only regenerate Gentiles to enter the millennial reign of Christ (Matthew 25:31-46).

These judgments are designed to produce perfect government and environment on planet earth and to remove from the earth all those who reject Christ as Savior from the earth.

Therefore, every home in the millennium will start off with only believers because of these judgments.

Those believers who survived the Tribulation who remain on the earth and have yet to receive their resurrection bodies will repopulate the earth (Isaiah 65:18-25).

The offspring of these individuals will have sin natures and will thus need to get saved through faith alone in Christ alone.

They will experience the perfect rulership of Christ accompanied by its perfect environmental, social, economic and politic conditions.

However, the majority of these individuals will fall for the deception of Satan after he is released at the end of the thousand years and rebel against Christ.

This will demonstrate that perfect environment does not change the heart of sinful mankind but only by God’s grace through faith in Christ can the human heart be delivered from sin.

This final rebellion also demonstrates the incurable wickedness of Satan and those angels who followed him in his rebellion against God in eternity past.

It will also serve to justify eternal punishment for those who reject Jesus Christ as Savior.

J. Hampton Keathley III gives three reasons why God would release Satan after the completion of the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth, he writes, “(1) To show the frightfully and totally bankrupt condition of man and that what he needs is not a great society with all evils removed (a perfect environ¬ment), but that any effective and lasting change must come from within through God’s grace plan of salvation which regenerates and gives new life and spiritual capacity.

Nothing else can permanently change man.

(2) To further substantiate God’s case against Satan, that Satan is the liar, the slanderer, and the deceiver, and a large degree the cause of man’s misery.

(3) To show that God is absolutely just in His sentence of Satan to the lake of fire (vs.

10—his permanent, eternal prison); and that God is perfect holiness and His actions are always consistent with His character.

(Studies in Revelation-Christ’s Victory Over The Forces Of Darkness, pages 284-285; Biblical Studies Press; www.bible.org;

1997)

Warren Wiersbe writes, “In one sense, the millennial kingdom will ‘sum up’ all that God has said about the heart of man during the various periods of history.

It will be a reign of law, and yet law will not change man’s sinful heart.

Man will still revolt against God.

The Millennium will be a period of peace and perfect environment, a time when disobedience will be judged swiftly and with justice; and yet in the end the subjects of the King will follow Satan and rebel against the Lord.

A perfect environment cannot produce a perfect heart.

(Wiersbe, W. W. (1996).

The Bible exposition commentary (Re 20:7).

Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)

Now, the Gog and Magog mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39 are not the same Gog and Magog of Revelation 20:7-9 since the latter records a war that involves armies from all four corners of the globe and is followed by the Great White Throne Judgment of unbelievers (Rev.

20:11-15).

On the other hand, the war recorded in Ezekiel 38-39 involves only a select group of nations that will invade Israel.

Ezekiel 38:1-6 reveals that Russia, (Rosh, Meshech and Tubal from the land of Magog), Georgia, and Ukraine (Gomer) and Turkey (Togarmah) will invade Israel from the north, Iran will come from the east, Ethiopia and Sudan from the south while Libya (Put) from the west, thus Israel will be surrounded.

Further indicating that the Magog and Gog of Revelation 20:7-10 and Ezekiel 38-39 are not the same is that there is nothing in the context of the latter that is similar to the battle in the former since there is no mention of Satan or of millennial conditions.

The statement “they (the devil, the Antichrist and false prophet) will be tormented day and night forever and ever” supports the doctrine of eternal punishment and refutes the false doctrine of annihilation since the beast and the false prophet are still in the lake of fire a thousand years after they experienced their final judgment (compare Revelation 19:20).

Mark 9:43 48 along with Matthew 13:41 42; 8:12; 22:13; and 25:30 speak of weeping in the lake of fire refuting the doctrine of annihilation.

Furthermore, Matthew 25:46 states the punishment for rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior is everlasting punishment and looks at what the person suffers.

In Matthew 10:28 the reference to the destruction of the soul does not refer to its annihilation, but to the loss of its meaning and purpose of existence.

Revelation 20:10 records the execution of the sentence pronounced against Satan in eternity past, which was mentioned by our Lord in Matthew 25:41.

This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our ushers pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ 25 In the same way {He took} the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it} in remembrance of Me.’ 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”