Summary of Previous Chapters :
·
Revelation 17-18 dealt with the destruction of the great prostitute.
·
Revelation 19:1-10 described heaven’s reaction to the news of God’s judgment of the great prostitute , which then ushers in the
marriage supper of the Lamb.
·
Revelation 19:11-21 describes the judgment of
the beast (the anti-christ) and the
false prophet–who are caught alive and thrown into the lake of fire at the time of Christ’s return. It also speaks here of
the destruction of all Christ’s
enemies “ free and slave , small and great”
(19:18).
The
text before us is very challenging, and
I tell you why. Revelation 20 is the
text that many believe to be the
proof text that there will be after Christ’s
coming a literal, millennial
reign on earth when Christ reigns over
the nations. In fact, this group of
Christians [1] speak of two comings of Christ. The first is called the rapture and
the other which is called the revelation. [2] The rapture , they say occurs when the
Lord Jesus takes His people secretly
out of the world (i.e. not a public event) before the
great tribulation, and the
revelation is said to be that time, after some time after
the tribulation He comes
visibly with the raptured saints, taking the anti-christ and the false prophet captive. Following this they teach that Satan
will be bound and thrown into the
bottomless pit for a thousand years. At
this time it is said
that Christ will rule
the nations on earth from Jerusalem. However, after a 1 000 years of peace they say
that Satan will be released for a short time to cause havoc on earth , after which the ultimate judgment and end will come.
But is
this what Revelation 20 is teaching? The problem begins with the way we read the book of Revelation. Two principles
govern our understanding and reading of
the book of Revelation
(i) Spiritual truths are
described in symbolic and not literal language
(ii) the
book of the Revelation does not present a linear history of events. The Revelation is a series
of cyclical repetitions of the events that occur between Christ’s ascension and
descension, as seen from different
angles. This is not to say that there is
no “ forward movement” in the book of Revelation. There is ! Everything
steadily progresses and moves to the end, but as we said , in cyclical fashion.
We shall see in this regard that Ch.20 does not follow the events of Ch. 19. We shall see
that Ch. 20 depicts another vision, which like the others describes the
entire period of time between the first coming and second coming of Jesus.
What
follows now in ch.20 is another
retelling of the final judgment from
yet another perspective. Just ask yourself the question : If all people and nations are judged at
Christ’s return in Revelation 19:18,
why do they resurface in Revelation 20:3,8
? This means that the relationship between these two chapters is not a
chronological one. This is important for us
to understand.
What then is happening in Revelation 20
?
In
order to make sense of this we will have
to go back to 12: 7 -9. Here is a
description of what happens to Satan,
when he was engaged in a war
in heaven with the heavenly angels
under the leadership of the
archangel Michael. At that time we read
that Satan was thrown down to the earth, and he
lost his place in heaven. This all happened when Jesus began His messianic ministry on earth, at His first coming. Remember that
Satan did his outmost to kill
Jesus the Messiah – first at his birth, when under Herod
there was an edict to kill all baby boys, which was in reality an attempt made to kill
Christ (Matt 2:16-18). Then Satan
tried to tempt Christ in Matt. 4:1-11 ,in order to get him to
compromise and sin as our first parents
did. But Jesus
resisted Satan and did not sin. And then Christ demonstrated that
the kingdom of God had come with every demon cast out, with every healing and miracle, with every person
raised from the dead – all these
were signs that someone greater and mightier than Satan was here ! Satan’s ultimate defeat however occurs
after he thought that he had Christ
killed on the cross. So, when Christ rose from the dead, He not only
overcame death, but He triumphed
over Satan, fulfilling the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 : “ he shall bruise your head , and you shall bruise
his heel”. Colossians
2:15 says that “ He
(Christ on the cross) disarmed the
rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in
him.”
Now
what is the effect of Christ’s first
coming upon Satan? The answer is
that Satan had been bound by Christ’s appearance! How
was Satan bound? Was he bound
with literal chains? No! Satan is a
spirit being. He cannot be bound with literal chains. Satan is however bound by the preaching of the
gospel! In Luke 10:1-20 Jesus
sends 72 disciples out to preach the gospel. They came back and
reported to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons
submit in your name”, to which Jesus replied: “I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven.” Satan is bound by
the preaching of the gospel!
We
are going to argue that Revelation 20 is not reflecting
a literal future, earthly, millennial
reign of Christ over the nations
from Jerusalem. We will argue that
the millennial reign of Christ is
NOW. It follows the cross ,
resurrection and ascension, after which the ascended Christ is enthroned in heaven , ruling there from
His throne. In His presence there will be all those who have faithfully followed Him and who died in the service of the gospel,
and who have suffered at the hands of
the great prostitute, the anti-christ and the false prophet.
We
maintain that Revelation 20 is a description of this present gospel age and not of a future
age to come. Let us
now follow the logic of Scripture as it unfolds in Revelation 20 :1-10 .
Revelation 20
Begins a new vision - Throughout the Book of Revelation, whenever John uses
the phrase “kai eidon” (And I saw) he is introducing a new vision.
What
John sees: He sees an
angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the bottomless pit and a
great chain with which
Satan is bound. Who is
the angel and what is
the meaning of the key[3]
to the bottomless pit[4]
and the chain? In Rev. 1:18 we see that Christ holds the keys of death and hades in
his hand. Take note also
of Rev.
9:1-2 where a star that had fallen from heaven was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless
pit etc. The bottomless pit is a reference to death and Hades–the realm of Satan.
So, having been cast of out
heaven (Rev.12:7-9), John now sees
an angel (either Christ himself, or an angel exercising Christ’s authority)
confining Satan to the realm of the dead for a specified time (1000 years) and for a specific purpose (so he cannot deceive the nations). The binding of Satan does not mean that his
evil activities completely cease during this time. It simply means that he is not as free
to do as he pleases . Satan is bound like a dangerous dog on
a long chain. In John Bunyan‘s
Pilgrims Progress, there
is a picture and an anxious moment where Christian on the
way to the heavenly city has to pass
between some lions. He grows fearful,
but a man called ‘Watchful’ reminded him
that these lions were kept on a chain. If he would keep on the path he would be
safe. This is a great illustration in terms of how Satan is bound. If you keep your distance from his territory you will be safe. If you
get within the radius of the chain you will be in trouble. If you stay with Christ you are safe.
So
then it is not that Satan ceases all activity during Christ’s
millennial reign. He is thrown down to
the earth, but he is bound by the gospel so that he cannot hinder the work of the true church. Jesus said : “
I will build my church and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it. I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt.
16:18,19). We have seen this in the history of the world of the last 2000 years. The Roman empire tried to get rid
of the church. Today we go and visit the Roman ruins! Mao Tse Tung
and Lenin and Stalin and Hitler and many other communist dictators tried
to get rid of the church. Well they are all dead, and the
church continues.
It
will only be at the very end , just before Christ’s second coming that Satan will be set loose for a little while and
he will achieve what is described in 11:7-10! But until that time comes, he is bound.
In verses 4-6 the scene now shifts to
heaven.
Throughout
the Book of Revelation, thrones are always in heaven, not on the earth.
Therefore, this scene is in heaven. On the thrones are those
to whom authority is given to judge
(see the allusion of Jesus in
Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:28-30) And then there are according to John “souls,”(psuchas)
- the spirits of those who were killed for refusing
to worship the beast. When they die,
John says, they immediately come to life and they reign with Christ for a 1000 years! They
are reigning with Him in heaven right now !
The
rest of the dead (who did not die as martyrs) did not come to life until the 1000 years
were ended (i.e. until the second
coming) . They have shared in the first resurrection over which the second death has no power . This needs some explanation ! The first resurrection
is
not a reference to the bodily resurrection at the end of the age, but it refers
to a believer’s salvation in this life
through regeneration, conversion, and finally through entrance into heaven at death, a point
confirmed by a number of New Testament passages, most notably John 5:24-25, where Jesus says “I tell
you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell
you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the
voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” In his gospel, John
very clearly teaches that all those who come to faith in Jesus Christ, do so
because they have already crossed over from death to life. When you become a
Christian you experience the first
resurrection . You cross over from death to life !
What happens at the end of the thousand years! (vv 7-10)
According
to v. 7, “when the thousand years are ended , Satan will be released from his prison
and will come out to deceive the nations…”
etc .
The
focus shifts back again to the earth, to those days before the return of Jesus Christ. Satan will
be released from his prison. With the
help of the great prostitute, the anti-christ and the
false prophet Satan will now be
able to deceive the nations for
the purpose of getting rid of the church of Jesus Christ. Notice the
reference to Gog and
Magog (cf Ez. 38 & 39 ) a prophecy
of in which gentile nations attack Israel
en masse – like a cloud covering the land (Ez. 38:16) John has referred to this final battle when
the nations gather to make war on the church in Rev. 16:12-16 , the battle
of Armageddon at which the devil and all
his associates are finally and definitely defeated .
SUMMARY : So then the point is
that Revelation 20:1-6, is not a description of a future millennial
reign of Christ upon the earth. It is a description of the present reign of the
saints in heaven. And in heaven, those who have suffered at the hands of the
beast are now protected from Satan’s assaults, for Satan no longer has access
to heaven, having been cast down to earth and confined to bottomless pit. The saints now
rule and reign for a thousand years as priests of Jesus Christ. Furthermore,
Revelation 20:7-10 describes what happens when Jesus Christ returns to earth in
judgment. Jesus comes to rescue his
church in it’s greatest trial, at which time Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire together with the great prostitute , the beast
and the false prophet. All that remains then is the final judgment, described
in verses 11-15. We will keep that for
next year when I want to finish this
series in revelation with a series of
sermons on heaven .
You may look
forward to the second coming of Christ, which
will be visible (and not secret or in two stages) . When Jesus comes no
one will be mistaken . Every eye will see Him . You may look forward to the end
of the age and to the recreation of
the heavens and the earth – the idea of
a millennial reign on earth seems
muddled and problematic . You may look
forward to your resurrection body and to life everlasting in a perfect world
where there are no traces of sin
and Satan when Christ returns at His second coming . Even so Lord Jesus , come ! Amen
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