Revelation Bible Study #27 Incarcerated Adversary, One Last Stand, and the Second Death
Revelation #27
Incarcerated Adversary, One Last Stand, and the Second Death
Revelation 20:1-3, 7-15
We begin today two weeks of talking about the Millennium
<Viewpoints> chapter 20
Thus concludes what has been called the most controversial chapter in the Bible.
In the view of the premillennialists, the golden age of peace and righteousness will not and cannot be realized until Jesus personally returns. He will then bind Satan for 1,000 years and reign over this earth with a rod of iron. The saints who rule with Him will be the righteous who have experienced resurrection earlier at His coming. Satan will be given one last chance at the end of this time and will succeed in deceiving many people, but his rebellion will be supernaturally crushed and he will be eternally judged.
The amillennial position takes the Millennium to represent the present age, extending from the First to the Second Advents of Christ. Christ bound Satan (to speak symbolically) when He lived and died on earth long ago. In the future, Satan will again be loosed to bring mischief upon the church, but the Second Coming of Christ will result in Satan’s demise and will issue in an eternal new creation devoid of evil, death, or any curse.
Postmillennialists believe (when not agreeing completely with the amillennial interpretation) that there will be a future golden age during which Satan will be bound and peace and righteousness will prevail throughout the earth. This will not be accomplished by the personal return of Christ, but by the power of the gospel preached through the church to all nations. After 1,000 years (more or less) of this glorious arrangement, Satan will launch an abortive attempt to destroy the work of God again. His judgment will be at the return of Christ, followed by a resurrection and judgment of all people.
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Oh what might have been in Eden without our following Satan’s Leading
Well let’s cover the Good Bad news First and then next week focus on the Good Good News. Ok?
Read 20:1-3
1. Incarcerated Adversary
Remember that the Beast/Antichrist and the False Prophet have been cast ALIVE into the lake of fire,
So … John sees
A. An Angel out of Heaven
1. he has the key to the Abyss
a. the key was in Heaven --- God is in charge
b. remember that the abyss had a place of imprisonment and is even today for many perhaps most of the angels that fell with Satan in rebellion. And they are released by Satan, under God’s permission, in chapter 9 at the sounding of the 5th Trumpet. They came in the form of locusts stinging like scorpions for 5 months with power to torment but not to kill
c. now this angel comes with the key and an order for incarceration
d. abussos /ab-us-sos/ - bottomless … unbounded … abyss, pit, the immeasurable depth – more about that later
2. he has a great chain
3. He seized– LAID HOLD (literal) – he grabs him … as it were by the scruff of the neck
4. “Him” – let’s make this clear – now under the direction of the Holy Spirit without a doubt … but … just as you, now after going through this much of the Revelation, have a greater disdain for Satan, probably, than you did before, so does JOHN --- so he clarifies and editorializes who he is in name, as well as character that there might be no doubt as to who he is referring as in this final book of the canon, all of who our earthly adversary has been is tied together in Satan, from the Garden to Armageddon there is one force of evil behind it all …
Remember that Jesus, the White Horse Rider has names in Chapter 19 too
Faithful and True
An Unknown Family Name
The Word of God
King of Kings
Lord of Lords
So the one we have known for all earthly time this wicked one is also named …
a. the dragon – we saw him thus called first in chapter 12 as the embodiment behind all of this alignment and the beast and his system, waging war against the woman, Israel, and battling with the angels in a great battle.
b. that ancient serpent, - the snake of the garden, cunning and beautiful, seeking to bite and envenomate us with his evil
In light of This Revelation … I read Luke 10:19 a little differently --- it says “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you” … I don’t think this is talking about reptiles and entomology --- because they are NOT our enemy because our enemy is NOT flesh and blood … but rulers, authorities and powers or this dark world. SO … we have been given authority to trample snakes and scorpions … this book describes the devil as a snake and his demons are seen as scorpions … we have AUTHORITY over the evil one in Christ Jesus … we need not fear him in any form …
c. the devil – accuser, prone to slander, liar, every inclination of his heart is to LIE and to slander the name of Christ, and slander the name of his people … did you know that when we gossip maliciously, that is telling even the truth for the purpose of harm, we are devils … 1 Tim 3:11 – says that godly women, must be dignified, NOT MALICIOUS GOSSIPS, … that word translated “malicious gossips” is just ONE Greek word … DIABOLOS … Devil …
‘nuf said
d. Satan – adversary
6. BOUND him --- YES the sentence for Satan was secured at the cross but God has allowed him to continue to work … He Still prowls, he still has teeth of a prowling lion … Some have tried to say that this is referring to the cross where Satan was defeated and that he was bound … Well Dr. James M Gray said “if Satan is bound today, it must be with a terribly long chain!”
If he is bound today why do we need spiritual armour, why are we told to be alert, aware, vigilant, he is still active
No he has been sentenced but his sentence has yet to be enforced fully by God … but the day is coming!
5. He threw Him into the Abyss --- OH can you imagine the ROAR that will erupt when Satan is grabbed, thrown and locked up? I believe that the Redeemed of the Lord will SHOUT in Victory and how Hell must tremble at that fact, knowing that their leader is bound, hmmm I anticipate a tinge of joy among those deceived throughout history and duped into following, but it will be overwhelmed by the fear of their ultimate fate as well. That they too will stand before God
a. The Abyss --- This is NOT Hell, nor is it Hades … there were Three places spoken of in scripture that are often defined in our English Translations as hell, and in our mind we often see them the same but they are not so. Now some of you LIKE word studies and some do not but this is important distinction for us to understand
1) Hell – as we think of it, as the final place for those condemned apart from God … is the lake of fire into which the Beast and the Prophet are thrown. Satan WILL be going there too after his final defeat after the 1000 period. But as of now … no human soul inhabits that place. It has been called Ghenna which was a place outside of Jerusalem that was a trash dump where perpetual fires burned and “the worm never dies” because there is always decay to consume … That is an accurate picture of the final place of the dead without Christ … But …
We must understand the “underworld” more clearly from scripture.
2) Sheol – is a Hebrew word that is found 65 times in the Old Testament … now it is rendered in English different ways in the KJV. – 31 times it is rendered “Hell”, 31 times “Grave” and 3 times “the pit”. When the word is translated into Greek, it is singularly rendered as “Hades”. That word is found 11 times in the New Testament. But Hell as we think of it and HADES or SHEOL are not the same thing. It is NOT the place of final punishment it is also NOT just the Grave … where the BODY lies. As you look at these passages in the Old and New Testament you will find that Hades, Sheol are also NOT the Bottomless Pit or the Abyss, that great place of imprisonment …
Sheol is a place where the departed souls go after leave the body at death.
Hades, is BOTH the place where those in right relationship with God were BEFORE the Resurrection AND where those who are broken and without God go as well. We know from the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. They BOTH died and went to Sheol, Hades … but it says that that Rich man in was in TORMENT and Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom a far way off. There is the place of Torment in Hades and the Place called Paradise. It was and is an area of holding, and waiting for what would come next. Those who had trusted in the Righteousness of God have been set free from the Paradise of Hades and are in Heaven. Why do we know that … Because we know that Christ ascended to Heaven. He led those captive by Hades, into the Promise of Heaven. He did NOT descend into HELL. He led those bound by the place of the dead that were the Righteous of Old into the promise of Heaven. The Resurrection means that ALL as Paul said who are absent from the body are WITH the Lord …
3) But I told you there were 3 places … another place in the underworld is the Hebrew word Abaddon it means and is rendered DESTRUCTION in English. It is found in Job 26:6; Job 28:22; Job 31:12, Ps 88:12, Pr 15:11; Pr 27:20 in all those it is shown connected to and yet different from Hades. It is seen as a deeper, darker, even more forsaken place. In Rev. 9; we have those demonic locusts, with serpent and scorpion characteristics, and they have a King who’s name is ABADDON, or Destruction then in English … Abaddon, the place of Destruction is the Abyss. It is a place of “pre-hell” if you will a place of detention for the worst of the demons. In Luke 8:26-31 the Demons cast out of that man from Gadara, beg Christ NOT to send them to the Abyss. The Beast comes up from the Abyss in Rev. 11 &17. Abaddon and the Abyss seem to be the same place and a place for the demons. Perhaps some of the worst of men are there today.
4) Hell is real but it is yet to come … That place is called Tophet in the Old Testament passages like Isa. 30:33 and Jer. 7:31,32 … 12 times in the New it is Gehenna, same place, a place of burning and final judgment. It is NOT Sheol, not the Abyss, it is the place of final death, the 2nd death, final punishment. Mat. 5:22; 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:14,15; 33; That is the Lake of Fire, the place where the Beast and the Prophet go in chapter 19 and Satan goes in Chapter 20 followed by all those whose names are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
b. locked it – can’t get out from inside
c. sealed it – can’t be let out from the outside without the authority of the KING of the SEAL -
d. to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore – What a JOY it will be to experience 1000 years ON THIS EARTH, without the influence of Satan. I imagine the Radio and Television Stations without the influence of Satan, the internet, advertising, magazines and newspapers, how wonderful it will be … we can’t even IMAGINE what that will be like, because we’ve never known it before
e. until THE 1000 years were ended – THE 1000 years means that this is a specific time, a preordained time … a time of purpose, a time with a time … the millennium is NOT a frame of mind or a generic period … it is a period of purpose in the heart and mind of God … it is a very intentional time
f. after that he MUST be set free for a short time – this use of 1000 years plus the pronouncement that the time will END and Satan HAS to be released for another short time makes it virtually impossible for us to interpret this time period as anything other than a literal 1000 years. This is NOT a picture of eternity in Heaven. There has NEVER been 1000 years of peace and absence of deception EVER in History so Satan has NOT been bound yet, YET!
But he WILL be bound and cast in that place of imprisonment that he might not deceive the world
2. One Last Stand
Read 20:7-10
You will remember that in chapter 19 all those who had followed the Beast are slain … so they are in Hades awaiting the final Judgment…
A. Devil on the Loose
1. The same one who had authority to lock him up and seal him breaks the seal and lets him loose
2. this I do not understand. A Simple understanding is that God must allow all those birthed during the millennium to have a choice between good and evil … but why even have to go there, why not have none born during that time … then no need. I do not understand it and do not think our minds have the capacity to understand it, it is something for the mind of God to know and understand …
3. But even 1000 years in prison does not change Satan’s stripes nor sadly does it change the fact that our hearts are desperately wicked and those without a personal faith in Christ can still be turned even though there has been no Satan for 1000 years.
4. In the Tribulation he lead the Kings astray and they led their people … now there are No Kings but Christ so he leads the people astray.
5. Who are they? Exactly we do not know but Ezekiel 38 and 39 give us a glimpse and if for nothing else, 39:21 has God saying “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them 22 and from that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God” Who they are exactly we don’t know Some suggest they will be those the furthest reaches out of Jerusalem …
B. A Battle?
1. again they gather around Jerusalem … they’ve traveled far, they are worked up by Satan’s lies … I guess forgotten the past 1000 years
2. BUT (God) Fire came down from heaven and Devoured them
3. In Numbers 1:51 – we find that when strangers came near the Tabernacle of God they were struck down … here the greatest movement of futility and idiocy in history, surpassing Armageddon comes to a quick and expected result
C. Satan’s Final Judgment
1. The Devil, Satan, the Old Serpent, The Dragon, Lucifer, bright and shining one who knew what it was to stand in the closest proximity to God in his presence is grasped again, a last time
2. Thrown into the Lake of Burning Sulfer … Ghenna, Tophet, HELL
3. Joining the beast and the false prophet
4. there they are tormented day and night for ever and ever – nuf said
3. The Second Death
As you know … if things aren’t going well for the leaders, things do not go well for the followers … we do not teach this lightly but with fear and trembling, with great sadness but an understanding of reality
Satan is meant to go to Hell, to Ghenna, to the Lake of Fire, but we were not intended to go there. We are not SENT there, humans choose it.
Matthew 25:41 Jesus says “to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
Read 20:11-15
So we know from earlier in the chapter that those who have been dead since the end of the Tribulation and before have NOT participated in the 1000 period of the Millennium but have just been in Hades, Sheol, waiting what now comes. As have been those who have just been obliterated from earth by the Fire of God in verse 9
So what happens now?
A. A Great White Throne ---
1. There is no more patience …
2. There will be a Judge, but no jury needed, it will not matter what your peers say …
3. there will be no defense attorney because no defense will be offered
4. there will be no appeal this is it
5. the fearfulness of this scene is evident in that even earth and sky fled away … suspended between Heaven and Hell .. Jesus Christ the one rejected becomes the Judge as matthew 25 paints
B. Him Seated on it ---
1. they didn’t want to know Christ personally before
2. they will know him simply as judge now
3. In the full awesomeness of his unformed presence
John 5:22 – “the Father Judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 27 and he has given authority to judge because he is the Son of Man”
C. A Resurrection
1. without trumpet because trumpets are covenant instruments and there is no covenant … trumpets are for armies and there are none, trumpets are to announce friends and these are NOT the friends of God
2. they simple come, souls and bodies joined from graves, and ocean depths, from Hades, they stand before God the Son
3. Small and Great …
a. Hitler will be there
b. Marx will be there
c. more than one Lenin will be there
d. Mass Murderers and Rapists will stand without defense …
e. But so will charlatan Preachers who prostituted the truth for themselves and never received it
f. Pharisees will be there who refused to come to Christ and shut out others as Christ said
g. as will be the simplest “good in the world’s eyes” one who just wouldn’t believe …
h. Will Darwin be there, I do not know … some say he repented on his deathbed, I do not know but countless of his disciples will be there having rejected that God existed and their rejected creator will reject them
D. Books are Opened
What are these books we don’t know them all for sure because they are not all mentioned but there are more than one and they contain all the things done by people who walked this earth
David Jeremiah suggests 5 books one of which is mentioned here
1. Book of Conscience – some will say … we didn’t hear about the law or the gospel … Rom 2:15 “since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing now even defending them --- They KNEW but wouldn’t listen to their conscience
2. Book of Words – Jesus said in Mat. 12:37 for by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned --- Perhaps they said … “I don’t have time” or “I have my own way” or “I don’t believe in your god”
3. Book of Secret Works – Romans 2:16 this will take place on the day when god will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ as my gospel declares --- D.L. Moody said “If a man ever invented a camera that could take a photograh of the human heart, he would starve to death, for people would refuse to have this revealing picture exposed”
4. Book of Public Works – Mat 16:27 “for the Son of man is going to come in his Father’s glory with is angels and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” Some will have nice things written there but all will have sin though some will be horrifically revealed that day
But then one other book
5. Another Book was Opened --- The Book of life 20:15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire
a. what an awesome book. Every person ever born has been in that book.
b. but you die without receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you reject God’s provision … everyone from Adam to the end who rejects God’s provision has had their name blotted out … removed from the book
c. each person will step forward … God’s hand will go down through the book and God the Son, Jesus Christ, upon not finding their name there will say “Depart, I never knew you.” John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life” but those who reject have none
E. Judgment given according to works
1. there will be levels of punishment, but what good will that be … ALL go to the Lake of Fire
F. It is Immediate and Eternal
1. They are thrown alive … they are tormented day and night for ever and ever
2. that is the sentence of the lake of fire … no annihilation … no extermination
3. life is eternal it just matters where … THIS is the 2nd death … but unfortunately it is not death as we think of it but transition to a different life
4. their worm doesn’t die and fire is never quenched according to Mark 9:44,48
5. Death and Hades are thrown in there too because this is it, this is the final station of life, either IN God’s Presence or out of God’s Presence … either in Heaven or in Hell
They will die a forever 2nd death with no hope for a 2nd Resurrection
But there is no Need, there is no Reason
There is an old Hymn I found today called
The Sheltering Rock
There is a Rock in a weary land,
Its shadow falls on the burning sand,
Inviting pilgrims as they pass,
To seek a shade in the wilderness.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the sheltering Rock is so near by,
O why will ye die?
There is a Well in a desert plain,
Its waters call with entreating strain,
"Ho, every thirsting, sin sick soul,
Come, freely drink, and thou shalt be whole."
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the living Well is so near by,
O why will ye die?
A great fold stands with its portals wide,
The sheep astray on the mountain side;
The Shepherd climbs o'er mountains steep;
He's searching now for His wandering sheep.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the Shepherd's fold is so near by,
O why will ye die?
There is a cross where the Savior died;
His blood flowed out in a crimson tide,
A sacrifice for sins of men,
And free to all who will enter in.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the crimson cross is so near by,
O why will ye die?
Wednesday Night Bible study Fall 2005-Spring 2006
The following resources were used among others in preparation
Bibliography:
Revelation Four Views: A Parallel Commentary – Steve Gregg
W.A. Criswell Expository Sermons on Revelation
Dr. J.A. Seiss Expositions on Revelations
MacArthur Bible Studies: Revelation – John MacArthur
Dr. David Jeremiah Expositions on Revelation
The Pulpit Commentary: Revelation
Wiersbe: The Bible Exposition Commentary
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[1]Gregg, S. (1997). Revelation, four views : A parallel commentary (Re 20:11-15). Nashville, Tenn.: T. Nelson Publishers.