Revelation 20
Notes
Transcript
1-3 4-6 7-10 11-15
1-3 4-6 7-10 11-15
1-3
1-3
This chapter is very divisive in eschatology as this is describing the millennium reign of Jesus Christ that marks the difference in Pre-Mil, Post-Mil and A-Mil interpretations.
After the visions of the battle of Armageddon John sees another vision, this of an angel coming down from heaven to bind Satan in the bottomless pit with a great chain. This is not Hell but the place where the demons are incarcerated, mentioned seven times in Revelation in chapters 9, 11, and 17, later in the chapter we do see Satan being thrown into Hell forever. This is the first order of business that Jesus has done to start his millennial reign so that Satan will not be able to do what he has had authority to do from the fall until this point, deceive, be the father of lies. He will be bound for 1,000 years then will be let out for a short time before everything is made new.
4-6
4-6
After the binding of Satan John sees thrones, plural, with those whom God has given authority to judge and rule with Jesus. There are several scriptural references the whom these people are. In Daniel it is promised that the Old Testament saints will reign with God, Daniel 7:27 “And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’” Jesus promises the Apostles that they will also, Matthew 19:28 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” In 1 Corinthians Paul says that New Testament saints will also, 1 Corinthians 6:2 “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?” Revelation 5 says that they will be reigning on the Earth, Revelation 5:10 “and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”” Also verse 4 goes on to say that all those who were slain during the tribulation for holding to the testimony of Jesus and those who did not take the mark of the beast, all of these will be raised, they came to life, as they were already spiritually alive as redeemed saints this means physically brought to life and will reign with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead are not resurrected though, these are all the non-redeemed people who have died, and at this point all of the unbelievers have perished in the seal, trumpet, bowl judgments or at Armageddon. All the redeemed saints are blessed and holy being part of this first resurrection as they will reign with Christ on earth, and being saved through Jesus will not be subject to the second death which is eternity in Hell.
7-10
7-10
Who will Satan deceive after this 1,000 year reign? All of the unbelievers were destroyed after all of the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments and the battle of Armageddon, the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and their families, and all of the surviving believers that the 144,000 brought to Christ. Many generations of descendants from these will repopulate the earth in the 1,000 years. Some of those descendants will believe and be counted among the saints but sin will still be in the people and even though Christ himself will be on an earthly throne sin’s hold on the flesh is not yet done. Satan will be released and once again try to gather an army to rebel against God, John gives the title to the new rebels Gog and Magog from Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, and their number will be like the sand of the sea, uncountable. Satan gathers them and surrounds Jerusalem but before they can make an assault God sends fire down from heaven to consume them, burn them to ash and end this attempted rebellion before any battle could even be fought. Then the devil, Satan, the serpent from old is thrown into hell, into the lake of fire and sulfur with the beast and the false prophet to be tormented continuously for eternity. Satan will not be ruling in hell, it will not be a never ending den of debauchery, it will be never ending constant physical and spiritual torment and punishment. God is ruler of all, heaven and hell.
11-15
11-15
A new vision appears to John, the great white throne of judgment with God seated on it. All of creation has been undone, the earth and heaven are gone and the new heaven and earth have not yet been created, there is only the throne with God seated upon it and all of the dead from all time are in front of the throne. These are all of the unbelievers who have ever lived from Genesis to the rebellion at the end of the millennium. Then the books are opened, the books which have the record of everyone’s deeds and thoughts, everything everyone has ever done, said, or even thought meticulously detailed and recorded. The book of life is also opened to show that those now being judged by what they have done are not recorded in the book of life, which was written before the foundations of the world by God and contains the names of all that are his, the names of all of his adopted sons and daughters. Death and Hades are personified just as they were with the fourth horseman, the pale rider with death and hades following with him in chapter 6, and just as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:26 “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Death itself is done away with and all who have ever lived that did not come to salvation, all whom God did not record in the book of life before the foundations of the world are thrown into Hell and the lake of fire. This is the second death.