We are now at the end of our study and today’s topic is, Revelation 20 Commentary: Satan Bound In Chains (The Millennium). When will Satan be bound? Lets find out together.
Please click here for previous study on Revelation 19: Marriage of the lamb.
Revelation 20 Commentary: Satan Bound in Chains and the Millennium
Revelation 20:1-3: Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
When Satan is tied with chains, his time of imprisonment will be a literal thousand years. The reason why John was forced to use symbols until now was that evil men might destroy his book if they understood his meaning as referring to them or to their kingdoms. But from chapter 20 onwards John describes events to take place after the battle of Armageddon, and there is no further need to use symbolic language.
All too often demented gun-lovers shoot innocent people in wild sprees of hatred. Sometimes the police can catch the offender and lock him up. This chapter discusses a number of questions: “Why doesn’t God tie the devil up? Once Satan is securely bound, won’t all bad people become good?” “If evil people have a second chance, will they choose to be saved?” “Will God give them a second chance?” “Will Satan someday be converted?”
Many blame Satan as the cause of their doing wrong. But if God should tie the devil up today, would they suddenly become good tomorrow? James says, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14). That would indicate that it is the evil within us that is the cause of our trouble, not the devil outside of us.
We shall see in this chapter that if the lost should have a second chance, they would choose again to follow the path of rebellion against God and against all that is good. We dare not wait until the angel ties Satan with chains before we surrender to the love of God!
What is the “bottomless pit”? In the Greek Old Testament it is the same word (in Greek) that we find in Jeremiah 4:23-27. The prophet describes the earth during this same time: “I beheld the earth, and it was indeed without form, and void (abyssos); and the heavens, they had no light. … I beheld and indeed there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger. … The whole land shall be desolate.”
We remember that when the seventh plague is poured out, all the cities of the world are broken down by giant hailstones. This earth in its ruined condition after the second coming of Christ is thus the “bottomless pit” where Satan will be bound for a thousand years.
What are the “chains” with which the angel binds Satan? Jeremiah says of this same time, “For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black.” In other words, during the thousand years neither the sun, moon, nor stars will shine. If one is shut up in a place of total darkness, he is bound just as securely as if he were tied with chains. Peter says that Satan and his angels will be “delivered .. . into chains of darknes” (2 Peter 2:4).
Why can’t Satan deceive the nations any more until the thousand years are finished? All those who have taken part in the war against Christ in the battle of Armageddon have been slain by the brightness of Jesus’ coming. Jeremiah says, “The slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried” (Jeremiah 25:33). How can Satan deceive dead people?
Neither can he deceive the saved people because they have been taken to heaven at the coming of Christ: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout. . . . And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). With the wicked dead and the righteous in heaven safely beyond his grasp, whom can the devil tempt?
Revelation 20:4-6: And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
When do these thousand years begin? John makes it clear that the “first resurrection” of the dead in Christ will mark the beginning of the thousand years; and the resurrection of the wicked will mark the end of the thousand years. Jesus says: “The hour is coming, in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28, 29).
The word “blessed” means fortunate, or happy. Such are those who will hear the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God when Jesus comes the second time. Like someone who has been inoculated by an injection against a fatal disease such as diphtheria, they will be “inoculated” against the horrors of the second death. “Over such the second death has no power.”
But think of those who will not hear the voice of Jesus when He comes! If we should plan to rise early in the morning to catch an important plane, and we should sleep right through the ringing of our alarm clock, we would miss the plane. Can you think of anything more terrible than to sleep through the first resurrection!
What will God’s people do in heaven for a thousand years? Many will be looking for friends and loved ones whom they expect will be saved, as survivors after an earthquake or a storm look anxiously for their relatives. Some whom we hope and expect will be saved may not be there. How anxiously the redeemed will want to know the reason why someone has missed coming up in the first resurrection!
To satisfy them and in order to answer all questions forever, Jesus will open the books of heaven, and permit them to read for themselves the records of the lives of those who have been lost. In this way, as John says, “judgment was committed to them.”
Paul says to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” (1 Corinthians 6:2, 3) When the thousand years are finished, this great work of judging the lost will have convinced everyone that God has been both just and merciful.
Through history there have been many who were beheaded because they were faithful to the truth of Christ. Although they lost all their earthly possessions, and even life itself, they did not lose their souls. In the crisis so soon to come upon us, the people of God will lose their possessions, their friends, and some may even lose their lives. But those who refuse to worship the “beast” or his “image,” and refuse to receive his “mark” on their foreheads or in their hands, will not lose their souls.
You can be sure that the first five minutes they spend in the presence of the Lord will convince them that being loyal to Him and to His truth has been well worth while. “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. . . . The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18).
Revelation 20:7-9: Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
Satan is loosed out of his prison by the fact that the wicked are raised from their graves again. He can once more begin his work he loves so well, that of deceiving others. The lost come up, not in the bloom of health and vigor as the righteous came up in the first resurrection, but with the marks of sin and the curse still upon them. They look about them and see their world in a ruined state. They know that this destruction has been caused by their own sinfulness in following the ways of Satan.
Everyone in heaven watches now to see what they will do. Have they learned their lesson? During these thousand years when Satan has had nothing to do but think, has he also decided to repent? Has his heart been changed?
It has been necessary for God to give him this opportunity so that everyone can see clearly that his character is completely and hopelessly evil. Never does he say, “I am sorry, Lord; I shall repent now.” We have all known criminals released from prison who turn right back again to commit more crimes. All the wicked resurrected from their graves choose again to follow Satan’s deceptions. They love a lie (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). Thus they prove that there is no hope for them.
Notice how many people will be among the lost: the number “is as the sand of the sea.” Jesus told us that we should be careful not to follow the great crowds or the majority in matters of faith: “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13, 14, KJV). This is why, as we look out upon the world today, we find so few who are walking in the pathway that leads to eternal life.
The way that Satan deceives his followers seems foolish to us, but we must remember that sin is always foolish. He puts into their minds the hopeless idea that they are able to capture the holy city of God, the New Jerusalem, which has come down from God out of heaven to rest on the earth (see Revelation 21:2). The wicked imagine that because of their great numbers they can overcome Christ and His saints. But how can their plan succeed?
Although Satan has had plenty of time to consider the results of his rebellion, he still hates God and His people. If he can only enter the Holy City, he hopes to pull God from His throne, and proclaim himself king. The loyal angels and the redeemed saints watch. “It is enough,” they say, “now we see the final results of sin. Let justice be done.”
Revelation 20:10-15: And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The great host pause as they gather about the New Jerusalem. Far above the city appears a great white throne. Upon it is seated the Son of God in all the glory of His Father. The wicked have opportunity now to consider their past lives. As on a giant cinema screen, they behold the events of the life of Christ, His rejection and crucifixion. Each sees the part he played in a lifelong war against the Lamb. Every thought of their evil minds, every word, every deed, is seen in terrible distinctness as rebellion against God and His truth.
Now at last they understand their sin. They perceive how they have constantly resisted the pleading of the Holy Spirit, rejected His warnings, beaten back His mercy by their stubbornness, and despised His faithful messengers. They see that they have daily crucified Christ afresh. Shame and remorse grip their hearts. The awful reality of their own guilt overwhelms them.
Even Satan is unable to look the other way. He sees a bright crown placed upon the head of Christ by a glorious angel whose place he knows could have been his. The multitude gaze in wonder. The wicked realize the value of the eternal reward that they have spurned and rejected by their stubborn refusal to repent.
Satan and the vast host of the lost fall on their knees before God, confess the justice of their sentence, and acknowledge their unfitness to enter heaven. Thus will be fulfilled Paul’s words, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10,11).
Note that none of these people are judged by their faith. They have had none! Now they are judged solely by their works, which have all somehow been motivated by the love of self.
The fire which falls from heaven does not come because God hates these poor lost people. The fire comes only because the very presence of “our God is a consuming fire” to sin (see Hebrews 12:29). Because the lost have chosen to cling to their sin as a vine clings to a tree until both become one, so they must be destroyed by a fire which was intended to destroy only sin. On the other hand, because the redeemed have yielded to the love of Christ and have repented of, confessed, and separated from their sin, “over such the second death has no power.” They have been delivered from fear by agape (1 John 4:17,18).
God never intended that a single human being should have to perish in that fire. It was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Why should any of us choose to share their fate?
The Book of life is still open before God, and our names can still be retained there. There will be no second chance after the thousand years begin. Just now is our opportunity; and today may be our last. Thank God, His Holy Spirit is working constantly to draw us. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself,” says Jesus (John 12:32). His love is so active and persistent that only those who resist Him can at last be lost with Satan.
This Book is the Revelation of Jesus; it contains “the everlasting gospel” (chapter 14:6). That gospel is always Good News. God has made it easy to be saved, and hard to be lost. The Book of Revelation teaches us that only those who “make war against the Lamb” can be lost; but let us remember that we are right now deciding where we stand by our attitude toward the Holy Spirit’s pleading with our hearts.
Please click here for the next study on Revelation 21: New Jerusalem.
Revelation 20 Bible Study Video: Kenneth Cox
Below is a video featuring Kenneth Cox presenting a bible study on Revelation 20
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Revelation 18 Commentary: The Fall of Babylon Like A Millstone
Revelation Chap 17 Commentary: Great Harlot
Revelation 16 Commentary: Seven Last Plagues
Revelation Chap. 14 Commentary: God’s Fearful Warning
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