REVELATION 20.7-15

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea.

• When the 1,000 years are expired, Satan is loosed out of his prison. I want you to see that 1,000 years earlier, Satan was sealed into this prison and until the seal was broken, he could not get out.
• Beloved, the Bible tells us that as Christians, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Because of that seal, Satan cannot possess you. He can tempt you, deceive you…but he cannot possess you, thus the teaching that a Christian can be demon possessed is not true. Because of the seal of God upon your soul, a demon cannot get inside of you beloved!

·      The very moment that Satan is loosed from this prison, he goes right out and deceives the nations. During the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus, God will give mankind a thousand years of a perfect environment - with no Satan, no crime, violence, evil, or other social pathology.  But at the end of the 1,000 years, man will still rebel against God at his first opportunity.  This will powerfully demonstrate that the problem is in us, not only in our environment.

·      The Bible tells us in Jer 17.9 that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  Now our present day sociologist/psychologists try to blame modern man’s wickedness on the environment.  They tell us if you can just change the environment, the natural goodness in each one of us will surely come out.  Not so! After 1,000 years of the rule of Jesus in a perfect environment, Satan is loosed again, and man turns against The Lord in a New York minute!  People who have been living under this ideal reign of Christ will be deceived by Satan to rebel against the reign of Christ. 

·      This section proves that even the equivalent of 14 lifetimes (based on the current life expectancy of about 70 years divided into a thousand years) is not enough to overturn man’s allegiance to Satan. Apart from the grace of God and the work of The Holy Spirit to open our hearts and change our minds, a person will remain an ally of Satan. Only trusting in Jesus with all of your heart can change that.

·      The size of the army will be as the sand of the sea. The huge size of this army isn’t hard to explain when you think about all the babies that will be born over a thousand-year period. And the fact that people will live a lot longer means that the population in the millennium will be enormous. Apparently, those that die at 100 will be considered young (Isa 65:20).

·      Gog and Magog - Though expositors disagree in their understanding of Gog and Magog, I believe it is safe to say that this battle is not the same as the one in Ezekiel 38 and 39. This is evident from several things:

o   (1) The invasion in Ezekiel comes from the north, but this one comes from all directions;

o   (2) Ezekiel’s battle seems to occur about the middle of the tribulation when the people of Israel are trusting in the treaty with the Beast, but this battle occurs over a thousand years later, after Christ comes to earth;

o   (3) In Ezekiel, Gog and Magog are the names given the ruler from the north and his land, a territory now occupied by Russia, but according to Ezekiel these will be decisively wiped out in the tribulation.

Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

• Here we find wicked mankind making one last attempt at destroying the people of God and the beloved city of Jerusalem. However, God rains down fire from heaven upon them.
• In chapter 19 we saw that the beast and the false prophet were cast alive into the lake of fire and brimstone.  That was a thousand years earlier than what we read about here! The devil is at this time cast into the lake of fire and brimstone forever.
• The fulfillment of Gen 3:15 is finally completed. And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, and between thy seed (the children of the devil) and her seed (Jesus Christ); it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (the crucifixion of Jesus Christ). Satan’s head is finally crushed.
• The fact that the bible talks about "her seed" indicates the "virgin birth." A woman does not possess a seed, she possesses the ovum that is fertilized by the male seed. So we have the first prophecy that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.
• THE GOD OF PEACE SHALL BRUISE SATAN UNDER YOUR FEET SHORTLY-Ro 16:20. No doubt referring to the prophecy in Genesis 3.15, Paul says to the body of Christ that God would "bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
  Satan was defeated at the cross and ultimately will be cast into the lake of fire. Satan was allowed to cause the death of Jesus, but to his own defeat.
• Another thing that we learn from verses 7-10 is that Satan will come out of the abusso unchanged; hell is not a reformatory. Another myth is the notion that Satan reigns in hell over the wildest party is not Biblical. He is prince of this present world system but will be tormented in the lake of fire.

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

• Note that the great white throne is occupied by only One, and that One is God Almighty.  Matt 25.31 tells us that Jesus Christ will sit upon the throne of His glory.
• As we noted in verse 6, there will be two general resurrections, separated by a period of 1000 years.  The balance of this chapter describes those who take place in the “second” resurrection, which is the resurrection of the unjust (Acts 24.14) and this will take place after the Kingdom age.
• All the unbelievers of all time, from Cain to the final revolt at the end of the millennium, will be here assembled to face the bar of God’s perfect justice.
• The color white speaks of the supreme, undimmed display of the perfect righteousness, justice, and purity of God. No man or woman can stand in His presence apart from the imputed righteousness of God which is given us through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

• This judgment upon all who reject Jesus Christ will be just the way they have always wanted it….according to their own works. Let me serve an advance notice tonight to all who may be present and think that they are going to heaven because of all the good works that they have done…none who seek to enter heaven based upon his or her own works make it into heaven.
• The principle here is that Jesus Christ died for their sins, for their evil deeds, to forgive them, and to provide them with a righteousness from God so that they might have a perfect standing before Him. But when men reject the knowledge of God and His plan of salvation, they determine to stand on their own merit or in their own righteousness. So the Book of Works will contain a record of all their deeds, good and bad, to demonstrate Romans 3:23, that they fall short of God’s righteousness and have therefore no basis upon which to stand accepted (justified) before God. This judgment proves them sinners and in need of Christ’s righteousness by faith.
• The great white throne will be nothing like our modern court cases. There will be a Judge but no jury, a Prosecutor nut no defense attorney, and a sentence but no appeal.
• I think it is important for the church to understand that although our salvation is not according to our works, God does not redeem us to be lazy or indifferent to how we use the time and talents that He gives unto us, for our judgment and any rewards will be based upon our works.
• Rev 2.23 I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
• 2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.
• Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
• I would also add that the only deeds that will be of any value at the judgment seat f Christ will be those that have been done out of a heart of love for God and for the glory of Christ. Even though others may be blessed, any other motive amounts to wood, hay and stubble.
• Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 12:29 For our God [is] a consuming fire.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

• When non-believers die before the great white throne judgment, they go to hades. “Hades” is not the final judgment. The holding cell for a death-row inmate is not the final step. Execution is that prisoner’s final judgment.
• “The second death” and the “lake of fire” in this verse are identical terms and are used of the eternal state of the wicked.
• That the second death is not annihilation is shown by a comparison of Rev 19:20 with 20:10. After 1000 years in the lake of fire, the beast and false prophet are still there, personally existing. (Luke 16)
• Eternal torment is not a popular doctrine, but it is a Biblical one.
• Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
• Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.   

·      No other verse in the entire Bible should cause us to flee God’s wrath and run into His grace and forgiveness as does 20:15.         

·      Since being in the Book of Life is the only way of escaping the second death, you and I want to be sure that our name is in the Book of Life. How does that happen?  By my confessing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, with a desire to live my life for Him, surrendered to His Lordship. 

·      Now, it isn’t just saying, Jesus is Lord; it has to be a true confession from the heart. .Jesus said, “In that day, many will come saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  Didn’t we prophecy in Your name? cast out devils in Your name? did marvelous works?”  And He’ll say, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.  I never knew you.” Jesus said, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and yet you don’t do the things that I command you?” 

You see, Lord is not His name, it’s His title.  He is my Lord, which means I am His servant.  I live my life to do His will.   Do you personally know Jesus Christ as your Lord? Are you daily seeking to surrender your life to Him? Paul wrote in Romans 10, “If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you’ll be saved.”   

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.