“The Great Unveiling: But What About the Rapture?”
Revelation 20:1-15
People have given so much attention to the various ‘millennial’ theories, and tried so hard to prove that their positions the only truthful ones, the message of this great chapter has been lost. Instead of the 1,000 years of peace, there has been instead 2,000 years of theological strife and division. The arguments between the Postmillennialists, the Premillennialists, and the Amillennialists have led some to become Bahmillenialists – to say “Bah!” to the whole thing! So, as it has been throughout this series, the message of Revelation is my concern. In spite of the controversy, what does it have to say; what’s the point? May God lead us into His truth!
The first message is that we can look forward to THE END OF SATAN. The one loud, clear message of verses 1-3 and 7-10 is that there is a binding of Satan, followed by a release, and his ultimate collapse. Let’s look at THE ACCOUNT OF THE BINDING. Listen to verses 1 & 2 again: “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” Our natural reaction is to ask, “WHEN WILL THIS BINDING TAKE PLACE?” Recall Matthew 28:18 – Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Following His resurrection Jesus had full authority – Satan must have been bound! Let’s turn the clock back a little further, to His last public discourse where Jesus said, (Jn. 12:31-32) “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” In other words, AT JESUS’ CRUCIFIXION, Satan would be bound! The death of Christ would not be Satan’s victory but his defeat! Instead of being free from that point on, Satan would be bound and cast into the abyss!
And it’s for A PERIOD OF 1,000 YEARS. When does that occur? If Satan was bound at Christ’s death and resurrection, then now must be the thousand years! And that only follows the approach we’ve been taking to Revelation. As are all the numbers, 1,000 IS SYMBOLIC; 1,000 is THE CUBE OF 10, THE NUMBER OF COMPLETENESS. And that’s born out by verse 7 where we read, “When the thousand years are over…”; ‘are over’ literally means “are completed” or “have reached their goal.” When, in God’s mind, the years have accomplished what He wants them to do, God will bring them to an end. It marks THE COMPLETENESS OF TIME GOD NEEDS FOR HIS PURPOSE. As we’ve said before, that time is this time in which we live – these days are the last days.
But certainly that raises some questions. We’ve been saying all along Satan is active. But Satan himself is not here, active on the earth. Rather, his agents are. We need to understand THE PURPOSE OF HIS BINDING. Verse 3 tells us he was bound, “to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.” The binding affects only his DECEPTION OF THE NATIONS, not of people as individuals. Prior to the time of Christ, nations other than Israel were not ‘evangelized.’ But then Christ came, Satan was bound, and the disciples went forth to all nations. The boundaries of Israel were blown apart! The rest of the world was no longer under Satan’s sway! He was no longer sovereign in those nations! The point of the parable of the Strong Man (Mt. 12:29) was that the strong man, Satan, is bound by Jesus so Jesus can carry off Satan’s property and people!
Yes, people are still deceived, but not whole nations! That’s the significance of the Wise Men coming to the manger, of the Roman Centurion’s confession at the cross, of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman, and with that company of Greeks in John; it’s the meaning of Pentecost, and the message of Acts. EVERY NEW CONVERT TO CHRIST IS A REMINDER THAT SATAN IS BOUND. That’s why Jesus cast out demons – to prove that Satan was no longer sovereign anywhere.
But, as verse 3 plainly states, “After that he must be loosed for a little while.” Satan will make that ONE, FINAL ASSAULT. Listen to verses 7-9 again: “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” Remember chapter 11 and the two witnesses in the midst of the great city – they were killed by the beast! This is it again. “The Camp”, the church, God’s people, are surrounded and hounded. Chapter 20 just gives a different perspective of Satan having that one last rally against Christ. Paul taught about this in II Thess. 2:3-12. Millions will be deceived!
Once again we see that the designs of Satan will not be changed during Satan’s binding. Wickedness will remain! This final onslaught will POINT OUT THE ULTIMATE JUSTICE OF GOD. And it will serve as the final testing of those who have claimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior – the gold will be tested by fire!
And SATAN WILL BE DEFEATED – zapped with a bolt of fire from heaven; he will be done! In chapter 19 the beasts were overcome – now Satan, their lord and master, joins them! So Satan will be loosed, his restriction will be lifted; then Christ will come and Satan will be eternally subdued.
So what is THE APPLICATION OF THE BINDING? What is the true meaning here? First, it answers a question: why didn’t God just destroy Satan earlier in the process and save all this trouble? God could have. But what would have been learned? Others would have risen up and tried to be like God. And God knew it. GOD DIDN’T DESTROY SATAN EARLIER SO EVIL COULD RUN ITS COURSE AND GOD COULD DEVELOP A RACE OF SAINTS, a redeemed people who can spread the Word and help conquer evil. The battle must be fought. And Christ forms His army to stand with Him.
Secondly, this teaches us again that WE MUST BE IN SHAPE! If Satan is bound now, can you imagine what it will be like when he is released? If we are to wield the sword – the Word of God – we must be in shape. Now is the time to put on the armor, to go through the training, to develop the skills, to gain the strength. There will be an end to Satan, that’s a certainty. Whether or not it’s an end to us depends on how well we stand up when he’s released. And how well we stand up depends on how well we train now. Now is the day of salvation! Work out your own salvation, beginning today!
The second truth in this chapter, in verses 4-6, concerns THE ENDURING REIGN. Read carefully. We find out WHO IS REIGNING AND WHERE. There is no indication anywhere in these verses that this reign takes place on the earth. There is no indication that this reign takes place only after Christ returns again. Remember Christ himself said (Jn. 18:36), “But now my Kingdom is from another place.” All we know for certain is that during this thousand-year period in which we now live, CHRIST IS REIGNING WITH THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS IN GLORY! And we are the saints! That’s a basic message of the New Testament! It’s the thrust of Paul’s letters!
Yet it’s important that we look at the idea behind the words in verse 5, “The first resurrection.” First of all, John never mentions a second resurrection! Let’s keep that in mind. Secondly, what is the FIRST RESURRECTION? JESUS’ OWN! His was the first, true resurrection from the dead. That’s the teaching of Ephesians 4:8 – Paul said that Christ, at his ascension, led a host of captives. The believing dead were resurrected and ascended with Him! Listen to the witness of Matthew (27:51-53): “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” And from that day on there has been no separation from God for His loved ones! So those saints, even now, are reigning, as are all the saints since then. Yes, even our loved ones are reigning with Him, in glory!
And WE ALSO REIGN WITH CHRIST, HERE AND NOW! In Ephesians 2 Paul taught that we are “in Christ” now! We are identified with Him in every way (Eph. 2:5-6): “When we were dead in trespasses . . . (God) made us alive together with Him (Christ), and made us sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...” We will be there in body and soul eventually, but even now, in the Spirit we reign with Christ!
And WE HAVE A PURPOSE IN THIS REIGN. John said, back in Rev. 1:6, that God made us a kingdom, priests to God! Now! That’s why the New Testament calls us priests. In Latin the word is “pontifex”, which means bridge builder. It is our privilege TO INTRODUCE OTHERS TO CHRIST and usher them into His presence. We must show them the way. We are the liaisons between God and people. He empowers us to do His work here. We reign with Him.
Next comes the third important truth here – verses 11–15: THE ETERNAL JUDGMENT. We knew it was coming. Everything we’ve seen in Revelation has shown the fight, the battle between Christ and Satan; we’ve seen that the church is the battleground. All that’s left is for the war to end, for the accounts to be settled, for the wrongs to be righted. As it is appointed for us to die once, after that comes the judgment. (Heb. 9:27) When we move to a new city, one of the details we must take care of is to settle all our accounts in the city we’re leaving, or make arrangements to keep paying them. But THE ACCOUNTS MUST BE SETTLED. So in God’s program.
And it’s all-inclusive! First, HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE JUDGED. Prophets and apostles predicted it (Is. 51:6, Mt. 24:35, II Pt. 3:10-12). Everything under the control of evil receives the judgment of God. And it’s all-inclusive in that the SEA WILL GIVE UP ITS’ DEAD, and DEATH AND HADES WILL RELEASE ALL in their hold. The very God who created the world and all who dwell in it will collect and mold even scattered atoms back together again for judgment. We will all face it! As has been said so well, “No one is so important as to be immune from judgment and no is so unimportant as to make judgment inappropriate!” It’s the great leveler in life. As Christ stood speechless before Pilate in the judgment hall, so the world will stand silent before Christ in His judgment hall!
But the judgment pictured here is really THE TIME OF SENTENCING. Back in Rev. 2:23 Jesus told the church that He would give to each person as his works deserve. Jesus said it clearly (Jn. 3:36): “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.” In other words, OUR LIVES ARE ALREADY CASTING THE EVIDENCE OF JUDGMENT. In life we are writing our own destinies, compiling our own record and witness. It’s like keeping a sheet of statistics in sports, or a transcript of grades in school. We will receive according to what we have done. As we’ve seen repeatedly, we will reap what we’ve sown.
But it’s not that works equal reward. No! Even here this first book is COUNTERBALANCED BY A SECOND – THE BOOK OF LIFE! As we stand before the judge, we realize again our works will never get us in. But they will have shown the evidence of whether or not we we’re committed to Him. And if we were, our names will already be in the book of life! As even the prophets of old were aware, what counts is the book of life. It’s like presenting a debit card to pay for something. The central office needs to verify that our account is OK, to be sure our name is in “the good book”. So Christ checks the “good book”, the book of life! Judgment is all-inclusive!
Note that for both the saved and unsaved there are degrees of reward or punishment. In heaven some will make it and be very blessed; some will barely make it. In hell, the person who never really heard of Jesus but failed to live up to the law in his own heart (Rom. 2:11-16) will receive less punishment than one who had every opportunity to repent and rejected them all. Our deeds will follow us!
But why does this eternal judgment have to WAIT UNTIL THE END of the age? Why can’t it take place at our death? At death we go to heaven or hell. But true judgment cannot be rendered until the end, because so much of what we do sets in motion forces which can be weighed only at the end of time. There must be time TO SEE HOW OUR LIVES HAVE AFFECTED OTHERS! God will show us the record of our lives! Let’s just praise Him that His book of life is our hope. I remember talking many years ago with a woman who wanted to divorce her husband. She mentioned that she was brought up fearing a judging God. She was raised with such a notion of His wrath that she believed she could never be perfect enough to please Him; therefore, in her mind, she could also never please her husband. She was fearful; she could not accept and realize the grace of Christ, the blood of the Lamb. She worried about the book of her own life and forgot the book of life in Christ’s hand. Judgment brings awe and human fear, but it brings grace and joy for those who believe and accept Christ.
So let’s SUMMARIZE THE “END” here. SATAN WILL BE LOOSED ONE LAST TIME. Then, CHRIST WILL RETURN. When He returns, THE DEAD UNBELIEVERS AND THE DEAD BELIEVERS WILL BE RESURRECTED. At the judgment – the sentencing – THE BELIEVERS STILL ALIVE WILL BE TRANSFORMED AND GLORIFIED AND WILL MEET THE RISEN BELIEVERS IN THE AIR! And together THEY WILL GO TO GLORY! And my friends, that’s the only rapture Scripture mentions! It’s the only meeting in the air that takes place. It’s what the rapture is all about – Christ meeting His people in the air as they travel to their eternal home! That’s what’s in store for us. That’s our view of eternal judgment! (You’ll find it clearly sated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-19 & 1 Corinthians 15).
So in the end, THERE IS ONLY CHRIST OR SATAN. We side with one or the other. That’s why Jesus said so pointedly (Mt. 10:27-28), “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” Therefore, said Jesus, “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” In other words, “Get the Word out, and don’t fear the forces of evil! I am the Lord your God!”
Randy Alcorn’s novel, Edge of Eternity, portrays a man’s journey to the edge of heaven. Having caught a glimpse of the heavenly world, he is sent back to earth to share his experience. Wanting to enter and stay in heaven, his advisor counsels him. “'The people there (Earth) live between Eden, a world that has ended, and Jerusalem, a world that hasn't yet begun,' … 'Earth is the walkway between two kingdoms. Its most terrible nightmares are of Erebus. Its most wondrous dreams are of Charis. Erebus is the worst of Earth multiplied a thousand times; Charis, the best of Earth multiplied a million times. Earth is a place to preview both, to sample each, to make the final unalterable choice between them.'” (1)
Blessed are those whom the Lord finds faithful when He comes again! Whether you are post-, a-, or pre- millenialist isn’t of great concern to Christ. What is of concern is whether you are faithful. That’s the message – Jesus says that victory is ours. Live for Him! For we do not know at what hour He will come. Amen!
(1) Edge of Eternity, Randy Alcorn, Waterbrook Press, Colorado Springs, Colorado, © 1998 by Eternal Perspective Ministries, p. 310
