Tom Lowe
11/23/17
Book of Revelation Commentary
Lesson: V.B.2: Makes one last effort, but defeated once for all (Rev. 20:9-10)
Scripture (Rev. 20:9-10, KJV)
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.
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.
Introduction
At the end of the thousand years the Devil is to be loosed temporarily from the Abyss (20:7), but he has not learned his lesson; he begins where he has left off. He will assemble the nations for the final attack on God. A final attack on Jerusalem by the hostile nations is one of the standard pictures of the last times in Jewish thought. But here we come upon a picture which etched itself deeply and mysteriously on Jewish thought, the picture of Gog and Magog. We find it first in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and of Tubal, is to launch the great attack upon Israel, with the full intention of utterly destroying it?but any attack on God’s people is an attack upon God Himself.
It may be that originally Gog was connected with the Scythians whose invasions all men feared. As time went on, in Jewish thought Gog and Magog came to stand for everything that is against God. The rabbis taught that Gog and Magog would assemble themselves and their forces against Jerusalem, and would fall by the hand of the Messiah.
The hostile armies under the Devil’s leadership come up against the camp of God’s people and against the beloved city, that is Jerusalem; the hosts are consumed with fire from heaven, the Devil is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to share the fate of the beast and of the false prophet, and the triumph of God is complete.
Commentary
9 And they5 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.
At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released from his prison and he will immediately seek out dissidents who will join him as he makes one last attempt to unseat God from His throne. He will find many who are only too willing to listen to his lies. They will rejoice at his bold claims, flock to his standards, and follow him headlong into rebellion. The insurrection will spread like a prairie fire fanned by a high wind.
We are told of Satan’s daring approach to Jerusalem. John says, “And they went up on the breadth of the earth4, and surrounded the camp of the saints1, and the beloved city2.” Satan is coward. Like a daring gambler, he stakes everything on a single throw. He has nothing to lose, everything to gain.
The attack that takes place is against Jerusalem, called “2the beloved city.” God’s enemies are intent on destroying the place of God’s throne on the earth. When the city is completely cut off from all outside help and completely surrounded by teeming millions of soldiers that make up Gog and Magog, when it seems that the case is hopeless and the holy city will be wiped from the face of the earth, a tremendous miracle from Almighty God occurs: God sends “3fire and brimstone” (10) from heaven to devour them?“For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29)?which quickly ends the attack. By this same means Gog and Magog (names may be symbolic for the rebellious of earth) are destroyed in the first great conflict [“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. (Ezekiel 38:22).]
The rebellion did not succeed. In fact it never had a ghost of a chance of succeeding. It is only permitted by God in order to bring to light the hidden works of darkness of the human heart. What happens is described in two stages. First, the fiery death of the rebels is described. John says “and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” The judgment is swift and sure. The invading armies, as numerous as the sands of the sea (20:8), as if blinded by Satan, are driven forward in the grand delusion, perhaps, that they can take possession of the tree of life. There is not a word about a conflict; not a shot is fired; not a saint is harmed. With a flash, the fire of God falls, and it is all over. Nothing remains but a heap of ashes. No carrion birds are summoned to bury these dead. They are cremated in the fires that slay them. In an instant they are shriveling on the other shore in site of the great white throne. There will not be one sinner left on the face of the earth. Only Satan will be left and God is about to deal with him. His doom was fixed in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:15, when God enlightened Lucifer that the seed of the woman would crush his head.
Again, the Creator is greater than the created. Remember, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-2). Satan was not created a devil; he was created “the anointed cherub that covereth.” He was perfect in wisdom, perfect in beauty, and perfect in all of his ways from the day he was created until inequity was found in him [“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”(Ezekiel 28:14-15).].
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1 The “camp of the saints” may be a reference to the headquarters of the heavenly saints who live in the heavenly Jerusalem but who have duties on the millennial earth as well.
2 “The beloved city” is Jerusalem or it could be simply a way of describing God’s people.
3 “Fire and brimstone” might well be natural forces, an explosion of atoms; a popular theory today promoted by those who support the “Big Bang Theory.”
4 Breadth of the earth is translated “broad plain of the earth” in the NLT.
5 “They” are the masses enlisted by Satan to oppose God and destroy His holy city and His throne.
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.
First, the fiery death of the rebels is described in verse 9. Next, we are told of the fiery doom of the devil. John says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone1, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night2 for ever and ever3.” That “lake of fire” was prepared for him and his angels [“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: (Matthew 25:41)], and there he goes headlong to make his bed in hell. His two companions in the crimes of the last days are there awaiting him. They have been there a thousand years, and far from being annihilated, they are alive and in torment and facing the same horrors for all eternity. The devil joins them, to be “tormented” eternally for all the wickedness and woe he has fathered since his fall.
Satan’s judgment was ensured at the cross (John 12:31-33; 16:11), but the actual execution of the sentence awaits the end of the millennium and his last rebellion. Hell is the place prepared for him [“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:” (Matthew 25:41).], and the place in which fallen angels have been cast [“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4).]. The one who has brought untold sorrow and suffering to all mankind must now suffer for all eternity without relief. Little wonder Satan hates the book of Revelation and prevents so many from preaching its message! Regardless of what you have heard, read, or been taught, hell is a place of literal fire, a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth. HELL IS A PLACE “WHERE THE WORM NEVER DIES,” A PLACE OF UNQUENCHABLE FIRE, A PLACE OF “FIRE AND BRIMSTONE.”
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1 Brimstone: Another name for sulfer, one of the chemical elements.
2 “Day and night” signifies that the torment is without intermission. . . continuous, unceasing.
3 “For ever and ever” signifies eternity . . . never ending existence. Regardless of what some denominations teach, hell is a place of everlasting, unending punishment. I beg you, dear reader, if you are not born again, please prepare to meet God. Do not take a chance on waking up in hell in the lake of fire and brimstone.
WHAT IS THE TRUE NATURE OF THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE?
There has been much discussion concerning this question. Several theories have been advanced as part of this ongoing debate:
1. Some believe in a doctrine of “annihilationism”—meaning that after death, the wicked are utterly obliterated and consumed through God’s judgment. Their “torment” is knowing that they will never come to life again; they will be dead “for ever and ever.” This view is based on the fact that much of the visual imagery of hell?a consuming fire, destruction, and perishing?may imply eternal death.
2. Another view is that this lake of burning sulfur (and its implication of the fires of hell) may be symbolic of a certain kind of horror that will be appropriate punishment.
The exact nature of this lake of fire is unknown, but certainly it is not a place where one would desire to go.
A TREMENDOUS VICTORY
Two mighty forces of evil—first, those of the beast (19:19) and second, those of Satan (20:8)—attempt to do battle against God on two different occasions. Unlike typical battles where the outcome is in doubt during the heat of the conflict, here there is no contest. The Bible uses just two verses to describe each battle—the evil Beast and his forces were captured and thrown into the fiery lake (19:20-21), and fire from heaven devours Satan and his attacking armies (20:9-10). For God, it is as easy as that. There will be no doubt, no worry, and no second thoughts for believers about whether they have chosen the right side.
If you are with God, you will experience this tremendous victory with Christ. This power is available now for those who believe. This mighty display of God’s power is foretold here so Christians will trust God now. Let this victory fill you with hope and rekindle your desire to live for God and not give in to sinful desires. Above all, let it produced eager anticipation for Christ’s reign.
