Revelation Study Series 26a - God’s Mysterious Plan Fulfilled (Chapter 20a)
06.05.22
Our eyes were on the Groom last week! Jesus, the Rider on the white horse, the Word of God, King of kings, Lord of lords!
We spoke of Jesus’ Second coming and the battle of Armageddon! Jesus with a “sharp two-edged sword” from His mouth will speak, He will proclaim His Word! And, the battle will be over! God’s Word wins! God’s Word reigns! God’s Word is established forever! It does not wither nor fade! It is what you need! And, it is all you need!
The Bible tells us that the antichrist and the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire, there they will be tormented forever! Immediately following those events…
Revelation 20:1-3
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.
2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.
3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.
satan is a real, living, created being. He is not just a symbol of evil.
He is evil. Scripture references him thirty-five times as the “devil”, and fifty-two times as “satan” (adversary). he is also referenced as a serpent, and a dragon.
Ezekiel 28:12-17
12b “..."You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”
13a You were in Eden, the garden of God; …”
14a "You were the anointed cherub who covers; …”
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
16 "By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
17 "your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. (NKJV)
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (NKJV)
There will be a period of time, one thousand years, when satan will have no influence on the hearts of mankind. he will not roam about like a lion seeking whom he can destroy. he will not influence nor possess worldly leaders, nor anyone!
he will not play a role in impacting the events that take place on the earth for those 1,000 years.
You and I have not known a time when satan was not at work without his evil influence, deception, lies, or destruction.
“...satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.” (vs. 3b)
You may wonder why he “must be released for a little while”...
Why doesn’t God just end it there!
Let me suggest that by doing so, this removes any excuse for mankind’s sin, or mankind not choosing Jesus Christ!
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Gen. 3:13
With satan’s evil influence or without it…mankind will either choose to accept Christ or will choose to reject Him. Either way…it will be of their own choosing!
Ephesians 2:1-5
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. he is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much,
5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
Revelation 20:4-6
4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him a thousand years.
There are two resurrections: a resurrection of believers and there is a resurrection of unbelievers.
Daniel 12:2
Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.
You want to be in that first resurrection! And, you will be if you have accepted Christ! Not, only will we be resurrected, but we will rule and reign with Jesus!
The Millennial Kingdom on earth will be like none other since the fall of mankind to sin.
1,000 years with no devil to influence evil.
Scripture describes what it will be like…
Isaiah 11:6-10
6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.
10 In that day the Heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to Him, and the land where He lives will be a glorious place.
Isaiah 65:17-25
17 “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
18 Be glad; rejoice forever in My creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and delight in My people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
will be heard in it no more.
20 “No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young!
21 In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
22 Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
and confiscate their vineyards.
For My people will live as long as trees,
and My chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
23 They will not work in vain,
and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
and their children, too, will be blessed.
24 I will answer them before they even call to Me.
While they are still talking about their needs,
I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on My holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
The Millennial Kingdom will be a time of peace and no war. Man’s hard work will be blessed. There will be no sickness, nor disease! No famine or pestilence!
Christ will rule from Jerusalem! And the people of the earth will worship Him!
And, those that choose to worship Him will live those full 1,000 years. But, those that do not…because free will, will still exist…they will die at 100 years old.
The Bible tells us that Temple animal sacrifices will be reinstituted just as in the OT.
Now, this may seem strange or unnecessary since Christ…the perfect, ultimate sacrifice will be physically on earth ruling and reigning during this time.
It has been stated that these sacrifices will serve as an object lesson.
There will still be sin and sin nature of mankind in the Millennial Kingdom.
Think about this…mankind blames everything on everyone else.
Mankind believes they are who they are and what they are because they are a product of their environment (what’s been done to them)...rather than they are who they are by their own choosing (what they have chosen to do and whom they have chosen to believe)!
The Millennial Kingdom will give man everything he has ever wanted! A world of perfect conditions…peace, no war, long life!
But even in perfect conditions that does not mean that mankind wants a Perfect Savior!
The Millennial Kingdom will remove any excuses to reject Jesus! And, yet…many will choose just that! To reject Jesus as King!
Revelation 20:7-8
7 When the thousand years come to an end, satan will be let out of his prison.
8 He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. he will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.
The battle of Armeggedon occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation at Jesus’ Second Coming.
Here is another battle after the Millennial reign of Jesus on earth, Gog and Magog…
Revelation 20:9-10
9 And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Just like that satan and all of his evil followers/forces will be defeated by fire from heaven!
satan will never speak another lie, nor influence evil again!
Isaiah 14:16
16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,
Life Application:
How do you prepare for the Millennial Kingdom?
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.
15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.
17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.
18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.
20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.
25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate,
27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.
29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
How do you prepare for the Millennial Kingdom?
You live now for His coming!!!
“...use well what [you] are given…” God will give you more, He will give you an abundance!
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Cor. 10:31
Your faith! Your love! Your worship!
Your work! Your efforts! Your talents/skill!
Your dreams/desires! Your relationships! Your marriage!
Your finances/giving!
In all you do…Be all in for God and His glory!
“...But [if you choose to] do nothing, even what little [you] have will be taken away.”
