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Book of Revelation – Chapter 20

The Millennium, the golden age some call this time, has come! The Bible teaches a 1,000-year reign by the Lord Jesus Christ on earth. What would changes look like in a millennium kingdom? 

• The Antichrist and the false prophet are in the lake of fire. Those deceivers are out of the way. Satan is chained and locked in the bottomless pit, for God is not yet through with him. 
• Since man will not practice war again, the earth’s armies are no more. Fallen into ruin and decay are all the military academies. Melted down is much of war’s machinery, now converted to useful implements for peace. 
• Jerusalem becomes the world’s capital from which Christ rules the earth. The nations come there to worship the living God. 
• Prosperity becomes evident from all points of the globe. Poverty becomes unknown as everyone has all the heart desires. 
• There are no prisons, no hospitals, no mental institutions, no barracks, no saloons, no brothels, no casinos, or retirement or nursing homes. 
• The bloom of youth is on everyone’s cheek, even at a hundred years of age. Cemeteries are relics of the past. Tears are rare.
• The wolf, lamb, calf, lion, cow, bear, child, and scorpion all are at peace. 
• Jesus rules as King. His reign is righteous, and the nations obey. Infractions or violations of the laws of His kingdom are not allowed. Sin is dealt with swiftly, with proper judgment. 

Verses 1 thru 3 tell us that Satan no longer has the key to the bottomless pit; an angel does. This angel comes down from heaven, armed with authority and power from God. He binds Satan with a chain, throws him into the bottomless pit (FYI, this is not the lake of fire), and seals the door. No more deception of the nations for a thousand years. But God still has a reason to keep Satan available. We will see God’s reason later toward the end of the Revelation.

In verse 4, John sees several thrones occupied for judgment. Those who sit on these thrones are members of the first resurrection – which include the Old Testament saints (Daniel 12:1-2), Church Age saints (1 Thess. 4:16-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:15-54), and Tribulation saints (Titus 2:13). These saints are entitled to sit upon thrones because they are members of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Christ has made them kings and priests (chapter 5, verse 10). The Lord Jesus Christ deposes (or removes) two different classes of rulers:

1. He punishes the host of the high ones in the heavenlies where Satan’s angelic princes once ruled, where the Church will judge from, and
2. He punishes the kings of the earth upon the earth, where a redeemed Israel will rule.

Don’t miss an essential point in verses 5 and 6. The rest of the dead remain in their graves until the end of the millennium kingdom period. They await the 2nd resurrection to appear before the Great White Throne Judgment. But blessed and holy are those that are part of the 1st resurrection. The second death is powerless against them. 

Verse 7 explains that Satan, once released from the bottomless pit after 1,000-years, will deceive the nations (verse 8) all over the globe. They will gather together to battle Christ the King and the saints. Their number is like the sand of the sea. They do not recall the destruction of the earth’s armies when Christ came to set up His kingdom a thousand years ago. Nor are they remember Russia’s disaster though some may. Gog and Magog symbolically lend their names to the dissidents of earth. So, they march onward. Verse 9 tells us that this massive army surrounds the saints and Jerusalem (the beloved city). Knowing what is happening and what is planned by those following Satan, Christ patiently waits. Then suddenly, at the appropriate time, fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them all. There is no battle and no war, just ashes left.

Why did Christ allow this to happen to those that were children of the Millennium? During the millennium reign of Christ, humanity bore children, many of them. These children had the exact sinful nature that all people have. The release of Satan was to test their free will. Many of these children accepted Christ as their Savior, but many did not! Satan’s departure from the pit tried their love and loyalty to Christ. Was their love for Christ genuine, or were they submissive simply because He ruled with a rod of iron (chapter 19, verse 15)? The truth revealed that millions followed the devil, bringing to light the hidden world of darkness of the human heart. 

In verse 10, Satan has deceived men and women for the final time. His punishment is already known. Immediately, he gets thrown into the lake of fire, where he joins the Antichrist and the false prophet, tormented day and night forever. Notice that Satan does not enter Hell until after the Millennium.

Immediately in verse 11, we see the Great White Throne for the judgment of the wicked. How terrible is the fear gripping every ungodly heart? Emptiness and torment without end await them. King Jesus sits as the Judge. So brilliant is His face that earth and heaven have fled away, defiled or marred by sin.

The Great White Throne Judgment (verses 12 thru 15) is history’s gloomiest period. All people not in the book of life stand before God in condemnation. Only the names of those saved through faith in Christ are in the book of life. The other book has a record of the unbeliever’s works for which they will give an account. All without Christ as their Savior have no hope. 

• White represents the purity, justice, and holiness of God. It also symbolizes INTEGRITY for Christ. He is the truth. 
• The Great White Throne pictures a decisive judgment about to fall on those who rejected the gospel. A solemn scene of unregenerate humanity comes face to face with God for the investigation of all their evil deeds. 

SUMMARY:

Here are a few final points to make about the White Throne Judgment.

1. God knows where every speck of human dust is hidden, and at His word, it will all come scurrying back to make the departed form again.
2. In our English Bible, two Greek words – Hades and Gehenna- are translated as Hell. There are two words because there are two places.
3. When Jesus used the word Hades, he referred to the “local jail” where the sinner remains bound until the Great White Throne Judgement. On Judgment Day, the sinner comes out of the local jail (Hades) and stands before the Judge (the Lord Jesus Christ). The sinner is found guilty and gets transferred to the final prison of souls (Gehenna). The lake of fire is usually synonymous with Gehenna. 

• Death (the grave) and Hell (also Hades) deliver up the dead in them. Death delivers up the body. Hades delivers up the soul. Every man receives judgment according to his works which is the trial. Then Death (the grave) and Hades are cast into the lake of fire, Gehenna – the final prison.
• Those who trust in the merits of Christ’s shed blood stand exempt from the Great White Throne Judgment, good news!!! Those trusting in Christ have passed from death to life (John 5:24). There is no condemnation to them in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

April 21, 2024 - Posted by Bill Wyler | Bible, Last Days, Revelation | Bible, Future, GOD, Something of Interest, Truth