CHAPTER 20

(A.D. 96)

SATAN

¹And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven (continues with the idea that Angels are very prominent in the Plan and Work of God), having the key of the bottomless pit (speaks of the same place recorded in Rev. 9:1; however, there the key is given to Satan, but this Angel of Rev. 20:1 has the key, implying he has had it all along; more than likely, God allows this Angel to give the key to Satan in Rev. 9:1) and a great chain in his hand (should be taken literally).

²And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan (as a dragon, he shows his power; as a serpent, he shows his cunning; as the Devil, he is the accuser; and as Satan, he is the adversary), and bound him a thousand years (refers to being bound by the great chain carried by the Angel),

³And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him (speaks of the abyss being sealed to keep him there), that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (At the end of the thousand-year period, Satan will be loosed out of his prison. He will make another attempt to deceive the nations, in which he will not succeed. We arent told how long this little season will be.)

THE MILLENNIUM

⁴And I saw Thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them (refers to the 24 Elders who represent the entire Plan of God, which pertains to the Redeemed of all ages; we arent told who these men are): and I saw the souls of them who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands (categorizes the Tribulation Saints who gave their lives for the cause of Christ; the idea is that these will be included in the first Resurrection of Life, and will enjoy all its privileges); and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (This is the Kingdom Age.)

⁵But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. (This pertains to all the unsaved, in fact, all those who lived and died since the dawn of time. The souls and spirits of these people are now in Hell [Lk. 16:19-31].) This is the First Resurrection (proclaims the fact that these two Resurrections, the Resurrection of the Just and the Resurrection of the Unjust, will be separated by 1,000 years).

⁶Blessed and Holy is he who has part in the First Resurrection (this is the Resurrection of Life, which will include every Saint of God who has ever lived from Abel to the last Tribulation Saint; all will be given glorified bodies): on such the second death has no power (the second death is to be cast into the Lake of Fire, and to be there forever and forever [Rev. 21:8]; all who are washed in the Blood of the Lamb need not fear the second death), but they shall be Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (All Believers who have part in the First Resurrection will at the same time serve as mediators, so to speak, between the population of the world and God and Christ. The thousand years portrays the Kingdom Age, when Christ will reign supreme over the entire Earth.)

SATAN

⁷And when the thousand years are expired (should have been translated, finished), Satan shall be loosed out of his prison (is not meant to infer a mere arbitrary act on the part of God; He has a very valid reason for doing this),

⁸And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the Earth, Gog and Magog (the main reason the Lord allows Satan this latitude is, it seems, to rid the Earth of all who oppose Christ; George Williams says: The Creation Sabbath witnessed the first seduction, and the Millennial Sabbath will witness the last; the Gog and Magog spoken of by John is a Hebrew term expressive of multitude and magnitude; here it embraces all nations, the four quarters of the Earth), to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea (proclaims the fact that virtually all of the population at that particular time, which did not accept Christ during the Kingdom Age, will throw in their lot with Satan).

⁹And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the Saints about, and the beloved city (pictures Satan coming against Jerusalem with his army, which will be the last attack against that city): and fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them. (Stipulates that the Lord will make short work of this insurrection. In fact, very little information is given regarding this event, as is obvious.)

¹⁰And the Devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone (marks the end of Satan regarding his influence in the world, and, in fact, in any part of the Creation of God), where the Beast and the False Prophet are(proclaims the fact that these two were placed in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone some one thousand years earlier [Rev. 19:20]), and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. (This signifies the Eternity of this place. It is a matter of interest to note that Satans first act is recorded in Gen., Chpt. 3 [the third Chapter from the beginning], whereas his last act on a worldwide scale is mentioned in Rev., Chpt. 20 [the third Chapter from the end].)

GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

¹¹And I saw a Great White Throne (proclaims the final Judgment of the unredeemed, which will take place at the end of the Kingdom Age), and Him Who sat on it (proclaims none other than God; however, we must understand that it is the Person of the Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ [Mat. 25:31]; He is the Saviour today; He will be the Judge tomorrow), from Whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (This means a New Heaven and New Earth are in the offing.)

¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God (pertains to the second Resurrection, the Resurrection of Damnation [I Cor., Chpt. 15; I Thess. 4:13-18; Jn. 5:29]); 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 (proclaims the manner of Judgment).

¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them (points to the fact that every unredeemed person who has ever lived will face the Great White Throne Judgment; none will be exempted): and they were Judged every man according to their works (records the fact that this Judgment is not arbitrary, but is based on absolute Justice).

¹⁴And death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire (combined, includes the wicked of all ages). This is the second death (Eternal separation from God and the Lake of Fire).

¹⁵And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life (refers to the record of all the unredeemed) was cast into the Lake of Fire. (This includes every single individual who isnt Redeemed, beginning with Adam and Eve. That is, if they didnt come back to God.)