REVELATION 20:7-15
SATAN FREED, DOOMED vss 7-10
vs 7 Whenever the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, (the Greek word hōtan is used, “whenever”, indicating that the time is uncertain. This seems to support the symbolic meaning for the 1,000 years)
Just before Christ’s return as we saw in 2 Thessalonians 2:6 the “Restrainer” is removed and the full fury of Satan’s wrath is let out and he will go out to deceive the nations of the world to gather them together to fight against the people of God.
At present non-Christian religions together with secularism are undermining God’s Word, and being used of Satan to blind the eyes of the lost. In addition they are fiercely persecuting Christians on every continent.
vs 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog (the forces of evil, the host of the wicked), to gather them together for the war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
The combination Gog and Magog are always represented in the Old Testament as “the forces of evil, the host of the wicked.” They are symbolic terms that allude to extensive forces assembled from “the four corners of the earth,” not from one or two nations.
vs 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
The forces of evil were huge and encompassed the plain of the earth. They encircled the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Both expressions appear to mean the people of God.
The beloved city should be seen in opposition to the great city which should be seen as the organized community of the wicked who follow Satan in coming against God and His church.
God sends down fire from heaven to devour his enemies. The immeasurable multitude gathered to wage war against the saints ought not to frighten them because God is their protector. God’s enemies are unable to escape when the cup of his wrath is full. He will destroy them with fire from heaven.
vs 10 And the devil who deceived them (the nations) was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The devil who deceived the nations was defeated by God and thrown in the lake of fire and brimstone along with the beast (the wicked governments of the earth and their followers) and the false prophet (the false religions of the world and followers). Their torment will be day and night forever and ever. Vengeance is mines says the Lord, I will repay!
They enter this eternal state of suffering at the time when all the ungodly appear before the judgment seat. At that moment all of them enter their “second death,” which means that they are forever separated from the living God.
JUDGMENT AT THE THRONE OF GOD vss 11-15
vs 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
John depicts a scene is of endless majesty. He saw a great white throne. He also saw the One who sat on the throne. It is most probable that it is God the Father who is on the throne with God the Son at His right hand. The Father judges through the Son for according to John 5:22, He has committed all judgment to the Son. This is good news for believers but horrific news for Christ rejecters and false believers.
When the Judgment Day comes, God’s creation will be affected in such a way that the earth will undergo a complete change. At that moment catastrophic events of enormous proportions will happen, for the atmosphere will be rolled up like a scroll to be replaced by the new heavens and the new earth.
It is not the termination of creation but of its deliverance from bondage (Rom. 8:21). Not creation itself but the defects of the old order are removed to make place for the new.
vs 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
John is given a view of the last judgment, and he notices the dead standing before God’s throne. All those who have died since God pronounced the curse on the human race appear before the Judge of all the earth. All of them are raised from the dead to receive a sentence of acquittal or condemnation, of life or “second death.” All people great and small, that is, all human beings, appear before the Judge.
Most likely the books that were opened were the book of deeds, the Bible, and the book of life where the names of God’s elect are recorded.
For the believer, it is not because of his works but because of God’s electing grace that one’s name is recorded in the book of life. Although believers are responsible for their actions, they are forgiven through Christ. But those who have rejected Christ are held accountable for their words and deeds that testify against them.
vs 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Having claimed the lives of countless multitudes, the sea at God’s command gave up the dead that were in it. The sea is symbolic of a demonic power that holds the invisible graves of its victims.
The separate mention of the sea and death and Hades as giving up the dead in them is a way of indicating that all the dead are included. None is overlooked.
Only the elect (whose names were written in the book of life), were acquitted through the merits of Christ their Savior, all others were found guilty.
vs 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Hades, (adei) is the temporal place of torment and punishment where the unrepentant sinner goes to upon death.
Luke 16:22-24 22“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23“In Hades “adei” (NAS, NKJ, ESV translates adei Hades, NIV & KJV translates adei Hell) he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw* Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24“And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
Both death (which resulted from man’s fall into sin), and Hades (the place of temporal torment and punishment) will be thrown into the lake of fire (the place of final and eternal torment and punishment for the unrepentant sinner).
The redeemed die once “physically”, the unbeliever dies twice, “physically” and “eternally in the lake of fire”.
vs 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
John sees a sharp division of men; those who are saved and those who are lost. In the end men will either share the bliss of heaven or find their place in the lake of fire.
John comes to the conclusion of his judgment vision, and once more he stresses the destiny of the wicked. Their names are not recorded in the book of life, and therefore they are thrown into the lake of fire suffering what they deserve from a holy God.
