Revelation 20- millenium explained
Two broad
divisions in chapter in Charpter 20
A. Verses 1-6—Devil bound for 1000 years
1. Devil not able to deceive the nations
2. Those of the
first resurrection reign with Christ for a thousand years.
B. Verses 7-15 —After 1000 years, Devil is released
1.
Devil deceives the nations to battle the saints but fire from God
devours them, and Devil is cast
into lake of fire. (vs 7-10)
2. Judgment throne of God – everyone not written
in the Book of Life was cast into lake of fire, the second death (vs 11-15)
Revelation Chapter 20:
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, 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. 4 And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that 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; and they
lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. 5
‘But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection.’ 6 ‘Blessed and holy is he that has part in the
first resurrection: on such the second
death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with him a thousand years.’ 7 And when the thousand
years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the
four quarters of the earth, Gog, and
Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the
sand of the sea. 9 And they went up
on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints [Christians] 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. 11
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God; 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. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to
their works. 14 And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
COMMENTS AND NOTES by HGK
A thousand years (Revelation 20:1-6)
Verses 1- 6—tell
us that an angel of God with a large chain bound Satan for 1000 years. The
binding of Devil is not total, but limited so that Devil is no longer able to deceive
the nations (3). During this 1000 years, Christians who partake in the first
resurrection are not subject to the second
death, and they will be priests of God and will reign with Christ a
thousand years (6). Verse 14 explains that the second death is being cast into the lake of fire to be tormented
for ever. Verse 14 also says whosever’s name is not written in the book of life,
will be cast into the lake of fire. Philippians 4:3 says that brethren and
fellow workers in Christ have their names written in the book of life. Ephesians
2:5-8, it says that Christians who “were
dead in sins, [God] has “quickened” and “raised up” to sit in heavenly places with
Christ Jesus. This means that Christians who are born again, are people who
were spiritually “dead in sins” that are quickened [made alive] through faith in Christ. Romans 5:12 says that through Adam’s sin,
death spread to all men. Romans 6: 3-4
says through faith, Christians are raised up (from death in sin) to walk
in newness of life in the Spirit -- symbolized by baptism. Being quickened from spiritual death to
spiritual life, is a spiritual resurrection.
Revelation 1: 6 says Christ has made [past tense] us [Christians] to be
kings and priests to God; and to Him be
glory and dominion for ever. Therefore, the spiritual resurrection of born-again
Christians fulfill the description of those of first resurrection mentioned in Revelation
20 verse 6 who are exempt from the second death and who are priests of God who
reign with Christ-- for a thousand years.
What is the 1000 years? It is not likely to be exactly 1,000 years because,
in Psalms 50:10, God says He owns the ‘cattle on a
thousand hills;’ but we know that He actually owns all cattle on all hills; He
owns all of creation. So in this case the meaning of owning the cattle on a ‘thousand’
hills, cannot mean literally a ‘thousand’, but must represent a vast
number—likely too large to count. Therefore, it seems possible (or most
probable) that the ‘thousand’ years in Revelation 20 is a very long
time.
When does the 1000 years begin? The angel having the key to the bottomless pit may symbolize
Jesus’ defeat of the Devil by his death and resurrection. After his resurrection, Jesus was given all
authority in heaven and earth (Mat 28:18) with all angels, authorities and
powers subject to him (1 Pet 3:22). Eph 4:8 says ‘Christ ascended on high a led
Captivity (the Devil) captive and gave gifts to men.’ One of the gifts to men
include “the keys of the kingdom of heaven: that whatsoever we bind on earth
will be bound in heaven: and whatsoever we loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven (Matthew 16:19). Further. Christians are seated with Christ at the God’s
right hand far above all powers and principality (Eph 1:20 to Eph 2:6), given authority
to cast out demons (Mark 16:16) and
power to resist the Devil and put him to
flight (James 4:7). Mat 12:28-29
says “ if I [Jesus] cast
out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God
When does the 1000 years end? According to Revelation 20:7-11, the thousand years
ends with the release of Devil to deceive the nations to gather them to
battle against the saints [Christians], and when the saints are encompassed (surrounded), God in heaven sends fire down to destroy them followed
by the day of judgment of all the dead, great and small, at the great white
throne.
After a thousand years (Revelation 20:7-15)
Verses 7- 10 say “when the thousand
years are expired, Devil shall be loosed out of his prison for a short season
(vs 3) and deceive the nations to battle the saints [Christians]. Gog and Magog
and a huge number from the earth
surround the camp of the saints, the beloved city but fire from God in heaven devoured them; Devil, death and hell (vs 14) are all cast
into the lake of fire (where the beast and the false prophet are) to be
tormented for ever. The dead are resurrected to judgment. This agrees with Jude 6 which says “the angels
which kept not their first estate …. he has reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. The beloved city is the camp
of the saints—the Church, the city of God , the
heavenly Jerusalem
Verses 11-15 say “the dead,
small and great, stand before God at the great white throne…, and the dead will
be judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works.” All the dead (those in the sea, death and hell) will be delivered
up to be judged—everyone according to their
works (v 13), escept for those whose names are
in the Book of Life (14). Daniel 12:2 says there will be a resurrection of who are in the dust, the righteous and
unrighteous, at same time-- either to
everlasting life or everlasting contempt. Whoever’s name was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death (vs 15). Therefore,
whoever’s name is written in the book of life will not be thrown into
the lake of fire, but entered into everlasting life (Dan 12:2). Philippians 4:3 says that brethren and fellow
workers in Christ [i.e., Christians] have their names written in the book of
life.
Revelation 21: 5-8 says: “5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I [Jesus
Christ] make all things new. ... I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of
the water of life freely. 7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be
his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death.”
What does the Bible say about Gog and Magog? Gog was a
descendant of Reuben who defiled his father’ bed (1 Chronicles 5:1). Magog was
a son of Japheth (the son of Noah, Genesis 10:2). Ezekiel 38:2-5 says God was
against Gog, the land
of Magog Persia ,
Ethiopia and Libya to war against Israel Israel
Who is the beast? Verse 4 says: “I saw the souls of them that 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, and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Verse
10 says: “the Devil…was cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast
and the false prophet are.” From
verse 4, we learn that the beast was alive during the 1000 years when the Devil
was bound. The beast wanted to be worshipped, and the beast persecuted Christians
who refused. The was great tribulation for Christians John (the author of Revelation) said he
was a companion in tribulation (a the kingdom) with the Christians at that time
(Rev 1:9; 2:9). Further,
from verse 10, we learn that the beast was cast into the lake of fire before
the Devil at end of the 1000 years. Therefore the beast was man who was judged
before the Devil and the final judgment. Revelation 13:18 says the “calculate
the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; his number is 666. Upon
transliteration of Greek letters for Nero Caesar (Neron Kaisar) into
Hebrew (nrwn qsr), the numerical of these Hebrew letters equals 666.
Caesar Nero was the beast of Revelation. History confirms the
tribulation of first century Christians
who were under the military authority of Rome Rome
1000 years millennium —The 1000 years is often called the ‘millennium’ even
though the word is not in the Bible. It is also called the ‘Kingdom of God kingdom of God
What about Israel Israel , but
rather who is Israel Israel )
will not inherit the promises of God to Israel Israel , which are of Israel
All scriptures are from the King James Bible (KJV) with some modifications made by changing the ending of
some old English words to modern English, i.e., words ending in ‘-eth’ → ‘-s’,
‘-th’ → ‘-s’, etc.
Extra-Biblical Historical
References:
Documents on the Persecution
of the Early Church. Tacitus, Annals book 15 ch. 44 (circa A.D. 117).
Christians and the Great
Fire of Rome in A.D. 64 SOURCE: http://www.bible-researcher.com/persecution.html\
Documents on the Persecution
of the Early Church. 7. Libelli.
SOURCE:
http://www.bible-researcher.com/persecution.html
last revision 01/26/16
last revision 01/26/16
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