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A Bible Study:
The Revelation to John
May 30, 2006
A Study of the Revelation to John
A Study of the Revelation to John
By Bernie Parsons - May 30, 2006
A Study of Revelation Chapter 20:1-14
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Revelation 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. ************************************************************************
The bottomless pit, or abyss, was a pit thought to be even lower than the place of the dead. Satan is said to be bound for 1000 years. There has been much made of this 1000 years, amidst much disagreement. There are three major views on the 1000 years. Some say that the 1000 years is not literal—they say tht it merely means a long time. Others teach that events regarding this 1000 years are in the future. Still others see the 1000 years as being in the past.
For those who see it as in the past, the time period would have been roughly somewhere from about 90 AD or thereabouts, until close to 1100 AD.
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Revelation 20:4: 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. ************************************************************************
Remember the promises of reigning.
Matthew 19:28: “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
1 Corinthians 15:20: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23: But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24: Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25: For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27: For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28: And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”
2 Timothy 2:10: “Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11: It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”
Revelation 1:6: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 3:21: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
Revelation 5:8: “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9: And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10: And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Some see the 1000 reign as literal, with Christians reigning with Christ. If taken so, it is obvious that the rule is over people on the earth. Others say that it is figurative, and speaks of the fact that the apostles established the word of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore rule and reign in that sense.
However, the context makes it sound as if there is more to it than that. Notice that those who are beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, are named as among those who reign.
Some try to make the reigning take place on the earth, with Jesus literally sitting on the throne of David in the earthly city of Jerusalem. This is not what the Bible teaches. First of all, realize that the present city of Jerusalem is not the same whose streets Jesus and the apostles walked. Old Jerusalem is buried many feet below the present city.
New Jerusalem is of a spiritual nature, and the reign of Jesus is a spiritual reign. Jesus said in:
Luke 22: 29: “And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
30: That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
John 8:36: “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”
Luke 17:20: “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
1 Corinthians 15:50: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Hebrews 12:22: “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23: To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24: And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25: See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27: And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29: For our God is a consuming fire.”
The kingdom of God is not of this world, and is a spiritual kingdom. They are citizens of the kingdom who follow Christ. The kingdom of God is not seen with the natural eye, but exists within men. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. The kingdom of God has as its seat of power the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly city of God.
Galatians 4:26: “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Those who look for Jesus to sit on the earthly throne of David in Jerusalem on the earth are not paying attention to what the scriptures teach about the throne, the New Jerusalem, and the spiritual kingdom.
Since Jesus was to rule in a heavenly kingdom, not on the earth, then it naturally follows that those who would reign with Him would do so from the spiritual realm. Obviously, if the beheaded are to reign with Him, it will be in the heavenly world, not here on earth! John is told that the righteous will reign with Christ for a thousand years. These beheaded are those who did not bow to the idol worship of the Roman Empire.
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Revelation 20:5: 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 hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. ************************************************************************
In order for these beheaded to reign, it follows that they were alive. We see in verses 5 & 6, that these were resurrected in what is called the first resurrection. This passage has led to a lot of disagreement, conflicting doctrines, and animosity between those with opposing viewpoints.
Notice that those resurrected in the first resurrection will not be affected by the second death, and shall reign with Christ for a thousand years. Some argue that there is only a single resurrection from the dead. If so, it makes no sense at all to speak of a first resurrection. It would simply be called the resurrection. Others say that baptism is the first resurrection. This does not fit the context of these verses.
The phrase, “But the rest of the dead lived not again” signifies that some of the dead lived again, to reign a thousand years, while the remainder of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. If it refers to baptism, what does this all mean? What is the thousand years, why is it said that the beheaded lived to reign, while the rest did not live for another thousand years? Baptism is not the first resurrection mentioned here.
2 Timothy 2:18: “Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.”
Some try to use the preceding verse to do away with the idea of a first resurrection. However, the best evidence that Paul could have used would have been to write that, since they were all still on the earth, the resurrection could not have happened! Yet, he did not offer this defense. This shows that they expected a resurrection, after which people would still inhabit the earth!
Some, who argue for a future reign by Christ of a thousand years on earth, refer to it as a thousand years of peace, because Satan is to be bound during that time. However, there is absolutely no mention of one thousand years of peace. Furthermore, just because Satan would be bound does not mean that sin would cease.
If a drug cartel kingpin is put into prison, does drug smuggling stop? If an organized crime (mafia) leader is imprisoned, does crime stop? Man will sin, without Satan directing every move.
Genesis 6:5: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Genesis 8:21: “And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”
Jeremiah 10:23: “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”
Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Man sins without direct guidance or intervention of Satan.
James 1:14: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15: Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
There is more said about this thousand year period of time.
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Revelation 20:7: 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. ************************************************************************
Satan is said to be loosed upon completion of the thousand years, at which time he is active on earth again, gathering innumerable forces to battle.
Ezekiel 38:1: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2: Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3: And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7: Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.”
Ezekiel 38:14: Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15: And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18: And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19: For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20: So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21: And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22: And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23: Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Ezekiel 39:1: “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4: Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5: Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6: And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7: So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.”
Magog is identified as the region of Asia Minor, and perhaps to the east of it, as well. In the time of John’s writing of the Revelation, this area was under Roman rule. Interestingly, around 1100 AD, if that time frame is significant, there occurred the Crusades, in which soldiers, urged on by the Roman Catholic popes, fought with the Muslims over Jerusalem and the so-called Holy Land.
The Ezekiel account has those nations descending upon Israel to destroy it. This would correspond with what the nations, united under the Roman Empire, did to Judah. This seems to say that those attacking that land would be themselves utterly destroyed.
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Revelation 20:9: And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. ************************************************************************
Again, if the thousand years could be supposed to be literal, this could be a reference to the Crusades. The Crusaders from Europe attacked the Muslims in Israel, and Jerusalem, where they met with some defeats, and some successes. They ultimately lost out to the Muslims.
If this is not to be taken literally, of course the events of around 1100 AD would be irrelevant. At any rate, there is destruction (fire) from God. As we saw previously, God commonly used armies of various nations to be His fire against His enemies on earth.
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Revelation 20:10: 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. ************************************************************************
The devil is defeated in this battle, and is eternally sentenced to damnation. He goes the way of the Roman Empire in its two iterations, under the Claudians and the Flavians. They all go “into the lake of fire and brimstone” for eternal punishment.
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Revelation 20:11: 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. ************************************************************************
The great white throne is the throne of God, denoting His power and holiness.
Joel 2:10: “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11: And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
Ezekiel 15:7: “And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.”
The earth and heaven fled away refers to the great power of God, and His authority over all that is created, in heaven and earth. In other words, there is no entity in either region that can stand up to the judgment of God Almighty.
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Revelation 20:12: 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. ************************************************************************
Previously we read of a first resurrection, in which the righteous reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Now, after the thousand years, and after Satan is defeated, we read of a general resurrection of the dead. At this resurrection, the dead are judged according to what they have done.
Romans 2:3: “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
4: Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
5: But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
6: Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9: Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10: But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11: For there is no respect of persons with God.”
Romans 14:11: “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
John 5:26: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27: And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29: And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
We all shall face judgment, and shall give account of our deeds in this life.
Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
It matters not whether we shall all be confined until some future judgment, or whether we are judged as soon as we die. We shall all be judged! That is a certainty.
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Revelation 20:13: 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. ************************************************************************
All will be judged. The place of the departed spirits, or Hades, will be emptied, and those who were confined there will be judged according to their works. None will be excepted.
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Revelation 20:14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ************************************************************************
Once Hades is emptied, that realm of the dead, and that place of confinement will itself be destroyed, or done away with. Death is a cutting off, or an isolation from.
1 Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23: But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24: Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25: For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27: For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28: And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”
1 Corinthians 15:50: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54: So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
At the general resurrection of the dead, when mortality puts on immortality, then is death defeated by life in Christ.
2 Timothy 1:8: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10: But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”
Hebrews 2: 8: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9: But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
Some see Hebrews 2:9 as saying that death was not yet put under Jesus. I am not sure that this is the true context. It may well be saying that God was excepted from being put under Him, thus, “But now we see not yet all things put under Him” could mean that God was not put under Him. Refer back to 1 Corinthians 15:27, which reads ” For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.”
Nevertheless, there is some reference to a future destruction of death. If the 1000 years are literal, it might well be that when Hades was emptied, that it could be said that death was destroyed, as well as was Satan, who was relegated to eternal punishment.
Hebrews 2:14: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15: And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage”
The resurrection of Jesus proved both life after death, and the fact of resurrection from the dead. This broke the stranglehold that Satan held on the world—that is, the fear of death, which caused many to sin, since they felt that life was done when the body died. Once this hold was broken, there was no reason to continue confining souls to Hades. Instead, Hades was closed down.
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