Vision Seven - The Consummation
Revelation 19:6 - 22:6
The passage to follow is the only reference in all of scripture of the "millennium," the thousand-year reign
of Christ. This is one of the most divisive and debated theological issues relating to the End Time. Given that John discusses it very
briefly, I believe that he intended it to be a parable within the imagery of the end, showing God's incredible grace, and that the
debates of pre-millennialism and post-millennialism miss the mark badly. See the section on "Interpretation for the End Time" for
more discussion of this issue.
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
The word here for "chain" is the same as the chains that shackled Paul in
2 Timothy 1:16 and Peter in
Acts 12:6, a specific
Greek word meaning a chain to imprison a person. In this image, God gave this angel total authority over Satan.
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 ["a little while"].
The symbolism of a thousand years is 10x10x10, meaning a divinely (three-fold) complete time, for as
long as God intended it to be. It also sounds like
2 Peter 3:8 and and
Psalm 90:40, "For a thousand
years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past or like a watch in the night."
With the abyss shut, there are no more evil, demonic forces -- what a relief! Satan was not imprisoned to be punished, but so that
the nations would not be deceived. Notice the necessity of Satan being loosed again. Why? We don't understand the moral law behind
what is meant, but we get a similar thought in
Isaiah 24:21-23, where those
in rebellion against God are shut up in prison, then later punished.
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.
Once Satan is locked up, Christ, with the faithful martyrs raised to positions of honor, rules over the earth for 1000
years. Some translations read that the martyrs were judges over the earth, but the better translation for the phrase is that they
were given righteousness -- remember that even their sacrifice is not enough to "earn" salvation. Some also read this as not just
the martyrs but all the believers, depending on how the two qualifications given are interpreted.
Where are these thrones -- on earth or in heaven? Within the time line of this vision, it would seem these are on earth. However, it
would be consistent with the earlier visions that the martyrs are honored in heaven, and the passage does say John saw the "souls,"
not the "bodies," of those who had been beheaded.
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.
There are theological contradictions with requiring a literal first and a second resurrection. John here implies
a second resurrection by the mention of the resurrection of the beheaded before the 1000 year reign and the rest later. In the rest of the book, John talks of only one resurrection.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
has a resurrection of the dead believers, and those along with the living believers caught up in the air to be with Jesus.
John 5:28-29 has a
resurrection of all the dead, both believing and unbelieving. It is easier to see John's descriptions as figurative, and part of the
demonstration of God's complete victory than it is to consider this as John's contradiction of earlier teachings.
John's real point is to compare the first resurrection with the second death, and warning that there is no resurrection from
the second death. The first death is physical, but the second death is spiritual. The spiritual death is the same, maybe even a
more accurate but less descriptive explanation, of the "outer darkness" and "lake of fire" used elsewhere for the final judgement.
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.
After the imprisonment, Satan is back to what he was doing before -- deceiving people. Notice he goes to nations in
the four corners of the earth, a sign of evil as with the evil winds in Revelation 7:1. The nations of Gog and Magog are presented in
Ezekiel 38:2 as the
prototypical enemies of the Messiah. In this way, we can interpret this passage as showing that the fulfillment of the protection
of Israel in Ezekiel 38-39 does not take place during history for Israel but at the End Time for the completion of God's plan.
Why would God release Satan again? To me, this passage describes both incredible patience of God, and the incredibly stubborn
and rebellious nature of humanity. John portrays Jesus as ruling the entire world, a world without Satan's influence, for
1000 years -- what a wonderful place that would be! However, the people in the world are so evil that as soon as Satan is released
from captivity, large numbers of people are eager to reject Jesus and follow the weaker Satan in rebellion against Jesus. John
wants us to understand that over and over again God has given us an absurd number of opportunities to accept his love and grace,
and if we don't, we will be eternally separated from him, because we will have demonstrated repeatedly our unwaveringly choices for evil.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the [military] camp of the saints 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.
Once again, the defeat of Satan was sudden and powerful, completely overwhelming the leagues arrayed
against God's people. Fire from heaven resembles the fire came down on Sodom and Gomorrah in
Genesis 19:24 and
like Elijah called down on his would-be captors in
2 Kings 1:10. God's power
is so awesome that they are defeated before the battle has a chance to begin, and God's people never had to lift a weapon.
Again, this lake of fire is the final judgement for Satan. Note the progression, where Satan is thrown out of Heaven in
Revelation 12:9, locked away for 1000 years in Revelation 20:2, and now ultimately defeated in this passage.
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 white throne represents God's complete purity, similar to the description of the throne of the Ancient One in
Daniel 7:9. God's presence
fully revealed is so pure and intense that the old, corrupted earth and sky were driven away, and all that is left is the spiritual.
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 [better Hades, the place of the dead] delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Now comes the final judgement where all have been resurrected -- no one escapes final judgement, no
matter where or how they died.
There are several books presented in heaven. One set of books has a record of all that we have done, similar to the books described in
Daniel 7:10 after
the image of the Ancient One's throne.
Malachi 3:16 presents
a slightly different twist on these records, as God has his angels write in a book of remembrance about those who revere the Lord. This
is true "justice," that we are accountable for all that we do, that nothing is done in secret. However, there is also the "book of life,"
of grace, referenced by Paul in
Philippians 4:3, and
promised by Jesus in Revelation 3:5 in the letter to the church of Sardis.
14 And death and hell [Hades] 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.
By this time, there is no more death and no more need for a "waiting room" for the dead. Notice this is the
pair seen in the image of the fourth horseman, now shown to be the last enemy defeated.
Hebrews 2:15 promises
that God will destroy the devil and "free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death." By calling this the "second
death," John identifies this as the time when there are no more "last chances."
Notice that the only way to salvation is through the book of life. The books of our history are present, but nothing anyone has done
will free them from separation from God, except accepting God's grace in the gift of eternal life.
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