Revelation 20:1-10 - A Certain Judgment and Sentencing

Revelation 20:1-10

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over 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.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed (Ezekiel 38; 39)

7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

These things must come to pass after the dragon Satan is put in chains and thrown into the bottomless pit for a time represented here as a thousand years, though symbolism could be used for the exact interpretation of the word year.  What is important and relevant to our understanding is that after the beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire as a final end, we see in a vague way how the dragon named as the Devil and Satan is to be incarcerated by God’s decree using another angel to lock him up for this thousand year sentence before he is also forever put down into the same lake of tormenting fire prepared for him already (Matthew 25:41) and for all those who choose not to worship the Almighty God through His Son who has the only keys (Revelation 1:18) to eternal life and death.  Where we enter depends on us being in Christ before death (Hebrews 9:27-28) or not.  Those who are deceived by the serpent of old who led us into sin in the Garden of Eden will spend eternal life as a living death of torment where they cry out to die but cannot because they refused to believe the gospel of God’s living word (John 8:24, 12:48, 50, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4) and turn from serving their sin to following Him (Mark 1:15, Acts 17:30-31) in willing obedience.  We are called to learn from the disobedience of the angels who have no opportunity to repent as we do (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6, Revelation 12:9) that we may turn and not burn forever as His wrath on our sin; this is told us as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience and disbelief in worshiping any other but Him who made us for Himself.  Those of us who have turned to Jesus Christ as the Son of God and our Passover Lamb of eternal forgiveness by covering our sin with His righteousness will be ruling with the Lord for this first thousand years over the world, and then worship before His throne come to rest upon a new earth purged of the presence of sin forevermore after the dragon is released for the last time from the bottomless pit and cast forever into the lake of fire with the everlasting reminder of his cosmic rebellion against the sovereign King of kings and Lord over all lords on Heaven and earth.  We who know the Lord will not worship the beast as the created over the Creator, nor will we take the number of the beast to identify as his in body or soul, but remain true to worship the only God and no mere idol of any kind and serve as priests to the Lord God.  That is why we are able to rule under Him over these as told here.  The mystery is how only those who endure this will avoid the second death and reign and for a thousand years but the rest of God’s children in Christ have to wait that thousand years to be bodily resurrected to join these first ones.  What we do see here however this plays out is that when this time period is over that the devil will be released to deceive more people and gather another army to fight against God and the world but be soundly and forever defeated by fire from heaven and imprisoned eternally in the lake of fire where his former minions, the beast and false prophet, are already incarcerated.  They will be tormented day and night forever and ever, as will all who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God who has redeemed them and kept them for Himself (John 5:24) and out of this irreversible (Hebrews 9:27-28) judgment.  We will have no second chance after we die as some continue the lie just as the deceiver wants us to do and join him apart from God whom he rejected and rebelled against as if to take God’s place (Isaiah 14:13-14) and throne, which is impossible as a created being.  The devil will not ascend to God’s place to rule (Isaiah 14:15-16) but be looked at in astonishment after his defeat with wonder at how he ever thought such a rebellion was ever possible.  There is a certain judgment and sentencing forever for such who are deceived into not trusting the Son of God for covering their sin to enter in to God’s kingdom and presence.   Such pride keeps many people from the Lord as well in believing the deception.  Do not be one of them!