Revelation Chapter 20
Can you imagine what it will be like to live on this earth where there is no devil and no ruling evil one? This will be the way things are on earth at the end of the Tribulation, and it will last for a thousand years. Who will be reigning during those one thousand years? It will be Jesus Christ our Savior and King. This will be His Millennial Reign.
Jeremiah 30:8-9And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Let's Reflect
1. Where will the devil be for the thousand years following the Tribulation?
2. The devil will not be able to deceive the nations any longer. So many people have believed his lies for so long. With the devil out of the picture you would think that all people would turn to Christ, but sadly many do not. They still have the sin nature, and they still have a choice – a choice to reject Jesus. It has always bothered me that God is going to allow the devil to be released at the end of the 1,000 years. What does the Bible say about how long he will be released for? The devil will have a long time to put together a plan for when he gets out of the pit. He will have one last plan to overthrow the King of kings. Has it bothered you also that God allows this to happen? As I thought on this, I began to think about something God has said many times in scripture, and I think I have found the answer. There have been many times that God has done some pretty miraculous things throughout the pages of the Bible, things seen by the eyes of men and women and always with this purpose, “that they may know that I am GOD!” I think God is going to allow this final show-down to prove to mankind that He is GOD and not the devil. What do you think?
3. Present during the millennial reign will be the resurrected souls of those who died during the Tribulation with their new resurrected bodies. So on the earth will be people who survived the Tribulation and those who are resurrected believers. These resurrected believers, some of them martyred for their faith and some that died by other means during the Tribulation, are given the distinct honor of sharing in the first resurrection. The first resurrection is a group of believers that encompasses those believers who had previously died (who are at once with the Lord), the raptured church (already in heaven), and saints from the Great Tribulation. All of these will be given a new resurrected body, and they will share in the Millennial Reign of whom? A second resurrection is coming later and is discussed in this chapter.
“During the Millennium, Israel will be the superpower of the world, the leading nation in all the earth, and the center of Israel will be the mountain of the LORD’s house – the temple mount, which will be the “capital” of the government of the Messiah. All nations shall flow to the “capital” of Jesus’ government (Isaiah2:1-3, Ezekiel 17:22-24)” [Guzik]
“Let us rejoice that Scripture is so clear and so explicit upon this great doctrine of the future triumph of Christ over the whole world … We believe that the Jews will be converted, and that they will be restored to their own land. We believe that Jerusalem will be the central metropolis of Christ’s kingdom; we also believe that all the nations shall walk in the light of the glorious city which shall be built at Jerusalem. We expect that the glory which shall have its center there, shall spread over the whole world, covering it as with a sea of holiness, happiness, and delight. For this we look with joyful expectation.” [Spurgeon]
4. Verse 7-9 tells us about the release of the devil. And he will gather his troops together, unbelievers on the earth who have rejected Christ. And believe it or not that is still a lot of people. How is the number described of those who will follow the devil into battle?
5. What will happen at this battle of Gog and Magog fighting against the King?
6. The next event is called the Great White Throne Judgement. This is the final judgement for all those who have not accepted Christ as their Savior. What will happen to all those not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? And by what sins are they judged?
7. Notice that prior to this judgement there is a second resurrection found in verse 12. All those who have died previously that did not accept Christ are raised from the dead, given an eternal resurrected body and they are judged. What is the eternal place of judgement called where all those who have rejected Jesus will spend eternity?
