Introductory remarks:
In the last chapter we saw that the earth was rid of all the undesirable elements and the Beast [Antichrist] and the False Prophet were cast into the Lake of Fire, making the earth ready for Christ to set up His righteous reign for one thousand years. The last thing that has to be accomplished is for Satan, that old serpent, The Devil, will be bound and cast into the 'abyss' for one thousand years, until the reign of Christ to be accomplished, and then loosed for a season, in order to make his last grand stand play against our Lord. The term 'Millennium' is Latin for a 'thousand'; and in the Greek it is 'chilia'. In the early church those who believed in a literal physical reign of Christ on earth were known as Chiliasts. Among those who believed in this 1000 year reign of Christ were Tertullian, Polycarp, and Ireneus; these men were all disciples of the apostle John; the ones who opposed this 1000 year physical reign of Christ were known as amillenialists. Whenever the 'a' is prefixed to a word it negates the word, that is, these men did not believe in a literal physical 1000 year reign; that is, they believed the 1000 year reign was spiritual. This allegorical method of spiritualizing the scriptures was made popular by Origen who was a professor emeritus [honorably retired professor and still on the rolls] at the seminary in Alexandria in the second century a.d.. This method was adopted by the great Roman Catholic teacher Augustine, and thus was adopted by the Mother Church and is to this day still using this spiritualizing method. (To get a full picture of this whole issue I would suggest that one read the 'Methods of Biblical Interpretation [hermeneutics] presented in Dwight D. Pentecost's book 'Things to Come'). We who claim to be evangelical Christians also use the Grammatical-Historical method of interpreting the Bible literally, and therefore we are known in theological circles as pre-millenialists. Anyone who does not have access to this book and would like to get one please call me.
In the first three verses of this chapter a thousand years is mentioned six times and as J. Vernon McGee puts it: "How many times does God have to say something for it to be believed."
The Thousand Years
Verse 1, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand."
LGT "And I saw an angel come down out of the heaven having the key to the abyss and a great chain upon his hand."
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven,"
An angel of great authority is commissioned from the throne room of heaven to come down and cast Satan into the abyss.
"Having the key of the bottom less pit"
This is literally: having the key to the abyss. "The abyss was a vast cavern beneath the earth, sometimes the place where all the dead went, sometimes the place where special sinners were kept awaiting punishment. It was reached by a chasm down into the earth - and this the angel locks in order to keep the devil in the abyss.
It was the abyss which the devils [demons] feared most of all. In the story of the man from Gerasene who was possessed by devils, the request of the devils was that Jesus would command them to leave the man to go out into the deep, that is, the abyss (Luke 8:31)"
The seal is set on the chasm to ensure the safe-keeping of the prisoner, just as the seal was set in the tomb of Jesus to make sure that He would not escape [or that no one would be able to steal the body]" (William Barclay).
"And a great chain in his hand."
The idea here is that John states that it was a great chain, symbolizes that Satan was possessed of great strength; but when God binds something, we can be sure it is bound, and escape would be impossible. We read in 2 Peter 2:4: For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
Verse 2, "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,"
LGT "And he seized with force the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is [the] Devil and the Satan, and bound him a thousand years,"
"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,"
The Greek word for 'laid hold' is ekratesen, which means, seized with force. Evidently Satan will put up a resistance, but to no avail, for his power has been reduced to naught. At one time in past history Satan was very powerful for we read in Jude 9: Yet Michael, the archangel, when contending with the Devil he disputed about the body of Moses, [dared] not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. And again we studied in Revelation 12:7-9: And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon, and the Dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great Dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
In heaven Satan was very powerful at one point, however, not powerful enough to remain there after his great sin of pride against God; now he is seized and chained in the abyss by one angel. Satan, in the form of a serpent started his deception with Eve in Paradise, Genesis chapter three, and some six thousand plus years later we are still seeing the effects of his deception, for the first pair's sin was passed on down to every member of the human race: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned (Romans 5:12). There is a wonderful note in the Scofield Reference Bible, page 1217 that explains this universality of sin: "The first sin wrought the moral ruin of the race. The demonstration is simple (1) Death is universal (Rom. 5:12,14); all die - little children, moral people, and religious people equally with the depraved. For a universal effect there must be a universal cause; that cause is a state of universal sin (v. 12). (2) But this universal state must have had a cause. It did. The consequence of Adam's sin was that the 'many were made sinners' (v. 19): 'by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men unto condemnation' (v. 18). (3) Personal sins are meant here. From Adam to Moses death reigned (v. 14) although, there being no law, personal guilt was not imputed (v. 13). Accordingly from Gen. 4:7 to Ex. 29:14 the sin offering is not once mentioned. Then, since physical death from Adam to Moses was due to the sinful acts of those who die (v. 13), it follows that it was due to a universal sinful state, or nature, and that state is declared to be our inheritance from Adam. And (4) the moral state of fallen man is described in Scripture (Gen. 6:5; 1Kings 8:46; Psa. 14:1-3; Jer. 17:9; Mt. 7:20-23; Jn. 3:6; Rom 1:21; 2:1-29; 3:9-19; 7:24; 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 3:14; 4:4; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 2:1-3, 11-12; 4:18-22; Col. 1:21; Heb. 3:13; Jas. 4:4)."
"Which is the Devil,"
The Greek word for devil is diabolos meaning 'false accuser' and 'slanderer.' Theime notes: "Satan accuses believers in heaven today and Jesus Christ is our defense attorney (Paraclete) in heaven - see 1 John 1:8,10)."
"And Satan,"
The Greek word for Satan is satanas meaning enemy/adversary - and enemy of God. Theime outlines Satan's mission: Satan is the:
Enemy of mankind in general - the original murderer - John 8:44
Enemy of Bible doctrine - Matthew 13:9, 39
Enemy of the unbeliever - Luke 8:12
Enemy of the Church - Revelation 2:9,13,24
Enemy of Christ - Revelation 12:4
Enemy of Israel
Theime goes on to note: "Artists have deceived us forever. A 'Drakon' was the word for a beautiful translucent creature. Satan is said to have been the most beautiful creature God ever created. He has a voice like a pipe organ. He has fantastic genius. This is not some ugly creature with a long tail and spits fire. In Isaiah 14:12, the KJV says Satan's original name was Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. But literally his correct name/title was 'the morning star . . . the Son of the Dawn'. This was a very high title. After he fell, Jesus in His Hypostatic Union was given the title of the Son of the Morning - very close in title. Passages on Satan include: Ezekiel 28:12-15, Isaiah 14:12-15."
"And bound him a thousand years,"
Satan is bound and cast into the abyss [the prison], a better description than the bottomless pit. He will remain in prison, bound [symbolic of impotence] until the thousand-year reign of Christ is fulfilled, and then he will be loosed for a season. With Satan bound he will be unable to bother mankind on the earth, as he has done since the beginning of man's existence. The question has been asked, 'If Satan is bound, and he is impotent, will there be any sin on the earth during the Millennium, and if there is no sin, why does Christ have to rule with 'a rod of iron?' The answer is man will still have his sin nature inherited from Adam, as noted in the first part of this verse in Scofield's note. You see, kids, in this Age of Grace' we are struggling with our own flesh and not so much a Satanic attack. Satan as ruler of this world uses all types of distractions for us to get us to think materialistically rather than spiritually. The only way we can combat the 'lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life' is with Bible Doctrine, and that is why these Bible studies of ours are so important. We must keep pace with studies to be victorious and win our crowns.
Verse 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."
LGT "And he cast him into the abyss and shut him [up], and sealed [it] over, in order that he should no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years should be fulfilled: after these things it is necessary he be loosed for a little time."
"And cast him into the bottomless pit,"
This is literally the 'abyss', gr. abusson. "The word bottomless, abusos - whence our word abyss - means properly without any bottom (from 'a' preceding 'buthos', meaning depth, or bottom). It would be applied properly to the ocean, or to any deep and dark dell [hollow], or to any obscure place whose depth was unknown. Here it refers to Hades - the region of the dead - the abode of the wicked spirits - as a deep, dark place, whose bottom was unknown. Having the key to this is to have the power to confine those who are there, or permit them to go at large" (Barnes). This abyss is a compartment of Tartarus where the fallen angels of Genesis six are held. A state of peace and prosperity could exist as Satan is bound up for a thousand years.
"And shut him up, and set a seal upon him,"
The gate of the abyss is actually sealed; every precaution is taken to insure Satan's captivity.
"That he should deceive the nations no more,"
Satan is the 'Prince of the Power of the Air' going about to deceive the nations, then he will be sealed in Hades for a thousand years. All Bible understanding Christians today rejoice in this blessed hope.
"Till the thousand years should be fulfilled:"
Satan is held captive for one thousand literal years. As I mentioned before there are many commentators who believe this thousand years is strictly symbolical; however, in my Greek New Testament the word 'thousand' gr. chilia is preceded by the article ta, and the grammatical rule is when the article precedes the word it specifies that word; so, here we have a specific 'one thousand years' meant, not a mere symbolical 'thousand.' William Barclay says "the word thousand simply means a very large number." He says this in order to support his 'amillennial' [there will not be a physical reign of Christ on earth] position. Here again we have the importance of the Grammatical-Historical literal interpretation of the Scriptures. This method is known as exegesis [ex - reading out of the Scriptures], whereas the spiritual or allegorical method is eisegesis [eis - reading into the Scriptures], in order to support a pre-conceived position.
"And after that he must be loosed a little season."
After the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, Satan is loosed for a 'little season', gr. micron chronon, literally, 'a little time.' "By all that surrounds this phrase it would seem that this last rebellion of Satan would not last long. After that he must be loosed for a little time is one of the imponderable statements of Scripture. Why is Satan loosed after God once had him put in the abyss in chains? Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer's answer to this question is significant: 'If you will tell me why God let him loose in the first place, I'll tell you why God let him loose in the second place.' Why did God let him loose? God has a great purpose in it. This is the great problem of evil: Why has God permitted it? Well, I believe that God is working out a tremendous program, which is the mystery of God that is yet to be revealed to us. It is going to be revealed someday, and all He is asking us to do is walk with Him by faith. We need to trust God and know that whatever He is doing is right" (McGee).
Verse 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 received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
LGT "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them and judgment was given them, and the souls of the ones beheaded on account of their testimony of Jesus and on account of the Word of God, and those who would not worship the beast neither his image, and would not receive the mark upon the forehead and upon the hand; And they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years."
"And I saw thrones,"
Here John is beginning another prophetic vision. These thrones are reserved for judgment.
"And they sat upon them:"
It is not stated by John who sat on these thrones of judgment, but whoever they were, they were entrusted with judgment; it is stated in 1 Corinthians 6:2, where Paul asks the question: "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" It is inferred in some way that the saints will be involved in this judgment. It seems from this that the saved of all ages that took part in the first resurrection [that is, when Christ was resurrected] are meant here.
"And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God,"
Those who were killed by the edict of the Beast will be rewarded with a thousand years of reigning with Christ. McGee notes: "the martyrs who were persecuted for three and one half years will in exchange reign with Christ for one thousand years, a very good exchange."
"And which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his image,"
These are the believers who refused anything to do with the Beast as his arrogant claims.
"Neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;"
These are the ones who could not buy or sell, or enter into any kind of business, because they refused to wear the Mark of the Beast.
I get a little put out with those who say all this is symbolical; we believers have a wonderful time ahead, and to spiritualize it all away as an allegory is to miss the blessings God intended for us here and now.
"And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
This is one of the great promises in this Book. The Old Testament saints and the martyred saints will reign here on this earth with Christ. I for one believe in the 'Literal - Grammatical - Historical' interpretation of God's Word.
"The thrones are literal; the martyrs are literal; Jesus is literal; the Word of God is literal; the Beast is literal; the image is literal; the mark of the Beast is literal; their foreheads and their hands are literal; and the thousand years are literal; it is all literal. A thousand years means a thousand years. If God meant that it was eternal, I think He would have said so. If He meant it was five hundred years, He would have said so. Cannot God say what He means? Of course He can, and when He says a thousand years, He means a thousand years" (McGee).
Verse 5, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
LGT "The rest of the dead ones lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection."
"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished."
This to me could only be the unsaved of the Tribulation Period, and also the unbelievers throughout history. The 'rest of the dead' will be resurrected to stand before God at the 'Great White Throne of Judgment.'
"This is the first resurrection."
The resurrection of the Tribulation martyrs [verse 4] is the 'first resurrection.' This resurrection will occur before the thousand-year reign of Christ. There will be many believers both Jew and Gentile that will enter the Millennium in their natural bodies. These will be the ones who will propagate during this reign.
"Multitudes of both Israel and the Gentiles will enter the kingdom in natural bodies, not having died. These are the ones, together with those who are born during the Millennium, who are tested during this millennial period [each dispensation is and age of specific testing of God under various economies]. As Christ in a glorified body mingled with His apostles and followers, so the church in glorified bodies will mingle with the multitudes in their natural bodies here on the earth. In glorified bodies, the church will be able to move out into space. That will be the first time I will do any space traveling, I can assure you of that. Gravitation will not be able to grab me by the seat of my pants and pull me back to earth in that day" (McGee).
Verse 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."
LGT "Blessed and holy [is] the one having part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him a thousand years."
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:"
The Greek word for 'blessed' is makarios, meaning happy, that is, the reason of their happiness will be the favor given of God's wonderful grace. The phrase 'hath part' is gr. echon meros meaning 'to share the experience with the others.' All of us who will be raptured will be participants in this blessing. Of course the word 'holy' means that we all will be 'sanctified' set apart unto God. This is a positional truth that will be our possession throughout eternity. The reason for this happiness will be explained in the next phrase. The term 'the first resurrection' starts with the resurrection of Christ, and includes the rapture of the Church, which I believe will take place before the seven years of Jacob's Trouble, that is, the seven year Tribulation Period, and then the resurrection of the Tribulation Saints that will be martyred during the last forty-two months of the Tribulation.
"On such the second death hath no power,"
I like the saying: "I was born twice in order to only die once." Those who are not born again will die not only physically, but will face the second death of the lake of fire for eternity.
"The 'second death' is properly the death which the wicked [the opposite of the 'holy' in the last phrase] will experience in the world of woe. The meaning here is, that all who are here referred to as having part in the first resurrection will be secure against that. It will be one of the blessed privileges of heaven that there will be absolute security against DEATH in any every form; and when we think of what death is here, and still more when we think of 'the bitter pains of the second death,' we may well call that state 'blessed' in which there will be eternal exemption from either" (Barnes).
"But they shall be priests of God and of Christ,"
This phrase that they will be 'priests of God' seems to me to be that the Old Testament saints who were under the economy of the Priesthood, until Christ fulfilled the 'law' by becoming the Supreme Sacrifice for the sins of the world; Christ put an end to the Old Testament Sacrificial Program by being made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him; after Christ's finished work on the Cross, He was resurrected, and He ascended to His rightful place at 'the right hand of God', and He is there at the present making intercession for all believers. These Old Testament Saints along with the tribulation saints will be 'Priests' on earth during Christ's earthly reign.
"And shall reign with Him a thousand years."
"The tribulation saints and the Old Testament saints will evidently reign on this earth with Christ. I believe that David will be His vicegerent. The church, which is the bride of Christ, will reside in the New Jerusalem where she reigns with Him from that exalted place and, I believe, over a great deal of God's creation. Christ will commute from the New Jerusalem to the old Jerusalem on this earth. And I suppose that the church also will travel back and forth between its heavenly home and the earth" (McGee).
The Defeat of Satan
Verse 7, "And when the thousand years were expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,"
LGT "And whenever the thousand years are finished, Satan will be loosed out of his prison."
After the thousand years, the shackles will be taken off Satan, and you can imagine the hatred he has seething inside of him, planning the overthrow of the One who put the chains on him; he will gather the nations of the world against the Great God.
Verse 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."
LGT "And will go out to deceive the nations, which [are] in the four corners of the earth, the Gog and Magog, gathering them together unto the battle, of whom the number of them, as it were, the sand of the sea."
"And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth,"
Satan, after being held in chains for one thousand years, will go out to deceive the nations of the earth. The nations that will be willingly deceived will be the ones who refuse to participate in Christ's perfect environment. There will be multitudes born during the Millennium who will be tested but will refuse to accept Christ under this perfect environment God began. God has tested man with every type of an environment possible, and man, outside of God's grace has failed. Man will always fail as long as he attempts to save himself by his own worthless works. In the 'Garden of Eden' in the 'Dispensation of Innocence' Adam and Eve failed; in the 'Anti-deluvian' civilization, that is, the civilization before the flood that made up the 'dispensation of conscience; failed; the dispensation from Abraham to Moses, known
As the dispensation of 'Human Government' failed; the dispensation from Moses to Christ, known as the 'Dispensation of the Law' failed; The dispensation from Christ to the destruction of the temple, known as the 'Dispensation of the Spirit' failed; from the destruction of the Temple, and the completion of the Scriptures to the rapture of the Church, known as the 'Dispensation of Grace, is failing; The dispensation we are presently studying, the 'Dispensation of the Millennium' that is, perfect environment under the perfect rulership of the Messiah, will also fail. God has used every possible 'Dispensation' for testing mankind and man has failed; there is only one provision for man to escape eternal ruin, and that is free grace; man has only one path, that is, 'Faith alone in Christ alone'.
We read in Isaiah 11:12 that Christ's sets up His Millennial Kingdom in the 'four corners of the earth', and this is where Satan will roam to find his followers in his last attempt to knock God off His throne. "Man, under powerful temptations, would be liable to be deluded by the great master spirit that has so often corrupted the race. Once more he would be permitted to make the trial, and then his power would for ever come to an end" (Barnes).
"Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle:"
Gog and Magog is used here for the 'Battle of Armageddon' after the Thousand-Year reign of Christ by John, because of the Battle of the Northern Confederacy upon Israel in the middle of the tribulation Period described in Ezekiel 38, and 39. Gog and Magog was also used by Ezekiel in describing that war, but there is a distinct difference; Dwight D. Pentecost illustrates the differences in his book 'Things to Come:
"There are a number of considerations that make it clear that this invasion by Gog (Ezekiel 38) is not the same as the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 20:8):
(7)In the battle of Gog definite allies are mentioned, while in Armageddon all nations are engaged (Joel 3:2; Zeph. 3:8; 14:4).
(8)Gog comes from the North (Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2), while at Armageddon the armies come from the whole earth.
(9)Gog comes to take spoil (Ezek. 38:11, 12), while at Armageddon the nations assemble to destroy the people of God.
(10)There is protest against Gog's invasion (Ezek. 38:13), but at Armageddon there is no protest for all nations are joined against Jerusalem.
(11)Gog is the head of the armies in his invasion (Ezek. 38:7), but at Armageddon the Beast is the head of the invasion (Rev. 19:19).
(12)Gog is overthrown by convulsions of nature (Ezek. 38:22), but the armies at Armageddon are destroyed by the sword that goes out from Christ's mouth (Rev. 19:15).
(13)Gog's armies are arrayed in the open field (Ezek. 39:5), while at Armageddon they are seen in the city of Jerusalem (Zech. 14:2-4).
(14)The Lord calls for assistance in executing judgment on Gog (Ezek. 38:21), while at Armageddon He is viewed as treading the winepress alone (Isa. 63:3).
It seems then, that what John is portraying to us is that there will be two parts to Satan's final assault; one during the Tribulation, and than his final assault after the Millennium; Gog and Magog number 1 and then Gog and Magog number 2.
"The number of whom is as the sand of the sea."
During the thousand years of peace there will be hoards born who will follow Satan; remember, there will not be sickness as we now have; there will be peace restored as in the 'Garden'; Isaiah describes this time as a real utopia; and still men will think Satan can improve upon Christ's system. "The first time Satan tried to improve God's perfect environment was in the Garden, the second time is here in the Millennium" (Theime).
"Apart from some comprehension of the depth of depravity of the human heart there is no understanding how a multitude, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea, could revolt against the Lord Jesus Christ, when they have lived under His beneficence all their lives. But in this rebellion it is demonstrated once again that God is just when He judges sin. And the judgment comes in the form of physical death, through the pouring out of fire, on all the rebels assembled under Satan's leadership. In this manner God removes all unbelief from the theocratic kingdom in anticipation of its merger with the eternal kingdom of God" (J. Dwight Pentecost).
Verse 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."
LGT "And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and encircled the camp of the saints and the city, the beloved one, and fire came down out of heaven and devoured them."
"And they went up on the breadth of the earth,"
The term 'breadth' is literally, epi to platos, over all the earth; this simply stated is that this hoard of barbarians spread over the whole land.
"And compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city:"
Evidently the saints remaining encompass Jerusalem to fend off Satan's final attack in Armageddon. The term ' the camp of the saints' gr. ten parembolen ton hagion, "is common late word for military camp, in LXX for the Israelites in the desert (Ex. 29:14, etc.), in the N.T. for Roman barracks (Acts 24:34, 37) and for an army in line of battle (Heb. 11:34; Rev. 20:9)" (Robertson).
"And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."
What a wonderful climax to Satan's final attack on God. This quick consuming of the defiant nations led by Satan shows how ridiculously futile their attempt to conquer is.
Verse 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."
LGT "And the devil, the one who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and of brimstone, where also the beast and the false prophet [are], and will be tormented day and night into the ages of the ages [that is, forever and ever]."
For those who don't take the book of Revelation literally, all I can say from this passage is, 'good luck'.
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire"
I remember talking with a Mormon in Washington state, where I was working in the Tri-cities, about the reality of a literal hell; of course he said, We Mormon's don't believe in hell; we believe that the grave is hell; we don't believe that a gracious God would allow any one of His creatures to experience eternal flame; we believe that in the final analysis everyone will be in heaven; we believe there are many different strata's of heaven. Now I know that this moron didn't really know much about the Mormon belief system, because the elders of the religion don't even know what they believe. I answered him with these verses in Revelation about fire and brimstone, because John presents a very vivid picture of the reality of a 'Lake with fire and brimstone.' By the way, I didn't get to first base with the guy in Washington. I believe when a person has set his heart against God, even His Word cannot convince. I concluded my conversation with him saying, that if I were a Mormon, on my way to hell, I wouldn't want to believe in a literal 'Lake of Fire' either. The Word of God will either convince or convict; I like what Lewis Sperry Chafer said about God's Word: "The Word of God is not a Book that man could write if he would, nor would write if could." The Bible saves everyone who believes and condemns everyone who does not believe; now, why would man write a book that would condemn himself; man only writes books that have a Pollyanna future in store; man would never write a book that would not tolerate sin in any form; man wants to feel good about himself; man only wants to see himself as a winner; The Word of God presents man as a looser on his way to hell; God has made a provision for man in His only begotten Son who died on the cross for his salvation; man would never present man in this form of desperate need as God does; this is the reason Satan fell from heaven in the first place; Satan did not see himself as wholly dependant on God; Satan saw himself instead 'as a bigger God' able to defeat the God, and then he would be superior and be able to boast, 'I don't need to be taken care of.' "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of your own works, lest any man should be able to boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).
"And brimstone,"
The word 'brimstone' in the Greek is theiou, meaning 'a sulfur-gas.' "Brimstone, formerly the common vernacular name for sulfur, now chiefly used when referring to its inflammable character. Sulfur is a non-metallic element with a yellow color and commonly found as well-formed crystals. It is soft, melts at 113 0 C and burns with a blue flame with the formation of noxious suffocating sulfur dioxide gas. There are three main geological environments [locations]: (1) in the cap rock of salt domes, e.g. the Gulf Coast region of USA, (2) in sedimentary beds [deposits], e.g. S central Sicily and (3) in regions of volcanic activity, e.g. Japan, where it is found in craters and crevices of extinct volcanoes, having been deposited by gasses of volcanic origin in the fumarolic [small fissures in volcanoes - smoke holes] stage of decadent [corrupt] volcanism [activity]. Such a volcanic environment existed in recent geological times near Lake Tiberias, and Syria, where Mount Hebron was a prominent volcano, and a thick pile of plateau basalt lavas form the Hauran Plain. Radiocarbon analysis of carbonized organic matter indicates that one of the youngest basalt flows is only 4,000 years old, i.e. must have occurred during human occupation of the region. This existence of volcanic phenomena probably led to the passing down of ideas such as lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8 - sulfurous flames NEB), and like a stream of brimstone (Isa. 30:33). The term may have been used loosely in connection with ideas based on explosive volcanic phenomena (rain . . . fire and brimstone - Ps. 11:6). It may also have been used in relation to other catastrophic events such as landslips and earthquakes: this may explain the background of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24)." (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible)
The reason I spend this time in explaining this phrase is to stress the reality of what awaits the unbeliever in his rejection of God and His Son.
"Where the beast and the false prophet are,"
We read in the last chapter, verse 20, that the beast [Antichrist] and the false prophet were cast first into the Lake of fire at the beginning of the Millennium, now Satan gets to join them. Can you imagine the fight these three are going to wage against each other for eternity?
"And shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
Forever and ever is gr. aionas ton aionan, unto the ages of the ages, that is forever, eternity.
Satan was cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:9), and then imprisoned in (Rev. 20:2), and now he is doomed unto the ages of the ages. In our day of liberal do-goodism, we don't often here of the eternal doom that has been prepared for the unsaved; what we here today, even in our so-called good churches, is that we need self esteem and self worth, otherwise we will be unable to reach our potential; as if reaching our potential has any worth; the only thing that will count for eternity is that we realize we are worthless, and that we are willing to allow Jesus Christ to manifest Himself through us and do all the work; the only good that will count for eternity is that imputed righteousness that Christ made possible by His death on the cross. Christ wants all of us to submit to Him, and allow Him to work in and through us, and then He will give us a crown at the 'Bema Seat' for what He has done through a yielded saint, is this grace or what?
"Fire is a very weak symbol of the reality of what it means to be separated from God for eternity. You cannot reduce these descriptions to something less than the reality, because a symbol is always a poor representation of the real thing. Nor can you dissolve this into thin air of make-believe. The reality far exceeds the description, and human language is beggarly in trying to depict the awful reality. Hell is a place; it is also a state. It is a place of conscious torment. This is the language of the Word of God - you cannot escape it" (McGee).
The Judgment at the Great White Throne
Verse 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."
LGT "And I saw a great white throne, and the One who sits on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven vanished [fled away], and a place was not found for them."
"And I saw a great white throne,"
This is the throne of judgment where Jesus Christ Himself will judge all sinners at the second resurrection; all believers had part in the first resurrection. God has given all judgment up to His Son Jesus Christ; Christ judged all sin at the Cross and His work there availed for the sins of everyone who believes on Him; this final judgment at the Great White Throne will be His final judgment of all unbelievers' works. No unbeliever will go to hell because they have sinned; they will go to hell because their human good will not measure up to God's perfect righteousness; they will go to hell because they have not availed themselves of Christ substitution for them on the Cross. So in the final analysis all unbelief will be judged for their works and not their sins; you see, sin has already been paid for, the unbeliever will be judged for their works, which cannot measure up, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift from God, not of your good works, lest any man should boast.
"And Him that sat on it,"
Christ sits on the throne with His Father at His right hand, and it is He who will judge the unsaved world. As we said in the last phrase, Christ judged all sin at the Cross, and now He will judge the unbeliever's works.
"From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away;"
The heaven above us and this earth will dissolve:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are in it, shall be burned up, seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of person ought ye to be in all holy [living] and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the God, in which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" (2 Peter 3:10-12)
"And there was found no place for them."
The earth was created for man, but man corrupted the earth, and all that is in it by his sin; now, the image we have here, is that this corrupted earth must vanish away at the sight of the 'Magnificent Judges' presence.
Verse 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."
LGT "And I saw the dead ones, the great ones and the small ones, standing before the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is [that] of the life, and the dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works."
Before we start an exposition on this verse I must make it perfectly clear that this is not a judgment of believers; our sins have already been judged in Christ; our works were already judged at the 'Bema Seat' of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). This is the 'Great White Throne' judgment of all unbelievers.
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;"
This is a picture that represents all unbelievers, no one will be able to escape: It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27).
"And the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
"These are books which record the works of all individuals. God keeps the tapes, and He will play them at the right time. There will be a lot of politicians, who will have their tapes played in that day, and there will be a lot of public figures - even preachers - who will have their tapes played in that day, and they are not going to be happy about it. If you are saved, you are not going to stand before this judgment. Your works are to be judged as a child of God at the judgment seat of Christ, which will be for the purpose of rewards. The Great White Throne judgment is the judgment of the lost. Multitudes want to be judged according to their works. This is their opportunity. The judgment is just, but no one is saved by works" (McGee).
"And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
This judgment if you notice will be for all their works, and not their sins; their sins, along with our sins, were poured out on Jesus Christ on the Cross, during that 'three hours of darkness' when God sacrificed His only begotten Son. Our [believers] works will be judged at the 'Bema Seat' in which we will either receive rewards or suffer loss. Here God gives unbelievers their final attempt to prove their worthiness, and the outcome will soon be shown.
"The first book is 'the book of life.' At the point human/soul life is imputed into a human by God [at conception], his/her name is written into the book of life. But your name is blotted out if you have not accepted Christ's work on the cross for your salvation. The second book is 'the book of works' and all your works are reviewed and added up. However, we know that your works will fall short of what is required to earn your salvation. For salvation is a GIFT of God, not of works, lest any one should boast. Jesus Christ was judged for our sins and all you have to do is the non-meritorious act of accepting His work on the cross for your salvation - and you are saved and in union with Him. You can NOT work for your salvation" (Theime).
Verse 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."
LGT "And the sea gave up the dead, the ones in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead, the ones in it, and they were judged each according to their works."
"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;"
Expositors who take this book symbolically or metaphorically take this phrase as simply meaning the troubled and sinful world. However, I believe it means exactly what it says, all the dead in the sea. I find it curious that Barnes agrees with me on this one, seeing how he interprets Revelation as all symbolical. Note his comment:
"All that had been buried in the depths of the ocean. This number in the aggregate will be great. If we include all who were swept off by the flood, and all who have perished by shipwreck, and all who have been killed in naval battles and buried in the sea, and all who have been swept away by inundations of the ocean, and all who have peacefully died at sea, as sailors, or in the pursuit of commerce or benevolence, the number in the aggregate will be immense - a number so vast that it was proper to notice them particularly in the account of the general resurrection and the last judgment."
"And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:"
Death and Hades is an inseparable pair. "So in Matt. 16:18 the gates of Hades' means the power of death. Etymologically Hades is the unseen world where all who die are as opposed to this visible world, but in actual use Hades is sometimes treated as the abode of the unrighteous (Luke 16:23). Charles thinks that this is true here, though there is nothing to show it apart from the personification of death and Hades and the casting of both into the lake of fire in verse 14" (Robertson).
"And they were judged every man according to their works."
(See notes on the previous verse)
Verse 14, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
LGT "And the death and the Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the death, the second one, which is the lake of fire."
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire."
The lake of fire is not the same as Hades, as noted earlier; Hades is where all the dead went before the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the saved went into 'Paradise' while the unsaved into the place of torment (See Luke 16:19-31). The Old Testament saints in Paradise went to heaven with Christ after He died on the Cross (See Eph. 4:8-10); the unsaved are in the compartment of Hades called 'the place of torment' where they are reserved to be resurrected before the Great White Throne Judgment where they will eventually be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.
This is the second death."
"The wicked will be destroyed, in what may be properly called the second death. This does not mean that this death will in all respects resemble the first death, but there will be so many points of resemblance that it will be proper to call it death. It does not mean that they will be annihilated, for death never implies that. The meaning is, that this will be a cutting off from what is properly called life, from hope, from happiness, and from peace, and a subjection to pain and agony, which it will be proper to call death - death in the most fearful form; death that will continue for ever. No statements in the Bible are more clear than those which are made on this point; no affirmation of the eternal punishment of the wicked could be more explicit than those which occur in the sacred Scriptures, Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power (2 Thess. 1:9)" (Barnes).
The saved will live forever in eternal bliss, this is eternal life, while the unsaved will be separated from God for eternity, and this is eternal death, that is, the second death.
Verse 15, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
LGT "And if anyone was not found in the book of life written, he was cast into the lake of fire."
The 'if' in this verse is in the first class condition and it means, if, and it is true, anyone who is not written will be absolutely thrown into the lake of fire, following the Beast and false prophet, and Satan himself. "In this short sentence the doom is told of all who are out of Christ, for they too follow the devil and the two beasts into the lake of fire (the counterpart of the Gehenna of fire, Matt. 5:22). There is no room for soul sleeping, for an intermediate state, for a second chance, or for annihilation of the wicked. In Dan. 12:2 there is a resurrection to death as well as to life and so in John 5:29; Acts 24:15" (Robertson). "Finally, Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire. As Swete puts it, these monsters who have themselves been so eager to devour so many in the end themselves destroyed. In the judgment, those who are not in the book of life are condemned to the lake of fire with the devil, their master; but, for those whose names are in the book of life, death is forever conquered" (Barclay).
"Now is the time acceptable. Now a gracious Savior waits to catch the first breath of repentance, and He answers the feeblest cry of faith. Trifle not with His mercy and hope not for some vague second chance, but close with Christ now, and know for certainty that you have no part in the doom pronounced at the Great White Throne. The Lord Himself has said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My Word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life (John 5:24)" (H. A. Ironside).
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