| Satan Released for a while,
Revelation Chapter 20 Verses 7-10 (NASB) Home New International Version New King James Version God's WordTM Español Deutsch
There can be no doubt that this millennial period will be COMPLETED. Time is the only dimension which always goes forward, and thus COMPLETED. It is not like the linear dimensions which may be "to" or "from" some point. Linear dimensions also lead to some interesting physical places, such as the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1-12). It apparently has side to side dimensions and a top, but there is no end to the bottom.
Since the millennial period is a Theocracy by a RIGHTEOUS KING, Jesus Christ. open sin is unheard of. If a sin is brought out into the open, the sinner is dealt with swiftly by death (Isaiah 65:17-20-25 and Ezekiel 32:17-21). So at the end of the 1,000 years, the then population of the earth is well conditioned to not commit any sin(s). But the sinful nature of man lurks just below the surface, and the release of SATAN will test the human's CHOICE one more time (next verse). Lastly, when the 1,000 years are COMPLETED, the earth's inhabitants probably don't have any recollection of what happened 1,000 years earlier. Dim memory of an uptaking, dim memory of a horrible seven year tribulation, and dim memory of SATAN's incarceration. To prove my point. which of us recall what happened one thousand years ago. My point is made.
Secondly, God is omniscient. He knows what the devil will choose to do when He releases him. How differently this verse would read if the devil would have accepted this last chance to acknowledge God's Son, Jesus Christ, as his Master and Lord! But, since God knows what the devil's choice is, God tells John to write that the devil "will come out to DECEIVE"
These NATIONS are scattered all over the earth (reconfigured after the seventh bowl, Revelation 16:20). We know, today, that the earth is spherical, and thus doesn't have four corners (although the reconfiguration of the seventh bowl could make the earth cubic with four corners. Interesting to think about). Furthermore, if one reads the Bible literally, it reads predominantly like a "Flat Earth Bible". Ancient scientists (500 BC - 350 BC) did discuss why the earth had to be round. The reader is left to come to their own conclusions about the four corners.
All this EVIL will soon be exposed before the GREAT WHITE THRONE (verse 12).
If one looks at the spiritual meanings of this portion, we find that there are no mountains to hide behind. This may be another way of saying that all of the evil contained in the sinful nature of mankind is being exposed. This evil, of necessity, was kept hidden during the millennial period, but now with an emboldening from the release of the devil, evil has become an open, hostile threat to the SAINTS. One can look at it from a different perspective and realize that this may be God's way to gather all this evil into one focal point (easier to devour). The CAMP of the SAINTS is collocated at the BELOVED CITY. Most scholars agree that this is Jerusalem. Prophetic scripture indicates that Christ will rule from there (Isaiah 24:16-23; Micah 4:6-8; and Zechariah 14:9-21) during the 1,000 years. The original Greek word for "CAMP" implies a military connotation, and this would be fitting for the "armies of heaven" (Revelation 19:14). If you have served in the military, you understand that "CAMPS" are temporary, and so too here, this CAMP is temporary. Our new home still awaits (Revelation 21:1-2-8). If you consider that the Revelation discussion following the tribulation is mostly spiritual in context, then the CAMP of the SAINT and the BELOVED CITY could be thought of as the collection of all true believers remaining into the millennium. It is the place where the RIGHTEOUS and HOLY ones are gathered.
From another view, this is the way we are shown that the evil (more properly, the knowledge of evil that was released in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 2:15-17) has been totally wiped off of the earth. This is a Godly judgment, as the FIRE came down from HEAVEN. Recall the two other times this happened: Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-29) and the emissaries of Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:9-17). The reader can determine what 'evils" were removed in those two instances. One last thing, contrast this DEVOURING with the removal of those who took the mark of the beast (Revelation 19:21). It wasn't FIRE then, but rather a "SWORD". Why?
The devil, thinking he is as great and powerful as the Most High (Isaiah 14:3-14-21), ends up so low. The people he deceived were burned or destroyed physically and spiritually from above in the previous verse. And here, the devil, himself joins them but is burned from below. We aren't told who threw him into the lake of fire and brimstone, but given the skills and deceptive nature, it had to be a very powerful angel or Christ Himself.
FOREVER AND EVER. This same expression is used in three different contexts throughout the Revelation. If FOREVER AND EVER is a GOD quality, then the TORMENT of the devil will last as long as there is a God.
The use of "day and night" in a literal sense implies that the sun will be around FOREVER AND EVER. This causes a dilemma for science as most astronomers indicated the sun will last another 5 billion years or so. While 5 billion years or so is a long time, it is not FOREVER AND EVER. Thus one must conclude that this expression means everlasting or without end and probably applies more so in the spiritual sense. |
"Scripture taken from the NEW
AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman
Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975,
1977, 1995 Used by permission." References to the Revelation of Jesus Christ are in bold italics. All other references are in bold only |