Revelation 20:7-10

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  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.
Rev 20:9  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.
Rev 20:10  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.

Introduction

Last week we learned that Satan was placed under house arrest for “a thousand years” and was not permitted to deceive the nations during that time. This week we will see that, “when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.”

As always we are reminded that these are not words only for those who will some day be living on this earth “when the thousand years are expired”, but that “this generation will not pass before all these things shall be fulfilled” (Mat 24:34), and that two thousand years ago we were told, “Keep the things written therein, for the time is at hand.”

Rev 1:3  Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

With all of this in mind, let’s go to Matthew 24, and observe how Christ’s prophecy for “this generation” parallels this portion of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [ it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no [ man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

“My words shall not pass away.” It is Christ Himself who tells all His disciples of all time, “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” It is Christ Himself who tells us “My words will never pass away, and it is Christ Himself who tells us that this includes “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Notice how this all accords with “the supper of the great God in Revelation 19.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [ men, both] free and bond, both small and great.

Here in Revelation 19 we see an angel inviting the fowls of the heaven to eat the flesh of horses and them that ride on them at the supper of the great God, and here in Mat 24 Christ is telling us that “the eagles will be gathered together wheresoever the carcase is”. “The dream is one” (Gen 41:25).

Since Christ tells us…

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

… and then He tells us:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

When we put Matthew 24:34-35 together with Rev 1:3, and 22:6-7 and verses 18-19, what does this tell us concerning this period called “a thousand years”? Here are those verses in Revelation:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings [are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Our permissive spirit always asks ‘which things written in this book are we to keep’, hoping to somehow avoid “keeping [all] the things written therein”. ‘Surely’, reasons our natural mind, ‘the things written therein (Rev 1:3) and the sayings of the prophecy of this book (Rev 22:6-7), does not include the seven last plagues, or this thousand years of being reigned over by God’s elect, or this thing called the lake of fire. Surely God is not saying that all men live by even these words!’
Well, if that is the case, then all these verses are bald face lies:

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

But these words are all true, they have “never passed away”, and the reason “all things present and to come are ours” is because the words of Christ are themselves Christ, who in Truth “is, was and will be… the Word of God”.

That being said, however, the elect do not experience the actual lake of fire, for we are assured:

Rev 20:6 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.

And…

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The elect ARE found in the book of life, so they are not cast into the lake of fire. Not that they don’t experience ‘fiery trials’ during their life in the flesh, but the experience called the ‘lake of fire’ is for those whose names were not found in the book of life.

What does all of this tell us about this period called “a thousand years”?

Is “a thousand years” literal?

The first thing we need to establish is the Biblical and spiritual meaning of the number one thousand. One thousand is ten to the third power, 10 x 10 x 10. We have seen in our earlier studies on the spiritual meaning of numbers in scripture that the number 10 is the Biblical symbol for our flesh at its worst and at its very best. God enumerated exactly ten nations in Canaan which He would give to Israel when He brought them out of Egypt. It was Joseph’s ten brothers who sold him into Egypt. There were ten plagues upon Egypt which brought Pharaoh, the Biblical type of our sinful flesh, to let Israel leave Egypt. God gave Israel the ten commandments in the wilderness to govern their actions in bodies of flesh. There were ten rebellions while in the wilderness by Israel against their own savior. One thousand is this number ten, the number of our flesh, to the third power. Ten is our flesh, and three is the number of the process of our judgment. As such, one thousand years is the spiritual symbol for the judgment of our flesh at its very best.

What do we find when God judges our flesh at its zenith? What we discover is that flesh, at its zenith, at its very best, is still corruption and rebellion against a pure, spiritual heavenly Father and His Christ.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So that is what all these verses concerning God’s sovereignty in “all things, things present and things to come” is telling us. They are declaring to us that God is working in our lives, and what He is telling us is that this “thousand years” is part of that “one event to all men”. What these verses are telling us is that “the time is at hand for us to keep [this] thousand years”. What they are telling us is that the phrase “a thousand years” “signifies” and is used by the holy spirit in this prophecy as a symbol of something “which must shortly be done” in our lives, and which we all will “shortly… keep” and do “for the time is at hand”.

So what exactly is the spiritual significance of this thing called “a thousand years” or in theological jargon, “the millennium”? What takes place during this time when our flesh is being brought to its zenith, just before its destruction.

The first thing we need to realize concerning this symbol is what it is not. It is not a time when God will save this world, rather it is the time that sets up our flesh, and all flesh, for its own destruction. For God to be saving anyone, He has, throughout His Word revealed that being an overcomer requires “the wicked one… the tempter”, to be overcome, as our Lord overcame him.

Mar 1:12  And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Mar 1:13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

It is only through the fiery trials from the Adversary himself, that the Christ is tried. There is no such opportunity during the thousand years because Satan is hedged out of our lives during this time. When we begin to mature, “think it not strange concerning the fiery trials” which we must encounter to overcome the wicked one. He is released upon us at this time, and he will overcome us, before we are resurrected with our Lord and called up to heaven to sit with Him in His Father’s throne.

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Rev 11:11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Only after all this has been done “in the same hour… a great earthquake” takes place within us, and we are then qualified to be “seated with Christ in the heavens”. This earthquake is the time of the destruction of our flesh so we can be “saved by fire” through that very destruction and through that death.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Here is the account of that destruction of all flesh and the institution of the lake of fire which will be used by God to show mercy to, and to save by fire, all men, excluding those who were chosen to be God’s elect as they have already gone through their fire. Their fire is NOT the lake of fire, but what Peter calls our ‘fiery experience’, the fire being the purification by God’s word.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  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.
Rev 20:9  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.
Rev 20:10 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.
Rev 20:11  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.
Rev 20:12  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.
Rev 20:13  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.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

There is no “lake of fire” for those who are being judged at this time, as their experience is called fiery trials, and it behooves us to follow a ‘pattern of sound words’.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“For the time is come” means “because the time is come that through suffering as a Christian, judgment must begin at the house of God”. There will be no “suffering as a Christian” taking place during the “thousand years”, and there will be no “judgment beginning at the house of God” during the thousand years, because Satan will be imprisoned, under the seal and the chain of the word of God. He will be under house arrest, in the bottomless pit, or abussos, of our flesh. This is true also for the lake of fire as Satan himself is being purified in the lake of fire, so is not doing the work he does now as an adversary in our lives. So none of the necessary principles or ingredients needed to produce or purify overcomers is in place during this time of our lives. It is that time when we “come behind in no gift… [and yet] we are carnal babes in Christ”.

1Co 1:5  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and [in] all knowledge;
1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Like Job, before the time of his trials, Satan is hedged out of our lives, and in the abundance of our blessings we have “lost our first love, and we are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing.” This is the time of our thousand years which precedes the fiery trials which destroy our old man and replace him with a new man who is crucified with Christ and raised up in newness of life.

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Job 1:2  And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1:3  His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

So this “thousand years” is not a time when either we ourselves, or physical Israel, will rule the nations of this physical earth. At this time in our lives, the scriptures call us “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), and while we are totally unaware of it, just  like physical Israel, we have by our actions rejected our own Messiah, and in God’s eyes are not even Jews or Israelites.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

Physical Israel will not even “return to  their former estate… until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in”.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins

When will God “take away the sins of… all Israel”? Paul may seem to contradict himself to the false ministers of Babylon, but he was not in the least bit confused when he plainly states that “the fall of them is the salvation of the Gentiles”.

Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:12  Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

But does it not say “God forbid”? Yes, it does say “God forbid” that Israel’s stumbling is only for the purpose of falling. Paul goes on to twice explain that “through their fall, salvation is come to the Gentiles” [and] through “the fall of them is the riches of the world”. He makes clear that there are a few of those who are “Jews outwardly” who even now are being saved, and he calls them “the election” of physical Israel. But he makes it super-clear that “the rest were blinded”. So what does this mean for physical Israel?

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

So will the physical nation of Israel be the preeminent nation on earth during the “thousand years” reign of God’s elect? When does “the fullness of the Gentiles come in”? When will “all Israel be saved”? Here is the scriptural answer to these questions for all who are given to receive it.

Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

There it is in very clear language. “When… Sodom… and Samaria” return to our Lord, “then you and your daughters shall return to your former estate” with our Lord. That is when “the fullness of the Gentiles will be come in”, and that is when “all Israel shall be saved”. Again:

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Who then will rule during that thousand year period? Here they are:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye [Gentile Ephesians] being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh [a part of the commonwealth of Israel] by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

What did Christ “receive of His Father”? Remembering the primary inward application of this prophecy, what Christ received from His Father is the same commission you and I have been sent to accomplish. Christ was sent by His Father to save this world, and with us He was given the commandment to lay down His life for us.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [of physical Israel]: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Christ did not “receive a commandment of His Father” to establish two folds of sheep. He came and laid down His life “to make of twain one new man”. He did not come to make twain of twain with a physical ‘chosen people’ and a different spiritual ‘chosen people’. There is but “one new man… one body”, one gospel… one spirit… and one “chosen… elect”.

Here is another symbol of these elect:

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Let us not attempt to make ‘some of God’s word true’ by pitting this verse against Eze 16:55; Rom 2:28-29; Gal 6:15-16; and Eph 2:11-16. It is “the sum of God’s Word which is true”, and that ‘sum’ clearly makes an Israelite or a Jew, a spiritual and an inward matter.

What did Christ “receive of His Father”? He received the commandment to die for the sins of mankind, this entire world.

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

These “hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” are the “true Israel of God [who] live by the rule that neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature”. “All the tribes of Israel” are now “he that is a Jew inwardly”, “made one of twain”, and it is these “Jews” and these “Israelites” who are now, and who will be, ruling and reigning with a rod of iron, which we in Christ have endured and which we do endure in these bodies of clay. It is through the unbelief of physical Israel and all the unbelievers in Babylon “that great city where our Lord was crucified, that you and I are granted to be believers:

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

“My suffering for you… filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake”? Does Paul think these words apply only to himself? No, of course not. This is speaking of all those who now rule over their nations within, during the thousand years within, and who will, at the appointed time rule over the outward nations of this world. It will certainly not be the physical nation of Israel which denies its own savior to this very day.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

So what is this thing called “a thousand years”?

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  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.

God will have Satan imprisoned for a symbolic “thousand year”. Why is he now releasing Satan out of the prison He had Him in?

The answer is that God’s plan is not finished by giving His elect the dominion of the kingdoms of this world during this thousand year period of time. Babies are still being born during this time. Death has not yet been destroyed and will not be destroyed as long as new baby ‘Adams’ are being born into existence. In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians we are told that this rule of our Lord will last “till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

If “of His kingdom there shall be no end” we’re speaking of this thousand-year period, what need would there be to release Satan from his prison to again deceive the nations of this earth after the thousand years are expired?

Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Is death destroyed during the thousand years, or is that not the very purpose for this thousand years and the release of Satan to deceive?

Rev 20:9  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.
Rev 20:10  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.

Here we are told “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them”. This entire scene is given us in much greater detail in Ezekiel 38, which we will have to look at in our next study. The one thing that is clear, is that the thousand years are nothing more that a time which brought “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth” (vs 8) into position to be “devoured by fire which comes down from God out of heaven”. In other words, this thousand-year reign, like Samson’s marriage to a Philistine woman, serves only to give God “an occasion against the Philistines” because, like sin and death over the flesh, “the Philistines had dominion over Israel” at that time.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there] never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Placing Satan in the abussos of our flesh, under the chain and seal of these the words of our Lord, is all “of the Lord, [because] the Lord sought an occasion against… the nations in the four quarters of the earth… to devour them with fire that come down from God out of heaven”.

Who is this “camp of the saints and the beloved city” if it is not “the Israel of God… the new Jerusalem”, the overcomers. But what Gog and Magog, the inhabitants of the earth after a thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron, are like the Philistines of Samson’s day. They simply have no way of knowing or understanding that these saints against whom they are encamped, are the same people who are right at home in the everlasting burnings, and the devouring flames of this symbolic ‘lake of fire’.

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

If they knew who they were going up against, they would not be giving God the occasion He is seeking to destroy all sin and death by bringing an end to all flesh. If they knew who they were encamping against, they would not furnish God the “occasion” He is seeking to bring an end to the birth of babies and bring about the second resurrection of all the dead of all time, to be cast into the lake of fire to be purified, so “that through your mercy they may receive mercy”.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will go through the 38th chapter of Ezekiel which is the inspiration for much of this chapter of Revelation, and we will also cover these verses of this chapter 20 of Revelation.

Rev 20:11  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.
Rev 20:12  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.
Rev 20:13  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.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.